Proper Driving Etiquette. Part one, The Left Lane.
I have been wanting for some time now, to write a massively long "Proper driving etiquette manifesto", but I could go on for days about all the little nuances of good and bad driving and I ain't got time for that. So I am going to post a few here and there about the biggest ones I can think of.
Just as a side note, this will absolutely not be your typical 'learning to drive' course. IMO, there are 2 types of drivers. Those with purpose, and those who don't know where they're going. It is a difficult task to be 100%, driving with a purpose. But the closer you can be to 100%, the better (and safer!) everyone will be.
Today I will be discussing the LEFT lane.
This picture feels right (left?) at home in this alignment
When you are on a road with more than 1 lane going in the direction you are headed, there will inevitably be, a left lane. In case you've been living under a rock for decades, the left lane is the PASSING lane. Meaning, that unless you are physically passing other vehicles to your immediate right, you should NOT be in it.
If you are in the left lane and another car is on your ass, but you say to yourself "I'm doing 10-15 (insert any # here) over the speed limit, get off my ass!" You are WRONG, move your ass over immediately (when safe) and let them pass.
I can't tell you how many times I pass cars in the left lane when I am in the right lane. It is actually a safer method to stay in the right lane unless passing. Just 3 days ago I witnessed a jeep ride the right shoulder to pass a semi, while going under a bridge. I thought he was going to crash, and all because people were clogging the passing lane. So PLEASE, do yourself and everyone driving around you, the courtesy of passing in the left lane.
imgs from google
LMAO! I am glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks like this. I would say 90% of the individuals who drive in the left lane don't even understand the law of the road... Good read!
We are not alone my friend! There are a lot of good drivers out there, but many more bad drivers, like you say. Education to the masses is the way to better driving habits, that's my goal. Thanks for swinging by!
Thanks!
I love this! My wife and I talk about this all the time, people driving in the passing lane is a good example. People just do not know the rules of the road anymore or are too distracted to care.
The number of close calls and nit-witted infractions I see almost EVERY time I get behind the wheel is astounding. I wonder how there aren't more accidents. During our last road trip to NY we noticed even the OTR truckers weren't following the rules, this use to be the group of drivers who observed the rules the most. I have two words...autonomous vehicles. I'll miss driving but at this point humanity is so distracted we'll be much better off with a computer at the wheel.
Agreed, we'll be sleeping behind the wheel in no time with no issues. Hopefully you have the option though, I would like to go back to 'manual' driving once in a while just for the fun of it.
Truckers have been getting worse. I think years ago, a lot of the truckers were lifers so they had experience as to how the rules worked. The pay has risen dramatically lately because of the need for so many drivers, that newbies are rising in #'s fast. Clearly they don't know the rules as well.
There are days when this seems like a lost cause... like yesterday... but I'll keep trying! :)
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P.S. Great illustrations for this article! ;)
P.P.S. I need to apply the mirror-image "MOVE OVER! ->" to my windshield...
Good reminder: this is known almost all drivers but this is a common mistake, I don't know why? This is a good post... Keep doing