Slow right lane drivers...

[drcook]

Originally Posted by pb02

: This is the kind of attitude that pi$$es me off.....

Ever stop to think that maybe the person speeding is trying to get to an emergerncy???? .

that would require a train of thought....and that would require a brain. a body part 70% of road users dont have.

[new2ford]

If you're going to do that 30487256 at least have the decency to do it in a Camry. Please don't give Ford drivers a bad name!

[TZENU]

If i had to list a number of the drivers that sit on the right lane not overtaking anybody i could fill up at least a yellow pages book!!

Apart from the fact that it is dangerous to sit on the 'fast lane' driving slow it is the law to 'keep left unless overtaking'.... To put it simple.... If you are not overtaking move the **** out of the way!

[drcook]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

In my eyes, if you're in the right lane doing the speed limit or a bit more, it's fine and you shouldn't have to move. .

wrong!

"keep left unless overtaking", not "keep left unless your doing the speed limit or a bit over".

what if the car behind you is carrying someone who is sick or pregnant, or going to someone who is sick or pregnant, or is a police officer (unmarked or personal car). Its not up to us to judge why a person is speeding.

My time in the right lane is determined by how long its taken me to pass the car in front of me, after that i get out of the right lane.

[Ryan]

I always stick to the left lane, because I stick to the speed limit, or just a fraction under.

I very rarely, use the right lane.

[banarcus]

I've been blessed enough to experience a German autobahn in a 1.6 Mk5 Escort at 160-170km/h. The road had 3 lanes each way. At the speed I was doing, I never once ventured into the fastest lane. I only ever sat in the middle or the one adjacent to the shoulder. I learnt to do this very very quickly.

There is a very strong emphasis on speed in the lower south eastern states here in Australia and not enough on driver education. Instead of targeting speeds such as those who go over by 5km/h, the government agencies(RTA etc) should enforce the 'keep left unless overtaking'. I recently drove on the F3(Sydney-Newcastle Freeway) and the amount of drivers who would NOT use the most left lane out of 3 I lost count of.

In Germany, the emphasis is not on speed. It appeared to me the policy was about maintaining efficient traffic flow and courtesy to others. I can guarentee that all the Newcastle-Central Coast-Sydney drivers that love not keeping left unless they are overtaking would not last 5 km on a autobahn simply because when a M5, Porsche or a very fast truck etc are right up your clanger from nowhere blaring headlights and blasting their horns, you know where you stand.

[GXL078]

Pricks who tailgate me in down the M4 transit lane with ONE person in their car. The last time it was some boofhead in an XR8 ute on his MOBILE.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by pb02

: This is the kind of attitude that pi$$es me off.....

Ever stop to think that maybe the person speeding is trying to get to an emergerncy???? You could pull over and let them through but no, since when has it been your job to dictate who goes what speed? The LAW states, keep left unless overtaking... it's also common courtesy...

Give other people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the are in a hurry for a reason, pregnant wife, sick family member etc.

I agree, I hate people driving in the right lane when left is clear. You are then forced to break the law and pass on the left.

[plext]

I feel that this issue is indicative of a larger issue within the Australian driving community, namely a lack of courtesy. Motorways are a hideous place to drive in this country, especially when traffic volumes are high.

Traffic travels far too closely together. Indeed it not uncommon for me to find that when caught in a procession on a heavily used piece of tarmac, with both lanes full but still moving at about 100KM/H, the vehicle behind will be so close that I cannot even see the headlights in the mirror. This leads to a situation whereby changing lanes is as close as dammit to impossible, let alone considering the dangers imposed by such compressed traffic at such speeds. This I feel, is one reason why we tend to have blocked right hand lanes.

Take a situation which I seem to run into regularly; a vehicle is in the right hand lane passing slower moving vehicles, but is itself travelling at just under or on the posted limit. Vehicles in the left lane are in groups, spaced out at intervals of 100 - 300 metres or so Drivers stay in the fast lane rather than move over when possible to allow faster traffic through, because they know that once they have moved into the left lane, they will be caught there, moving at a slower pace than they wish to due to the nose to tail antics of the following group. If he does try to move back out into the fast lane to round a slow moving vehicle, it’s almost certain that traffic will pull together more tightly, so he can’t take ‘their’ place.

So what is going in that situation? A lot of bloody mindedness from all participants is the only possible answer. The initial driver is displaying it by steadfastly holding up traffic, but he is doing it because he knows full well the same courtesy will be shown to him if he pulls in and tries to regain the right lane later.

Patience is the key to all this. Driving a few metres from the rear of a vehicle displays impatience, as does unwillingness to move left and potentially be slowed for a few seconds. Similarly, the refusal to allow a vehicle from the left lane to round a vehicle, thus slowing oneself for a few seconds, shows a self importance bordering upon hubris.

If more patience and courtesy were shown in these situations, evidenced in leaving realistic spaces in moving blocks of traffic and allowing traffic to change lanes readily, people would not feel the need to monopolise the right hand lane and the result would be a faster travel time for all concerned. It would also halt the current practise of training drivers to think of the right hand lane as the default by bitter experience, thus giving us the situation of the driver with virtually no traffic around him, blindly sitting the right hand lane regardless.

While it is a surety that there are some drivers who are plain inconsiderate and would block fast lanes no matter what the prevailing road culture, the situation is greatly exacerbated in the current aggressive mood.

These attitudes also flow down to more minor roads, whether the good attitude or bad prevails, and make a huge impact upon the metropolitan driving experience as a whole. It is only necessary to look at the European experience, where there exists cities with much greater traffic densities than our own to realise the benefits.

Sadly, I do not see these issues going away for the foreseeable future. It requires change at a cultural level which is always slow in happening. However, if just a few of us practise restraint and patience in the day to day meatworks that is the peak hour grand prix, perhaps the benefits will be seen and adopted by other road users over time.

[drcook]

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Pricks who tailgate me in down the M4 transit lane with ONE person in their car. The last time it was some boofhead in an XR8 ute on his MOBILE.

i dont tailgate, but i do use the transit lane whenever i like.
im sorry, but i dont agree with the transit lanes, especially with the pathetic number of lanes sydney has in relation to the sheer number of car on the roads. If we hade 5 lanes and a transit lane, fine i'll stay out of it, but 2? or 3? do me a favour.

[Silver Ghia]

I thought the law was only to drive within or at the speed limit.

I also thought that emergency vehicles had flashing blue and red lights, and sirens.

I also thought that it was common courtesy to share the road with others, not tailgate and force drivers who are travelling at the speed limit to move over, when the LH lane is travelling slower. Of course move over to the left, but if theres slower traffic there you're obviously overtaking, so therefore can't you overtake in the RH lane?

Also LTDHO, when did it become illegal to pass on the left in Victoria? Have I missed something?

However it does p*ss me off when someone in the RH lane starts to play funny buggers and slows down and puts brake lights on in the RH lane, at any time.

Its also very dangerous for someone driving in an emergency situation, with their mind on other things, breaking the law by speeding etc.

Why dont people in this forum just think for a change, instead of simply saying "Keep left unless overtaking". Its not as simple as that in practice, especially with the badly designed highway exits and entries that we have here in Vic.

Just looking at the Victorian road rules it says ""You must not travel in the RH lane unless when overtaking, or unless all lanes are congested". Now what defines congested?

[needaXYGT]

i just hate it when they travel at the same speed as the car in left lane, therefor blocking anyone from getting through. it makes me extremly angry.

[Grasshoppr]

Originally Posted by CaRtZ

remember in VIC u can legally sit where u like (left or right) upto and including 80km/h.... i drive the limit and also hate the tailgating when i change into the right... so i slow to 5km under!

This is the type of activity that causes people to get angry on the road.

Although you are correct and you have that right up to 80km/h to stay in the right lane, why would you not just stick to the rule of keep left unless overtaking to be considerate to other drivers? It helps to improve traffic flow and it actually makes no difference to you if you travel in any other lane does it?

Your actions reflect that it is your intention to cause problems for other drivers on the road for no reason but your own satisfaction of holding them up. _

[photn]

Originally Posted by Sprint_ED

dont get me started on this subject, if only i had a machine gun mounted on the bonnet

my mate once had a paintball gun mounted in his grill with a trigger button on the dash....he only used it a couple of times... to ppl that really kept ****ing him off...lol

[photn]

when i get in the right hand lane i do what i need to do and then move back to the left....done thats it im out of the way....and if i get pulled over for say being in the right hand lane for say 4km....ill just say i wanted to over take just 1 more person lol....nah normally just get what i need to do done and thats it....i always travel at the speed of the traffice regardless of the posted speed limit...its more safe...

[Ives]

I'm developing this habit where I stay away from other drivers as much as possible, especially L and P-platers. Red P-platers are the worst. Ever notice that everything is a lot safer during double-demerit weekends? Maybe we should have a constant triple-demerit pts. Accident rates WILL substantially decrease.

How about people on escalators in shopping centres! They should also put signs up "keep left unless overtaking".

[uranium_death]

Remembering my "learner" days, my instructor said to me clearly,

"In a two lane road (2 lanes for each direction), you must keep left unless overtaking, or turning right.
On the Freeway, unless overtaking, stay in the middle lanes. If people want to overtake, they have the right lane."

But the problem is some people don't use a lane for its purpose. I've been behind an old lady in an Astra doing 60km/h on the bloody freeway (which I will remind you is a 100km/h zone) and I reckon she thought she was doing a safe speed. Nong.
In my book, 20km/h below the limit in perfect conditions is far too slow. If it's raining, there's been an accident, your car is stuffed or whatever...fine.

Regarding your statement, no matter how many speed limit signs you post, people will always defy them. All you can do is drive at the maximum safe speed (or below), and beware of the other fools on the road.

[XR8-260]

Originally Posted by pb02

: This is the kind of attitude that pi$$es me off.....

Ever stop to think that maybe the person speeding is trying to get to an emergerncy???? You could pull over and let them through but no, since when has it been your job to dictate who goes what speed? The LAW states, keep left unless overtaking... it's also common courtesy...

Give other people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the are in a hurry for a reason, pregnant wife, sick family member etc.

The law says keep right unless overtaking which is true... The law also says it's illegal to exceed the speed limit. Which is more important to people? I think the latter... :the_finge

If people are in an emergency then they can speed... it's that 99% are just impatient and that's no excuse.

Like i said, its impractical for everyone to travel in the left lane. During peak hour the roads overflowing with traffic - it would be stupid if both lanes were not used.

You guys need to chill... I was just stating my opinion :yeees:

[XR8-260]

Originally Posted by 30487256

Whenever people 'tailgaite' me i slow down even more just to **** em' off.

Ok lied... I've done this like once when i was really annoyed... which was very stupid.

I do try and move into the left lane when possible but sometimes its difficult to do so. Then these drivers who act like they own the roads try to force you off...

[Falcon Freak]

And people wonder why road rage is increasing. From the previous posts it can be seen that some people don't show any courtesy to their fellow drivers. The roads are a public place which belong to everybody who drives on them. Therefore motorists need to show respect to each other.

FF

[new2ford]

Sad to see some of the aggressive posts here on reasons not to keep left. Not only is it law it is also common sense and courtesy and an indication of driver alertness. In a couple of years living in London and moving around Europe I experienced vastly greater volumes of traffic moving around much better than here because of the greater driver awareness, courtesy, common sense, lack of aggression and observance of the keep left (or right as relevant) principal. After becoming accustomed to this I couldn't believe the congestion in Sydney resulting from inefficient traffic movement. We only have our national psychology (a combination of vagueness and agressiveness) to blame, plus authorities who can't design roads/traffic light systems etc.

Hyperkid if you're from Sydney we have a lot of overseas tourists. Everywhere in the world (including UK) the principle for pedestrians is keep right, so people from overseas are used to this. I think its based on the common sense principle that most people carry stuff in their left hand and have their right hand free to steady themselves (as in holding onto the escalator handrail) - unless they're left handed of course! So that's why you'll find them on the right. As usual Australia is the odd one out.

Except France where the trains pass on the left!

[XR8GRL]

Originally Posted by JC

There's something you can do - well at least something I do. Use your horn and lights. Flash 'em, toot 'em, and flash 'em a bit more. Keep tooting (the horn is a really great move over or get out of my way device). If they hi9t the brakes to slow down, then you will be ready for it, so keep it up (the tooting and flashing) to make sure they really slow down, then nip in the left, stand on the gas (helps that I have a V8) and pull over to the right in front of the old man. I use this tactic at least twice a week. I don't class it as road rage, as I am not getting mad at anyone, just manipulating them to get around them. I'm not saying this is for everyone, but it certainly works for me - plus I have a 3 battery D cell maglite next to my seat if the loser decides to do something about it at the next set of lights, or what-have-you. If enough of these idiots cop this treatment daily, they WILL eventually get the message and just stick to the left.

I actually did think about tooting and flashing him. I was somewhat concerned about being dobbed in or reported on a site like idiotdriver.

Though when I do finally get the chance to round them up, I do make the 8 roar. It may not get through to them, but one day they'll make the same mistake to the wrong person.

[[Tonko]]

just tonight, driving home from work, i was bein tailgated by some ****er (which i later found out lives 2 doors up from me) i couldnt see his head lights behind my car he was that close, so i slow down, i was already dong 100 in a 90 zone, and he puts his fog lights and high beams on and will not overtake, so after the roudabout i gave it heaps and so did he to catch up and i slammed on the brakes, but he still didnt go round me, just followed me home and when i pulled into my driveway he was sitting at the end of it watching me...it was only when i got out with the tyre lever that he drove off....will be going to speak to his parents tomorrow as it was their car and hes only 17.

[Ives]

Tsk tsk tsk, parents arent going to be happy.

Just to add a bit more drama, u should probably pack a BB gun in the glove box.

[The Mighty Red]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

I hate people who will not move out of the way of faster moving traffic.

FF

Agreed, Why do people have to sit in the outside at all .......ARRRRRRRGH , getting P****D Off thinking about it !!

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

It never ceases to amaze me that the far left lane on the freeway is often the best lane to use because nobody wants to keep left!

It's not the 'far' left lane, it IS the let lane.

The traffic lane next to this is the middle-lane (or 'lanes'). The one on the right is the right lane.

Most here who whinge about not keeping left, only keep middle themselves, often as bad as the others.

I see no one has taken the earlier NSW motorway lane use text in the Pdf download on page 1.

New2fords comment re mcuh better lane discipline and practice Europe is obvious, Europe has half decent speed limits.

The dumber the speed limit, the worse the driver behaviour, NOTHING can change than and it will not change here any time soon. One day, maybe.

[SS beast]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

I also hate people who want to dictate to me what speed I can drive at. I will drive at the speed I choose to and only the law will have any inffluence upon that.

The law states "keep left unless overtaking". The law does not state "keep left unless overtaking but you do not have to move if you are doing the speed limit".

It never ceases to amaze me that the far left lane on the freeway is often the best lane to use because nobody wants to keep left!

FF

Agree 100% mate, the far left lane appears to be the unofficial "fast lane" sometimes because no-one will keep left like they are supposed to. Alot of it just comes down to arrogance I think. I use the M4 to & from work everyday, I always get help up by people sitting in the right lane, I sit on about 120 and also get passed by people in the right lane (I reckon 75% are "P" platers) who then refuse to pull back into the left lane after overtaking. "KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING" has got to be one of the easiest rules to abide by, but too many people seam to find it too hard........................why???????????

[Ives]

Ah, so I went for a drive today with this thread on my mind :eclipsee_ . I was travelling on a 2-lane road, I've got a Land Rover travelling at the speed limit on my left... fair enough. On the right lane there was this Corolla travelling slightly faster than the Land Rover... so I changed lane and drive at 65kph hoping to overtake the Land Cruiser.

What did the Corolla driver do? he answered his fone, slowed down at Land Cruiser's speed and just sit there on the right lane.

out:

[GTjake]

Part of the law relating to keep left is that it is illegal to hold up any other vehicle regardless of their speed.
Unless youve got a calibrated speedo, a uniform and your car says 'POLICE down the side, it isnt your job to slow them down or stop them speeding!

Also, travelling too slowly is also a citeable traffic offence.
Ive never ever heard of someoene getting done for it though.

[BAWagonWheels]

slow right lane hogs are downright DANGEROUS!!! please use the right lane to overtake accordingly and do make way for the faster ones to whizz pass. let them be if they want to speed, its their risk.