Hit & Skip

Well,started the week off sweetly,on the way to work,-partly
interstate driving,that's where i got nailed-some s.o.b.decided I was
going too slow in the fast lane,which no one uses correctly in
Ohio,went around me,then cut me off,my front passenger side smashed
with his rear driver side,of course the aggresive hilljack was driving
a black chevy pick up.Anyway,the damage was remarkably light,just alot
of rubber rub on the tire rim & fender,when that prick hiy me,i
thought the car would be all wrinkled,he hit me when we going 65.I
guess Saturns plastic fender saved me,I'm having a body shop guy try
to rub/buff out the black rubber tomorrow,the only majorous damage
other than the body,the pass. mirror glass was knocked out.

 

Yeah, we have rolling road blocks in California, too. I hope both of
you got tickets.

 

I agree with Ratbert.
"Rolling Roadblocks" are a pain in the butt.
Without more info though, I wouldn't be able to tell who's fault it was.
You, teem, are the 2nd person I have heard that uses the term "Fast
Lane", which actually makes me think you are the one that doesn't use it
correctly.
That left-hand lane is called the "Passing Lane"; You 'pass' people in
that lane, you don't drive 'fast' in it.
If you really want to be technical, all lanes are fast lanes.

Usually it doesn't bother me much if someone does it, because I'm hardly
in a hurry to get to my destination.
I figure it's happening for a reason, like some sort of divine intervention.
It only gets annoying when that driver doesn't give a crap at being
courteous and driving safe, so they 'stay' in the passing lane.

I'll say too, for your description of the hit, it seemed like it would
be worse than what really happened, so I'm glad it wasn't major damage.

 

I truly believe if everyone would adhere to the basic rule of "Stay to the
right except to pass" that it would eliminate 80%of the aggression seen on
the roads. People get pissed off and aggressive because of a-holes who
believe who putz in the left lane. I ALMOST have no problem with people if
they do want to cruise in the left at the speed limit, IF they drive with
their rear-view mirror and when they see someone coming up of them, move
over and let them through.

I think I'm going to make bumper stickers that read:

"If I'm passing you on the right, YOUR WRONG!!"

Hey - add your own and maybe I'll get 'em made!

BTW Teem - How (apparently in Ohio) is one supposed to use the left hand
lane "correctly"? Were you passing anyone at the time? If not, YOUR
WRONG!!

Scott

 

I don't call it the fast lane or passing lane, it's just another lane to
handle the traffic. Around here the right lane just seems to have more
potholes and rough spots so I stay left. The folklore here is that you can
drive 5 mph over the limit and you won't get ticketed (some say its 9 mph
but I don't have the guts to test that theory). So if someone is in the
left lane doing 5 mph over, the right lane is full of cars doing a bit less
than the limit, and a guy comes up in the left doing 20 over the limit, is
the guy doing 5 over in the left lane obligated to get out of the way of a
law breaker? I don't see that someone doing 5 over is causing a roadblock.

ron

 

My view is that I'm not a cop, so I don't get to decide whether it's
appropriate for someone to be doing more than the speed limit. Maybe s/he
has an injured passenger and is on the way to the hospital. So I feel I
should get out of the way if I'm in the passing lane. OTOH, I am
sympathetic with the view that accommodating someone breaking the law is not
your obligation.
Passing on the right, as the teem's experience shows, is dangerous and
should be avoided. The truck's driver (the one that hit teem) should, IMHO,
have first tried to get teem to move over to the right. In fact, in
Connecticut (last I checked), passing on the right is strictly forbidden.

 

That's the problem right there. It's the passing lane. Learn road
etiquette: the far left lane is for *passing*. If someone comes up behind
you, you are obliged to get out of the way (speed up or move over).

Too many people have this "I'm going XX which should be fast enough for
anybody. That jerk needs to slow down."

Wrong!

It sounds as though you were wrong to block the passing lane. But hitting
another vehicle is also pretty stupid.

Brian

 

Get on the Garden State Parkway in NJ and let me know how that works for
you.

 

How 'bout "YOU'RE WRONG"? Otherwise, the grammar police will get you.

 

And this helps illustrate just how bad driver's education is. At least in
the U.S., which, I (perhaps wrongly) presume is the country from which
you're driving.

The left-most lane is, in fact, the passing lane. Certainly, in most
congested areas, it accommodates traffic as do the other two or three
lanes to the right, but it is *supposed* to be used for passing slower
vehicles.

You *could* put in a call to your local town/city supervisors and ask them
to fix the problem.

Oh dear....

YES! MOVE THE **** OVER! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO PASS JUDGMENT ON THE
OTHER DRIVER? If you were in another lane, you wouldn't find anyone else
on your tail. Why do you think that is, hmmm?

That's probably because you ARE the roadblock. I can't stand 'em.

 

Passing on the right is not entirely legal in NYS, either. But if you do
it, a cop won't pull you over, unless you're doing mach 3 in which case
you'll get a speeding ticket instead.

Thanks for phrasing the argument in a more politic fashion than I did just
now.

 

Whoops!

BTW for everyone - This link puts it better (and more civil)

http://www.roadandtravel.com/carcare/drivetooslow.htm

Scott

 

jees, chill a little.

It's not worth the time to call anyone about long stretches of bad roads
between towns, all the highway money is getting poured into roads in the
large cities.
What's the "oh dear" for? that I might drive a few miles over of that I
don't have guts to drive 9 over? Are you saying I'm a fool or a chicken?
(don't care which, been called a lot worse, just curious).
I DO MOVE OVER ! I DON'T PASS JUDGMENT ! i just wish there was a speed
trap to catch the guy that just blew my doors off.
imho doing 5 over the limit in the left lane is not being a road block,
especially if I pull over for speeders. doing 5 under in the left is a road
block; somehow that distinction has come up in the thread yet.
ron

 

How 'bout a compromise? I'll lighten up if you'll try to remember that
there are those who prefer to pass (as opposed to merely drive 5MPH over
the speed limit) at whatever speed they choose in the fast lane. Fair?

If the roads are in bad enough condition that you are compelled to drive
in the far left lane and thus impose yourself as a potential hazard to
other drivers, you absolutely should consider it worth the time to contact
someone.

It's a matter of local culture, I expect. I know in some areas in the
Pacific Northwest, driving the speed limit is the norm. Where I am,
driving 15+ over is the norm. (Of course, the base speed limit plays a
role.)

Okay, then there should be no problem. If someone comes up on you
quick when you're in the left lane and you make every effort to get out of
their way ASAP, then you're acting appropriately.

When you're asking about the roads, you might bring up the topic of
additional speed traps, too.

I don't care if you're going 150MPH. If someone else wants to do 180, YOU
MOVE! If that's what you're doing, great - no worries. It sounds as
though maybe you're not fully understanding the use of the left lane, is
all.

 

YES! MOVE THE F@@@ OVER! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO PASS JUDGMENT ON THE

Just move over...write down the license plate number, call the Highway
Patrol and let them handle the fool...Oh, smile and wave when you go by
while they are getting a massive ticket.

 

Good suggestion ... and do remember to make sure that you tell them that the
driver appeared to be drunk and was a danger to others so they make sure
they pull them over.
\

 

So if someone is in the left lane doing 5 mph over, the right lane is full
of cars doing a bit less than the limit, and a guy comes up in the left
doing 20 over the limit, is the guy doing 5 over in the left lane obligated
to get out of the way of a law breaker?

Absolutely, without question. Law breaker or not, regardless of speed. Get
the heck out of the way.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

And thank YOU for the kind words! I'm not always that polite because
there are some times and some subjects about which I feel more as you do.

Too bad about the NY cops failing to enforce the "no passing on right"
law. I wish they'd at least issue warnings more often, if not issue a
ticket.

 

Hi Everyone!,seems i'm at fault with some of you.lets just say if i
tried to move over id a bumped off him & made a real mess.but I was
trying to move over,he didnt want to wait,thanks to all you
witnesses!!.And another thing:looking at the license # while all this
going on is the last thing on your mind.Final story,the ouside mirror
was broken,$160.00.It is amazing how the plastic panels/fenders On my
Ion ''performed''.If I was 10 years younger,I'd be hunting down this
aggressive hilljack. Wed, 08 Jun 2005 19:18:37 GMT, Brian Talley

 

Teem-

OK - I'll give you back a small amount of credit - You had failed to mention
that you were TRYING to move over and he didn't wait. I'll give you the
benefit of the doubt that maybe you were passing someone (with the p/u on
your tail) and then didn't give you enough time to move over after you
passed slower traffic. As I said before, as long as your passing someone,
and not "traveling" in the left lane, I wouldn't mind much slowing down to
let you finish your pass, as long as you then moved over.

On a side note, we have a additional problem on Long Island that amplifies
this whole problem and that is the addition of the HOV lanes. They put them
in the far, far left lane, so the idiots have to work their way through 3
lanes of traffic (usually chatting away with their passengers), and cruising
at 55 in the left lane until the entrance to the HOV comes up. The same
when they get out of the HOV - They are entering into traffic moving around
75 doing 55.... Between them and the people trying to go around them it's a
friggin' miracle anyone gets where their going in one piece....

Scott