You quoted my post. Just making sure that you read my post that said you can't exceed the maximum speed limit. Didn't sound like it. Mike
Two things come to mind when reading this, courtesy and safety. IMHO and having been a police officer for over 15 years in a previous life, I see that we as a society on the roadways seem to have lost that common courtesy to our fellow drivers. I don't know if it is just how folks are raised now or what but man we have a lot of @$$ holes driving today, and its not limited to one state. A good example of this is pulling to the right to allow emergency vehicles to pass. Next time you see an ambulance, fire truck or police car running lights and sirens look at how many pull to the right side, look at how old they are. From a safety standpoint, especially in todays driving world doing anything close to 10 mph below the speed limit is not only a hazard to you but to others on the roadway. On the highway system I have no issue doing the speed limit, I may fudge a few miles over but stay to the posted speed and still get people rolling up on my back bumper but I stay to the right lanes to let those faster cars pas at will. As some posters have pointed out the "stay to the right unless passing is a good rule of thumb but again thats where the courtesy issue comes into play. Just remember when driving. Be SAFE, be SANE, be SENSIBLE and be COURTEOUS.
Situation: Max speed limit = 65 mph. Cars towing trailers or 3+ axle vehicles: Max speed limit = 55 mph. Ever notice that if a big rig is doing 55 mph is given less grief than a car doing 55 mph? Is this a) expectations - you are driving a car, therefore you must drive the maximum posted speed limit. b) psychology - Big Rigs are Big. Big things command more respect/fear/awe than smaller things, thus they won't get bullied like a car might. c) Other? I'm am 120% behind a law that gets road boulders out of the #1 (passing/fast) lane. One should not be given grief for driving below the maximum speed limit in the far right lane. Slow cars (even those going above the "minimum" posted speed limit) in the right lane are an issue, but the root cause of the problem are discourteous drivers who are breaking one or more laws including: 1) Failing to pass while in the passing lane 2) Following too close in every lane (tailgating) 3) Speeding/driving too fast for conditions.
This is a pretty sensible viewpoint. I did have a chuckle at the thought of me in my Prius tailgating a 'Big Rig', like a fly trying to bite the as* of an elephant. I am not too keen on a blanket law that forces people to drive over a minimum speed, some people are just uncomfortable doing this, and in my opinion should not be prevented from driving because of it. I do think everyone should be made to take more stringent and more frequent tests to check they are capable of driving safely, especially for the older among us. That would remove some of the more dangerous 'boulders' in the slow lane. If there is going to be any law based on maintaining a minimum speed, it should apply to the 'fast' lane in a multi-lane road. Also, if someone is not passing anyone and is driving in the left lanes, there should be a law to prevent that too. Especially since people think it their right to drive in that lane no matter what. As I said before, the left lanes should be for passing only, just as is widely accepted as the norm in Europe.
I think all of the laws discussed so far are well and good but the biggest key to it all is making people give a rat's behind about them as well as about other people. Until they do, they're useless unless a cop, who also gives a rat's behind, is posted every mile to enforce them. Just like when traffic miraculously drops to the limit and people stop tailgating when passing anything resembling a cop car. Once out of sight, the chaos resumes. This is a subject that can go on forever.
So what's the right thing to do in SoCal HOV lane? Since you can only enter or exit every few miles, I often find my self going around 68-73 and have someone come up and tailgate me. Normally I would have moved to the right, but doing that is illegal and I(my wallet) doesn't feel comfortable drive 80.
I don't have any problems at all! I've gotten burnt for the last time. It cost me a boat load of money, not just in the fine but my insurance rates went up and will stay up for many years! If those who haven't been stung by today's laws good for them. If they get up set because I'm not going to be bullied into going any faster. That's whether I'm in a Prius or a Porsche.
This one troubles me to no end. Just because you are in the HOV lane doesn't give "Carte Blanche" to ignore the posted speed limit. However, if you are impeding traffic (holding up 4-5 cars or more) then you are supposed to move over to let them pass. So now, are you supposed to move out of the moving HOV lane (which you qualify for) because you are holding people up, or do you maintain your speed and the lane. The HOV isn't a passing lane. I think Arizona has the right idea with speed cameras on the highways. Take pictures, send tickets in the mail.
To make things worse around LA you can't just leave the carpool lane. Its a quadruple yellow line, you have to wait every 2-4 miles for it to open up to either exit or enter the HOV lane.
Some drivers seem to think that there is no speed limit for the HOV lane in California. I will do 70 (65 being the limit) as long as the adjoining lane is moving reasonably well- if not, then I think it is only prudent to slow down, as you never know when someone is going to dart across the yellow lines from a very slow or stopped lane. Usually, if the HOV lane is at 70 , the other lanes are moving along at 55+ and I move over for faster drivers. It's not worth a ticket to me to go faster, but they have to wait until there is a legal opening for me to exit the HOV lane. If I were to be cited for impeding traffic at 70 I think I would take it to court. As JoeS points out, there are access points every couple of miles. As long as I take the next one when someone obviously wants to go faster, I don't see much cause for complaint. Of course, there are a few impatient people who can't wait, and they exit and re-enter the HOV lane as if there were no yellow lines at all. Seems like usually all they do is fill the space I've left in front of me, when I'm going the same speed as the guys ahead of me. The whole point of the Florida law, as I read it, is to get people to yield to faster drivers and have a defined minimum speed for the fast lane. Maybe they don't have a law against impeding traffic there.
I'm all for it! It seems to help the red light runners! In a country that hates big oil, high gas prices, wants to clean up the environment, you bet I'mall for getting the lead foots. It may help keep our taxes down off the foot of those bullies! My real wish would be for tailgaters, weaving and wreckless behaviour knuckle heads to have to act like humans. The real joke is half these idiots, want gun control, imagine driving a 2000 pound machine at 70 mph 2 feet off the tail of a car doing the speed limit. Talk about a lethal weapon! If that went away we could increase the speed limit!
As long as you're going the speed limit or faster in the HOV, and you're going faster than the regular traffic lanes I say forget about the tail gaters. The HOV is not for speeding, it's for bypassing rush hour traffic that is going slower than the limit. Now, if you're in the HOV lane and are right at the speed limit, and the regular lanes are wide open, you should move over.
beside the only passing on the left i agree with you i like the stay in your lane it works a lot better i think personally then only pass on the left like in europe this sometimes because of frustrated car drivers ( 90% of the drivers ) is reason for them to stick to the bumper of the car infront.
I read this and thought "where is this guy from?" When I saw the answer is Montana, well, I'm not sure what to say. Where in MT is any truck going 55 mph? Or maybe you're just talking about So Cal.
My take on cars wanting to pass is let them. I figure if I'm on the speed limit or a little over and someone wants to pass I'll let them because it will keep the speed cop up the road busy while I cruise past. Someone wants to change into "my" lane, I let them, they will likely move back out of the lane again in a few seconds. If someone can't drive the speed limit on a nice day that would to me call into question their ability to drive.
Just got my new bumper sticker I'm amazed, not one person has tailgates me. Maybe those road bully's didn't realize it was pissing me off.
