How all troopers should handle left lane slow drivers

[janrgn]

Left lane slow poke speed bumps. Common as grass in FL. We are all hell-on-wheels when we are young. Then we get old, move to FL, and become that driver we used to hate.

 

[eliallen]

I got no problem driving in the Right lane (slow), I just wish the fast drivers would drive in the left lane and stay off my A**. 

 

[Dan23]

That is about the stupidest cop I have ever seen. Driving less than two car lengths on another cars tail at 60 miles per hour is just plain stupid. And it is illegal. As long as he doesn't have his lights on he has to follow the rules of the road just like everyone else does. Once he turns on his light he can violate rules because then he is an emergency vehicle.

And you will notice he pulled the guy over but he did not give him a ticket because he was not breaking any laws. So the cop is enforcing his own vehicle code, what a jerk.

The speed limit is just that, a speed you can't go faster than. However the speed limit rules don't mean that since the speed limit is 70 you must do 70. The minimum speed is 50.

If the guy is breaking the law then give him a ticket. This is just plain old harassment by a cop who thinks he makes all the rules.

Fully agree. That car was going just as fast as the rest of traffic. I've no idea of the speed limit, but according to the law, it is a LIMIT.

On the other hand, if a cop was tailgating me, I'd pull over one lane.

This business of looking for other drivers to complain about is out of hand. If you listen to the idiots who recorded it, they sound like twelve year olds.

 

[Dan23]

A few years back they made a law here in Colorado that you can not impede cars in the fast lane even if you are going the speed limit.  The exceptions are if you are passing the cars to the right of you or traffic is so heavy that it doesn't matter.

I tend to fine two annoying types in the fast lane, the I'm not moving and the speed limit is fast enough and the I hate you driver. The first feels it is their duty to control the speed of the drivers behind them. The second will tailgate who ever is infront of them at any spped, flashing their light and honking the horn. They wont go around and once that car is out of their way, it's on to the next car that they can hate on.

It gets funny when you see both traveling together on a near empty hiway at 55 mph. One refusing to get over and the other willing to do what ever it takes to get them to move over. They will go mile after mile like that.

Sometimes I wonder why even more motorists are not killed.

 

[Desertfront]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OkXlOrI5k-0


This is how they should do.

In my state, if a vehicle is on the shoulder, and it's possible, you are required to move to the left until you get past them. That's law in many states now.

 

[jstrubberg]

The cop pulled up behind the slow driver and INTENTIONALLY TAILGATED HIM to encourage the guy to get out of the passing lane.  When he didn't the officer pulled him over and gave him a warning.

Some of you need to think through what the officer was trying to accomplish.

 

[Dan23]

What was the trooper trying to accomplish?

 

[motojavaphil]

I debated on putting a sign on the back of the MH stating "Gotcha" as that is how I felt years before our RV.  Realizing guns are more prolific I declined that thought.  It does speak to the frustration a car driver has behind our large rigs.  When I drive the rig it is in the Right Lane and if on a two lane road I will pull off if I collect folks.  My rationale is that is what I would have wanted, it enhances safety, reduces my stress as well as theirs and a positive flow is had by all.  Truckers rarely do it nor do mom and pops in their corn looking mode.
As far as the Trooper goes, he knew what he was doing, what he wanted to happen and got it done.  I do not fault the man for doing that and no ticket was issued to boot.  Seems like a reasonable guy. 

 

[Bob Buchanan]

When I drive the rig it is in the Right Lane and if on a two lane road I will pull off if I collect folks.  My rationale is that is what I would have wanted, . . .

It's also the law . . . 

 

[motojavaphil]

Bob, Not only the Law,  it is just plain human decency!

 

[Dan23]

I agree fully that moving right to allow law breakers to speed is polite and prudent, but it is not the law in every state as far as I know. People often assume it is the law because of signs that say "slower traffic keep right."

That sign is used at the beginning of an upgrade where some vehicles may not be able to maintain the prevailing speed of traffic. It does NOT mean you have to maintain the speed limit if the prevailing speed is lower. Whether it means you must pull over to allow speeding vehicles to pass is a grey area.

There is, however, a lesser-used sign "keep right except to pass" which would mean you must keep right. That sign is seldom used because it would mean all traffic would be forced right and drastically over load that lane.

Pulling right for lawbreakers is prudent because who knows what individual lawbreakers may regard as their entitlement.

Sometimes the right lane is a lot rougher because it is used so much and politicians grossly underfund infrastructure spending. Other times, there may be a left exit from an interstate. Some roads are divided but have at-grade intersections meaning people may plan to turn left, so they are in the left lane.

I'm just a susceptible to frustration as anyone but I try not to take the bait when offered.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm proud to live is a state (Idaho) where there is no minimum speed laws and mostly two lane highways. You will not be pulled over for doing 55 MPH in 65 MPH speed zone. If you feel that is the safest speed to travel either towing or not do it. If you holding up 3 or more vehicles you need to yield to traffic when its safe and possible.

As a volunteer fire fighter and search and rescue I see more vehicle accident where people are either traveling faster than road condition permit or out right speeding. If you lose control of your vehicle at speeds below marked speed limit you will be sited for "Too fast for road conditions" even if your not speeding.

 

[Derby6]

I have about a 34 mile commute one way; 4 lane 80%, 6 lane 10%, and 10% local 2 lanes.
Yesterday I passed 29 cars on the right.
This morning I passed 30 cars on the right.

No I wasn't racing nor cutting people off.  Folks just insist on lining up in the left lane when there is no cars in the right lane for miles.  No reason but shear ignorance IMHO.  No kidding I passed many of them while I was still accelerating and had not even reaced the posted speed limit yet.  If you are worried about road conditions/darkness and want to drive slower, good on ya, but get the he!! out of the left lane....lol

 

[SeilerBird]

There sure are a lot of impatient drivers on this forum. :-\

 

[Dan23]

Folks just insist on lining up in the left lane when there is no cars in the right lane for miles.  No reason but shear ignorance IMHO.

I think the reason people do that is they simply want to drive along with little effort. They figure why should I deal with people who come up the ramp and are clueless about merging? Merging traffic sometimes seems to aim directly for occupied highway real estate, forcing the merged-upon car to switch lanes... often into the path of another car running 10 or 20 mph over the speed limit. Then that driver flies into a rage, braking just in time before hitting him/her in the rear, flying around on the right, waving middle finger or gun.

Bottom line, although I try not to run the left lane, it is legal to pass on the right and why not just let the vehicles that are in such a hurry deal with the problems?

EDIT: Oh, and one more thing. Far too many interstates in the US remain two lanes in each direction when they should be three lanes in each direction at minimum. We are driving highways built for traffic levels of the 1950s with new-millenium levels of traffic. The tax on gasoline is today less-- adjusted for inflation-- than at any time in our recent history. Is anyone here, for example, willing to root for raising that tax in exchange for improved highways? I didn't think so. LOL

 

[Pepper3]

I don't appreciate drivers staying in the left lane either, but I think the officer handled it poorly. He was following way to close. If the driver (who was not impeding traffic, they appeared to be doing the speed limit) panicked and hit their breaks when the officer lit up his lights there could have been a serious accident. Did you hear the video person say their tags were expired? Made me wonder if their insurance would be valid if they had any.

 

[elliott-maine]

It isn't so much the left lane drivers that bother me when towing, it's the center lane drivers who match the speed of the right lane drivers so you cannot pass traffic ahead of you because you aren't allowed to use the left lane when towing.  But that's another topic.

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Tom up here in MA. slower traffic is to keep right by law. The far left lane is for passing, if three lanes, middle is thru traffic and right is local. The police write tickets here for that. I got a speeding and failure to keep right 5-6 years ago. Fought it, got the speeding dropped but not the keep right part.

Bill

Have to smile when thinking of this in CA. If three lanes, the left is for faster traffic, not just to pass. Driving the 5 down the central valley area the far left lane is sometimes like a moving parking lot. And that how the law reads - as from the CA Drivers Handbook:

"Drive in the lane with the smoothest flow of traffic. If you can choose among three lanes, pick the middle lane for the smoothest driving. To drive faster, pass, or turn left, use the left lane. When you choose to drive slowly or enter or turn off the road, use the right lane."

And if you think that trooper was close, watch how close a slow driver will be followed if creeping along in the fast lane. 

 

[Lou Schneider]

But, but ...

Doesn't everyone know it's safer to tailgate a couple of inches off someone's bumper instead of following several carlengths back?

When the lead driver slams on his brakes, if you're only a few inches off his tail you'll make bumper contact before the two vehicles can develop any significant difference in velocity.  Then it's just a matter of maintaining contact until you're both safely stopped.  If you're further back you'll have a greater difference in velocity at impact, increasing the risk damage to one or both vehicles. 

I could have sworn I saw this somewhere in the CA Driver's Handbook.  Might have been in the L.A. Urban Driving edition ...

 

[Derby6]

LMAO. That is too funny Lou.  ;D
I like the theory too, can't wait to inform the DW of it!!!!