Well, here in PA, it is the law that the left-most lane is for "passing only". You can't be in the left lane, just moseying along at some slow speed, stacking up traffic behind you.

In other words, the law requires you to be driving a speed faster than the vehicles to your right. If you aren't going faster, how do you plan on passing them? And if you aren't passing that other vehicle, then move over to the right, and follow behind them.

BTW, for cars it is about a $100 fine.

 

RIGHT! The treatment of the speed limit as a speed minimum gets me irritated, too. I understand the gripe about people cruising in the left lane, as it is illegal and, if not, discourteous. But, dammit, I drive in the far right lane at or 5mph below the limit and I STILL get people behind me who act as if I am in the wrong. The concept of "limit" is completely lost.

One of the most common statements is the "Driving below the speed limit is a safety issue" garbage. Why is it a safety issue? Differential velocity, they say? Well, yeah! If one person is driving legally at 60-65mph, bad things are going to happen when someone comes flying along at 75-80mph and something happens to bring those cars into contact. Whose fault is it? The funny white signs with black letters make it very clear. I have to grant that driving significantly below the speed limit could become a valid issue, which is why many states, like Rhode Island, have a 55mph minimum to match the 65mph speed limit. But...come on. Common sense, anybody? I guess not.

Note: I'm not trying to flame anybody. The tension in my writing style comes from a long period of time over which this illogical maximum=minimum concept has been an issue for me.

 

The state of Rhode Island felt that "driving below the speed limit" created enough of a safety issue that they implemented a "minimum speed limit" for many of their highways. Perhaps other states will have the "common sense" to follow suit.

People love to complain about road rage, but few are interested in acknowledging the circumstances that create this condition. More often the people who are the least interested are the very people who create these conditions. The real victims in road rage are all the drivers between the original "slow driver" and the speeding maniac who almost clipped your frontend.

 

leahbeatle,

I hope you know I'm not trying to go soft on speeding or condone irresponsible driving. Just love this forum situation where I try to accomodate member A only to get rebuked (or seem to) by member B for doing it {sigh} The only thing I was accomodating Gobbles on was drivers significantly going under the posted limit. The specifics on an example might get some others to chime in to disent, but here it goes....

I've posted often that I will go under the limit but stay far right and encourage others to pass. As hard as I try, a few chose to use the right shoulder or access lane to be offensive. Now I'm getting flak for not smiling and allowing a couple of very inconsiderate drivers force those behind to go 20 in a 35 zone in an isolated incident. If someone wants that to make me a childish gearhead, so be it.

 

At least here in California, you can get pulled over for holding up traffic when 5 or more cars behind you are waiting behind you. Also, here in California, if you go more than 10 MPH under the speed limit, you can also be ticketed. So if you're going in a 65 MPH zone, you would need to be going between 55 and 65 to be considered traveling at a legal speed. So in the case of delta flyer, those drivers would have been eligible for tickets in California. Anything less than 10 MPH does seem kinda slow to me.

 

I think there may have been a misunderstanding - I did not completely articulate my thoughts and others jumped to conclusions.

I remember from a few years back the Defensive Driver's course states the #1 problem is people going either too fast or too slow.

 

I had entered the freeway one day a few weeks ago and the flow was about 55 MPG and not tight between cars. Some SUV comes screaming up behind me like a shooting missle on steroids weaving through people. When I merged into the flow I think I took his space and only ability to continue on as there was a line of cars and all of us the same pass (give or take) but some open space ahead. He was inches off my bumper and his brights when on (this is daylight time, too). But my auto dimming mirror made it so I didn't notice (the brights). But I can see him shaking his head, jesting, and even throwing his hands up quite frequently. But I don't care.

I tried on several occasions to pull into another lane leaving it open for him to pass but he insisted on tailgating me. Then, as traffic started to slow I had to slow... I noticed in the rear view that everytime I brake a flash would go off... he was taking pictures -- as he tailgated -- everytime my brake lights went off.

I have survailance cameras that record my driving so I'm not too concerned of an incident how to prove what *really* happened (because everytime I've had to use the recordings its *always* because the other party is lying.) That continued for a while... then I take out my digital camera and turn on the flash and pop my hand out the window and snap a shot of him tailgating me...

He slowed down, changed a few lanes over and for the remaining 5 minutes or so didn't pass a single vehicle... until I exited then he whizzed passed me and continued on weaving through traffic.

There's an accident that happend in Orange County, California on Monday (three days ago) that involved two youths driving an M3 and SLK 300 at about 100 MPH when one lost control and killed the driver and put his girlfriend on lifesupport (that might be turned off tonight if she still can't stabelize her lungs)... I knew two of the injured. While they were racing each other for giggles, the point is that those who want to speed are endangering everyone and simply don't care until they have to receive responsibility for their action and only then will they be sorry (that they were caught) and apologize (for not showing restraint). The driver of the other vehicle is in jail for gross negligence and a possible vehcular manslaughter.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...le_1289042.php

Thanks,
Shawn

 

shawnb,

The first story (didn't quote that one) is a real nut case - needs his licence removed and take a long manditory anger management course to get it back. Sorry folks, too many stories to just always be calm and ignore them - some of these hotheads require arrest and conviction.


I could not be the judge, but I'd love to convict the guy and then ask if if he still feels like a "Bad A$$", then have him incarcerated with an inmate with an attitude.

 

Although my post was about Speed Limits in the usual sense, there are, of course, many states or particular highways, etc., which have posted minimum speeds. If you are driving slower than the minimum, then of course you are breaking the law, just like any driver going faster than the maximum. No argument there.

Well.... maybe a little quibble- around here, all the roads that have posted minimums are the big expressways, and whenever I drive on them, they tend to be stacked up with traffic jams, so everyone's doing 10 or 15 although the posted minimum is 45. But I think we all know that no police officer is going to enforce the posted minimum rule in those circumstances.

There are no minimums, posted or otherwise, on the roads I take on my commute, so it is not an excuse for the behavior I generally see.

 

I agree. Driving the limit or -5 in the right lane, especially if there are three or more lanes, is nowhere near the kind of safety hazard posed by speeders. The differential velocity argument only works if you think it's ok for the responsible people to be pushed into breaking the law 'because everybody's doing it,' which takes us back to that middle school maturity level again.

Maybe what 'everybody' should be doing is following the law. Maybe the laws were written by safety and traffic experts who are trying to save lives and keep the roads moving at the same time. Maybe they know a little more about it than we do. I know a few traffic professionals, and they have so much data it's ridiculous.

One reason I've heard for states to have minimum speed limits, especially on highways, is to keep entire classes of vehicles off the high-speed roads, like little mopeds that can't go above 35 or 40. I see signs on 'Slow Moving Vehicles' all the time, and I think it's the right move for vehicles like that to be kept off the traffic-clogged expressways, where they often obstruct more than one lane and cause tremendous wear and tear on roads that already have to be repaved and closed or narrowed for construction far too often.

There are lots of reasons for states imposing minimums that have NOTHING to do with the safety problems Gobbles imagines are caused by someone who drives the speed limit or within a couple mph of it.