Slower traffice KEEP RIGHT!

Silver 996TT going south on I45 over the NY holiday....GET THE HELL OUTTA THE LEFT LANE if you want to do the speed limit. You should have seen the line of traffic you were slowing down! Sorry for the rant....just makes me mad.

hell id be more than happy if they even where going close to the speed limit, around here it seems that "usually a toyota camry" is doing about 40-50 tops in the left lane riding right beside someone in a buick in the right lane so you have to wait till they quit oooglling each others cars before you can get around

No. Slower traffic KEEP LEFT!

Nick, your rant is completely justified. I wonder why is it not the law like it is here in Europe? Usually here they keep right and if they don't, a couple of flashes and they move over. But still, a few may be a little stuborn or think the road is theirs, in that case when I'm on the bike I take my vengance, I don't "wait"if they don't seem to move over and I'll use the space between the median and the car and open it up, in an instant before they know whats happening the exhaust screaming at 10,000RPM passing a foot away from their side windshield and with their eyes as big a dessert plates gripping hard the steering wheel until its over... I have no patience for left lane hoggers, its my pet peeve.

carlos, it is the law in the US! the law states "keep right unless passing" and it applies in every state except florida (weird exception) as far as i know. however, it's not enforced, and nobody follows it! i've never heard of anybody getting a ticket for it. anybody else ever heard of it? i'm talking about getting a ticket just for that single infraction, because i know cops will sometimes add it on to a ticket if they get you for something else too (like a broken tail light for example). nickS, i feel your pain! not too long ago i came up behind a silver 996 Turbo doing 70 in the left lane up here in boston. i sat behind him for a minute or two, figuring he'd pull over since there was nobody next to him. but, he never did and i ended up passing him on the right. probably a p-car driver that bought it just for the name and has never even taken it over the 100 MPH mark!

I think if the fines for speeding were cut by 70%, and the fine for left lane hogging was doubled, you'd find a LOT more enforcement of that law!

IL enacted a new law requiring left to be passing and right for driving and it is being enforced. I know a couple people who have been pull over for driving in the left lane already. It was always state law but the new rules gives the police more teeth and is def being enforced. BObby

the lack of a true passing lane in the u.s. is also one of my pet peeves. unfortunately, i believe that the only state that currently enforces the law is connecticut. in maryland passing on the right is completely legal. there is no maryland statute against left lane hogs. damn shame!

The main reason I don't travel with the local Porsche club to any of their events. They "parade" in the left lane just at the speed limit as if they own it.

How embarrasing (and boring), I can see why you don't want to.

The problem here in the US is that too many "law abiding citizens" consider themselves to be the highway patrol. I have a neighbor who regularly yells "slow down" at cars driving down our street. I rode with him on the freeway once, and he would go out of his way to not let people pass him, saying "I'm already going the speed limit...if that's not good enough, too bad!" Geez...what a moronic attitude to have.

that's probably the attitude that gets alot of people shot considering all the road rage issues you see in the news lately, i wouldn't be suprised if thats not what causes alot of it

anyone who purposely trys to control others' behavoir by sitting in the left lane should be taken to a public place and tortured as a public disgrace..... .....just my humble opinion

I saw two bumper stickers that summed the situation up: "Don't be a dumb ***. Use the left lane only to Pass" "Drive like a Republican, stay to the far right" In california, I think that most people on the roads must be from England, because they don't yield to faster traffic and love to cruise in the left lane. I find I can make better time by driving in the far right lane. it is insane, and dangerous!

I feel everybody's pain here. It seems in the midwest states it is the God given right of any taxpayer to occupy whatever lane they want and go at whatever speed they wish. The worst offenders are old farmers (I don't know how many old "cotton tops" and "blue hairs", who can barely see over or hold on to the steering wheel, have somehow had the energy to flip me off when I pass them on the right (and "politely" gesture that they should move into the right "slow" lane.) The other worst offenders are the cell phone users...multi-tasking is not in everybody's forte! If there are any cops who read these forums they should take note...for some the posted speeds are too slow, for some they are too fast, and some should not be on the road at all. Owning a drivers license is a priveledge not a right.

Orient Express, that's a load of bollox. You assume that just because we drive on the left we are the ones responsible for your countries crappy drivers. So does that mean we in the UK can blame you guys for taking up our right hand lane similarly. No, I don't think so. These drivers are just plain a-holes. The same a-holes as we experience here. One thing, I can say after living in the US and many many trips there, is that I can never understand the game play you guys have on the roads. I am aware that you have the same rules as us: keep to the slower lane, only use the faster lane to overtake. But my experience in the US is that everyone seems to take up whatever lane they want., no matter what speed you do. You always see people undertaking. In the UK, we have a very important rule and its rare to see it broken (although we too have our idiots but they are rare, thankfully). You never undertake. That is, you never "ever" go to a slower lane to pass another car. This rule is sacrosanct. So much so that if you break it and there is an accident, the undertaking car is "always" in the wrong no matter what the situation. The way we deal with this is simple: we pull up behind the car using up the faster lane and flash our headlights. Normally they would move over. But there's always the odd a-hole who wont'. In that case you just have to be patient. Bite your tongue and curse, but you never undertake him. The result is that each lane has a speed, the speed the traffic is flowing in. If it's too slow, you move into the faster lane to overtake traffic. As soon as it's clear, you move over to the slower lane again. Again, you never undertake. This rule is applied throughout Europe and that's why on the Autobahn it's safe to slam your foot down and do 140mph, because you can trust that the rule of "undertaking" is sacrosanct and that generally drivers are sensible. But even here in Europe we have our idiots, but I would not expressly put blame on US drivers for it. So don't blame us in the UK for your countries bad driving habits. Look at it this way. Your country has 4 x the population of ours so therefore you have 4 x as many a-holes

Scouser, Orient was just joking, that since slow drivers were on the fast left lane it must be becuase most of them were from a left-hand drive country and must of though they were in the slow lane instead of the fast one

Oops! Carlos your right. After re reading Orient;s post I see it is in fact a pun. Sorry Orient.

Phew! I thought for a minute, I had soured anglo-american relations, glad you caught my joke.... But you are right, we do have way too many a-holes on the road, and the fact that they drive in what ever lane they please, makes it much more dangerous for all. sometimes I feel like I am playing Tetris rather than just driving down the road. I find that I have to change lanes way too often to keep going. If only folks would just stay on the right.

i HATE passing on the right - especially a semi and generally won't do it unless i've determined that its the ONLY way around. how many times have you seen someone go for the right lane only to be cut off. i'll camp behind the lard *** car in the left lane for a while. maybe offer up a quick flash of the lights, but i think that the fast lane is now the right lane.

a friend of mine introduced me to an interesting technique to get slow drivers in the left lane to move over. you know those rumble strips they have on the sides of most US highways? well, they're generally louder for other drivers than they are in your own car. next time somebody is going slow in the left lane and won't move over, drift over to the left a little and ride the rumble strip for a while. i have a couple of theories on why this seems to get people to move over: 1. the person thinks you're a crazy driver that's going to pass them on the left in the breakdown lane so they get out of your way 2. the person is driving off in la la land and the noise of the rumble strip wakes them up and alerts them to your presence so they move over 3. it makes it clear to the other driver that you want to pass them and they don't think that you're happy to be cruising at the same slow speed as them personally i don't like flashing my lights. in europe it's fine and people are used to it and they know what it means. in the US very few people do it, and it's illegal, plus it makes me feel like a jerk, especially since i'm driving a porsche and people probably think "why's that rich @$$hole flashing me?!?!?!?"

Several people on this forum have pointed out some very good points. I grew up in Europe and I remember driving with my parents that you only went into the left lanes to pass, otherwise you stuck to the right (the opposite in Britain of course), and "flashing headlights" did mean something. In the US (and Canada) flashing your headlights usually just pisses of the driver in front of you (unless they are from Europe), and in some states and provinces is illegal (such as warning oncoming traffic of a radar trap ahead). Tail-gaiting is just stupid and dangerous. I have found that in general when driving my porsche if I just have patience and sit back MOST drivers will pull into the right lane when safe to do so. Unfortunately many people are too blind or deaf ("blue hairs") or too pre-occupied (cell phone users) to know I am there. Sometimes I will drop down a gear so they can hear me. Flashing my lights here means absolutely nothing and pisses them off. Rarely will I pass on the right unless absolutely necessary...if I feel that the left lane hogg is a road hazard or "an accident waiting to happen". If I am driving my truck (lifted with a blower) then they usually see me and get out of the way (unless it is some kid in a "hot car" who figures he or she has got more of a vehicle than I do...WRONG!). When driving my lexus almost no-one got out of my way. Long and short of it, left lane hoggs are a road hazard. You should only be in the left lane to pass. The cops should be enforcing these rules.

Believe it or not, Texas law says that you should use your horn to get people to move not your lights. I would think that would be antagonistic. Being European (Brit) by origin, I still sometimes use a courtesy flash, very very brief flicker of the lights, that often works. As pointed out above, sometimes just hanging back and not crowding people works. C.

I flash my lights just as you say. Tends to work in most cases. Using the horn simply doesn't work. And I find flashing the lights a few times BEFORE you get up on them tends to work better too.

It may be different in other areas, but here you'd certainly end up in an early grave (either out of frustration or crashes) trying to move slow drivers out the left hand lane, as they're as likely to stomp on the brakes as they are to move over when one of these techniques is applied. I've been with many a driver (often but not always female) who express incredulous rage at being tailgated in the fast lane, their response always being "WHY DON'T THEY JUST GO AROUND?" And up here, I think that's pretty much what's expected at least if the driver in the fast lane is going the speed limit.

In the city left lane hogs are pretty bad, but it gets better in Texas as you get into the country. What's really interesting is that LOTS more people will shift over out of the left lane to let my 993 past than if I'm driving my truck.

Robert H., I hear ya...it is kind of weird, but I like it. Just mod your truck with a lift kit, a blower and ram air induction on your hood and they will probably get out of your way .

That is one of the most hilareous things I ever heard! can you be more stupid than that?

I once knew a guy that went so berzerk when the left lane hogs didn't move right, that when he passed them he would chuck a handfull of pennies out the window at them. Then one day he purposely rear ended a guy (in an old Volvo stationwagon) when they wouldn't move right and slammed on their brakes. I think he learned his lesson after the **** storm he had to deal with, crazy bastard.

I am no less frustrated than any of you but allow me to flip the script.... i don't know about you guys but when i I am in the left lane I am almost always going well over the speed limit...which is illegal. So if someone will not get out of my way I kinda see it as a game to find the line through traffic that gets me around them. Its fun...like being in a little race...this too is illegal though. Maybe we should just all stop breaking the law?! and drive the speed limit

but if we did that then we would all be that middle aged man in the right lane driving our corvettes at 50mph everywhere we go with our very young wife's

Living on the pennisula in the SF Bay Area, you learn what h-way to drive. 101 is always backed up with traffic and usually a parking lot, so you stay away. 280 is like a road course where everyone is going 70+(I would drive the slow lane on the phone @ 75 and everyone would blow by). Nobody stays in the left lane or you getted the finger when passed. Now living in Philly I'm going nuts! People here camp, and I mean camp in the left lane. We still have CA plates on our BMW so people flip me off when I pass them 'cause they're doing 55 in the fast lane...I grew up when everyone called the left lane what it should be referred too and used in practice! I agree that passing on the right is dangerous, but so is speeding... -PK

Hey Patrick wher you livin' in philly? I am a native of Cheese Steak and Hoagie Land!...whats wrong you don't love the Schukyill??? Have a "Provolone, Mushroom With" at Geno's for me this weekend!

The left lane hogger is a challange. I find most hoggers are simply oblivious and will typically pull over if given a chance. To be polite and to protect from sand and rock damage, I will wait behind at a safe distance. As soon as it is safe for the hogger to pull over I will give them one blink of my left blinker (US). If they pull over great. If they do not pull over, I assume they are oblivious and will pass them on the right but reclaim the passing lane slowly as a calming jesture. We used to have drivers here in Boston that would try to hold back the traffic in some form of moral do-gooder, but I think they have all reached an evolutionary deadend as most Boston drivers are not so patient. If only the passing lane had a passing lane (quote from a BMW shirt I've seen)

Ok, my 2 cents ... I too yell slow down at cars driving fast down our street, it's a street with limited sight and a lot of kids and dogs. BUT, on the highway ... I go as fast as I think I can get away with. I almost never flash, use the right lane whenever it's faster {most of the time} and weave as safely as possible. Yup, I have a speed problem, but it seems to me the highways are the place to "hang it out", not the local roads. I agree with you all that things would be so much nicer {ie less weaving} if people were better about getting over to the right. I've also noticed in both Europe and the States, that people like to travel in packs ... they tend to speed up or slow down to stay with the pack. Go figure!, if you want to prevent an accident, Speed up a little and get away from the pack! And if you want to live longer Drive faster! {Einstein's theory at work}

There is one more thing you need (which a local similarly-modded truck has). His is high enough that when he comes up behind a lane hog, his license plate is visible in their rear-view mirror. Personalized, it says UGOUNDR Like you said, people tend to move over......

JayM, I like it!

Flashing the lights usually works pretty well here in Michigan. I don't think it is illegal to flash lights for that purpose here. (Though I have heard it is illegal to flash to warn of radar traps, I'm not sure).

Police who are out to make a "quota" with tickets would like you to think it's illegal to flash as a warning of a trap ahead. But it's never illegal to encourage people to obey the law or to act in such a way as to prevent a crime from occurring. Or so the courts decided. J

In Mass I've been behind people parked in the left lane, I've flashed them,.....they slow down more and won't pull over to the right lane. If you finally try to pass on the right ...they speed up!!!!! Now you know why they can, at times and only some of them, be called "Massholes"!

That would be quite easily done if the speed limits weren't artificially low here in North America. 90kph (55mph) on a four lane divided highway? That's unreal. Sure your average 1950s car was unsafe at these speeds (when the laws came about) but today's cheesiest econobox can truck along at 120-140kph without breaking a sweat and is equipped with the brakes and handling to haul itself down in case of an emergency. The laws are way outdated... As for these left-lane-bandits, they are the single worst cause of road-rage in my opinion. why does it continue to happen? Because the glorified tax-collectors that erroniously call themselves police find it too hard to enforce and cash in on driver's poor lane manners. Speeding is so much easier to turn into revenue so why not keep lowering the speed limits and installing speed cameras? It's not the speeder that normally causes the accident, it's the dumb-*** that changes lanes without looking, without signalling and without accelerating to match the speed of traffic flow already in the lane. Ontario finally instituted fines and enforcement for "passing lanes" and it's time that all provinces followed their lead. Our "Slower traffic keep right" signs are useless, their "Keep right EXCEPT to pass, $250 fine" signs are probably a little more effective. What's worse? We have "Report aggressive drivers, call 1-800-whatever" signs posted on the freeways too... yeah, that helps! Would you consider someone who deliberately hogs the left lane to slow down other drivers as being aggressive? I do. I should write down some licence plate numbers and make a few phone calls... Rant off...

I have this crazy notion that you're less conspicuous when speeding, if you're in the far right lane. I run close to the shoulder with my bike and on the buttons (white stripes) when traffic thickens. It's not unusual in Norcal that the passing lane has more cars than the "truck" lane (3 Lane h'ways).I like driving in Europe better, they're more considerate of the passing lane.

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enough of this passing on the right is dangerous stuff...after almost 1,000,000 miles of driving, i know that sitting behind someone, with other cars coming up from behind is far more dangerous than my passing a car on the right. the chance of an accident is increased by an increased amount of time spent near and around other autos! most drivers don't know how to set their side mirrors on either side, much less use them, so i believe that passing a moron on the right is pretty much like passing a moron on the left. if i'm such a poor driver than i cannot anticipate and react properly to (especially in a Porsche) passing on the right and the driver coming over on me, then i guess i should just be like other overly cautious, passive safety conscious only people and drive a dump truck so that at least i won't be as apt to get hurt when someone runs into me like i had my eyes closed.

Maybe if our speed limits were reasonable we could! The cities of Newport Beach and Irvine have it right, with the highest non-freeway speed limits anywhere in urban California - up to 60MPH depending on the road! The flipside is that if you break their already high speed limits, you will get caught! Seriously....65 MPH on the freeway?? I average 80 when traffic permits, and IMO that is on the "slow" side of what cruising should be. But I suppose there are several reasons why we are limited to such slow speeds: 1. In Europe (and the rest of the world) the petrol taxes are much higher, and a greater portion of that revenue actually goes towards maintaining the roads properly. 2. On the Autobahn (and perhaps other parts of Europe), the roads are specifically ENGINEERED for the high speeds with excellent pavement, gentle turns and very few blind spots created by trees and other items. 3. In Germany getting a driver's license is a relatively big deal as compared to the states. It's my understanding that training is more in-depth and costs much more (I once heard a figure of around $1200). The reason that speed kills so much here in the states is partly because the drivers are untrained for such speeds, but also because OTHER drivers are just plain stupid and will move into a lane without looking.

what makes my day is the dirvers who have no one in front of them not only move into the left lane without looking but they then put on the brakes when they get there and then look in the rear view mirror as if to say "hope i didn't cut someone off"

Coming home from the poconos this weekend (skiing) my fav... 2 hours of dealing with people camping in the fast lane. Then to top it off, a ******** in a Lexus does the cruise @ 70, when you go to pass he speads up. Jason...we moved to Olde City in Philly. Really like the neighborhood, but HATE my commute. I work in Newtown Square. We take the 95 to the blue route vs. taking the Schuylkill. That f-ing road is one of the worst I've ever driven. Luckily you move to a state with pretty lack speeding laws. We usually go to Sonny's for steaks...block and a half from home. -PK

awesome! i love the "the blue and grey" for breakfast! check out the Standard Tap for a good pint and the best burger in town, IMO,(its at 2nd and poplar...crap up and coming neighborhood) my buddy owns it! Obviously I miss the food...you can have the "SHUR-Kyill" and the weather Go Eagles!

Holy ****...We go to the Standard Tap every-other weekend (it's a little smoky at times). Who's your buddy that owns the place? We'll say Hi... We hang out out Race Street all the time, it's a block and a half from our loft. So here's the bad news, Blue & Grey closed and turned into a fish house type eatery and Starbucks opened up across the street from my building. Wawa is now trying to get in. We live on 3rd and Arch across from Betsy Ross' house, really funny. so the one road that I really like to drive when it's empty is Kelly...To bad they don't run that road race any more. I would have loved to have seen it. Talk to you soon - PK

My buddy is Will Reed super cool guy who knows his beer! Ask him to give you a tour of the place and tell him about what an **** hole it was when he bought it... It used to be the Boars Head inn. He and his partner opened another place up on Girard which is even more of a "corner bar" type place! I love the Race street too. Nice wood stove!!! I am so jeaolous that you get to drive your P-car in my home town....I am planning a little Cross Country trip when I can get a couple three weeks off in a row! In which case WE WILL hammer up and down licoln drive, kelly, up route 23 into the burbs, etc! ok so for more food talk: Sugar moms has great beers but even better Grilled cheese and tomato, Morning Glory in Queen village for breakfast, The valley green inn for the atmosphere, Aden (also owned by a friend of a friend...tell the owner Adar that Nate says "wassup"), mister martino's for "peasant itallian" byob! i will look you up when i am back!

In California, the quickest lane is ALWAYS the far right. It seems that everyone avoids it like the plague.

Hey Jason, You're killing me. Our timing was off 'cas we hang at the same places. Morning Glory is one of the places my wife and I go to when we're homesick (San Francisco). So, being from my hood you'll understand why I don't have a Porsche yet...we have no indoor parking unless we pay for it. I'm currently trying to talk my wife into parking her BMW in the outdoor lot behind our loft so I can get my car and park it at the Holiday Inn on 4th street. The parking here drives me nuts...we pay 175 for our covered parking at HI. Are you coming to Philly anytime soon? -PK

Yeah...everyone except all the damn semi's going to/from the Port with the sea containers...you ever been on the 605, 710, or 60????

Hey Patirick I am currently in a coffee house in Whistler!!! The snow is not bad and while it is much cooler than Phoenix it is no where near as ***** *** cold as the northeast USA now. The down side....no P-car the up side Yukon XL rental!!! ("can you say Land Yacht!!!") I will eventually make my way back to philly for a little Vay-Kay...but only when the weather turns crap in Phoenix (summer!) Cheese Steaks on me Beers on you...at the Tap of Course!! The real question is when you comin' to Phoenix?????????????

I'm sure your last statement was spoken in jest. If the speed limit was not meant to generate income, in most cases, the limit would/could be at least 15MPH higher. In MA, we still have stretches of highway that were 60MPH before the 1970's Nixon "Drive 55" compaign to save energy. They're still 55 and NO ONE drives 55. If you drive 75, you will be passed; on both sides if you happen to be in the "middle" lane. It seems that the speed limit on most highways is artificially 10 - 15 MPH lower than they expect you to drive. I got on I95 yesterday and the traffic was VERY light. As I was going down the entrance ramp, I noticed a STATE COP "flying" down the road with no lights or siren. By the time I got on Rt. 95, he was a good 1/2 mile ahead. I got as high as 85 (65 posted) before I was pacing him. I'll bet if our positions were reversed, he would have pulled me over, that is, if I didn't notice him. Charlie

Got that right! Charlie

Time to revive this topic. Here in MA people take it personally if you pass them, right or left. Like it is so much safer to do 80 in an SUV as opposed to 90 in my C4S. On a long trip it starts to get to me. I will become overly aggressive while passing on the right because it is the only way to move in traffic. I really, really hate this. I don't want to drive and get mad. I want to drive because I like it.

Here in Germany if you are not passing and slowing down traffic in the left lane you receive a 300 Euro fine! Give out a big enough fine and people will move to the right but do not as other people have said flash your lights as you will also be fined and never pass on the right unless you are in a traffic jam. Implement the appropriate fines and procedures and people will catch on but it will still not solve the problem that the average American driver is shall we say not that good. In Germany again you have to attend driving school which cost around 2000 Euros to learn how to properly operate your vehicle prior to receiving your drivers license.

That's why I'm moving to Europe as soon as I retire. These inconsiderate jerks here seem to think that if they are going the speed limit, there's no reason for anyone to pass them. I swear that these left lane hogs are the number one reason for road rage. Why go after the one who's enraged, why not the one who enraged them? And thanks, all you useless cops that just plain refuse to write tickets for this.

Just so you know I am an American living in Germany. The Dutch drive like Americans.

I've heard that before, that there's really no difference. I guess the new fast lane is the right lane. If the cops could only see the density of cars in each lane, they'd notice that the most car density is on the #1 (left) and #2 lanes.

Anyone who has ever driven the Autobahns in Germany know that their system without speed limits on many stretches of road works much better than our system. There is almost never a need to pass on the right on the Autobahn. Traffic flows much faster and you don't get the packs of cars clogging both lanes. And for the most part where there is a need for a reduced limit the German drivers obey the signs and slow down. Of course the cameras help enforce that. I am a firm believer we should abolish speed limits (or at least make some realistic limits) on most interstates here. Yes, there were would be a brief period of carnage as people adjust but in the end after the proper education our roads would be much safer. I think there are actually studies showing the German autobahns without limits are safer than our interstates, but naturally the insurance companies and media here make sure those studies don't get publicized.

left lane is not nearly the biggest problem. The "weaver" is a far bigger bone head and the best candidate for a public flogging. Almost as bad are the rocket scientists who run parallels, sometimes four abreast with impending chaos brewing behind. As stupid as some people are its really law enforcement that is to blame. Rather than enforcing the passing lane, and penalizing weavers, which makes traffic safer, they spend all their time pulling over speeding Porsches to boost the state's revenues. If the 5-0 was serious about enforcing the speed limit they would have instant fines via speed sensitive cameras as they have in Austria.

That is the sad truth. I guess that no one in California wants to be seen in the "slow" lane. I find that in 75% of the time the 2 right lanes are the least crowded and I can make the best progress there. Could it be that California just has a lot of folks from England, Australia, Japan and China driving here and they are think they are still in their homeland? I would like to have a bumper sticker that says" "Welcome to the United States, the slow lane is on the RIGHT over here"

The Florida legislature was considering a bill last year that would make it illegal to loiter in the left lane. It got killed, because the politicians were concerned that if passed it would promote speeding. Go figure... I commute about 20 miles each way on I95 and the left lane bandits are horrible here in central Fl.

The mainland Chinese drive on the right like the US, but then they don't really know how to drive at all. China is by far the one of the most dangerous places in the world to drive. When you consider that 10-15 years ago there were almost no private automobiles there, it is not hard to figure out everyone there is essentially a teenage driver. Hong Kong though does drive on the left as the British too, but they are actually decent drivers for the most part, or at least were when the British finally left. I imagine over the time they will drive more like their mainland cousins.

Here in assachusetts we have a six-lane (three per side) Hiway (Rt 3) just widened from 4 to six lanes, which has a speed limit from the New Hampshire border to Rt 95 of 55 mph. Because, changing it would ... promote speeding! The cops sit in the direction against rush hour traffic, over a hill, with a laser gun on the fast lane shoulder (yeah, that is safe). Never mind the other side of the Hiway where 75% of the cars are. Unreasonable laws=IGNORED. Reasonable laws=COMPLIANCE. Next topic: CELL PHONE TALKERS, camped in the passing lane.

First, I'd like to say that I am a proud owner of a V-1. I simply don't do the speed limit. I rarely whip in and out of traffic like you see these "tuners" that have less displacement than a 2-liter Pepsi bottle. I do however cruise in the left lane at 90-110 mph(conditions permitting). I am completely comfortable at these speeds and therefore I am safe. The dangers are the morons that come into my lane without looking or signaling and the drivers in the left lane that don't move. I am courteous, I rarely tailgate, I normally just hang back behing the slower drivers in the left lane and give a little left turn signal. 9 times out of 10, the cars infront of me see the porsche comming up fast and politely move out of the way. Other times, it takes some effort as states above, the turn signal method. I feel that I do have a right to drive at whatever speed that I deem is safe and I also have a right to get a ticket for it. I'm 20, I have no tickets. Damn, I'm good.

9 times out of 10 you say. I see. Massachusetts is special. It is possibly the worst state to drive in. Here, for example, if you dare to take the right of way at a roundabout (we call them rotaries), you WILL get in an accident. If you go straight when the light turns green, you WILL get in an accident, because the cretin turning left will go no matter what. As well as the the dumbass behind him. There are no street signs. There are heavily travelled roads which two lanes per side regularly travel, even though legally they are not marked as such and are two narrow for that kind of use. If there is an accident, the cops say: " it is only one lane." If you ask then why is there a sign that says "right lane for right turn, they say "I can't tell you that sir." Turn signals? What are those? Come visit and drive in Boston some time. Funny thing is: we have one of the lowest fatalities per mile driven of any state. We also have the most accidents per mile driven of any state (or so was the case a few years ago).

Doesn't Massachusetts use the "law of first look" when determining fault in a traffic accident? (especially in roundabouts?) If you look first, see someone in your way, and you hit them, then you are at fault, but if you don't look at them and hit them then it is their fault because they should have not been in your way. And if they claim it is your fault, then it is their fault, because clearly they saw you first and did not get out of your way! only chowder heads could have thought something like that up!

The "First look" crap would not surprise me a bit, although I am not familiar with it. There are however, yield signs at every entrance to a rotary. My wife told me that in driver ed the teacher told them never to make eye contact at a rotary, just go.

The "First Look" idea cracks me up. I wouldn't put it past you New Englander's. People see me comming, and get out of the way. Granted, I normally come up on them really fast from a distance but they have the time to see me and debate their options. Even driving on the AC Expressway and the Garden State Parkway, both lanes are used but faster moving traffic in the left lane usually has the right of way. Also, somehow people in Jersey are very proficient with roundabouts or Circles as I call them. They just work there. Now, recently, some asshat city planner decided it would be a good idea to put a circle at the entrance to Viera, FL. Floridians can barely handle elevation changes, let alone a circle. If you could only see the things I've seen happen in this circle. I've seen people make lefts into them. Talk about confusion. I've come to the conclusion that there should be "speeding roads" right next to every other highway kinda like a HOV lane inwhich you would be required to have a special Driver's Lisence and possibly a sticker on your tag or maybe an EZpass like sensor that let you on the road if you are lisenced. Elect me President!

I would be 100% in favor of raising speed limits on freeways throughout the US. Few things irritate me more then inconsiderate drivers who won't yield to faster traffic. Believe it or not, I even experience it when I am in my company car. It is all I can do not to use my push bumpers when I am rolling to an emergency call with the lights and siren on and someone thinks that their cell phone conversation is more important then me trying to get to an armed robbery in progress or an occupied residential structure fire. I am extremely sympathetic to those of you who get frustrated by the person that camps out in the fast lane and figures that because they are doing the speed limit, they don't have to yield to faster traffic. One of the things that I love about my job is that I get payed to drive fast. The primary function of Highway Patrol or State Troopers is traffic enforcement. Sheriff's and Police have other priorities such as calls for service or law enforcement. If you see a Deputy Sheriff or Police Officer not pull over that idiot that is backing up traffic, it is probably because they are on their way to handle a call that is of a more urgent nature. Inconsiderate driver's that won't pull out of the fast lane to let others pass irritate cops also.

I feel everyone's pain as well. In terms of pissing me off, the left lane blockers rank right up there with: 1) Drivers that rush to turn right on red in front of me, then slow down 2) Drivers that change lanes and turn without signaling 3) Gravel trucks 4) Drivers that accelerate while keeping their left foot on the brake (always amazes me) 5) Drivers that tailgate even when there are multiple lanes open for passing 6) Drivers that U-turn on freeway emergency crossovers rather than going to the next exit. I'll stop here. I'm just pissing myself off thinking about these jerks. Back on topic: Here are the current state laws as they pertain to left lane driving. http://www.driverightpassleft.com/laws/index.asp