BSO

The open right lanes seem open but nearly every time I've used them, a really slow vehicle either merges in, switches lane or you just run out off room caught in slower traffic when trying to pass or use.

I only go there when blocked in and no option presents or passing through when merging.

It's a challenge to maintain a steady pace.

Traffic studies have shown that the variance in individual vehicle speeds is an accident factor. Getting everyone to keep similar pace in lanes isn't going to happen.

Class5Kayaker

Ditto on the Prius and other "eco-friendly" cars just hanging out in the left lane driving 10 under oblivious to the world around them while they try to make the greenest leaf on their eco display....usually they also have a "Coexist" bumper sticker on their car.


One thing I don't think has been mentioned yet:

You're stuck in the left lane behind a few cars SLOWLY creeping along just a tiny bit faster than the car in the right lane......in a low sitting Porsche with SUV's and minivans in front of you (so anyone approaching from behind can see you're not the reason the left lane is clogged up).....and some a$$hole in the a lifted truck (a.k.a. Bro-Dozer) comes screaming up behind you and rides your a$$. Umm......hello a$$hole! You can clearly see I'm not the reason the lane is backing up so get the hell off my rear bumper!!

911mhawk

The move I've seen here in Seattle a lot more the last year or two is the driver on a city street, often a Prius/Uber Doober, veering to the right, then swinging a U-turn right in front of several other cars.

My other personal favorite is the driver of any random small car on a narrow side street who is 3 feet off the parked cars on their side and expects me to split the 6-12" left for passing.
Given enough time before they arrive, I'll occasionally swerve towards the center a little to get their attention.

BlueNorther

I've had this happen a number of times with my 981 Cayman GTS, but it was because they wanted to hear the exhaust note. I'd rev it and get a thumbs up. Usually from a european sports sedan or subaru, though.

crashedsnow

You seem to be treating them equally. This is clearly not the case as Prius is approaching 45x worse than the other 2.

A Prius driver is definitionally going to be bad because anyone who would choose to drive such a car clearly considers the act of driving to be, at best, an inconvenience and therefore will always be bad at it.

crashedsnow

IIUC overtaking on the right is illegal in some countries (like Germany where that would be instantly catastrophic on the autobahn). I sometimes wonder if a similar law in the US would encourage a cultural shift so that over time folks realized they should KEEP THE F$%K RIGHT IF THEY'RE NOT OVER-F$%KING-TAKING

phew.. sorry about that. Lost my s$%t there for a second.

stout

Just remembered:

The hardest two types of drivers to pass on a back road here in CA—regardless of the power at your disposal—are 1) Prius drivers and 2) Harley riders. One is wide enough to make things trick and dogged in maximizing your green, while the other is dog slow in corners but has great torque out of them. Neither, in my experience, is likely to let you pass. The singular exception was coming up on them in the Carrera GT. No flashing necessary. Simply double-clutch a downshift and Priii wouldn't bother with the next turnout on Hwy 1; they just drove straight off the cliff. It was pretty magical.

gatorfast

Just got my daily dose of wonderful south florida drivers on my way in this morning. I am in the left lane (of course) on the highway and stuck behind an suv which is slightly back but essentially pacing the 18 wheeler in the lane next to us. I assume at this point he will move over behind the big rig to allow myself and the few cars behind me to pass as there is absolutely no one in front of him. But sure enough, he maintains his speed and a line forms behind him. I gave him a quick flash to pass and still nothing. Eventually, we finally make it past the 18 wheeler and he still does not move over. At this point, I move over to pass him on the right as that lane is clear and when I glance over at the driver he flips me the bird. Gotta love sharing the road with these people.

bkrantz

Remember, the basic human animal is prone to righteous behavior, especially when they can feel and act superior. On a good day, they are oblivious.

My perennial wish is for a planet populated with smart people who mind their own business.

Bob Z.

_RS_

This one gets me angry and it's dangerous. Driving without lights. Many cars have the dash lights blazing but no head/tail lights. Most every car now has an Auto setting for the light switch, but come sunset +30mins, there they are, gray and silver cars with no lights but the driver's face lit up brightly. Manufacturers should not light up the dash if the headlights are off.

Lucky991

I was driving in the left lane on a divided highway and there’s a car going dead slow in the right lane. Pretty obvious he probably wants to get to the grocery store on the other side of the divided highway to the left of us both. As I get closer I see that he is starting to make a lane change REGARDLESS of the fact that I am quickly approaching his blind spot. I honk at him, swerve slightly and accelerate to get away from him. He starts to honk back at me like *I* did something wrong. We pull over and start yelling and I direct him to the nearest parking lot so we can talk it out.

This guy actually proceeds to tell me that I should have stopped as soon as he signalled and allowed him to enter the lane because it was his right because he put on his signal. I actually have to explain to him that a signal does not assign him the immediate and unequivocal right to make a lane change especially if traffic is not clear for him. Further he put us in danger; I may not have been able to stop in time and hit him anyway had I slammed on my brakes (or been hit myself from behind and be pushed into him).

Further explained to him that in Canada and Ontario he would have been found at fault in this accident because he would have hit me after crossing the divider line which is an automatic at fault assignment to the car making the cross (and for good reason, is it your responsibility to not hit me or my responsibility to not get hit by you??).

He had to admit he was wrong and put him and his family (older father and young son) at risk with his ignorance and lack of critical thinking/awareness of how to drive amongst other vehicles. Apparently his older and obviously much wiser father had told him he shouldn’t have attempted the maneuver but he did it anyway.

Ignorance and asshattery is what I can’t stand and most people can’t even be reasoned with either. And listen to your elders.

DaveGee

>Ignorance and asshattery< being what they are, you pulled into a parking lot to talk it out with this guy? Where do you live? In SoCal we assume the other guy has a gun. Nothing worth talking out.

Glad it worked out and that you were able to drive away.

DaveGee

saeyedoc

Around here you run the risk of getting shot doing that

Lucky991

In Canada we try not to solve our problems with guns (not a political statement, just a reality that typically only criminals/gang members carry them as they are illegal and even then it is rare. Nobody carries for “protection”). And I assessed him and made a call on the safety of it. Had I felt it wouldn’t have worked out I wouldn’t have put myself in that position. I also am fairly good at de-escalating and setting ground rules from a distance on how the conflict will be discussed (agree we just avoided dying in an accident, would be a shame to waste that miracle by one of us dying in a subsequent street fight, you talk first I listen, I talk next and you listen). I don’t have time or energy to bother with every asshat on the road but I could see he was just an ignorant everyday father who almost got his family and me killed. If I had been wrong about that approach and he was unstable or too angry then I guess a Canadian 991 would be up for sale shortly thereafter. Can’t change the world all at once but you can pick and choose who you start with.