Reply to Why do you REFUSE to pass left/drive right?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]What is so hard about admitting that, if someone is coming up behind you faster than you want to go, and it is safe to move over for them, that you are supposed to do so.[/quote]

PP here.  I don't have a hard time admitting that.  I also rarely see this kind of behavior.  What I *usually* see are drivers in the left lane, passing slower traffic in the right lanes, but only doing so 10-15 mph over the posted speed limit, rather than 20-25 mph over the posted speed limit, as the occasional scofflaw would prefer.

Is failure to yield to an overtaking car "dangerous"?  In the sense that, when traffic is very light, and the lead car isn't passing cars on the right, and there's no issue with getting over, certainly that creates a situation that's marginally more dangerous than otherwise--and it's dangerous completely because of the impatience of the passing driver.

But in 90% of the situations that you see in this area (where 4-5 car lengths is what you *should* be maintaining at all times) it's far more dangerous to have cars constantly stepping in and out of the left hand lane to allow reckless drivers to pass than it is to simply maintain lane position, passing (albeit more slowly) cars on the right.

It's really a non-issue for me, and (like folks who freak out when a light-change isn't met with an immediate and violent acceleration by the lead car) is something that calm and reasonable adults simply take in stride.

The bottom line is that some folks like to drive 70-80 mph in the left-hand lane, unimpeded by congestion.  Unfortunately, that's not often possible because there's heavy traffic.  Rather than blame faceless factors like population growth, sprawling development, and the like, some would rather just project ulterior motives on their fellow drivers.

But sadly, things are just the way they are, and sometimes you have to get in line and wait along with everyone else.[/quote]

So why is it ok to be in the left lane passing people at SL+ 10-15, but not at SL+20-25?  Your outrage as to "reckless" speeders seems to be most selective.  As does your constant speculation as to the motives of other drivers.  Or maybe you really are just a better person; I certainly have no basis to contest such an assertion, if you choose to make it explicitly, rather than implicitly.  :)

It's not really so hard, though, nor so psychologically complicated.  One should always drive in the right lanes, when road conditions allow, using the left lanes solely for passing, if possible.  This does not apply in highly congested conditions, of course.  When driving in the left lane, it is both courteous, and sometimes legally required, to yield to overtaking traffic, whatever its speed, so long as it is safe to do so.   Obviously the yielding vehicle has the call as to whether it is safe to yield, but they ought to exercise that judgment based on actual conditions, not using safety concerns as a veiled rationalization for failure to yield -- if a driver is that concerned about their ability to yield for traffic, they probably shouldn't be in the left lane at all.  I don't think there is anything in these statements to disagree with, right?  We could continue to go back and forth, but it only makes sense if we've got a substantive disagreement.  Do we?  
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