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April 15, 2008 at 1:09 am #621963
AnonymousInactiveI always assumed the very left lane was for passing other traffic. Not suggesting that there are two different speed limits, but if you feel you need to pass, you would do so in the very left lane. I cannot stand people that drive in the left lane without passing anyone else. If you are going the same speed as the person next to you, why can’t you just drive behind them, as apposed to next to them? I think it’s just courteous thing to do.
The German’s have it all figured out with the autobahn! Try driving in the left lane, without passing, on the autobahn!
April 15, 2008 at 1:10 am #621964
JimmyGMemberJanS, RCW 46.61.100 is very clear about what the lanes are for. Drivers are to keep right except to pass.
And everyone should be aware that roads that don’t have lane stripes to divide the lanes yet have room for two cars to travel in the same direction? It’s considered a multiple lane road.
Where you see p-aggressive with this is at SW Morgan westbound waiting for the light at 35 SW.
Cars straddle both lanes and block those who want to turn right (northbound) onto 35 SW. They could be written an infraction for improper lane travel although I doubt SPD ever would.
April 15, 2008 at 1:12 am #621965
AnonymousInactiveI only apply the “left lane” strategy when on the freeway. When I am driving on California, in the Junction, I drive in the left lane because I don’t want to have to hassle with merging back over after only a couple streets. As Jan says, there are areas that it just doesn’t apply.
April 15, 2008 at 1:14 am #621966
JimmyGMemberI wish we got to pick and choose where the RCW’s apply…
April 15, 2008 at 2:04 am #621967
SAMemberYes, the “left lane” or “keep right except to pass” strategy should only be used on the freeway. By the same token it should be illegal to “undertake” or pass on the right, but I don’t if there is an RCW that covers that situation.
One thing you have to realize about Seattle drivers is that many of us learned to drive elsewhere in the country or overseas. There are also what I would term “first generation” drivers many of whom have never been taught the subtleties of driving from their parents or relatives/friends. While there might be instances of passive aggressive driving (going the speed limit in the left lane) there are many drivers who are just plain oblivious to the proper rules of the road and don’t realize they are doing anything wrong.
And who can blame them. Our driving tests are severly lacking. Hell, we don’t even require you to drive on the freeway to get your license.
April 15, 2008 at 3:18 am #621968
lintleMemberwow!
this has gotten way outta control. like a one sided conversation. but i get it. some don’t have the focus and ability to operate a vehicle at higher speeds, or just don’t want to. some people walk around greenlake in the biking and blading lane! even better, go in big groups, blocking the entire walk impeding/blocking bladers, joggers and bikers. some don’t care that they’re in the left lane doing 5 over the limit while the flow of traffic to the right of them is 10 over and they actually hope the highway patrol will pull over the rest of the world and teach them all a lesson! the good, obedient and evenly postured prevail over evil.
I shudder to think what being in a bit of a hurry, slightly late, having a baby, needing to pee etc….. is like for these people. I shudder to think what any life situation in need of expediant attention will result in.
there are people who need to dumb down others to feel better of themselves. or are so unware that they never realize it. like the crab pot theorum. like the ones afraid of change and growth, or they refuse to accept others who possess a different inteligence than they. not so much a better intelligence.
when I talking about someone in a hurry I’m not talking about 20-30 over the speed limit, or someone burning rubber etc… I’m mostly refering to people who move and live with a sense of purpose. for what ever is important to them and having the mental and physical capacity to operate a vehicle at slightly higher speeds than the limit subjests.
this is really about something else.
35th ave is a perfect example JimmyG! I get that all the time on that turn. maybe they don’t know or are unaware that its legal, or think they’re keeping others from cutting line. lol. I love it when you pull up next to them and they act as though you’re not there, or are afraid to acknowledge you for fear you might call them a bad name.
April 15, 2008 at 6:52 am #621969
JanSParticipantOK…I get it…I’m well aware that the left lane is for passing ONLY…but there are some drivers that use it to speed in (I’m sure there are laws regarding how fast one can go on a given road…right?), or to weave in and out of traffic because you’re going the speed limit, sometimes over the speed limit..and it just ain’t fast enough for them. That’s why I asked…if the speed limit is 60 MPH…what is it in the left lane? And don’t tell me that all you left lane drivers are using it just to pass, and then get back into the regular right lane…many of you are using it to get around the people who are OBEYING the law..and you simply feel that you don’t have to…is 70 good enough? 80? are you the one who gets up on my a** when I’m goingover the speed limit by a few miles already?
See the argument goes both ways…there are simply some drivers out there who feel that they are above the law, and you’re simply in their way no matter how fast you’re driving. You can quote RCW’s all you want…but I get the feeling that you probably pick and choose, too ;-)
April 15, 2008 at 1:27 pm #621970
JeraldParticipantEven if it’s illegal to speed, it’s safer for everyone if the speeders can shoot up the left lane instead of weaving through the crowd. And hopefully get pulled over and ticketed eventually.
April 15, 2008 at 2:43 pm #621971
shelbiMemberI agree with lintle. who cares if someone is using the lane to pass or to speed?! It’s not our job to play cop. Don’t hold on to what someone else is doing, they are doing it because in their mind they need to… it’s not for you to judge or be the road patrol, it just is. There is no need to impede or play cop. Just move over, there is plenty of room to do so without abruptly going in and out of traffic.
April 15, 2008 at 3:47 pm #621972
CMPParticipantAlright, I was incorrect in my original post. The area that I was passed in (just north of the Morgan Junction) has a two-way left turn lane down the middle, which is where this car passed me. I just looked it up in the driver’s guide pamphlet and it’s ILLEGAL to pass someone in that turn lane. I’m not trying to police anyone; I just thought it was ridiculous to drive 45 to get around me, when I wasn’t driving slow to begin with. I’ve made tons of posts on here about parking and driving, which are my pet peeves about Seattleites. 75% of people here can’t seem to do either adequately, which baffles me.
As for passing lanes in the freeway, think of it this way. If everyone would stay to right all of the time, emergency vehicles would at least have an opportunity to move freely through traffic, if necessary. And then people like me could pass everyone else legally since I’m not afraid to drive 75 or faster on a freeway.
April 15, 2008 at 4:49 pm #621973
WSMomParticipantMy daughter just finished drivers ed and she informs me that going 30 mph allows you to go the furtherest distance using the least amount of fuel. I’m one of those annoyingly slow drivers. I take my foot off the gas half way down the street when I see a red light up ahead. It is my goal to not have to brake, but gently glide to the red light then slowly accelerate to use the least amount of precious fuel. Even writing this, I know this must make people cringe. It is not my intention to annoy anyone, but shooting $70 a pop into my car is like burning gold. Remember the 70’s and 55 mph on the freeway? What’s wrong with slowing down and saving gas. Padding the coffers of Exxon and BP is not my lifes goal. So forgive me my slow driving, but I do stay to the right pretty consistently so feel free to race up that left lane as fast as you like and watch your gas gauge drop like a rock.
April 15, 2008 at 4:59 pm #621974
swimcatMemberWHen you’re on the freeway and in the left lane, going 63, and you notice that people to the right of you are passing you, it’s time to move to the right. Whoever is on the road with you will dictate how fast people are willing to go over the speed limit (I drove to Federal Way Sunday morning and everyone was going 70 to 75 mph). When you drive, you need to pay attention to EVERYTHING going on around you, just not stay in your little cocoon. Look past the hood of your car to see what other drivers are doing and then react appropriately so traffic will flow best. This is the problem with the bulk of Seattle drivers; they can’t think about anything outside the windows of their vehichles or how their actions impact everyone else around them.
April 15, 2008 at 5:39 pm #621975
shelbiMemberNothing is wrong with slowing down and saving gas… if that’s what you want to do. I just don’t think that one person’s personal goal applies to everyone else. So if you want to go slow, go slow.. but maybe the person behind you doesn’t want to.. move over red rover and let them be on their way, no skin off your back or theirs and everyone is happy.
April 15, 2008 at 7:14 pm #621976
hopeyParticipantDriving too slowly on the freeway can actually be a *hazard*. I’m not sure how many people realize that. If the flow of traffic, as m stated above, is going 70-75mph, a vehicle going 55 in the left lane is actually a hazard *regardless* of what the actual speed limit is for that stretch of road. Slower traffic moves right — even when “slower” means you’re the only one driving the speed limit.
That is my biggest pet peeve for driving around here, the lack of enforcement of and education about that particular law. Drive as slow as you want, just MOVE TO THE RIGHT when you do it. And don’t make me endanger myself and others by having to change lanes multiple times just to get around you.
WSMom, was your daughter taught about that law in Drivers Ed?
April 15, 2008 at 8:03 pm #621977
KenParticipantI have spent a lot of time driving in actual large cities. People and drivers here are the same mix as anywhere else.
The problems arise when they take their city manners out onto the interstate that crosses the rest of the country.
It may be etiquette rather than rules but most who spend any time going cross country realize that you use the left lane to pass only. You leave room between cars at interstate speed and you don’t drive with your high beams on and you respect trucks and their limitations.
I-90 through the pass would not be nearly as dangerous if drivers used the interstate rules rather then the “freeway” rules.
When I crossed the pass to eastern WA regularly years ago, I often saw the damnedest things. People passing in the right lane not realizing that it was dedicated to fully loaded trucks going 30 mph up the mountain or using the compression brake on the downhill side in hopes of not having to use a runaway turnout.
I have seen SUV’s pass a snowplow only to watch the same plow cover their car where it was sideways in the ditch or median a few miles ahead.
4 wheel drive does not compensate for stupid.
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Hopey if you read this, send me an email. I left a message with “LG” and I need to talk to either of ya re server.
April 15, 2008 at 9:12 pm #621978
hopeyParticipantThanks, Ken. He’s been out of town & comes home tonight. I’m sure he’ll be in touch in the next few days. :)
April 15, 2008 at 11:20 pm #621979
barmargiaMemberOkay, so how about if I’m in the far right lane, going the speed limit because 1) I don’t want to waste gas, and 2) I don’t want to get a ticket, and someone is riding on my @ss…am I to move over to the shoulder and let them pass? Because everything I seem to be gathering is the speeders should have the right of way and the people going the speed limit or slower than the speeders should get out of the way.
April 16, 2008 at 12:08 am #621980
JanSParticipantbarmargia…my question exactly…who are these people that their presence on the road is more important than mine, when I’m obeying the law and they aren’t.Their self-importance is underwhelming me. Yes, I stay in the right lane, and I go with the flow of traffic, or usually 3-5 miles over the limit if I am the flow…and still that doesn’t make people happy at times…
April 16, 2008 at 12:24 am #621981
shelbiMemberJans and barmargia – are you not also showing self-importance by trying to control and police the road? It’s so much easier to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. It’s just the flow of things, so someone is going faster than you that’s the space that they are in, if you don’t want to be in the space move out of the way. There is no point in judging them, it only creates frustration for you.
April 16, 2008 at 2:12 am #621982
barmargiaMembershelbi, I don’t police the road, I don’t chase after people that are speeding. I was wondering what you expect me to do if I am driving the speed limit in the right hand lane and someone starts riding my ass because in their eyes I’m not driving fast enough. If I’m not in the passing lane, but minding my own business in the right hand lane and someone speeds up on me, am I supposed to assume that that person is more important than me so I should get off of their road? If they are speeding in another lane or passing me I don’t give a rat’s @ss.
April 16, 2008 at 2:19 am #621983
WSMomParticipantHow is it “policing the road” when one is in the right hand lane going the lawful speed limit. I do end up going well over the speed limit on the freeway, just to be safe, even in the right hand lane. It sounds to me like people are more judgmental of slow drivers than of fast. Perhaps when gas goes to $6.00 a gallon (summer 2009???) people will feel like slowing down and enjoying the scenery.
April 16, 2008 at 4:22 am #621984
AnonymousInactiveShelbi, you might want to re-read *a new earth*. Telling others how they need to see and experience things, was not quite the point.
April 16, 2008 at 12:03 pm #621985
KayleighMemberHow come it’s okay for the speeders to police the road and control others by asking that they speed up or move out of the speeders’ way…
but it’s not okay for slower driver to simply drive at a reasonable pace (which these days is 5 MPH over the speed limit anyway) in the right hand lane?
*scratches head*
April 16, 2008 at 2:50 pm #621986
JoBParticipantDo we really believe all driving conditions are equal… as the driver’s manual would have us believe?
This started with someone passing on California Ave….
and i really don’t see why that is legal.
Yes, i did follow the code.. but isn’t there something in there about safe conditions as well? that doesn’t mean just snow storms or heavy rain.
I should think that alone would rule out passing in a highly urban environment.
forgive me, but i don’t think it is appropriate to pass in an urban environment unless you have a lane and can actually see if there is anything in front of the car you are passing…
or unless you pullout slowly and cautiously to pass a car that is stopped…
have we forgotten pedestrians, bicyclists, dogs or car doors opening to exit after parking?
Perhaps the person who is not rushing to fill the gap you see in traffic sees something you don’t.. or has been the recent recipient of someone else’s carelessness.
As for urban arterials with two lanes.. if you try to use the left lane for passing, you will be bobbing and weaving in traffic each time you encounter a car that wants to turn left…
Is it legal? maybe. is it safe? no.
How late will you be to wherever it is you are going that is important enough for you to pass in urban traffic if you hit someone?
That should be worth thinking about…
April 16, 2008 at 3:09 pm #621987
beachdrivegirlParticipantSo a new rant to the driver of the black toyota 4runner with license plate cover from the Lee Peterson Yakima dealership. Your driving this morning was beyond eratical on the brideg and you were driving in the PARKING LANE!! on 1st AVE S. Slow Down before you kill someone!
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