The driving lane is the rightmost lane. All other lanes on the left of it are for passing. Do not just cruise in the middle lane. You exacerbate the problem.
Comment on Bruh, chill
pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoYes, in theory, everyone should be in the middle lane at all times except when actively passing the car in front of them, and they shouldn’t use the right lane as a, “fast lane.” In practice, virtually everyone uses the passing lane as a fast lane, and dropping in and out of the right lane over and over again is going to create more traffic than just staying in your lane.
Sure, if someone is barely going faster than the middle lane, and there’s no one in front of them, then they’re being a lane hog and need to move over. But if there are multiple cars in the passing lane, all going significantly faster than the middle lane, then that’s just the speed of traffic and you need to accept that. Just because the passing lane isn’t passing as fast as you’d like, that doesn’t mean you’re justified in forcing a car to change lanes every 50 feet.
Gadwin100@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
No, that is not correct. The rightmost lane is for slower vehicles and exiting. The middle lane is often called the travel lane because it’s the one you’re meant to be in when cruising.
Gadwin100@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Yes so then in areas of height limited lanes where there are 3 lanes, a semi-truck can only travel in the middle lane unless exiting or entering? Makes total sense…
I suppose on a 2 lane everyone travels in the left lane, because the right one is to exit and enter too. Yup. No existence of a merging lane designed to get up to the speed of flowing traffic. Nope.
pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
In areas of height limited lanes, you should follow the directions regarding height restrictions no matter what. That’s common sense. In most states, 2 lane highways treat the left lane as the passing lane and the right lane as the travel lane (though people seem to mostly just travel in the left lane anyway). On a three lane highway, the left lane is for passing, the middle lane is for cruising, and the right lane is for vehicles that are exiting, entering, or otherwise need to go below the speed limit. The right lane should not be used for cruising when there are three or more lanes. Check with triple A if you don’t believe me
infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Exactly. There’s a difference between ideal operation and practical reality. In reality, three-lane highways induce three lanes full of cars. And if I’m going 80 in a 60 in the left lane, the guy behind me going 90 can fucking relax. Likewise I’m not getting bent out of shape by the guy in front of me going 80.
pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah, and if you want to be even more technical, most states only allow you to go 10 to 15 mph over the speed limit when passing, and then expect you to return to the middle lane and resume driving the speed limit when done. Some don’t even allow that exception, which means you can (presumably) only use the left lane if the car in front of you is driving slower than the speed limit. No one uses the lanes this way, least of all the people who justify tailgating because, “the left lane is for passing.” If the left lane is going significantly faster than middle lane, as you said, “fucking relax.”