YES! FINALLY!!!

Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation.

Not the usual Ho-Hum crap of trying to screw people over for not
buckling up, or a crackdown on speeders or drunks - Although I agree
those are worthwhile efforts, they pale in comparison to one of my
"favorite" pet peeves on the road.

What they're specifically looking for in the next several weeks are the
idiots that don't understand that the left lane is for passing, not
playing roadblock.

It's about friggin' time! If you're gonna drive on the freeway in
"exactly the speed limit or lower" mode, I've got no problem with that -
So long as you pull your head out of your ass and do it in the rightmost
lane! Not only is it common sense/good courtesy/the right thing to do,
but it's been explicitly stated law here in Washington for quite a few
years - including being clearly and frequently posted on every stretch
of multi-lane-per-direction pavement I've driven on in this state -
"KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" and/or "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT" signs are
almost as frequently seen as speed limit or "don't litter" signs.

What kind of brain-dead does a person need to be in order to fail to
comprehend that ultra-basic rule of the road?

For once, I'll be rooting for the cops!

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

GOOD JOB, Don ! I'm with you on this one. If the drivers would just read
and follow the signage, the traffic would flow much better. The way they
drive now days just ****es everyone off then someone pulls out a gun to
make everything his way !! I drive the speed poasted and everyone wants
to run over me even when I am in the outside lane. Just SLOW DOWN ! I
hope WSP makes good on their plan.

Bruce "Bing" Garnet Red 03 LS
IN Seattle

the left lane is those exceeding the speed limit? how does that work?

On 2008-06-24, > wrote:
> the left lane is those exceeding the speed limit? how does that work?

The left lane is for passing. But starting in the 1970s the joan
claybrooks of the world decided that limited access highway speed limits
should be set absurdly low. This then incouraged all the self-rightous
slow is safe types out there to sit in whatever lane they chose. The
absurdly low speed limits still exist in many states, others have raised
speed limits back to what they were in the 1960s, but automotive
technology has had 40 years of advancement since then.

On Jun 24, 8:27*am, Brent P >
wrote:
> On 2008-06-24, > wrote:
>
> > the left lane is those exceeding the speed limit? how does that work?
>
> The left lane is for passing. But starting in the 1970s the joan
> claybrooks of the world decided that limited access highway speed limits
> should be set absurdly low. This then incouraged all the self-rightous
> slow is safe types out there to sit in whatever lane they chose. The
> absurdly low speed limits still exist in many states, others have raised
> speed limits back to what they were in the 1960s, but automotive
> technology has had 40 years of advancement since then.

And those were 40 *good* years of innovation. Keep in mind that the
typical used car in 1974 had four wheel drum brakes, 6.something-15
bias ply tires, and a live rear axle. Granted, it is still possible
to safely drive such a vehicle on today's roads, but it does take a
little more care and attention than the average driver is willing to
take. "Innovations" that were only found on high end sports cars back
then are now standard equipment on the most plebian econobox.

The *best* thing we could do to improve traffic flow and lane courtesy
would be to raise speed limits to their proper 85th percentile levels
and free up the cops to enforce other traffic laws, with a special
emphasis on lane courtesy.

nate

"Don Bruder" > wrote in message
> What kind of brain-dead does a person need to be in order to fail to
> comprehend that ultra-basic rule of the road?

Most people here in Texas seem to be brain dead about this, Don.
Very inconsiderate to hog the passing lane, and dangerous too.
Police (snort..laugh) do it themselves here, as well as pass you on the
right
using the shoulder.

Hope this catches on.

wrote:

the left lane is those exceeding the speed limit?
how does that work?
_____________________________________________

Brent P" wrote:

...The left lane is for passing. But starting in the 1970s
the joan claybrooks of the world decided that limited
access highway speed limits should be set absurdly low.
This then incouraged all the self-rightous slow-is-safe
types out there to sit in whatever lane they chose. The
absurdly low speed limits still exist in many states,
others have raised speed limits back to what they
were in the 1960s, but automotive technology has
had 40 years of advancement since then.
____________________________________________

Driving above the posted speed limit is not necessarily speeding,
because speed limits are not absolute. Driving faster than the
posted limit is "prima facie" evidence of a violation, but a person
so cited has the right to the court defense of claiming that the
cited speed was legal because it satisfied the "basic speed law"
of being safe and reasonable.

Those who block traffic lanes at any speed for moralistic reasons
rob all other drivers of the right to judge safety or reasonableness,
rob any driver of the necessary passage in an emergency, and rob
the safety of all drivers by inviting road-rage incidents. Traffic
lane blockers themselves are breaking the basic speed law, and
are a serious threat to everyone's safety.

Rodan.

* HLS wrote in rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata:

>
> "Don Bruder" > wrote in message
>> What kind of brain-dead does a person need to be in order to fail to
>> comprehend that ultra-basic rule of the road?
>
> Most people here in Texas seem to be brain dead about this, Don.
> Very inconsiderate to hog the passing lane, and dangerous too.
> Police (snort..laugh) do it themselves here, as well as pass you on the
> right
> using the shoulder.
>
> Hope this catches on.
>
>

On sections of I30 they are starting to keep trucks out of the left lane,
on the higgways in Jersey there is signage that desgnates left lanes are
for passing and I have seen cops ticket drivers for this. In Texas, there
are no signs which might help curb the problem if theyd put some up.

--
David

Don Bruder wrote:

>
> It's about friggin' time! If you're gonna drive on the freeway in
> "exactly the speed limit or lower" mode, I've got no problem with that -
> So long as you pull your head out of your ass and do it in the rightmost
> lane! Not only is it common sense/good courtesy/the right thing to do,
> but it's been explicitly stated law here in Washington for quite a few
> years - including being clearly and frequently posted on every stretch
> of multi-lane-per-direction pavement I've driven on in this state -
> "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" and/or "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT" signs are
> almost as frequently seen as speed limit or "don't litter" signs.
>


Whenever I've been in WA on business (Seattle/Tacoma/Bremerton area)
I've always been amazed that people up there drive so a) slowly, and b)
basically politely. There are a few local customs that they seem to get
****y about (example- they seem to expect drivers in the rightmost lane
to defer to traffic coming up entrance ramps- very odd, but it works if
you're used to it). But for the most part, even the left lane stays
about the speed limit. Of course that makes for the occasional rolling
chicane when cars in all 3 (or more) lanes are doing about the same
speed and the leftmost car takes FOREVER to get past the others.

I always feel like a barracuda in a koi pond my first few hours up there
because when I get in the left lane to pass I feel like I *need* to get
to the limit plus 10 at a minimum, and no one else is doing that.

N8N wrote:
> On Jun 24, 8:27 am, Brent P >
> wrote:
>> On 2008-06-24, > wrote:
>>
>>> the left lane is those exceeding the speed limit? how does that work?
>> The left lane is for passing. But starting in the 1970s the joan
>> claybrooks of the world decided that limited access highway speed limits
>> should be set absurdly low. This then incouraged all the self-rightous
>> slow is safe types out there to sit in whatever lane they chose. The
>> absurdly low speed limits still exist in many states, others have raised
>> speed limits back to what they were in the 1960s, but automotive
>> technology has had 40 years of advancement since then.
>
> And those were 40 *good* years of innovation. Keep in mind that the
> typical used car in 1974 had four wheel drum brakes, 6.something-15
> bias ply tires, and a live rear axle.


You're a few years off there, Nate. By 74 front drum brakes were
EXTREMELY rare (I don't know if they were even available on Chrysler
products anymore at that time). And radials were coming into the
mainstream too.

>Granted, it is still possible
> to safely drive such a vehicle on today's roads,

I do it all the time ;-)

It amazes me that freeway speed limits aren't up close to triple digits.
If you think about the progress of technology in the first half of the
last century, it was amazing. It was 30 years before "average" cars
could do what a 30s Duesenberg could do, and traffic laws moved right
along with the technology. But then sometime in the mid 70s the
technological progress slowed dramatically, and traffic law went into
reverse :-(