It’s interesting that the same busybodies in government who pretend to be so very “concerned” about gas mileage and “emissions” of the gas that isn’t a pollutant – are so blase toward left lane hogging.
One almost never hears them urging drivers to be stay right except to pass, especially if they’re not passing traffic in the right lane. Such drivers are as likely to be ticketed for not moving over to the right – even if they’ve created a mile-long conga line behind them – as it is that the traffic cop who’s not doing anything about it will be ticketed for not wearing his seatbelt.
And yet, how much gas is wasted – and “emitted” – by all the time wasted by left lane hogs, who use their cars to keep traffic bottled up and so on the road (and burning and “emitting”) for much longer than they otherwise would be?
Probably a lot more than is saved by Rube Goldberg-esque “fuel saving” technologies such as automatic stop/start (ASS), which maybe “saves” a half-gallon a month – at the cost of a second battery (to prevent the main 12V starter battery from being drained dry on account of all that re-starting) and the replacement cost of a starter that will wear out sooner on account of all that re-starting.
Not to mention the cost of the unpleasantness of all of that re-starting.
ASS is in the process of being replaced by an even more expensive compliance technology styled “mild hybrid” technology which does essentially the same thing as ASS in an even more complicated and expensive way. Instead of an extra battery to store some charge to prevent the main starter battery from being too rapidly discharged from all that serial re-starting, an even bigger battery to power up the electrically powered accessories when the engine is shut off and to power up a generator/starter or belt-pulley system of some kind to re-start the engine faster, with less in the way of sounds and feels.
Other compliance technologies include direct injection and CVT transmissions – as well as transmissions with eight, nine and even ten forward speeds. These “technologies” do not make the vehicle perform appreciably better than a car with port fuel injection and a six speed transmission; but they do help the vehicle’s manufacture eke out small gains in gas mileage and slight decreases in the “emissions” of the dread inert gas that isn’t a pollutant. And that helps the manufacturer comply with federal regs that require all new vehicles to use less gas and to “emit” less gas.
It is also why small, heavily turbocharged four cylinder engines are replacing larger six cylinder engines that don’t need a turbo to make up for the loss of two cylinders.
All of this has made vehicles equipped with these “technologies” more costly to buy, less long-term reliable and and more expensive to maintain. But most people seem not to notice and even fewer seem to understand why.
Perhaps if they paid more attention to what’s in the rearview mirror.
Obliviousness does more than just bollix up traffic and waste time and gas. It contributes to the general enstupidation of things. People who are alert, aware and proactive are generally not stupid people. But being passive, inert and inattentive fosters something that can fairly be characterized as stupidity.
Both attentiveness and its absence are habits of mind – and both have consequences for individuals and societies.
Vast oceans of gas are stupidly wasted as a result of unnecessarily bollixed-up traffic that would otherwise have flowed faster and more freely, allowing people to save time as well as gas. And reduced the dread “emissions” of the gas that amounts to the same as the bogeyman as the “virus” people were similarly encouraged to believe constituted an existential threat.
Without having to resort to elaborate, expensive “technologies.”
Tension on the road is also needlessly and so stupidly increased by oblivious and sometimes deliberately obstructive drivers who see you behind them and use their vehicle to make sure you stay behind them. Such drivers are easy enough to separate from the merely oblivious ones because they will speed up to prevent you from getting around them when the opportunity arises to do so.
And then slow down again once they’ve succeeded in boxing you in.
This is stupid – because childish – behavior. Of a piece with bullying people out of stores because they weren’t wearing the “mask” that the bullies wore and which the bullies insisted they wore because they “worked.” In which case, why would they care whether you wore one?
For the same reason, essentially, that the same kinds of people won’t move over to the right to let faster-moving traffic get by.
That is to say, because they’re bullies.
And stupid, too.
. . .
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Get rid of all the ice powered cars….then you can have more lithium fire bomb battery fires….
They said…burn it all down…they meant it….
Oops! Lithium battery BURNS DOWN a FIRE STATION…! | MGUY Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YkfWyj2TiA
In Germany a few years ago, driving in a Passing Lane for no reason was punishable by an 85€ fine and 3 points on your license – not sure what it is now. A Passing Lane is any Lane other than the Right Lane. This means: On Autobahnen with 3 or more Lanes in one direction, one is REQUIRED to drive in the Right Lane and use the other Lanes Only for Passing. Passing on the right is illegal and the punishment is also heavy.
When Road Conditions permit, while driving on a 3 Lane section of the A6 to my apartment, I drive 180-200Km/h+ (ca. 110-125+MPH). I am still required to drive in the Right Lane unless I am passing or allowing for Merging Traffic. If you are driving in any Lane other than the Right, you are the Problem. g
Not to excuse the woman involved, but this can be the result when the slowpokes won’t get off the road. “Delay of 5 vehicles illegal must use pullouts”. Totally ignored. Then the morons in this state won’t pass resulting in a massive backup – the one snaps like this woman and here we are. I believe the idiot slowpoke should also be charged as contributory negligence. On this same highway back in ‘75 I was in a similar situation. About a dozen cars and no one would pass the 48 MPH moron, in a clear straightaway passing zone. I was on my 450 Honda and passed them all. Note also, these major routes are easily 3 lanes wide if you include the generous shoulders. The 63 year old should have pulled off onto the oncoming shoulder thus avoiding the panicked lane return accident. Yes I had an out on my 450 Honda, that nearly lane width shoulder.
https://komonews.com/news/local/2-dead-3-injured-after-3-vehicle-crash-in-enumclaw-accident-investigation-washington-state-patrol-buckley-fire-department-puget-sound-fire-and-king-county-medic-one-sr410-car-collsion-fatal-vehicular-homicide#
The snow has fallen, and is here to stay for the season-with more to come. Got stuck behind a lady who had (including me) five cars behind her, and she refused to pull over (2 lane side road). Passed the truck in front of me, and then waited until I got to another stretch to pass the other two. All of whom just decided going 25 mph in a 55 was fine, while tail gaiting each other. I realize there is a thin layer of snow and ice on the ground, but every…..single….year I swear everyone forgets how to drive on these kinds of roads. I finally passed the lady, and got a look at her: Tunnel vision, and she looked terrified to be on the road. I was going maybe 40 at best, but to her, I was probably speeding with her going maybe 30 tops. Which is fine but PULL OVER already and let people get ahead of you! That is just as bad as the left-lane luggers who refuse to do everything but pass someone. Add in the “how many drivers are vaxed”, and are subsequently half-out of their minds now because of it, and it makes driving this time of year a real head ache.
Some of these slowpokes enrage me.
I routinely do an 80 mile drive up a mountain, where the vast majority of the way, there is no passing, and it’s curvy. To me, this is fun, but most people are terrified of turns, and some people are infuriatingly oblivious. The speed limit is 55, and they’ll be going 20-30 unless there’s a straight section.
In the straight sections, which happen every 5-10 miles, there’s usually a turnout lane for slower traffic to pull to the right and allow faster traffic to pass. The odds of a 25mph slowpoke pulling aside to let the conga line of cars that they’ve created pass them is zero. Some of these turnouts aren’t very long, so I’ve taken to passing them on the right. Boy oh boy, do I get some reactions to that. Some of them will drag race me to not be passed (despite being slowpokes in the turns!), others will move over to block, or just be angry. I don’t care, my V8 has 550 HP and the turbos see to having full power at high altitude.
I don’t understand these people. When I’m towing something, or driving a truck, which forces me to go slower, I pull over at every single turnout to let people behind me pass. If they’re on my tail and weren’t there before, it means they’re going faster.
I did that once years ago, when we had a massive dump of snow, and the roads had not been plowed. Was driving my low riding, WRX, and had a bigger truck come up behind me. I knew there was no way in hell I could drive as fast as him, as I was hearing the snow near the wheel well, and he was in the nose bleed section. So, I thought ahead of time as to which side road would be wide enough to pull over, and did just that. I waved to him, he waved to me, and we both went away happy.
I can remember many times my mom telling me about the time she spent in Germany with my father before I was born, when he was stationed there in the Army. She drove the Autobahn while there and said that hanging in the right lane was actually illegal and you could get ticketed for doing so. And that drivers were forbidden from honking their horns at slow pokes. What they could do was to flash their headlights at the car in front of them (who was hogging the left lane) signaling them to move over.
I think this problem has gotten worse with cell phones and those stupid touch screens in newer cars. Many times the left lane hog is on the phone, texting or doing something they shouldn’t be doing while driving. In the past it might have been an elderly person just dawdling along, seeing no reason to exceed the speed limit and unable to imagine why others might want to.
Slightly off topic is a video I just came across about consumer frustration with touch screens in cars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34mQvW_QKz4
Germans don’t hand out drivers licenses like candy. It’s a process with a purpose, competent drivers out and about.
I visited family stationed there twice, I did most of the driving what a delight. Autobahn, pay attention know the rules yep it’s a fine driving experience. (My daughter’s “digital driving technique” was making her friend car sick so I took over, Mr. Smooth Wheel got a big thank you when we got back to home base)
France, not so much. We made a good dent in their national debt with the never ending toll booths.
If everybody drove Lotus Super 7’s or Caterham’s…the roads would be safer…..
This car is very light…around 1200 lb…so can’t do a lot of damage….they change direction quicker then anything, so can dodge trouble,
The driver has to 100% focused….to watch for other traffic…this isn’t a 5000 lb pickup truck that will win in a crash….
this isn’t a 5000 lb pickup truck….so drivers can’t use it to bully other cars, cut them off, etc….
this isn’t a 5000 lb pickup truck…so it can’t be used to intimidate pedestrians and bike riders…
The car is totally analog…no hands free to text/phone…..
With the roof off…there is 360 degree total visibility…you can see out of it….
Few drivers would drive over 100 mph….it feels like 200 mph….at 30 mph it feels like 60 mph…..
The car gives huge feedback….the driver can feel the road and everything the car is doing….total control possible….
Regulations are pushing drivers into 5000 lb vehicles you can’t see out of…they say for safety…they are brain dead…..
Left lane banditry is a symptom of under posted speed limits. If you notice on the video, the posted speed limit on that road was 45 mph; line of sight, pavement, alignment and grade would allow for much higher operating speeds. Perhaps 60 at the upper end, but at least at 50-55.
During the early days of the 55 mph speed limit, average driving speeds dropped 8 mph overnight from 65 mph average on rural interstate highways in 1973 to 57 mph in 1974. (The fact that this reduction was still not enough for the government is another story), but the averages remained 55-58 mph up until the early 1980s, when enforcement emphasis was changed towards looking for drunken drivers as much as trolling for extreme speeders (those driving more than 70 mph).
The upshot is this, while average speeds dropped significantly, fleet fuel mileage didn’t budge from 1974-1978. The numbers fluctuated from 11.9 to 12.4 mpg, the same figures as before the fuel crisis when people were driving a lot faster. It was only after 1980 that fuel mileage broke 13 mpg overall, which was due to a significant change in the vehicle mix towards more compact cars and replacement of inefficient cars with newer smog choked cars that were tuned for fuel mileage. The mass adoption of radial tires probably added close to 1mpg to the total, maybe more. The unspoken element of this is the flow conflict that underposted speed limits create. Excessive braking and acceleration caused by traffic flow disruptions caused increases in fuel consumption that overshadowed the real reduction in driving speeds.
I blame a lot of left lane banditry on low speed limits which created flow conflicts on the highways and streets. To date, modern drivers, several generations removed, have still been impacted by the 55 mph National Maximum disaster. The situation is marginally better on higher speed highways today, however, remnants of the hostile driving climate remains today.
You’re right Swamp. On the roads I travel that are 70 or 80, no problems, but 65? forgetaboutit…………….
“the posted speed limit on that road was 45 mph; line of sight, pavement, alignment and grade would allow for much higher operating speeds”
speed limits are set below the natural traffic flow speed….this is done for more revenue…tickets….
My favorite is when someone’s car breaks down and they park the car right in the middle of the road. The vast majority of breakdowns will allow the car to coast over to the shoulder, or am I missing something?
>don’t need a turbo to make up for the loss of two cylinders.
Don’t need those extra two cylinders, which are no longer required because the engine’e thermal efficiency has been increased by turbocharging.
Hi Adi,
Yes, but the real reason these little turbo fours are becoming ubiquitous is because of compliance pressure. A naturally aspirated six may not be as thermally efficient but it makes ample power without need of boost. A small four does not make adequate power without boost. Hence the boost!
>may not be as thermally efficient but it makes ample power
But uses more fuel to do so.
Higher thermal efficiency means that a greater percentage of the heat of combustion is converted to useful work, rather than rejected as waste heat, meaning you get more bang for your (fuel) buck. Turbocharged propeller driven piston engine aircraft, both single and multi-engine, have been around for many decades, predating the EPA, the technology driven by the quest for greater efficiency, not EPA compliance.
Of today’s ten fastest single engine planes
https://www.pilotmall.com/blogs/news/10-fastest-single-engine-planes-today?srsltid=AfmBOoqypZuuK0-sOMlC7HKMeuzJV82ihTfDUj881Msq-1A16ktegr0L
the four fastest are turbocharged.
There is no “compliance” involved. Only the quest for speed and fuel efficiency.
Eric, you make it sound like the six had two of its cylinders amputated, and the turbocharger is some kind of “prosthetic device” intended to restore lost function. That is simply not the case.
If we wanted to be ruled strictly by displacement, we could regress to the 18 liter (or more) monsters from the early 20th century, and limit compression ratio to no more than ~6 or so. But we don’t do that, because progress. Higher compression ratios are *mathematically* synonymous with greater thermal efficiency. But, that is only possible with high quality fuel and high strength metal alloys, which were not available in earlier times.
If performance alone were the criterion, hang the fuel cost, we would all be driving blower Bentleys, drag race spec supercharged Elephants, or possibly a “special” powered by a (27 liter supercharged V-12) Rolls-Royce Merlin. But we don’t do that either, because fuel, and high performance, costs money.
Production street legal automobiles will always involve compromise, but on the street as on the track, higher specific output (power per cylinder displacement) will always be a Good Thing. The difference is that on the street it must be economical, whereas on the track, “speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?”
Hi Adi,
The six uses a little more fuel; the difference is about 3-4 MPG in the real world. Now, juxtapose that “savings” against the additional cost of the turbo and peripherals. I don’t think anyone’s “saving” anything. Also, the non-turbocharged engine is less stressed and so probably longer-lived. Yes, I know – a turbo engine can be built stronger. Fine. What is the advantage, again?
Mind: I am not slamming turbos, per se. The bone I have to pick is that turbos used to be power adders. Now they are displacement replacers. In street cars, that is.
Aviation is different; altitude being one reason why turbo-superchargers are common in that context.
In the context of passenger cars, the main reason for smaller/turbo engines replacing larger, naturally aspirated ones is compliance. The smaller engines use less gas (and “emit” less gas) when not under boost.
Hi, Eric,
Well, if it is 3 mpg out of 30, that would be 10% (fuel penalty). With 87 octane running ~$4.65 locally, that amounts to $0.465/gal, or $6.90 on a 15 gallon tank. My F150 has two tanks, for a fuel capacity of ~30 gallons, so the difference in price to fill both tanks would be: (2)($6.9) = $13.80, which is not insignificant. As they say, YMMV.
I well remember the gas wars of my childhood, when (leaded) regular went for ~$0.26/gal, but those days are gone forever.
FWIW, I agree that referring to CO2 (plant food) as a “pollutant” is complete bullshit, and so do at least some climate scientists (PhDs who study climate professionally, and get paid to do so). That said, I live in Inland Southern California, which has had some of the dirtiest air in the country. We all need to breathe, and when I first moved to SoCal in the late 1970s, it was a chancy thing in some inland regions. The air really did need to be cleaned up, and the auto manufacturers would never have cleaned up their engine exhausts without a swift kick in the ass from da Gummint.
The early “fixes” to clean up auto exhausts were power parasites which decreased available engine output via air pumps and such, and everybody hated them. “Pull that air pollution shit off and you’ll have more power” was common knowledge, and commonly heard.
But, in the long run, once manufacturers figured out the EPA wasn’t going away, they buckled down and spent the R & D money to develop engines which were both cleaner and more efficient, which took about two decades.
A stellar example of this is the history of America’s own sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette. Check it out. 🙂
Your comment about the Los Angeles basin deserves clarification.
The entire USA is being punished by the imposition of unreasonable and unscientific “pollution controls” just because of Los Angeles’ unique topography.
No amount of “clean up” will solve Los Angeles’ problem. The native Americans who occupied the region for centuries past called it “the valley of smoke” with good reason. Temperature inversions are responsible for most of Los Angeles’ “smog” problem. This was going on long before automobiles were even invented.
It is the geographical make up of the area, being situated between mountains and the ocean that is responsible for pollution being “bottled up” in that region.
The only way to “clean up” Los Angeles would be to ban all human activity from the area. Even then, that would not eliminate the problem as temperature inversions would still occur.
This is a major reason why California was allowed to establish its own stricter pollution control laws. The sad part is that the rest of the country has to “pay the price” for California—not good.
>the Los Angeles basin
I don’t live in the Los Angeles basin. I live east of the Santa Ana Mountains, in the city of Corona, south end of the Chino Valley.
You are quite correct that temperature inversions trap pollutants, rather than allowing them to dissipate. In this area, temperature inversions occur most often in the summer months. I can look north towards Ontario and see the inversion layer, on a smoggy summer day. The brown cloud is oxides of nitrogen. NOx and ozone, generated by human activity, comprise most of the smog. problem. Winter storms (rain in the flatlands, snow in the mountains) remove the temperature inversion, so winter air tends to be clean, especially right after a storm. The snow covered San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains are clearly visible, and quite beautiful.
In Albuquerque, NM, my home town, which is in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, the pattern of temperature inversion is almost exactly opposite. Temperature inversions occur in the winter months. I am not a meteorologist, so I do not know why this is so, only that it is so. In winter, you can observe the inversion layer from the higher elevations on the east side of Albuquerque. Stack plumes bend flat (to the left, when viewed from the east) when they hit the temperature inversion (i.e. hot air), and the air flows south, down the Rio Grande Valley.
>ban all human activity from the area.
That horse left the barn a long time ago. Presumably, you have heard of William Mulholland, the Owens Valley, and the LA Aqueduct.
On a side note, Adi, when I read that you were from Albuquerque, my first thought (and funny-ha ha question) was, “where do you end up if you DO take that left turn at Albuquerque? Borrowing that line from Bug’s Bunny. But yes, we get the temperature inversions up here-albeit, in the Winter-along with the lack of wind in town. It is all the EPA needs to try and shut our wood stoves down, and make us walk everywhere at -40 below, and so what if we freeze to death, it is for the earth, after all, and even if your mother isn’t a dirt ball.
>you DO take that left turn at Albuquerque?
if you were headed west, you would end up in Las Cruces.
If you were headed east, you would end up in Santa Fe, the oldest state capital in the US, which calls itself “the city different.” And with good reason. 🙂
>It is all the EPA needs to try and shut our wood stoves down
Just the ticket. 🙁
We have “no burn days” here, also, but (vox John Banner as Sgt. Schultz) I know nothing… /Schultz
>it is for the earth,
Not to see the Earth
Not to touch the sun
Nothing left to do
But run, run, run
Let’s run!
My first job out of college (BS, Chemistry, 1970) was as an atmospheric chemist working for a consulting firm in Bedford, MA. The group I worked for was involved in air pollution monitoring and control. Our clients were industrial firms, including power plants, which were seeking EPA approval to build or expand their facilities, and the most common pollutant of interest was sulfur dioxide.
I was responsible for data analysis for an ambient air quality study for an electric utility (Canal Electric, Sandwich MA). My colleague was responsible for field data acquisition. The same principles apply. Over the course of a year, whenever there is a temperature inversion, the stack plume bends to the ground, and the pollutant reading is elevated. When the temperature lapse rate is not inverted, the plume dissipates upward, and the ground level readings are low.
The “game” with EPA is to not exceed whatever the allowed maximum concentration of the pollutant in question is, on any more than an allowed number of days per year, and by no more than an allowed additional amount. It is a game of statistics, in other words.
It is necessary to do the actual field measurements, because local meteorology varies by location. SO2 arises from burning fuel oil, which has a sulfur content. The “fix” for high ambient SO2 readings is to buy low sulfur fuel oil, which is more expensive.
We also had the sulfur content of the fuel from the fuel analysis done by the plant chemist, as well as wind speed and direction at the stack, for input to a Gaussian diffusion model, which we compared to the actual ambient air measurements.
Low sulfur crude oil is known as “sweet” crude, and fetches a premium price. Libyan crude is known to be light and sweet. it is also possible to “desulfurize” the crude, which obviously costs money. At least some refineries have a “desulfurizing” unit, adjacent to which you will find enormous piles of fluffy yellow elemental sulfur.
Oh buddy, at the end of the day that 4 banger is just, just … a peasant car. Now a peasant car with a turbo.
V8, left lane. Six’s right lane. Anything less, get the he** off the highway! Saint Sparkules.
Complicated, expensive, unreliable, very expensive to maintain/fix, $$$$, high tech in new cars to get 2 mpg better fuel economy…and save a couple of dollars….
Brand new car engines are failing fast…. all by design…to meet regulations…..you might want to buy a used car instead of a new car just because of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9GU7aFeyRs
I’ve noticed a distinct increase in driver incompetence since the roll out of the ‘safe and effective.’ So many zombies with deadly weapons, Arizona seems to attract the worst of the worst.
I try to time my drives to low traffic times if I need the interstate. Also notice more old people that want to fight over their ‘Pace car Paul’ insanity. Its almost become a religion for some. I signed up for some Ju jitsu lessons beginning after thanksgiving, because, might just need to stand up to one of these F-tards IRL. Some really take being passed as some sort of personal affront. Seems to only be a problem in my truck, as the MB SL5oo, or T-bird makes it easy to leave such a-holes in the dust.
Maybe we could get back to a real life driving test, with back up cam disabled, too obtain AND maintain a DL. If you cant back your vehicle in between two cars, or parallel park, you have no business being on the road.
NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association) endorses a couple of Democrat candidates for state Senate and House in Cave Creek:
https://ibb.co/kSFgf6k
Heh heh, not really — the campaign signs are fake. But what a great political mindf*ck.
*rings up local printing shop for a quote*
Thats a great idea. I saw a small sign the other day, probably a limited run like your picture. It said Trump, peace and prosperity. Kammala, crime and filth. Got a good laugh out of that one.
I planned on making some shiv-worthy signs for my property exposing the commie tendencies of our local Dim incumbent county commissioner. Was saved the trouble and expense as she lost her primary bid to an avowed communist, the mayor of Jerome.
Gonna spark some replies here, but here goes: I normally drive the left lane and around the pace of traffic, which is around 80. If someone has a slower pace than me, I will cruise-pass them on the right. I do this every time. I do not get behind these guys, all the while with blood pressure rising. Just pass on the right. My dander does get up when there is a whole conga line of cars on the left, with the right wide open. For that, I’ll punch it on the right.
Use the whole road, I say.
Every once in a while, hell freezes over. I will do the same, and pass the left lane lugger in the right lane, because I will be long dead if I wait for them to get out of the way. Sometimes I will look at the driver to see if they look as moronic as their driving. But sometimes, the driver actually gets a clue that maybe they should not just be sitting there in the Sunday Stroll Lane, especially if cars behind me also pass them, and moves over accordingly.
Thankfully, here in the state of Michigan, it is permitted to pass on the right on any road that has more than two lanes in each direction.
There are even parts of Michigan where the police actually warn and enforce the “left lane only to pass” rule! It’s a very good way to keep the RVs pulling trailers (or cars) in the right lane where the belong permanently.
It’s all side roads/non-highways for me most everywhere I drive if I can swing it. Only crazies use the highway system. Have fun, wanna-be NASCAR crazies!
Most people are incapable of driving safely at the posted speed limit, much less driving 20 mph over the speed limit in the left hand lane, playing leapfrog. As I see it, it’s not the slow-pokes in the left hand lane that are the biggest problem, though they are a menace. It’s those who think they own the lane and can travel as fast as they want because they are important.
I disagree Howard. It’s not about being ‘important’, it’s about relatively safe travel at speed. The slow pokes add considerable risk with others that want to go a little faster. 2-3-4 lane roads are supposed to be self speed regulating. I would say these slow pokes are seriously lacking in common curtesy or worse. granted the very high speed weavers are worse of a problem, but typically get caught.
Nope. Those who view the left hand lane as exclusively theirs and tailgate the person in front and flick their lights and so forth are almost as much a dangerous menace as those who poke in the left lane. They cause wrecks. They are discourteous.
I disagree again Howard. When anyone approaches me I make pretty significant effort to get out of their way, courteous. But when I approach them and they don’t?………………….
The left lane is supposed to be the ‘passing’ lane. If your not passing, get out of the left lane.
Won’t matter because most people are not courteous anymore and growing. The discourteous driver causes the trouble/wrecks, not the other way around.
We can agree to disagree.
Nope again. Driving in the right hand lane I can watch all the crazy and discourteous speeders and their wreckless driving. They aren’t passing. They are commandeering the left hand lane. Both slow pokes and the impatient are discourteous and they both cause wrecks.
Hi Howard,
“Speeding” is arbitrary; it is a term used to describe driving faster than a sign says you legally may and at a speed some people think is “too fast.” The problem with the latter is it’s just an opinion. And the fact is some people are “reckless” at speeds below the posted limit. While others can handle high speed with less risk because they are better drivers. My ex mother in law (nice lady) was a terrible driver, who got into an accident roughly once a year. She rarely “sped.” I, on the other hand, “speed” all the time – and yet have not had an accident in decades.
The point I was trying to make in the article is that it’s bad driving form to stay in the left/passing lane when it is evident there is traffic behind you that wants to get by you. In that case, the right thing to do is yield right when it becomes feasible to allow the faster-moving traffic behind you to proceed. It is not your (or my) job to enforce the speed limit – either statutory or because you (or I) feel however fast we’re going is “fast enough.” It only makes driving – for everyone – less pleasant and wastes gas and time, too.
I am important…
Those of us who comfortably travel at speeds in excess of the recommended “speed limits” are nothing to worry about.
You see, 100% attention to driving and to one’s surroundings as well as knowing and utilizing the handling capabilities of one’s vehicle makes for an extremely safe driver.
I drive one of the slowest vehicles on the planet (1982 Mercedes 240D manual transmission), yet easily zip around dull, inattentive, phone-addled drivers all the time.
Paying attention to and concentrating solely on driving is the key.
Many old sports cars had a chronometer, and we’ve timed many more with a stopwatch. A Mercedes 240d times 0-60 with an hourglass…
I have owned many Mercedes diesels, incredible cars, and you really learn to pay attention and think ahead driving one.
You are wrong.
The left lane IS a passing lane.
Might you seek mental health treatment for your superiority complex?
I used to work with a person who thought like you. He insisted that he could stay in the left land as long as he was doing the speed limit, and had the right to keep others from exceeding the speed limit.
When driving, don’t be like Howard…please.
Just move aside, Howard. Just move aside.
“compliance technology” love it, thanks
As for left lane bandits, it’s never been worse, at least in our urban area.
I do a few different things:
Get close for 5-10 seconds, flash lights, honk horn, keep horn on.
If still nothing, go around and try to get my left rear bumper to ‘kiss’ their front right, as close as possible. To results are pretty funny, from nothing, to them hitting the brakes to them flashing their lights, horn, etc…. clueless, brain dead people.
Only had one close call in hundreds, at about 80, a car wouldn’t move over, I needed to do 90+ and traffic was pretty heavy. He freakin brake checked me and I almost tagged him. I eventually got around and then he chased me, axx wipe. I let him go 100+ past me (I moved over!!!, haha…..) no way i was brake checking an axx wipe
‘Other compliance technologies include direct injection and CVT transmissions – as well as transmissions with eight, nine and even ten forward speeds.’ — eric
Why stop at a mere ten speeds? Half of buyers probably think more speeds are better. So CRANK IT TO ELEVEN.
Don’t get any funny ideas, though, and ask for a V-12 engine. Only the king is allowed this celestial pitch of luxury:
‘Each bank of a V12 engine essentially functions as a straight six engine, which by itself has perfect primary and secondary engine balance.’
Like primitive tribes sacrificing animals to a vengeful deity [don’t call it a ‘holocaust,’ though; that word is trademarked], we sacrificed our V-12s so that an angry Dog won’t destroy the atmosphere.
As a caricaturish Sambo remarked in a Furry Freak Brothers comic book, ‘MAN — white folks sho’ is strange!‘
>CRANK IT TO ELEVEN
Hell, why not Go All The Way and drop in a 14 speed Fuller out of a Peterbilt tractor?
It will only cost you 600 pounds or so, and think of all the fun you will have banging gears.
🙂
I put a super 10 in my one ton pickup. Does a great job of keeping the diesel in that sweet spot.
I try to drive in the right hand lane. Yet even then, when I am keeping up with traffic in the right hand lane, I have the crazies tailgating me as they weave in and out of traffic. They simply can’t stand the idea of someone in front of them. They are dangerous and they should be ticketed and lose their licenses. I watch them drive like maniacs in the left lane. They move up to the next car in the left hand lane, even though that car is going 15 mph over the speed limit. And they tailgate. Then they pass on the right in the middle lane, if they can.
Many people are incapable of driving safely. They don’t know the laws of physics. If you are tailgating you are a threat to everyone around you. Some people seem to think the left lane is their lane, and they can drive as fast as they want in it, remain in it for their entire trip, and it is your duty to move over for them. l stay out of that lane to the maximum extent possible, even to pass, as some idiot will think I’m not passing someone fast enough and will tailgate me and flash his lights, and so forth. Add to this dynamic the insane motorcyclists who weave in and out of traffic and I prefer to drive the back roads to my destination when possible.
I’ll probably receive the wrath of all the permanent left hand lane drivers from this post but who cares. So many are dangerous to themselves and others. They are why I cruise along in the right lane, content to keep up with traffic and maintain a safe distance from the car in front of me, and content to arrive at my destination a few minutes later than those who have commandeered the left hand lane.
I’m with you on this. If I have to drive on the highway, I’m in the right lane, driving at sane speeds unless I’m passing slow truckers.
Agree with you 100% on this. It’s the lunatics that are in the left lane and I’d prefer to be as far away from them as possible.
I would estimate that the left lane is more frequented by the crazy tailgating impatient excessive speed crazies than the slow pokes.
On many of our roads the posted speed limits are too low. But few people seem to be capable of driving at 75 mph safely.
Recently I was driving in the middle lane, keeping up with the truck just in front of me. I checked my rear view mirror and saw a maniac closing in on me at what must be 30mph over the speed limit. I could neither move right or left. So I stayed put. He barely avoid slamming into my rear end, swerved around me to the left barely avoiding the cars there, and cut just in front of me. Doubtless he thought I shouldn’t be occupying HIS middle lane. After that, I bought a dash cam to document my death should something like this happen again.
Seems to be a thing here that all the Uber / Lyft drivers immediately move to the left lane and drive the speed limit. Stay there until their exit is almost past and then make a hard right turn across 2 or 3 lanes.
LOL – I see this multi-lane change behavior all the time including on secondary roads.
It’s almost as if the idiots woke up from their trance and realized where they are.
Never mind the concept of simply driving past, and turning around safely to go back. Nope, they would rather endanger everyone so they can get over right now. Everyone else should just get out of their precious way!!
It’s craziness out there!
Its even worse when you actually drive the slowest vehicle on the road, but you’re not the slowest driver. You get that 1/4 mile to pass slowly giving her all she’s got and someone blocks your pass easily because they have a new car, and you are stuck behind them going 5 under again. At least that’s what those of us who drive old diesels, vw beetles, and other slow cars have to deal with, its terrible. I know i’m slow on the highway though, the right lane is my home unless im in a newer car or motorcycle. Makes you really good at navigating traffic though. I see so many people I pass in traffic because they cant read the road or change lanes effectively, but in a straight line they floor it and pass me until they get stuck in a box again.
That’s why all the rubes need 400 HP now. Can’t plan ahead, just punch it and go.
I’ve driven all over the world. Seems to me that this need for ever more HP to make up for driver stupidity is more of an American thing.
Driving underpowered cars teaches (forces?) you to learn to conserve momentum and to strategize your flow though traffic.
I’ve been there and done that many times, as most of the time I drove a pokey car. The slowest was my 92′ Chevy Cavalier. It seemed to not have much more horse power than a high end lawn tractor. So I had to use my brain and strategize in order to make up for that car’s sluggish performance. Kind of like thinking several moves ahead in a game of chess. But it did have one advantage – being that it was small and handled well, I could out maneuver most large and heavy trucks and SUVs.
Glad you’re back up! I thought we lost you for a minute.
I don’t think it is always malevolent behavior. I’m fairly sure there’s a lot of distracted driver going on too. People chugging along in the left lane, yakking on the phone (or worse), not a care in the world. As for the people who speed up when you try to pass, I think there’s a certain disposition to herd themselves. They see someone else “leading” with a higher speed so they go along with the plan. Or they look down at the speedometer and realize they need to get with the program, not giving one whit about clearing the passing lane. Or maybe they’re paranoid about AGLs and speed traps so when there’s no other vehicles around them they travel below the PSL, then when there’s a clump of us all together they think the AGL won’t pick them???
Hard to say for sure, but when I see this behavior I’m reminded of Wild Kingdom.
It’s not just a freeway thing.
I grew up driving rural gravel roads. When you came up on someone driving much slower, they would pull to the right, and stop or wave you past.
This avoided rock chipped windshields and paint by passing on gravel.
Now with the influx of idiots, they poke along at 5 mph posted limit and then they refuse to get out of the way. Almost as if actively trying to block a pass.
Well, if that’s the way they want to play, they get passed and to hell with any rocks they may eat! You just can’t fix stupid.
Typo- 5mph below posted speed limit
After fixing that can we teach people how to merge?
1) You have to speed up to match traffic, traffic should not slow down or it will cause a traffic jam
2) It is courteous to move over into the left lane so someone can merge, but that is not always possible.
3) The person who is slowing down for the ramp needs to slot in *behind* the person who is trying to accelerate up to highway speed, if you are both trying to merge at the same time.
Some people are only alive because the rest of us look out for them.
/rant
4) Do Not brake on the freeway to slow down for an exit. There is plenty of road after the exit actually occurs for slowing down before there will be some other traffic control device.
5) The brake pedal is not for controlling your speed on the freeway. Idiots drive too closely to lead traffic (essentially tailgating) and then need to tap their brakes about every 30 seconds to keep from running into the lead car. Apparently no one knows how to simply coast a little to slow down and/or maintain a constant speed.
All of this deviant road behavior is proof a “drivers license” is nothing but an ear tag to identify the cattle.
Ugh! And then they went and made drinking’ & driving illegal. What to do!!! LOL!
How about the Left Lane Dawdler tapping the brakes while riding for miles next to a semi? All the while traffic backs up.
I’m thinking of getting a paint ball pistol and tagging these cretins while passing on the right.
“ I’m thinking of getting a paint ball pistol and tagging these cretins while passing on the right.”
Please don’t for your own sake the AGWs will find you and cage you.
I’m an engineer, there are lots of other creative devices that can be imagined that will get far better results with near zero risk for you being identified as the culprit.
I have yet to build and deploy one but I don’t think that day is far off either.
In high school, I put the tip of a water gun nozzle onto my windshield washer nozzle and pointed it to squirt the guy on my right as I passed him. Good clean fun. Worked best when passing convertibles.
should have added the sarc icon…
Near my place, on the Rimrock exit is, IIRC the shortest on ramp in the state. Merging onto I-17 south, as it terminates a fifteen mile, seven percent downgrade is positively dangerous. The number of people who cant manage the merge is incredible. I’ve seen people actually stoped at the end of the ramp. The trucks try their best to merge left, but its not always possible, AGWs should make themselves useful and sit off the road near the end of the ramp. Anyone who cant get up to speed and has to stop should have their ticket pulled.
The number of people who think its OK to just slow to a crawl, or stop in traffic because of something thats none of their business is growing. Never used to see it, now its a freaking epidemic. The way people drive now, you’d think many had never seen a squirrel before.
Oh my word, do not get me started on merging. Drivers up here cannot do that, either. They have a “you have to move over and ‘let me in’ ” attitude. Never mind our state driver’s manual indicates otherwise. If I have a left lane lugger next to me that refuses to do anything but sit there, and I have an idiot fool coming from an on/off ramp, that driver better get the hell out of the way, or go faster than the rest of us, because I cannot “move over” anywhere. But also, in addition to the vaxxed drivers, how many here are now dealing with the influx of illegal aliens who are now on the roads, who 1. may not know how to drive and 2. may not even know how to speak or read English? I bet that is fun….
I plead guilty to riding the left lane at times. Why? Because in my neck of Dixie I-65 is 2 lanes in each direction & there’s so much traffic exiting onto county roads that it stacks up and grinds to a halt for several miles. Since I know it’s a daily charlie foxttrot, I just move over and ride it out till it’s in the rearview mirror. Then move over to the old fart lane.
Aah, the joys of compliance technologies or as Louis from AGCO Automotive in Baton Rouge would point out on his radio show “stuff that will never save enough gas to pay for it’s own repair”.
Maybe that’s why I send my cars off as needed for body and paint work as needed, because I hate almost everything about the newer cars. Perhaps if I could get a roomy small pickup with a diesel and a 5 speed overdrive that was affordable I might buy one but nope; not allowed says the bureaurat.
Amen, Eric. We did a ~1000 mile trip over the long weekend and it’s amazing the number of Left Lane Bandits (h/t Broke Yates) that still exist.
This phenomenon got its start with the 55 NMSL. The Useful Idiots would drive 55 in the left lane and defy you to pass on the right. THEY were obeying the speed limit and you should too. It allowed Casper Milquetoast to become The Enforcer. It was the precursor to the Mask Bullies of 2020.
What’s even more bizarre/infuriating is when you see a pod of 3 or 4 cars in a row trundling along in the left lane for miles…passing no one. What sort of thinking goes on in such a brain?
There is one exception, however. If the right lane is so destroyed by semi’s that it is nearly undrivable, that I give a pass. But, this is due to the low building standards set for interstate highways.
Every time I hit a chuck hole I think of Netanyahu and Zelinsky…
Your quote on Netanyahu (nee Mieliekowsky) and Zelenskyy is appropriate. Thank you,
Israel’s “jews-only” roads are paid for with American taxpayer dollars…
Israel practices official “apartheid” to a much greater degree than that of any other country in the world.
Every vehicle driver in the illegally occupied territories (all of Israel) is identified by his or her vehicle license plate as well as personal documentation (identity papers). License plates are coded as to the ethnicity and religious persuasions of the owners, and are used to deny basic “rights” to those who are of “the wrong ethnicity”.
There are roads and thoroughfares that are designated “for jews only”. “Jews-only” roads and thoroughfares are state-of-the-art, paid for with American taxpayer dollars, while roads used by Palestinians and others are poorly maintained, with many military “checkpoints” which adds further misery to the lives of Palestinians.
Any Arab or Palestinian who attempts to use “jews only” roads or thoroughfares is arrested and heavily fined.
This policy even extends to “footpaths” which are designated by “jewishness”.
Palestinians and other Arabs are forced to go through humiliating “checkpoints”, even being delayed for HOURS, if they are even allowed to pass, at the whim of the jewish “authorities”. This even extends to medical emergencies, where ambulances are routinely delayed by jewish authorities, “just because they can”.
In Israel proper, and in the illegally occupied territories, Israeli officials make rules and laws as they go along, ignoring the (official) laws (rule of law) already in place.