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Re: A Left Lane Laggard Wants to Know



Well, you asked for flames, so here's one:

A commonly cited statistic here, I've noticed is that a majority of accidents
are caused by speeding.  What they don't seem to report is the REAL point
behind these statistics.  In a uniform flow of traffic, doing 90, the accident
rate is NO HIGHER than for the same CONSISTENT speed flow doing 35.  What
causes accidents is not exessive speed, but excessive speed DIFFERENCE.  If
there is someone doing 75-80, and someone else doing 55, that is a HUGE
difference.  You're passing other cars as fast or faster than you (should) pass
pedestrians in a school zone.

With that said, look at what you just said.  You are in the left lane, doing
slower than the speed of the person behind you.  Passing on the right is an
offense in most states (My native New York is one of them), for the following
reason:  SLOWER TRAFFIC MOVES ON THE RIGHT.  Simple rules of courtesy.

So, what you are saying is basically this:  I don't want to move to the right,
and make room.  So I'll make this guy whip around me, and possibly hit someone
doing 30 miles an hour slower.  I'm going to possibly cause an accident because
I didn't want to be bothered with getting out of the way and following some
common courtesy on the road.  If there was an accident, you SHOULD be held as
responsible as the person you are forcing to pass you on the right.  Period.

There are signs along many roads, particularly the Grapevine, Rte. 17 in Santa
Clara/Santa Cruz counties, I-5 near Yreka, etc. that all say "SLOWER TRAFFIC
KEEP RIGHT."  Try following the signs on the road sometime.

*flame mode off*

There.  I said it.  One of my biggest frustrations on my commute every day over
17 from Sata Cruz is people doing 45 in the left lane.  You can flash your
lights at them, etc., to get right, but to no avail.  And unlike some, I do not
like to pass on the right, especially with all of those roads that meet the
freeway directly (17 is not limited access through the mountains).  I have an
older car, and riding the brakes could cause some serious problems, not the
least of which is them not working properly once I reach the bottom of the
Hill.  Eventually I end up pulling around this individual because I want to
prevent a trafic backup like invariably occur with this kind of person.  I've
seen it happen on other freeways, not just mountain roads.

-Corey

Corwyn J. Alambar, Silicon Graphics Technical Support (corwyn@csd.sgi.com)

This post is in no way affiliated or associated with Silicon Graphics, Inc.



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