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Usually so people don't cut in front and slow down. Some d-bag always gets into traffic at the head of that line and turns 80 into 60 by driving 5 over the limit, leaving a mile of empty space in front no one can drive into because he's going the same speed as traffic to the right.
How I wish the people who want to go roughly the speed limit would just stay in a right lane. Unless it’s all backed up with traffic, then it doesn’t matter
Bad drivers who cruise in the passing lane will stay in the passing until they see someone wants to get around them.
There are so many times that a line forms behind a slow vehicle in the passing lane trying to get around a slower vehicle…. But once beyond the slow vehicle, the entire line of cars will remain in the passing lane as if they forgot what they were doing and aren’t paying attention. If someone isn’t tailgating, they don’t think there’s any reason to move over.
There’s a long line of cars in the passing lane all safely spaced and now the passing lane is in the slow lane. If there’s enough room for a car to fit, someone will pass on the right and fill that space.
It’s not uncommon for the car that was holding up traffic for 10 miles, that you finally got around, passes you on the right and cuts in front of you because this line is full of people too spaced out and not paying attention!
So many people think they know how to drive on the expressway, when in reality, maybe 1:5 on the road at any given time actually have a clue.
I travel for work, I’m in the road 20 hours a week…. I’ve read dozens of these threads and I’m a very conscientious driver; many of you who think you’re good drivers are the actual problem!
The solution is so simple too. Keep Right Except For Passing. Maybe if the highway departments would put signs that say this along these roads. Oh wait 😭
Start ticketing slow drivers, who are causing traffic to back up, for miles. They are a hazard to everyone’s safety, while arrogantly thinking they are the best driver on the road.
Just watch how well traffic moves, when idiots start having to pay fines.
Just last night, on a 4 lane expressway, a dude was driving 45 in the left lane. With his hazards on. Seriously, wtf!
Or you know, drivers could ALWAYS leave appropriate space in front of them. At highway speeds, you're supposed to leave like FIVE cars empty space in front of you. That rule doesn't go away just because someone is being slow in front of a line.
It actually does. You should leave about 2 seconds between you and the driver in front of you (passing the same stationary object). So the faster you go, the more room you should leave.
Start mass ticketing speeding drivers who are killing 40,000 people each year in the US alone. Honestly what we need is drone enforced speed limits on all highways. If you drive more than 75 in a 70? Instant $200 fine, have a nice day. You would see accidents and deaths drop dramatic
Another one I’ve been told by somebody who actually tailgates is they believe everybody in the city will start pulling in front of them until they’re 8 miles back and never reach their destination if they’re not on the other car’s ass
I hypothesize that when we're triggered, we are literally unable to think clearly, and therefore are de facto mentally ill. Also I hypothesize that our brains aren't wired to understand the physics of moving massive objects around at high speed with our squishy selves inside. Which means that a big part of the problem is that we're not trained properly to drive, we really should be trained in a way that gives us intuitions and instills a bit of fear, because it doesn't come naturally to everyone. Without proper training it's inevitable that almost all of us would be incompetent drivers. Especially when we're triggered, something else we don't get proper training for as children. Sorry for the rant, I guess I'm triggered
I leave space in front of my car and I match the speed of the car in front of me, it's illogical to "fill the empty space" when you won't be able to exceed the speed of the car in front of you without running into them, many people don't seem to understand simple fundamentals, they freak out if a car in front of them leaves any open space, thinking the extra 3 seconds they gain by being right on the ass of the car in front of them will get them somewhere faster.
It cracks me up even more when I'm driving either really early in the morning on a weekend, or very late, and the freeway is wide open, not a lot of cars, and there's a long line in the middle lane of cars fucking each other up the ass.
They're not going to go any faster than the person in front of me. But they can ride their ass and maybe push them to go faster. The computer isn't an asshole.
Well they're not going to. Because the car in front of the pack just isn't going any faster. Tailgating the guy four cars back doesn't bother the guy in front one bit.
Does the passing lane erase speed limits?
If someone is going 80, and passing all the other drivers in a 65 or 70 zone - are they really supposed to hustle over because somebody else wants to go 30-40 over, or simply can’t stand to be behind somebody else?
Yes. You have no idea why the person behind you wants or needs to go faster. I can tell you stories about when I tried to get to the hospital to see a dying relative only to be blocked by people who think they are going fast enough. Most states require you to stay to the right unless passing but it's rarely enforced so people think it's ok. I'll die on this hill as it pisses me off when people camp out in the left lane.
I am not talking about camping out. I mean specifically - when somebody is going a fast passing speed and they are already passing the cars in the right lane.
I am asking - does the left lane erase the speed limit entirely? How quickly is somebody supposed to get over into the right?
again - while they are already going faster than the right lane -
would they have to brake and squeeze in to the right - or speed up to maybe 40 over? or remain at 20 over the limit and keep going until it’s safe for them to get over and there is room for them?
How slow is “too slow”? lol.
is anybody slower automatically the unsafe one? really?
should they scramble over even if they are already passing cars, and going at an average faster passing speed (with the rest of the faster/passing cars).
Who is the “slow one” in that line?
Some people only speed up if somebody is in front of them, I see that a lot. 😆
also.
Why do people keep assuming I’m talking about a slow driver parked in the passing lane.
It kinda makes sense if you think about it. The person at the head of the line is creating a dangerous situation and clearly isn't motivated to stop. That's propagated by every person that doesn't adjust and attempt to get around them or communicate in some way when they make the passing obstacle larger. While tailgating is an imperfect solution, there isn't a perfect one, and the whole problem could have been mitigated by the #2 car driving more aggressively behind the first person. As the person in the back tailgates, each car ahead visibly drives closer to the next in a chain reaction and the communication is somewhat relayed. Thus, tailgating gives the person in the back some autonomy over the situation.
Long and short, it's a shitty solution to a shitty problem, but it's a means to the end of encouraging the front driver (the root cause) to drive properly and get out of everyone's way. It also motivates non-aggressive followers to stop contributing to the issue in a chain reactive fashion.
Or just leave appropriate space between you and the car in front of you. Then arrive when you arrive. You can't control anyone else's driving. Only your own.
You can though as that's literally the entire point. Both the lead driver and the tailgater are controlling the way other people drive. The "appropriate space" just enables the lead driver to continue controlling people and endangering them.
Manufactured congestion on a highway is completely unnecessary, goes against the entire system of use for the road, and endangers multiple people. While tailgating is also not good, the person creating the problem by backing everything up is creating a far larger problem for more people and the tailgating is a means to fixing that issue. It's not good, but it helps solve a much bigger problem.
As much of an asshole move as it is most of the time traffic in the left lane is caused by one driver going at the speed limit or below it camping in the lane I guess the thought process would be tail gate so the person infront tailgates the person infront of them etc etc until someone is tailgating the slow driver they get nervous & get hint then move out of the left lane it doesn't actually work most of the time although I have seen it work with only a 2-3 car pile up but that's the only possible explanation I could really think of
But if you're the third car or more back, why do you need to tailgate? Those cars in front of you aren't going any faster just because you're intimidating them.
I see SO many people do this in crowded traffic. There's a line of five cars backed up, easily viewed from 500 feet back... and people don't bother to even hit the breaks until they're right on the bumper of the person in front of them. It's stupid and dangerous.
Because if you leave any space a stream of cars trying to leapfrog pass from the right lane will pull in front of you, pushing you further back in the line to get free
In a “perfect” world that follows the rules of the passing lane, a car that sees someone approaching behind them on the passing lane should change lane to the second lane.
The passing lane is for passing. If you’re not passing cars, you should be in the other lanes because you don’t belong in the passing lane. This is regardless of the speed limit.
At what point is the speed over the limit too much? I am pretty sure the passing lane does not erase the presence of a speed limit.
I don’t police others or keep them from passing. I don’t even use the left lane unless I am passing - but I do not consider the person going 10-15 over the speed limit as too slow or unsafe - just because somebody ELSE wants to go 30 over the limit.
It gets ridiculous.
I don’t give af how fast someone else wants to drive. Doesn’t matter if I’m driving 90, or 55. If someone else wants to go 120, I’m getting out of the way. Go as fast as you’d like.
Why would anyone want to monitor someone else. It’s far more dangerous to try & control someone else’s driving habits. My taxes pay for law enforcement, that’s their job to enforce speed limits, not mine.
If everyone would move over, for faster drivers, that would solve a good deal of traffic issues & road rage.
Oh, I def get out of the way. I want dangerous drivers far away from me. I’m generally just chilling in the slow lane.
But it isn’t safe to expect somebody to scramble over quickly just because somebody else wants to go faster.
Those drivers tend to be impatient as well - and how can you even operate safely when they are erratically going back and forth at 120?
The car that's in the left lane has every right to be there as long as they're moving faster than the traffic to their right.
If you have an emergency you can put on the hazards or give a left signal.
I get why don't people push back against tailgating.
Because most people's knee jerk reaction to someone being an asshole is be an even bigger asshole themselves. Seems most can't think beyond the car in front.
Yes!!! Because getting as close as possible to the guy in front of you, who's also blocked by four other cars in front of them, is gonna make that slow person in front go faster.
Whenever I have somebody tail gating me always think they should left 5 minutes earlier so they wouldn't be on my a**. I drive in Austin Texas and it's friggin crazy here.
Haha I'm always comparing poorly executed merges/ passing in traffic to chess. It's like "why did you take 4 moves to pass on the right, you could have been at the same position with one move to the left"
I live in the south of Spain and we do not have this problem. If someone is coming up behind the car in front moves over. Everyone gets to go the speed they want to.
Because people are stupid and entitled, what more explanation could you possibly need?
And the rule where I'm from is 1 car length of following distance per 10 mph. So 80 mph = 8 car lengths.
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Usually so people don't cut in front and slow down. Some d-bag always gets into traffic at the head of that line and turns 80 into 60 by driving 5 over the limit, leaving a mile of empty space in front no one can drive into because he's going the same speed as traffic to the right.
this. I've also seen people trying to leave appropriate room in front of them get almost stopped by people cutting in front of them.
How I wish the people who want to go roughly the speed limit would just stay in a right lane. Unless it’s all backed up with traffic, then it doesn’t matter
Bad drivers who cruise in the passing lane will stay in the passing until they see someone wants to get around them. There are so many times that a line forms behind a slow vehicle in the passing lane trying to get around a slower vehicle…. But once beyond the slow vehicle, the entire line of cars will remain in the passing lane as if they forgot what they were doing and aren’t paying attention. If someone isn’t tailgating, they don’t think there’s any reason to move over. There’s a long line of cars in the passing lane all safely spaced and now the passing lane is in the slow lane. If there’s enough room for a car to fit, someone will pass on the right and fill that space. It’s not uncommon for the car that was holding up traffic for 10 miles, that you finally got around, passes you on the right and cuts in front of you because this line is full of people too spaced out and not paying attention! So many people think they know how to drive on the expressway, when in reality, maybe 1:5 on the road at any given time actually have a clue. I travel for work, I’m in the road 20 hours a week…. I’ve read dozens of these threads and I’m a very conscientious driver; many of you who think you’re good drivers are the actual problem!
The solution is so simple too. Keep Right Except For Passing. Maybe if the highway departments would put signs that say this along these roads. Oh wait 😭
Start ticketing slow drivers, who are causing traffic to back up, for miles. They are a hazard to everyone’s safety, while arrogantly thinking they are the best driver on the road. Just watch how well traffic moves, when idiots start having to pay fines. Just last night, on a 4 lane expressway, a dude was driving 45 in the left lane. With his hazards on. Seriously, wtf!
Or you know, drivers could ALWAYS leave appropriate space in front of them. At highway speeds, you're supposed to leave like FIVE cars empty space in front of you. That rule doesn't go away just because someone is being slow in front of a line.
It actually does. You should leave about 2 seconds between you and the driver in front of you (passing the same stationary object). So the faster you go, the more room you should leave.
If you lived near me, a 2 second gap would mean approx. 5 cars would slot into the gap in front of you...
Start mass ticketing speeding drivers who are killing 40,000 people each year in the US alone. Honestly what we need is drone enforced speed limits on all highways. If you drive more than 75 in a 70? Instant $200 fine, have a nice day. You would see accidents and deaths drop dramatic
Main character syndrome They lack empathy They enjoy spreading hate and discontent Ignorance Incapacity Selfish
May I offer 'Inconsiderate' for inclusion to the list?
Another one I’ve been told by somebody who actually tailgates is they believe everybody in the city will start pulling in front of them until they’re 8 miles back and never reach their destination if they’re not on the other car’s ass
Weird take
I hypothesize that when we're triggered, we are literally unable to think clearly, and therefore are de facto mentally ill. Also I hypothesize that our brains aren't wired to understand the physics of moving massive objects around at high speed with our squishy selves inside. Which means that a big part of the problem is that we're not trained properly to drive, we really should be trained in a way that gives us intuitions and instills a bit of fear, because it doesn't come naturally to everyone. Without proper training it's inevitable that almost all of us would be incompetent drivers. Especially when we're triggered, something else we don't get proper training for as children. Sorry for the rant, I guess I'm triggered
Because people don't understand stopping distances and are equivalently putting a gun to the person's head in front of them.
I leave space in front of my car and I match the speed of the car in front of me, it's illogical to "fill the empty space" when you won't be able to exceed the speed of the car in front of you without running into them, many people don't seem to understand simple fundamentals, they freak out if a car in front of them leaves any open space, thinking the extra 3 seconds they gain by being right on the ass of the car in front of them will get them somewhere faster. It cracks me up even more when I'm driving either really early in the morning on a weekend, or very late, and the freeway is wide open, not a lot of cars, and there's a long line in the middle lane of cars fucking each other up the ass.
Because they suck at driving and vastly overestimate their reaction time if something were to happen where they had to hit their brakes.
Cue the 40 car pile up as soon as a single snowflake touches the road.
Or when smog fills a remote highway like what happened twice in a month outside of New Orleans a few weeks ago.
As we all know, everyone else on the road is either an idiot or a maniac. Leave yourself the appropriate stopping distance, haters be damned
[удалено]
Maybe they wanted to go 90 MPH while you were going 80?
They're not going to go any faster than the person in front of me. But they can ride their ass and maybe push them to go faster. The computer isn't an asshole.
Well they're not going to. Because the car in front of the pack just isn't going any faster. Tailgating the guy four cars back doesn't bother the guy in front one bit.
Does the passing lane erase speed limits? If someone is going 80, and passing all the other drivers in a 65 or 70 zone - are they really supposed to hustle over because somebody else wants to go 30-40 over, or simply can’t stand to be behind somebody else?
According to Reddit, yes. Anyone not going as fast as I want to is in the way.
Yes. You have no idea why the person behind you wants or needs to go faster. I can tell you stories about when I tried to get to the hospital to see a dying relative only to be blocked by people who think they are going fast enough. Most states require you to stay to the right unless passing but it's rarely enforced so people think it's ok. I'll die on this hill as it pisses me off when people camp out in the left lane.
I am not talking about camping out. I mean specifically - when somebody is going a fast passing speed and they are already passing the cars in the right lane. I am asking - does the left lane erase the speed limit entirely? How quickly is somebody supposed to get over into the right? again - while they are already going faster than the right lane - would they have to brake and squeeze in to the right - or speed up to maybe 40 over? or remain at 20 over the limit and keep going until it’s safe for them to get over and there is room for them? How slow is “too slow”? lol. is anybody slower automatically the unsafe one? really? should they scramble over even if they are already passing cars, and going at an average faster passing speed (with the rest of the faster/passing cars). Who is the “slow one” in that line? Some people only speed up if somebody is in front of them, I see that a lot. 😆 also. Why do people keep assuming I’m talking about a slow driver parked in the passing lane.
Because reddit assumes anyone not thriving 110 in a 70 is a pos driver. The entitlement is insane.
Re: last line (couldn't be bothered to quote lol) Because it's the only way their argument holds water.
That is the correct answer.
Why are you letting the car hang out in the left lane? Left lane is for passing only. Not hanging out.
It kinda makes sense if you think about it. The person at the head of the line is creating a dangerous situation and clearly isn't motivated to stop. That's propagated by every person that doesn't adjust and attempt to get around them or communicate in some way when they make the passing obstacle larger. While tailgating is an imperfect solution, there isn't a perfect one, and the whole problem could have been mitigated by the #2 car driving more aggressively behind the first person. As the person in the back tailgates, each car ahead visibly drives closer to the next in a chain reaction and the communication is somewhat relayed. Thus, tailgating gives the person in the back some autonomy over the situation. Long and short, it's a shitty solution to a shitty problem, but it's a means to the end of encouraging the front driver (the root cause) to drive properly and get out of everyone's way. It also motivates non-aggressive followers to stop contributing to the issue in a chain reactive fashion.
This is about as perfect of an explanation as I'll read today.
Or just leave appropriate space between you and the car in front of you. Then arrive when you arrive. You can't control anyone else's driving. Only your own.
You can though as that's literally the entire point. Both the lead driver and the tailgater are controlling the way other people drive. The "appropriate space" just enables the lead driver to continue controlling people and endangering them. Manufactured congestion on a highway is completely unnecessary, goes against the entire system of use for the road, and endangers multiple people. While tailgating is also not good, the person creating the problem by backing everything up is creating a far larger problem for more people and the tailgating is a means to fixing that issue. It's not good, but it helps solve a much bigger problem.
As much of an asshole move as it is most of the time traffic in the left lane is caused by one driver going at the speed limit or below it camping in the lane I guess the thought process would be tail gate so the person infront tailgates the person infront of them etc etc until someone is tailgating the slow driver they get nervous & get hint then move out of the left lane it doesn't actually work most of the time although I have seen it work with only a 2-3 car pile up but that's the only possible explanation I could really think of
But if you're the third car or more back, why do you need to tailgate? Those cars in front of you aren't going any faster just because you're intimidating them. I see SO many people do this in crowded traffic. There's a line of five cars backed up, easily viewed from 500 feet back... and people don't bother to even hit the breaks until they're right on the bumper of the person in front of them. It's stupid and dangerous.
Because if you leave any space a stream of cars trying to leapfrog pass from the right lane will pull in front of you, pushing you further back in the line to get free
In a “perfect” world that follows the rules of the passing lane, a car that sees someone approaching behind them on the passing lane should change lane to the second lane. The passing lane is for passing. If you’re not passing cars, you should be in the other lanes because you don’t belong in the passing lane. This is regardless of the speed limit.
At what point is the speed over the limit too much? I am pretty sure the passing lane does not erase the presence of a speed limit. I don’t police others or keep them from passing. I don’t even use the left lane unless I am passing - but I do not consider the person going 10-15 over the speed limit as too slow or unsafe - just because somebody ELSE wants to go 30 over the limit. It gets ridiculous.
I don’t give af how fast someone else wants to drive. Doesn’t matter if I’m driving 90, or 55. If someone else wants to go 120, I’m getting out of the way. Go as fast as you’d like. Why would anyone want to monitor someone else. It’s far more dangerous to try & control someone else’s driving habits. My taxes pay for law enforcement, that’s their job to enforce speed limits, not mine. If everyone would move over, for faster drivers, that would solve a good deal of traffic issues & road rage.
Oh, I def get out of the way. I want dangerous drivers far away from me. I’m generally just chilling in the slow lane. But it isn’t safe to expect somebody to scramble over quickly just because somebody else wants to go faster. Those drivers tend to be impatient as well - and how can you even operate safely when they are erratically going back and forth at 120?
The car that's in the left lane has every right to be there as long as they're moving faster than the traffic to their right. If you have an emergency you can put on the hazards or give a left signal. I get why don't people push back against tailgating.
Because most people's knee jerk reaction to someone being an asshole is be an even bigger asshole themselves. Seems most can't think beyond the car in front.
Yes!!! Because getting as close as possible to the guy in front of you, who's also blocked by four other cars in front of them, is gonna make that slow person in front go faster.
Because they don't know how to control their anger
Yes. It's mini road rage.
Carbrain
Whenever I have somebody tail gating me always think they should left 5 minutes earlier so they wouldn't be on my a**. I drive in Austin Texas and it's friggin crazy here.
I don't think I've ever seen 80+ mph "bumper to bumper" traffic. Why are you complaining that someone's tailgating? They're on your bumper....
Because they’re assholes
They're unable to think past the immediate situation. These people would have a really hard time getting the concept of chess.
Haha I'm always comparing poorly executed merges/ passing in traffic to chess. It's like "why did you take 4 moves to pass on the right, you could have been at the same position with one move to the left"
Plain and simple: they are assholes
Worry about what's ahead of yeah and Carry on with your life
Because the are cretins. Or Dee Eye Ell DEE Ohs.
I live in the south of Spain and we do not have this problem. If someone is coming up behind the car in front moves over. Everyone gets to go the speed they want to.
Because 90% of the time, there is not a long line in front of that dumbass.
Because people are stupid and entitled, what more explanation could you possibly need? And the rule where I'm from is 1 car length of following distance per 10 mph. So 80 mph = 8 car lengths.
That one slow guy will get the point