Culturally, would honking or flashing be 'safer' than passing on the right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the UK and france where it's very much a given that the far right (or left in the case of the uk) lane is for passing only. If someone sits in that lane then it's entirely acceptable to honk at or flash them to move over. I've noticed that in the US it's not culturally acceptable to do this, so cars 'sit' in the fast lane going too slowly, feeling no social pressure via things like: the car in the lane to their right going at the same speed or faster, or a car behind them being close. As a result, cars pass them on the right which is SO dangerous and results in crashes, deaths.
would it not be better to just honk/ flash than pass dangerously?

What do you do if you are going 20 miles above the speed limit zipping by cars in the right lane? You are technically passing all the time, so do you yield to someone who wants to go even faster? What do you do if the car in front doesn’t yield despite your honking and flashing? I can see how passing on the right can be SO dangerous if there is no speed limit like in Germany, otherwise I like the system here better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the UK and france where it's very much a given that the far right (or left in the case of the uk) lane is for passing only. If someone sits in that lane then it's entirely acceptable to honk at or flash them to move over. I've noticed that in the US it's not culturally acceptable to do this, so cars 'sit' in the fast lane going too slowly, feeling no social pressure via things like: the car in the lane to their right going at the same speed or faster, or a car behind them being close. As a result, cars pass them on the right which is SO dangerous and results in crashes, deaths.
would it not be better to just honk/ flash than pass dangerously?

What do you do if you are going 20 miles above the speed limit zipping by cars in the right lane? You are technically passing all the time, so do you yield to someone who wants to go even faster? What do you do if the car in front doesn’t yield despite your honking and flashing? I can see how passing on the right can be SO dangerous if there is no speed limit like in Germany, otherwise I like the system here better.

NP

If I’m going 20 over usually cars move to the right unless you find that one ignorant person

Yes I move over if someone is going faster than me.

Passing on the right is dangerous in the US because normally you have to move right to exit. If nobody passes on the right there will never be an accident trying to exit. It’s actually great for slower drivers who are usually compromised by age or lack of skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go the speed limit. I can count on one hand when someone has been going below the speed limit in the left lane with open road in front of them.

The sped limit is technically the posted speed + 19 on the highway.

[Anonymous]

I always remind my kids that (here in the good old USA) a lot of the people they encounter on the roads have guns in their car and are itching for a reason to use it.

Don't honk, don't flash your lights, don't give the finger.

[Anonymous]

You ALWAYS yield to someone who wants to go faster, yes. If you're zipping past folks in the right hand lane, it's easy enough for you to move right for 30 seconds, let the fast car past, and then use the left lane to pass.

OP, to your question, it's culturally appropriate to flash. However, lots of drivers are not paying attention (impaired) or not aware that flashing lights is the universal signal for "get the hell out of my way/this lane."

IME, the cars that respond to flashing lights are the same ones that notice me coming up behind them and move out of the way quickly, because they know how to drive. Flashing lights are completely ineffective for most left lane sitters - they either don't know what it means or don't are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go the speed limit. I can count on one hand when someone has been going below the speed limit in the left lane with open road in front of them.

That’s just inaccurate. It happens every day

[Anonymous]

It is not always “easy” to move to the right when passing a cluster of vehicles jammed nearly bumper to bumper in that lane. Even in the unlikely event that one of them yields moving over will trap me in their no-following-distance zone. Once I’m above the limit in the next lane over I don’t feel a huge obligation to endanger myself or others just so somebody can go even further above the limit. I move when I safely can but people who tailgate and flash their lights like they’re on some fantasy Autobahn need to bide their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tailgating (“being close”) and speeding are far more likely to cause an accident than passing on the right. Your horn is for dangerous situations.

Just pass on the right.

Passing on the right is super dangerous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the UK and france where it's very much a given that the far right (or left in the case of the uk) lane is for passing only. If someone sits in that lane then it's entirely acceptable to honk at or flash them to move over. I've noticed that in the US it's not culturally acceptable to do this, so cars 'sit' in the fast lane going too slowly, feeling no social pressure via things like: the car in the lane to their right going at the same speed or faster, or a car behind them being close. As a result, cars pass them on the right which is SO dangerous and results in crashes, deaths.
would it not be better to just honk/ flash than pass dangerously?

What do you do if you are going 20 miles above the speed limit zipping by cars in the right lane? You are technically passing all the time, so do you yield to someone who wants to go even faster? What do you do if the car in front doesn’t yield despite your honking and flashing? I can see how passing on the right can be SO dangerous if there is no speed limit like in Germany, otherwise I like the system here better.

Op - there’s nothing wrong with passing cars in the right lane. The far left lane should be for passing only. And yes you yield for anyone who wants to go faster. What’s nice about the honk/ flash is that you aren’t constantly looking to see if someone is right behind you which is the indication that they want to pass (and dangerous). You can focus on driving and know if someone comes up and wants to pass they’ll let you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not always “easy” to move to the right when passing a cluster of vehicles jammed nearly bumper to bumper in that lane. Even in the unlikely event that one of them yields moving over will trap me in their no-following-distance zone. Once I’m above the limit in the next lane over I don’t feel a huge obligation to endanger myself or others just so somebody can go even further above the limit. I move when I safely can but people who tailgate and flash their lights like they’re on some fantasy Autobahn need to bide their time.

You can’t both be traveling fast and be up against bumper to bumper traffic. If you’re going at any speed you can move over, come on. It’s just selfish not to do it bc it’s annoying or hard.

[Anonymous]

Why do highway drivers remind me of caged wild animals, driven insane by their unnatural imprisoned lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You ALWAYS yield to someone who wants to go faster, yes. If you're zipping past folks in the right hand lane, it's easy enough for you to move right for 30 seconds, let the fast car past, and then use the left lane to pass.

OP, to your question, it's culturally appropriate to flash. However, lots of drivers are not paying attention (impaired) or not aware that flashing lights is the universal signal for "get the hell out of my way/this lane."

IME, the cars that respond to flashing lights are the same ones that notice me coming up behind them and move out of the way quickly, because they know how to drive. Flashing lights are completely ineffective for most left lane sitters - they either don't know what it means or don't are.

Yes. If they are paying attention enough to respond to your flashing lights, they have probably already moved over.

[Anonymous]

Flashing with your high beams is totally acceptable. If I come up on someone cruising the left lane, I flash, pass and flip them the bird. I don't GAF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the UK and france where it's very much a given that the far right (or left in the case of the uk) lane is for passing only. If someone sits in that lane then it's entirely acceptable to honk at or flash them to move over. I've noticed that in the US it's not culturally acceptable to do this, so cars 'sit' in the fast lane going too slowly, feeling no social pressure via things like: the car in the lane to their right going at the same speed or faster, or a car behind them being close. As a result, cars pass them on the right which is SO dangerous and results in crashes, deaths.
would it not be better to just honk/ flash than pass dangerously?

What do you do if you are going 20 miles above the speed limit zipping by cars in the right lane? You are technically passing all the time, so do you yield to someone who wants to go even faster? What do you do if the car in front doesn’t yield despite your honking and flashing? I can see how passing on the right can be SO dangerous if there is no speed limit like in Germany, otherwise I like the system here better.

Op - there’s nothing wrong with passing cars in the right lane. The far left lane should be for passing only. And yes you yield for anyone who wants to go faster. What’s nice about the honk/ flash is that you aren’t constantly looking to see if someone is right behind you which is the indication that they want to pass (and dangerous). You can focus on driving and know if someone comes up and wants to pass they’ll let you know.

Didn't you take driver's ed in the US? This is absurd that you aren't constantly checking. It's actually a thing they teach you and you should be doing it, alert, checking mirrors, lots of brief checks. If you aren't doing this or you CANNOT do it, please get off the roads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the UK and france where it's very much a given that the far right (or left in the case of the uk) lane is for passing only. If someone sits in that lane then it's entirely acceptable to honk at or flash them to move over. I've noticed that in the US it's not culturally acceptable to do this, so cars 'sit' in the fast lane going too slowly, feeling no social pressure via things like: the car in the lane to their right going at the same speed or faster, or a car behind them being close. As a result, cars pass them on the right which is SO dangerous and results in crashes, deaths.
would it not be better to just honk/ flash than pass dangerously?

What do you do if you are going 20 miles above the speed limit zipping by cars in the right lane? You are technically passing all the time, so do you yield to someone who wants to go even faster? What do you do if the car in front doesn’t yield despite your honking and flashing? I can see how passing on the right can be SO dangerous if there is no speed limit like in Germany, otherwise I like the system here better.

Op - there’s nothing wrong with passing cars in the right lane. The far left lane should be for passing only. And yes you yield for anyone who wants to go faster. What’s nice about the honk/ flash is that you aren’t constantly looking to see if someone is right behind you which is the indication that they want to pass (and dangerous). You can focus on driving and know if someone comes up and wants to pass they’ll let you know.

Well it is all about awareness and expectations. Watch your mirrors, look over your shoulder for blind spots and expect cars to pass on both sides. You will be just fine