4 Great Benefits You’re Missing Out On If You Block The Left Lane
Yielding to faster traffic is a simple concept, but it’s often forgotten. Chances are that when you’re behind the wheel, you see a bunch of people ignoring this basic driving rule, which is commonly referred to as lane courtesy.
When drivers choose to block the left lane, whether intentionally or not, they are making the roads less safe and efficient for everyone. Here are some of the benefits you and the other drivers on the road will notice if you keep the left lane open for passing:
1) You’re Less Likely To Be In An Accident
By not obstructing other drivers, traffic is able to flow more smoothly. When traffic flows smoothly, there is less tailgating, less weaving in-and-out of traffic, and therefore fewer accidents.
2) You’ll Get Better Gas Mileage
Lane courtesy promotes the smooth flow of traffic and helps drivers maintain an even pace. Vehicles use the most gas when accelerating. Less braking followed by acceleration will improve fuel economy.
3) You’ll Get To Your Destination Faster
Yielding to faster traffic reduces congestion. When traffic is flowing smoothly, highway capacity can be utilized to the fullest extent.
4) You Will Not Have To Deal With Road Rage
There’s little doubt that “left lane hogs” are a source of irritation for many drivers. The courteous act of moving to the right can eliminate driver stress and conflict.
Despite these clear benefits, some drivers still choose to deliberately block the left lane. The most common rationalization is below:
“I’m driving the speed limit and I shouldn’t have to move over for lawbreakers.”
Although it may help people feel morally superior to rationalize their behavior in this way, drivers who block the left lane are doing their fellow drivers a great disservice.
Regardless of how you feel about drivers who exceed the speed limit, it’s safer and more efficient to let the police sort out the reckless and irresponsible drivers.
There are additional reasons to always yield the left lane to faster traffic:
- Something as simple as speedometer error can result in a five-MPH or greater difference in vehicle speeds, although both read the same speed.
- The motorist seeking to pass in the left lane may be responding to a family or health emergency.
- Faster left lane vehicles may be preceding an emergency vehicle and seeking an opportunity to merge right.
The bottom line is that no valid purpose is served by blocking the left lane when other vehicles wish to pass.
The first step in improving the driving experience for everyone is to simply practice lane courtesy yourself.
Achieving a high degree of lane courtesy on America’s highways will require a commitment to education, public relations, and a more enlightened approach to traffic management.
State and Federal agencies have invested billions of dollars in public relations campaigns promoting traffic law compliance, seatbelt usage, construction zone safety, and anti-drinking and driving messages, but lane courtesy has been largely ignored.
A small investment to promote lane courtesy would pay major dividends. Add in an educational component for beginning drivers and reminders for older drivers and the benefits would be immediate.
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These people that feel that it improves traffic flow and saves fuel if they can driver faster in the left lane. That is false on both assumptions. Faster takes more fuel, if everyone drives the same speed the fuel usage drops a lot because of zero acceleration and braking if cars are flowing at the same speed and traffic flow is a lot better because if you do not have to accelrate after braking ,you are not slowing down other cars behind you. I have seen this type of thing many times when people have to speed up a lot to hit the brakes and stop at a stop light. If they would not have been in such a hurry and speed up just to hit their brakes they could have kept rolling through the intersection when it turned green and do not slow down people like me waiting for them to get back up to speed.
I have some concerns about the way people on this site and the organization for that matter make such a big deal about slower drivers in the right lane. What I mean by this is if someone is driving 10 mph over the limit passing slower cars in the lane to their right some on this site are ready to get their guns out and tailgate because they want to drive 15 to 20 mph over the limit. They feel they have more of a right than anyone else because they are fast drivers. These same people argue for the speed limits to be set at the 85%. Why? They are the ones that drive well over the 85% speed. Every study ever done says that they are more dangerous drivers. I will continue.
The signs here in Virginia say “Slower Traffic Keep Right.” I hate those signs for the reasons others have already noted: Some people feel that 5 mph over the speed limit is “fast”; others feel that “going the speed limit” is acceptable and that you’re only “slow” if you’re going below the speed limit; etc. I wish the standard were “Keep Right Except to Pass.” When I drive north through Maryland on I-95, I often feel as though I’m on a British motorway because the two left lanes are carrying all the traffic and the right lane is wide open, at least once I get north of the Baltimore area. (Not a perfect analogy because the motorways seldom have exits and entrances on the right, of course.)
I also don’t understand when it became “rude” to flash your brights at someone to ask them to move over. That signal has been universally accepted for years, but nowadays apparently people take offense at it, so everybody just tailgates instead (at least here in the DC area).
Lane courtesy is somthing that would benefit the public greatly if it was practice 99% of the time and enforce to a high extent. I think (I could be wrong) that the reason why lane courtesty is not enforce is because it helps traffic to flow at a faster pace and anything that is faster is look at as an evil thing based on those safety advocates who say “faster is bad” and “slow is safe.” The driving public really needs to WAKE UP and bring back the effective “Keep Right Except to Pass” techneque to all U.S. states and the most important part is to PRACTICE IT 99% of the time.
Lane courtesy does not mean driving 20 mph over the speed limit in the left lane. Lane courtesy is if you are driving under the speed limit then make sure you are in the right lane. A few weeks ago someone said here that for once he was going to drive only 5 mph over the limit and stay in the center lane of a multiple lane road. He said he was being attacked with road rage for driving that speed. This says that more speed enforcement was needed to eliminate the road rage that is going on and to bring the speeds of the vehicles closer to each other. Recently I saw this in Wisconsin where all of the cars were driving within 5 mph of the speed limit. It was great driving. You could set the cruise control and not worry about being in someone’s way. If there was a slow truck in the right lane you could pass them without worrying that someone hundreds of yards behind you is driving 20 to 30 mph faster than you are and coming up behind you giving you the finger. If this was done all over you would satsify all 4 points given above.
Again lane courtesy does not mean giving room for the top 15 percent of drivers so they can break the law and make driving a bad experience.
I was traveling on Rt 22 this morning (going the speed limit of 50 mph, in the far right lane) think this was Monmouth Junction……..there was a woman going about 35-40 in the left hand lane, with a cop following right behind her………….this was going on for about 2-3 miles……….he never bothered putting his lights on to warn her to get over……….just stayed right behind her. Finally she did turn left. Possibly this is the reason why people stay in the left hand lane, the cops don’t bother doing anything??? I actually was very surprised, as I have seen cops turn their lights on to get people to move over
You are a Tool Doug.
You don’t care, you should.
People pointing their middle finger at you aren’t just flipping you off, they are expressing how high your IQ really is.
There is no reason why anyone should be on the road if they know their actions are making other drivers irate. If you are getting high on that, you need serious anger management.
I had the pleasure of responding to a letter to the editor in my local (NY) paper. The writer was complaining about all the trucks on the interstate passing her on both the left and the right!
Of course I did my best to explain that she was contributing to the unsafe conditions, and that if she was driving on the right when not passing, that getting passed on the right simply wouldn’t happen.
She then replied to my letter stating that she’s perfectly within her rights to drive in the center lane and that by staying in the middle she avoids interfering with the entering and exiting traffic.
I didn’t bother responding, but if I did, I would’ve reminded her that her initial complaint referenced trucks passing her on the 1.5 mile long bridge over the Hudson River. Not a whole lot of interchanges along that stretch of highway, lady.
Unfortunately, it’s pretty tough to convince people to do the right thing, when they won’t even acknowledge what the right thing is.
Ohhhh, welcome to Oklahoma. Again, here’s a law that’s totally unenforced in this state. While rare, I’ve even seen a few of these clowns hold up a police cruiser behind them….clearly breaking the law. Nobody gets pulled over for this. This left lane hogging creates a dangerous situation in which one vehicle causes multiple lane changes and frustration which can lead to road rage….all because some bonehead is stubborn. It’s an absolute safety issue not being resolved by law enforcement. It’s one of the most common complaints I hear from my co-workers. It’s a common complaint on local blogs….still nothing gets done about it.
You will see some on these blogs try to justify it. They say why should they move over to allow you to speed. The law is quite clear and independent of the speed. Sometimes I see so many in the left lane that I think maybe we should change the law to make the right lane the fast lane. Of course then they WOULD move to the right lane. It’s a Asinine act.
I lived in Texas for 4 years and am back in Louisiana and I still can’t figure out what or should I say why do many Texas drivers seem to be so fixiated with driving in the left lane and usually fail they to yield to faster traffic or traffic wanting to pass when they are properly signaled. And the look they give you in their rearview mirror seems to say “the hell you say, you actually want ME, to move out of the way for you, to get by ME.”
Doug, You truly are an IDIOT, the defiant type that thinks everyone around you is meek and lowly. I’m sure you’re middle aged, fat, and overweight, a truly frustrated has-been, wishing you could still compete somewhere in the world. Ya think you’re not in a hurry?? I’m the type that’ll pass you on the right, pull in front of you, and show you how I like to drive in “your” left lane. Don’t like that, tough guy?? Pull over and try to “assault” me! PLEASE. I’m just a little beerbellyless boy, shy and quiet, remember? Otherwise, get back on your tricycle, grab your ball, and go home to Mommy and have her teach you how to read, then read your local rules of the road; it’s that little book sitting over there next to the Bible.
Seth,
Good points all around, especially those concerning people who block up the center lanes, leaving the right lane open, because they don’t want to have to pay attention to their driving.
There are so many people who recognize how ridiculous left lane hogging behavior is, that together they should be able to have a positive impact.
Here is how this can be done:
1. Every time you come up behind someone in the left lane who does not move right to let you get by, give them ample time, and then pass safely on the right.
2. After the pass, move back to the left lane (normally not a proper move, but this is to give them a taste of their own medicine, for positive, educational purposes).
3. Once in the left lane (make the pass safely, if you have to cut them off, they probably are not a true left lane hog), gradually slow down, more and more and more, until the slowpoke finally gets the message and moves right.
4. Once they move right, speed back up and move right yourself, to solidify the message.
5. Watch your mirror. If the slowpoke moves back to the left lane after you move on, IMMEDIATELY move back to the left and gradually slow down again, as many times as you have the schedule to allow, or until you reach your destination, so long as traffic does not become congested (gotta stay safe).
If enough people started doing this, the inconvenience to the left lane hogs on the road would cram the message into their heads, whether they were the oblivious type, the self appointed speed monitor type, or just plain clueless.
MAKE them get a clue.
Hello,
Just wanted to share some thoughts:
1. The problem with the ‘slower traffic keep right’ signs is that nobody ever thinks they’re driving slowly. It doesn’t matter that you’re driving 75 mph, you should still be to the far right, allowing the person driving 80 to pass you on the left. Once they’ve passed, they should move to the right as well, because someone else might want to go 90.
2. Road rage doesn’t just happen — it’s caused. When you observe an instance of road rage, don’t curse that driver. Look around for the idiot who caused it.
3. On 3 lane highways, I’m most frustrated by center lane drivers. I want to move out of the left lane as quickly as possible after passing. I hate being stuck in the left lane due to the center lane hogs failing to move to the far right.
4. The fact is that I’m rarely in the left lane. Why should I be when there’s usually an empty right lane available? I feel there’s no such thing as passing on the right. I drive on the right. If I catch up to the car in front of me, I pass it on the left and then move back over to the right. If I happen to drive past anyone on my left at some point, that means that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. How can I be faulted for someone else’s failure to keep right?
5. If you’re following the keep right – pass left rule, then there’s no need to check your rear view mirror for cars coming up behind you. If you’re not passing someone, then you shouldn’t be in that lane.
6. Enforcement of lane courtesy may be severely lacking, but what’s worse is that lane courtesy education is non-existent. Too many people simply don’t know that what they’re doing is wrong, and that they’re contributing to increased traffic and unsafe conditions.
Thanks for reading, and have a safe day.
Hi all, Dear all, yes I totally agree that lane hogging can cause more harm as well as leads to other form incidents such as Tail Gating. I personally think that the Department of Transports needs to do something quickly before it becomes a serious epidemic. Solutions this problem are:
1) Congested motorways such as the motorway in the UK, the Autoroute in France, the Autobahn in Germany, the Autostrada in Italy, the Autopista in Spain and Mexico, the Highway or Freeway in USA, the motorway in Australia, other forms of motorways in Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore where traffic is becoming a major problem and absolutely headache. Unfortunately it is the world disease now. Getting back to the solutions to the problem. Have major signs on the sides of motorways informing drivers about lane hogging in various languages probably four languages – English, French, Spanish and German for those in Europe only.
2) Tougher fines for drivers who continue do lane hogging and maybe points deducted from drivers – a word of caution must be implemented to the driver first as first offence, then a fine for the second and third offence which is automatically recorded on the Police computer – the fine should be £150 and fourth offence points deducted from persistent drivers who do lane hogging without considering other drivers.
3) Chevrons should be put into place where there are major trouble spots of lane hogging which might eventually cause tailgating which eventually leads to road rage.
4) Video evidences must be implemented in the court – for magistrate’s court hearings with the number plate of the vehicle and driver caught on camera – for points to be deducted.
5) Train future drivers about tailgating, lane hogging, road rage, speeding and chatter boxing – on the mobile in a new hazard perception test for future drivers – this should be the second part of hazard perception test and etc.
God I’m HOME….with people who feel the same as me about lane courtesy…and ANTHONY I absolutely agree about the right red light turners. So often I have the opportunity to turn right and beat traffic goin both ways (as I make a left across traffic shortly after that light) but can’t because some d*ck is in the middle of the lane parked a full car length form the line. Guess they figure if i can’t take this light no body can.
DOUG,
YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. NOT THE SOLUTION. PLEASE KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY SAFE BY USING THIS THING CALLED “COMMON SENSE”.
I agree with all of you. If people were more courteous then driving would be fun again. (in any car, not just miatas :P)
One question I have though. What about right turns on red? If I am the “leader” of the left lane, I always try to get over so that I’m not blocking a red right turner. And if it’s not possible, I always get as far to the left of the right lane, so that they might be able to squeeze by me.
Shouldn’t that also be included in lane courtesy?
Glen Smith, I couldn’t have said it better myself. One of the most common complaints by my co-workers and friends are left lane hogs. “SLOWER TRAFFIC MUST KEEP RIGHT” and such signs are rare around here, Oklahoma. Enforcement is practically non-existent for left lane hogging. Ever notice how they get over when a cop comes up behind them. I’m always watching my rear view mirror and try to judge whats coming up behind me. If a vehicle is fast approaching me, I try to be out of the way before they get there. It just makes no sense for a variety of reasons to block the far left lane.
I am curious. They say you can’t pass on the right on the Autobahn, but what if you have a jerk on the left lane and you want to go faster? Shouldn’t the one on the left lane get a ticket? How else do you pass? Also in the areas of the Autobahn with 3 lanes, Douglas mentions the word “Autobahnen”, is that a typo or is that a name Germans gave to the Autobahn areas with 3 lanes?
I believe in freedom of speed in a safe manner, and with proper laws freedom also brings the most safety. I hope one day most Americans will gain the knowledge and enough common sense that domination with speed limits is not fair to the safe drivers and it’s simply never going to work. Domination and Submission is not the name of the game, Cooperation is. Dominating A Holes out there think that submitting is cooperating but when it hurts the other one it is not cooperation! Speed Limits on Interstate highways does not allow cooperation and causes anger and frustration, and anxiety, because it is just not fair and it’s a hurtful restraint. So if a safe responsible driver is experiencing these negative feelings from being forced to do a speed limit on the highway when conditions make it safe to enjoy going the speed he or she likes to go, then one is hurting mentally and so therefore there is no cooperation. The survival of the fittest are those who cooperate to help and be good to all sides, not to retrain them from enjoying something when it’s done safely, and not to discriminate anyone either. I want my right (not a stupid privilage or any other wrong thing to call it) to American Autobahn. I want my American Autobahn. Life is too short for this B.S. I can die tomorrow so therefore I never have time for this speed limit slavery, and we who want American Autobahn don’t want the unnesessery risks that come with speed limits to make politicians richer. I want proper safety laws enforced on the highways that are truly for safety puposes and protects freedom of speed (like lane courtesy), now that’s cooperation.