NA - Slow Drivers.

kgruber said:
In 1958 my older friend, who was old enough to drive, and I were driving home from an afternoon of waterskiing on LaCamas Lake. He owned a 1958 Impala "348" tri-power 3-speed column shift.

Some other hot car came alongside and revved up its engine. Sam floored it and went through the gears. We did pretty good and started to pull away. That tri-power setup really sounded good, especially with the air cleaner removed.

The best part........we were pulling the boat!!
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Does he still have the '58 Impala..???
 
StevieTimes said:
If somebody catches up to me, even one person, I'll speed up before they get to my rear end, if possible, and get in the right lane and let them by. I DON'T want them on my tush, I have nothing to gain by keeping them there. In my experience, if somebody caught me, they want to go faster than me, I move over, let them by, and never see them again.
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That's called being a responsible driver.

I am partial to the truck drivers, since they are just trying to make a buck. I'll pull over and let them pass, flash my lights when there is room for them to move back into the right lane and basically do whatever I can so I don't cause them to lose their speed and have to work to get back up to speed.
 
mscard88 said:
That long huh. ;)
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Back in those days, I considered anything over a week a "long term relationship" for me.

StevieTimes said:
If somebody catches up to me, even one person, I'll speed up before they get to my rear end, if possible, and get in the right lane and let them by. I DON'T want them on my tush, I have nothing to gain by keeping them there. In my experience, if somebody caught me, they want to go faster than me, I move over, let them by, and never see them again.
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I agree except for the part about speeding up before they get to my rear end.

If I see someone gaining on me like that and am done passing the right traffic, I'll absolutely get over. But I'm not going to speed outside my comfort zone and endanger myself or my kids in the backseat just to accommodate someone else's decision to go that fast. I will get over when I'm done passing the other car(s), and if the vehicle gains on me before then, they'll just have to wait until I can get back over. Shouldn't be a big deal for them and certainly shouldn't be a reason for them to endanger me or my kids by tailgating or blinding me with their brights.
 
Ok, since we are talking about slow drivers in the left lane, the absolute worst Richard Craniums are usually pretty consistent. They align themselves with a middle lane driver who is tooling along at 55 mph and sit there, clear sailing ahead of them in both lanes, the middle guy is matching the right hand guy, but hey, at least he is in the middle lane. So the left guy tools around for a while, slowly gets ahead of the middle lane guy and slowly pulls into the middle lane, splitting the left and middle for a good 20 seconds before he moves into the middle lane. Then, as you start to speed up, so does he. He tries to stay ahead of you so when he catches up to the next middle lane guy he can pull in front of you, slow down and repeat this little dance. Generally they will speed up to about 80 mph, faster if they are not driving a little crapbox, but usually 80 is their top speed. This is where horsepower comes in, you just need to get next to him so he can't get in front of you again. I never understand this little game, but how insignificant is your life if you need to bust people like this.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
If I see someone gaining on me like that and am done passing the right traffic, I'll absolutely get over. But I'm not going to speed outside my comfort zone and endanger myself or my kids in the backseat just to accommodate someone else's decision to go that fast. I will get over when I'm done passing the other car(s), and if the vehicle gains on me before then, they'll just have to wait until I can get back over. Shouldn't be a big deal for them and certainly shouldn't be a reason for them to endanger me or my kids by tailgating or blinding me with their brights.
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I didn't say I'd do a buck twenty to avoid slowing somebody down for two seconds; if I'm happy going five over, let's say that's 70 in a 65, but am baaaaarely passing the guy on the right, and somebody is rapidly gaining on me, I'll go 72-74 mph in order to "hasten the pass".

I don't feel like the extra three MPH is endangering my family. Maybe you're right at the cusp of control of your vehicle at the speed you're going; if so, I'd be scared to speed up 3-4 MPH too.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
I always wonder what goes through people's heads when they drive like that, though. Do they actually think if they get super close and zig zag back and forth with their brights on, you are going to say, "OH... well, gee wizz golly, I better move back over so this kind and obviously very important person can get by!"
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What amazes me is the difference in vehicle.. I have a 30mi commute, and spend way too much time on the road. Normally, its in my thrifty ford focus, which as you can imagine does not do much to intimidate even the most skittish of left lane drivers. I'm sure they laugh loudly as you state... However, sometimes I need to drive my truck - a large RAM 1500 quad cab, with a little lift on it.. when I come up behind a left land driver, its a solid 50/50 they'll be out of my way before I get within 10 car lengths.
 
ifly4fun said:
However, sometimes I need to drive my truck - a large RAM 1500 quad cab, with a little lift on it.. when I come up behind a left land driver, its a solid 50/50 they'll be out of my way before I get within 10 car lengths.
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Maybe I should trade my old WRX in for a Unimog.
 
StevieTimes said:
I didn't say I'd do a buck twenty to avoid slowing somebody down for two seconds; if I'm happy going five over, let's say that's 70 in a 65, but am baaaaarely passing the guy on the right, and somebody is rapidly gaining on me, I'll go 72-74 mph in order to "hasten the pass".

I don't feel like the extra three MPH is endangering my family. Maybe you're right at the cusp of control of your vehicle at the speed you're going; if so, I'd be scared to speed up 3-4 MPH too.
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Ok, but - just as I am able to increase my speed 3-4 mph, he's able to decrease his 3-4 mph. Why would the first option - which only serves to increase odds of an accident or an accident being worse than it could be due to higher speed - be the better option in this situation? All the other vehicle needs to do is slow down for a minute or two until the car in front has completed passing vehicle(s) on the right and is able to get back over.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
If they have an emergency, then they need to put their flashers on and/or have a police escort.



Although I may do it in my head, I don't actually do the middle finger thing. Dated a guy way way way back in the day who turned out to be a complete psycho and, thus, a road rager. One day he was driving down the road with a friend of mine, when someone in another vehicle gave him the middle finger for cutting him off. So, in pure psycho form, he ran the dude off the road, grabbed a bat and tried to get the guy out of his truck to beat him up. We only lasted a couple weeks.
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His mama didn't tell him not to bring a stick to a gunfight? Coulda ended badly for him.
 
Man traffic sucks...too bad we can't figure out how to resolve the problem.
 
Joshuajayg said:
Fly instead!
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I actutally kinda of have a solution..it dosent cost anything but noone wants to here it.

Also, I would love to fly...screw the barefoot bandit! Someone comp me some lessons and a plane!
 
Here is an observation & a question for the group: It seems like this is a very sensitive topic for some folks! (observation). If somebody comes up behind me I just get out of the way, If I come up on them, they usually get out of the way but it they don't, I just pass them on the right. Here is the question-- I know passing on the right is supposed to be against the driving laws, but does anyone know why? It's not like the fellow doesn't know you're there, it seems perfectly safe to me.
 
hankrausch said:
Here is an observation & a question for the group: It seems like this is a very sensitive topic for some folks! (observation). If somebody comes up behind me I just get out of the way, If I come up on them, they usually get out of the way but it they don't, I just pass them on the right. Here is the question-- I know passing on the right is supposed to be against the driving laws, but does anyone know why? It's not like the fellow doesn't know you're there, it seems perfectly safe to me.
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I pass on the right all the time here, pretty sure it's legal on multi-lane divided highways.
 
Tighten up those seat belts. We got some rough thread coming:
hankrausch said:
Here is the question-- I know passing on the right is supposed to be against the driving laws, but does anyone know why? It's not like the fellow doesn't know you're there, it seems perfectly safe to me.
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When passing on the right you must be doing at least CAS (car ahead speed) * 1.5. If you're traveling 50% faster than the car ahead you can pass on the right or in the opposing traffic lanes as needed since you are so obviously in need of doing stupid **** that no one should interfere with you.

If you fly like you drive, please do it elsewhere and add to your ATITAPA your intentions to do whatever the **** suits you.
 
StevieTimes said:
I think some of it is a matter of two (or more) perspectives going on.

Slow driver thinks "What's your point in driving faster than me, we'll both get to our destinations within a minute of each other, and your way is more dangerous. I'll just shake my head at you as we arrive at the stoplight together."

Fast driver thinks "I feel comfortable going five over, if you can tell you're holding me up, will you please move over?"
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So just pass on the right.
 
Ravioli said:
Tighten up those seat belts. We got some rough thread coming:


When passing on the right you must be doing at least CAS (car ahead speed) * 1.5. If you're traveling 50% faster than the car ahead you can pass on the right or in the opposing traffic lanes as needed since you are so obviously in need of doing stupid **** that no one should interfere with you.

If you fly like you drive, please do it elsewhere and add to your ATITAPA your intentions to do whatever the **** suits you.
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And if that person cruising in the left lane is doing five under the speed limit, do I just slow down behind them and wait for them to realize they should move to the right lane?

I need to get some four point harnesses so I can actually "tighten up my seatbelt." :)
 
Joshuajayg said:
I need to get some four point harnesses so I can actually "tighten up my seatbelt." :)
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Four point? Pft.. 5-Point if you're planning for loops and rolls.

But even those lowly lap belts need tightening at times. Might even be in the emergency checklist for off airport landing, near the part about cracking the door open.

Sound familiar?

And some might say the S in GUMPS includes tightening of the belts. (Some say 'Safety', some say 'Seatbelts', but it's about the same intention)
 
Ravioli said:
Four point? Pft.. 5-Point if you're planning for loops and rolls.

But even those lowly lap belts need tightening at times. Might even be in the emergency checklist for off airport landing, near the part about cracking the door open.

Sound familiar?

And some might say the S in GUMPS includes tightening of the belts. (Some say 'Safety', some say 'Seatbelts', but it's about the same intention)
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I was actually referring to my car.
 
paflyer said:
So just pass on the right.
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I wasn't clear, but I meant "double lane highway, both lanes going the same direction, and both taken up by drivers going the same speed".

Passing on the right, in that instance, would mean smashing into the car on the right (undesirable), or passing on the shoulder (way illegal and dangerous, also not desirable).

If I catch somebody in the left lane, and nobody in the right, I move over to the right and go by; I don't need to go 1.5 their speed. If they were going 60, I'd then be going 90, and that's a little crazier than I like to go. I could go 65 and still pass them pretty quickly. Maybe I misunderstand...
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
Ok, but - just as I am able to increase my speed 3-4 mph, he's able to decrease his 3-4 mph. Why would the first option - which only serves to increase odds of an accident or an accident being worse than it could be due to higher speed - be the better option in this situation? All the other vehicle needs to do is slow down for a minute or two until the car in front has completed passing vehicle(s) on the right and is able to get back over.
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I am the one blocking the passing lane, not allowing the person to pass, if I'm in the left lane. If I can tell someone wants to go faster, and pass ME, but they can't, because now I'm blocking that lane, I try to get out of their way as quickly as I can.

As a "passER", if I catch somebody, and they are slowly passing somebody else who is even slower in the right lane, I don't flash brights, honk, or anything... I patiently wait for them to slowwwwwly go by, slowly completing the pass, and then resume my normal speed once they move over. I'm not mad, it's slightly irritating, but I understand not everyone is as comfortable driving as I am.

So in other words, I do what you're prescribing as a passER. As a passee, with a high comfort level in my vehicle and abilities, I try to safely speed up and move over. I'm just trying to be considerate. I also think they must have something important, like a sick somebody, or hospital somebody. It might rarely be true, but why not give somebody the benefit of the doubt? It's less stressful, more good will towards man.
 
StevieTimes said:
I don't need to go 1.5 their speed. If they were going 60, I'd then be going 90, and that's a little crazier than I like to go. I could go 65 and still pass them pretty quickly. Maybe I misunderstand...
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If you thought I was being serious there is no doubt you misunderstood.
 
hankrausch said:
Here is an observation & a question for the group: It seems like this is a very sensitive topic for some folks! (observation). If somebody comes up behind me I just get out of the way, If I come up on them, they usually get out of the way but it they don't, I just pass them on the right. Here is the question-- I know passing on the right is supposed to be against the driving laws, but does anyone know why? It's not like the fellow doesn't know you're there, it seems perfectly safe to me.
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Passing on the right is usually legal in New York, although in classic New York style, the DMV explains it in a rather convoluted manner. I still consider it generally unwise, however.

First of all, there are visibility issues when passing any vehicle other than a passenger car or motorcycle.

Secondly, if the driver in the left lane is going so slowly that I need to pass them, then they're probably an unpredictable putz riding along in la la land, blissfully unaware of the traffic around them.

Thirdly, I'm usually a right-lane driver, so if I'm in the left lane, then it's probably because I just passed some mope in the right lane. If I then feel I need to pass the vehicle in the left lane, chances are that my right foot got lazy and I'm driving too fast.

I've driven literally everything with a motor at some point or another, from mopeds to semis and everything in between, including ambulances, the latter of which taught me that safety is more important than anything else when driving. I've pulled enough stiffs out of wrecks that at some point it dawned on me that driving like an ******* can have some pretty miserable consequences.

In fact, in terms of the skills involved (not the knowledge) and the attentiveness required, I think driving is way harder than flying. I've yet to have an airplane in front of me stop short to avoid a deer, back up because they missed an exit, pull over unexpectedly to let a kid pee in the bushes, or stop in the middle of the road because they were lost and confused. That **** doesn't happen in the air. But it happens on the roads all the time.

Fortunately for me, driving around here is usually a pleasure, at least when the tourists aren't around. I'd rather drive on our mountain roads in white-out during a lake-effect blizzard than drive in or around New York City on the nicest day of the year. I actually dread going Downstate these days. The closer I get to The City, the more vividly I remember why I moved.

Rich
 
The state of Minnesota found out that they could do away with their "welcome to Minnesota" signs and save a bunch of money on upkeep and replacement. It was discovered that drivers could figure out that they had traveled into a new state simply by the amount of idiot drivers doing five under in the left lane.
 
In heavy or even moderate traffic it doesn't always make sense to change lanes. The 'get out of the way' crowd doesn't realize this. They expect everyone to move over so the left lane will be their personal racing lane. Even at 65-70 mph a two car following distance will get you cut off. Ironically these idiots cite the law as a justification. Well the speed limit is the law too. In my state limit means, well, the top speed. If you're excessively speeding (20+ mph over) consider it a courtesy that other drivers are moving over for you.
 
Ravioli said:
Does that mean the primary esthetician decides the speed limit?

Please continue this list of states who choose to disregard the federal mandated maximum speed law. We'll send that up to the Transportation department, cut their road funds, and spend the money on the military. The funds lost at the state level can be recaptured by enforcement/fines. Actually a better way to fund local roads in my OPINION.
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The federal maximum speed limit was repealed in 1995; authority to set speed limits rests exclusively with the states (where it belongs). That's why we have some very nice 80 mph roads in Texas, now.
 
StevieTimes said:
I think some of it is a matter of two (or more) perspectives going on.

Slow driver thinks "What's your point in driving faster than me, we'll both get to our destinations within a minute of each other, and your way is more dangerous. I'll just shake my head at you as we arrive at the stoplight together."

Fast driver thinks "I feel comfortable going five over, if you can tell you're holding me up, will you please move over?"


They are both right; but the difference is in the perspective. Think of it from a pedal bike perspective; you are pedaling along at 15 mph. You catch somebody who is more comfortable (and safer!) only driving 10 mph. You communicate "On your left!" to the other pedal biker. They hear you, and move over to the right. AWESOME! That's just how it's supposed to go. They don't give you the finger, they recognize you wanted to go faster, you're taking the danger of said action into your own hands. You could possibly head-on hit another biker, or crash on gravel, but it's not 10 mph guy's job to police the bike trail. They are courteous and move over. Everybody is happy.

If the pedal biker tried to block you, and pedaled along at 10 mph along with somebody in the right side of the path, gave you the finger and yelled "EFF YOU!!!! What's your damned hurry? We'll get to the end of the path within minutes of each other!", you might respond "It's not about getting there one minute early, it's that I feel comfortable and gives me sanity traveling at 15 mph".

Now back to cars; you can't yell "on your left". You can't flash your lights (VERY offensive, don't you know), you can't honk. All you can do is catch up to the "mobile roadblock", and hope the guy in the left lane sees you catching up, and has some sense of courtesy to get out of your way. That's your way of saying "on your left". If they don't notice you, or don't care to go faster (for one reason or another), you have no recourse. There is no courteous way to say "on your left", at that point. Again, flashing lights, getting close to the guy, honking, all cause the slow guy to rage, and he/she will now try to punish you for being a jerk.

It's not about getting somewhere quicker, it's that one person has maybe a more capable vehicle, better tires, brakes, etc, and feels more comfortable going just a teensy bit faster than you'd care to go. Nothing wrong with that.

If somebody catches up to me, even one person, I'll speed up before they get to my rear end, if possible, and get in the right lane and let them by. I DON'T want them on my tush, I have nothing to gain by keeping them there. In my experience, if somebody caught me, they want to go faster than me, I move over, let them by, and never see them again.
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^ This . . . so much this!

I tend to drive with about 5mph or so over the limit in most instances (baring school zones, inclement weather, etc.). I spend a great deal of time watching my mirrors as I do looking forward, to ensure that I plan my lane changes and speeds so as not to greatly inconvenience someone coming up faster from behind. Now, whether or not I speed up is dependent on each circumstance. If I'm on a 4-lane open highway and have a few tractor trailers to pass, I'll likely speed up a bit if needed to keep the traffic coming up behind me from having to slow too much. However, if I'm in rush hour traffic (admittedly pretty benign in Tulsa), I'm not likely going to speed up much because there's nowhere for either of us to go anyway. I'll move over once the spacing opens up down the road. I blame most of the left-lane slow pokes in OK to pure ignorance of the law and of common driving courtesy. Just like manners in children, you can usually tell who wasn't instructed in the non-technical aspects of driving.

People do tend to move over more readily when I'm in the truck than they do with the sports sedan. I don't know if the grill/frontal area is more imposing with the truck or what.
 
I'm not sure what it is, but atleast in Colorado if there's someone in the left lane doing 55 in a 75, it's 9/10 going to be a Subaru. This has taught me to hate subaru's with a burning passion.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I'm not sure what it is, but atleast in Colorado if there's someone in the left lane doing 55 in a 75, it's 9/10 going to be a Subaru. This has taught me to hate subaru's with a burning passion.
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SLM!

(Subaru Lives Matter) :D
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I'm not sure what it is, but atleast in Colorado if there's someone in the left lane doing 55 in a 75, it's 9/10 going to be a Subaru. This has taught me to hate subaru's with a burning passion.
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This, or a CRV or a Rav4.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I blame most of the left-lane slow pokes in OK to pure ignorance of the law and of common driving courtesy.
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I will second this. I've been known to say in frustration of other drivers, "Where did you get your driver's license? Wal-Mart?!"
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I'm not sure what it is, but atleast in Colorado if there's someone in the left lane doing 55 in a 75, it's 9/10 going to be a Subaru. This has taught me to hate subaru's with a burning passion.
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Well, aren't 9/10 of the cars in Colorado Subarus? Haha. In California it seemed to be women or people with expensive cars who feel they are entitled to be in the left lane regardless of their speed. In Colorado, seems to be anyone and everyone in the left lane going the same speed as the right lane or slower.
 
I drive like a granny on my way to work in the mornings. I am usually 5 mph under the speed limit. I usually leave really early in case there is traffic so I have time to kill and I like saving gas. With that said, I do my best to stay in the right lane however.... if I do get in the left lane with someone coming I will go up to the speed limit as long as I am making steady progress past the vehicle in the right lane.

FYI it's called a passing lane, not the fast lane.
 
Joshuajayg said:
Well, aren't 9/10 of the cars in Colorado Subarus?
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Yup, including mine.

One thing. There are many highways in Colorado that have left turn lanes off a multiple lane road with a speed limit of 55. So some people in the left lane are anticipating that left turn up ahead.

Not too long ago I moved over for someone who zoomed up on me in the left lane. I was tickled when not more than a quarter mile later we passed the highway patrol. They had their lights on immediately and went after the guy.
 
Humans are herd animals. If a driver views himself as "fast", he will attempt to pass everyone regardless of traffic conditions or actual speeds. It's all about getting to the front of the pack. The rest of the pack knows their place. The best way to observe this behavior is to set your cruise at about 7 mph over the speed limit on the interstate with light traffic. You'll be all alone for most of your drive. Faster herds will stream by, jockeying for position within their herd. Occasionally the slower ones in the passing herd will get stuck behind you for a minute or two until they wake up and then zoom by to catch up with their herd. You'll pass slower herds. You may startle the leader of the slow sheep into briefly speeding up but they'll usually calm back down. Most drivers pay little attention to their speedometer when in sight of another vehicle. Instead, they jockey for position.
 
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