Read more about The Safety-Based Case Against Left Lane Squatters at Motorcycle.com.If you’re a motorcyclist, odds are that you aren’t one of those car drivers that squats in the left lane plodding along exactly at the speed limit while everyone else stacks up behind you with their blood pressure nearing the bursting point. Then again, maybe you are one of those mouth-breathers who believes it is their God-given right to drive in whatever lane they want, no matter who it inconveniences. (If you are, we’ve got a special place in Hell carved out for you to spend all of eternity listening to the Barney Song turned up to 11.)
While we’ve all experienced the aggravation of the left lane squatter, it turns out that slowing down traffic in the left lane is also a safety hazard because it forces faster drivers to weave back and forth between lanes, which can cause a cascading wave of deceleration in the right lane that further slows and stacks up traffic. Oh yeah, it increases the odds of an accident, too.
So, next time you see some doofus online, bloviating about how safe he is going the speed limit in the left lane instead of sticking to the right unless he’s passing, point him in the direction of the video below. While it probably won’t change the blowhard’s behavior, you might just inform some less experienced driver, like the narrator in the video, about proper lane discipline.
You are completely missing the point. Speed is irrelevant, it is all about making safe and efficient use of the highway space.The term "left lane campers" can be used two ways: For those who stay in the left lane while NOT passing, and for those who stay in the left lane at 20 over the posted limit for miles and miles without getting back into the right lane once they have passed the slower drivers.
Flame away.
No flames here. You got it right: Passing (at an speed) means moving to a lane to the left of the slower traffic and moving back to the right after you get around them. Left lane campers include those who are going above the speed limit and think that this entitles them to stay in the left lane.
FWIW - The signs and laws in Maine say "Keep Right Except to Pass", but I have seen the "slower traffic stay right" signs in other states.
Here's a great link that shows what each state's laws (and one would guess their signs) say. They are not all the same, but it seems all states have the same problem.
However, if I'm already in the left hand lane passing slower traffic to my right, and I'm already well over the speed limit, don't bother rushing up behind me and riding my bumper to encourage me to get out of your way. When I'm done passing and there's a reasonable place to drop back into the other lane(s), I will do so.
This happens all the time and you can see the person behind you screaming move over. I'm not the problem, you are.
This is the dumbest freakin thing I have read in some time.it forces faster drivers to weave back and forth between lanes