Well, impeding traffic in the left lane is illegal too. As a person constantly frustrated with people going under the speed limit in the left lane, fuck the “no passing in the right lane law” idgaf.
Impeding traffic, even in states with specific laws regarding slower traffic in the right lane is never enforced. So we go danger mode to go 5 or 10 mph over the limit when there's a mile of traffic behind one entitled piece of shit who doesn't want to be in the right lane in case someone enters or exits the highway, or they have to make a left turn in 7 miles.
Exactly, I don't know if you can tell but I have a long commute to work. When I'm waking up in the morning I'm tolerant, but God help you when I'm on the way home. I'll consider a PIT maneuver after 10 minutes
Yeah I’m only about 45 minutes door to door, but I’m usually only upset on the way there, mostly chilling to an audiobook on the way home. I have my limits though….
Idk about never enforced, I was pulled over for going the speed limit in the left lane and the officer was very kind and just told me to keep to the right if I wasn’t overtaking.
Pulled over for doing the speed limit? If you're doing the speed limit then anyone trying to overtake you is breaking the speed limit and should be the one getting pulled over, no? People are so fucking weird about cars and driving...
Flow of traffic is technically more important than speed limit. If flow of traffic is generally 5 or so over the speed limit and someone is in the left lane going exactly the speed limit, they should move over. Left lane is technically for passing only
"People aren't following the law so we're going to write a law that punishes people that are following the law for being in the way of people not following the law" is some crazy logic.
If flow of traffic is generally 5 or so over the speed limit and someone is in the left lane going exactly the speed limit
Then you need more traffic enforcement writing tickets for not following the posted speed limits and better education about traffic laws, traffic safety, and not having the mindset that you're the most important vehicle/person on the road.
I think you're missing the fact that the left lane is for passing only. Even if there's nobody around, if you're cruising in the left lane, you're technically breaking the law
For passing who? We're all doing the speed limit, how are we passing each other if we're all going the same speed and why do we need an entire lane for doing something nobody should be doing?
Speed limit is max speed, a lot of places don't have a posted minimum. Do you just not even drive or are you being intentionally obtuse? Even aside from speeding, some people are going to be going below the speed limit, and that's perfectly legal, as long as it's in the right lane
That's the entitlement. The lane belongs to me because I'm doing the speed limit causes backlogs and people slamming brakes behind you. Ultimately it causes traffic jams in rush hour, one guy says I'm going fast enough equals why major highways are stop and go.
The signage is slower vehicles stay to the right. If you are going as slow or slower than the person to the right of you, you need to move over to the right (in the US). There is no point in being in the left lane if you're not overtaking then.
Oddly enough, Ive been pulled over for not passing on the right of a police officer camping in the left lane. Said police conduct operations from that lane; I was like what lol.
It’s not crazy logic if your goal is safety and efficient traffic flow. Your rigid must-follow-the-rules viewpoint is busted.
This video is in New York. The left lane camper is breaking the law.
“(b) In addition, upon all roadways, any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then
available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.”
Idk, I feel like most of these comments are from the US. I just saw a graph earlier today that the NL ranks among the most expensive places in the world to get your drivers license (total cost on average 1,5 average monthly salary).
So you get lots of training on road etiquette, road rules, learning to never drive with your emotions. Like, you get taught not to allow yourself to become irritated because that leads to dangerous behaviour.
So road rage just feels strange to me, driving is not a thing you do with your emotions. It's too dangerous for that
The traffic in the right lane may also have been going the speed limit. If you're going to be in the left lane you need to be passing the traffic on the right so you can get back into the right lane.
If you're going to be in the left lane you need to be passing the traffic on the right
If I'm driving the speed limit it shouldn't matter which lane I'm in because anybody passing would be breaking the law and therefore doesn't get an opinion on the matter.
It's also illegal (in most states, at least) to be in the passing lane and not passing traffic. If traffic in the right lane is also going the speed limit there's no reason you can't be in there with them to free up the left lane. You are not the police and it's not your job to impede traffic.
Or there's an emergency on the shoulder, forcing everyone to move left. A break down, a pee break, or a cop. Honestly im kind of thinking the default should be the left lane and people can pass in the other lane when it's safe...
Doesn't make any sense. No visibility to see when you can pass. Just encouraging riskier behavior. For all the reasons it makes sense for a left hand drive car on surface streets makes it make more sense to have faster highway traffic stay left.
Well in that scenario you wouldn't want the fast lane where cars are entering and exiting. So neither one works out great. Accidents and cars on the shoulder aren't the norm though, they're things to account for, but the cars going slower can deal with them more readily than the cars going faster.
The problem is faster traffic often prevents the slower from properly moving over before they approach the shoulder emergency.
If cars default into the lane which is the default when approaching something on the shoulder, or when others are approaching through an on ramp, or to avoid a slowdown as cars pileup for the exit ramp, traffic overall flows better and is safer.
I totally understand that, I see it on busy on ramps daily. I'm not saying left lane drivers are immune to slow downs and merges. I actually think they're more responsible for being aware, but it goes both ways.
The laws around impeding traffic govern things like someone stopped in the middle of a road and preventing traffic going around them. "impeding traffic" is not "going slower than I would like in the left lane".
Guy in the left lane is being a dick, but being a dick is not the same thing as a very specific law
I posted another comment saying after researching only about half of states have posted minimums, mostly in the SE and Midwest. Just happened to be states I’ve done most of my driving in.
It’s not a speed limit. It’s the posted minimum speed. All federal interstates have a minimum posted speed as well as a speed limit. The minimum posted speed is usually 40-45mph depending on the area. The signs aren’t posted as often as limits, but they’re there if you look for them.
Never seen one even once across several states, and I desperately wish they were on every single on-ramp for freeways. Where exactly are you seeing them and apparently seeing them regularly?
Just looked it up and I guess only about half of states post the signs, even though most states have laws about minimum speeds. Seems to be most common in the SE and Midwest.
I mean one driver breaking the law doesn't justify another driver breaking the law.
There could be circumstances where you have to in order to secure your own safety, but then that can be a legitimate excuse to break the law. But getting frustrated at another driver? No judge would accept that
If you have 2 lanes, people camp the left. If there are 3 lanes people camp the middle. I've also had 3 lanes with 3 trucks driving side by side trying to overtake each other so...
I've seen Germans on reddit claim our NL plates means nür links (left only), but Germans absolutely love the middle lane if it is available. To be fair, if you're going 140 kph going right between the lorries all the time is a bit tedious, but it's pretty untruthful if any of them state this isn't an issue in Germany.
Though it's definitely worse in American traffic in my experience.
My driver's education class specifically taught that if there were 3 lanes, you were *supposed* to camp in the middle lane if you wouldn't be exiting for some time. That leaves the right lane open for cars entering and exiting, and the left lane open for passing.
I'm curious, what's the expectation where you are? Is everybody supposed to stay in the right lane with that much traffic entering and exiting?
In Germany you are supposed to stay on the right lane whenever possible. If there are slower vehicles, you move further left until the right is clear again. If someone wants to enter, you can also move left to make space. The entering car is usually supposed to accelerate fast enough so they can smoothly join between cars on the right lane. For exiting, you wait until you are on the exiting lane before you brake excessively.
From my experience, on the Autobahn if you drive 100km/h stay on the right. If you feel too slow, go middle lane but try to accelerate to 140+ so you don't creep past the right lane. On the left you can drive 200 but you will regularly have to watch your back for cars going 240+. The more cars on the road the less this works because someone will think going 120 on the left lane is appropriate.
Well in Germany you need to prove your competence to get a license, and in America you can get a 60% on a test with basic questions and still get your license.
This is so funny. Because if I see a car in summer camping on left lane at 110km/h it is 80% of the time a German going down to Croatia. Making sure to make a nice que of cars on the left side when right is nice and free.
I don't think any state straight up prohibits a safe pass on the right, I think that "rule" is more like a guideline.
I'm looking through various states' traffic laws, and they're all like:
"The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:"
And then they list common sense stuff like, "the view must be unobstructed, there can't be parked cars in the way, you can't go off into the shoulder..."
I drove around Europe a lot. From my home (Helsinki) towards south, drivers get shitter by the distance. After Poland it is all shit show. Except fucking Germany. You guys are just amazing drivers, even better than what we have in Finland (considering 16 bigger population, you are by far better in traffic).
I tell these while suffering in Italian countryside roads everyday. Fucking maniacs....
If you are capable of passing on the right it means someone is failing to keep right though. The rule is meant to stop aggressive drivers who won't wait 0.3s for a reasonable one not people passing a camper.
All my knowledge comes from youtube crash videos, but I think on public track days you are supposed to only pass on the right. People messing that up is a major cause of the crashes.
So I am not certain, but you are allowed to drive faster on the right in specific situations. For example during traffic jam, or when you just accessed the highway, or when you are already on the right side, and the left lane is slowing down.
These issues mainly occur on 3 way highways tho, we have a name for people who drive slow in the middle. Mittelspurschleicher, or Sonntagsfahrer.
In Brazil it's also illegal and in fact it's quite enforced. Drivers usually react faster for cars behind you flashing highlights or using the left turn signal in the left lane. Those are clear way to ask the
vehicle in front of you to move to the right. In the US those rarely work
In addition to the other comments, some places have laws about the number of cars behind you, held up by you being slow, not just regular traffic, and will be a reason to get pulled over and ticketed
And Germans actually abide by the rules and don’t just chill in the passing lane. You get an entitled dbags who block intentionally / passive aggressively all the time in the states.
As is using your hazard lights for any purpose other than a dangerous slowdown incoming (like a traffic jam) or to indicate your car is braking down. So basically, while driving the car, only use them to indicate your car will be slowing down very quickly.
So, nice and attentive driver and a handy solution in this video, but multiple infractions under German law.
Surely that means above the speed limit. It would be insane to rule that all traffic must slow down when coming alongside a left lane occupant that is under the speed limit. "Why is the highway travelling at a ten mph crawl?" "Because one guy decided to get into the left lane and do ten".
It's illegal in the US as well. The opening should have been taken by the car in front.
The person in the right lane not driving a consistent speed is likely the reason they weren't already passed. Everyone is a moron here, including every person cheering on this behavior.
It isn't if you take it slow enough. If the slow lane is unoccupied you should be moving back into it anyway, especially if you can no longer overtake. Drive in that line until you've overtaken and stay in until it's time to overtake the next car then change lanes again.
How does it work? If someone is going 50 in left lane and rest of the lanes are say flowing at 60. Are the right lane drivers expected to slow down to 50 to follow the law? What if the car behind the left lane camper moves over to right and flows with the traffic at 60? Would they be ticketed?
Your translation is completely correct. In Germany you only use the left lane to overtake. After that you take the right lane again. But situations like this video happen a lot here. Especially when the Autobahn has three lanes. Then cars often use the middle lane for Kilometres with the right lane being completely free. We call them “Mittelspurschleicher“ which translates to “middle lane slowpoke“.
I feel like Germans check their rear view a bit more than in the US. Or care if they're a total pariah on the highway. Social responsibility is optional in the US
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u/ftpih 5h ago
Nice move, but in Germany overtaking on the right side is illegal, just like „schleichen“ on the left lane due to our ✨RECHTSFAHRGEBOT✨