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I've got across an interesting clip where the police office loses his patience with slow driver in front. I can't recognize the "victim's" vehicle, buy maybe the driver is possibly a hypermiler or simply driving the PSL? How about the cop, shaving his mpg's with some close "drafting" (tailgating)?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/v/QnMZUU_dZz0

This kind of tailgating is fairly common in our lands, even if you drive the PSL (130 km/h, ca. 80 mph). The new law will raise fines for tailgating to 300 eur ($430).

(edit:FSUspectra, thanks for embed)

Interesting video. However, it seems it may actually be a harm as it seems to make light of the car the cop was harassing instead of condemning the cop's apparent selfishness.

It's an 06+ Civic. :) That's an easy one. I don't see any hybrid badges on it and can't get a good look at the wheels to tell for sure.

Hummm... a good hypermiler would not be occupying the left most lane even if the traffic was proceeding at a steady and legal rate. So whoever it was being tailgated by the cruiser perhaps should have made an effort to leave the left most lane open. Its good and sensible protocol for non-hypermiling drivers and an absolute must for anyone who hypermiles properly to do so.

However, the gent that took the video and offered all that commentary was in my view, the only significant source of regrettable thinking. The law enforcement cruiser in the other hand might have had its good reasons for doing what it did.

Cheers


MSantos

Happens all the time:
.
_ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/amec09/079detail.jpg
_ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/FL10/ccsheriff.jpg
_ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/misc/68ctcop.jpg
_ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/hf10/tmp/961AKtrooper.jpg
.
and usually not for any purpose of communicating lane-etiquette
hints, as the abovementioned incident seems to be, or better
yet starting to pick the civvie tailgaters off the left-lane
conga line which would actually be useful enforcement.
.
And I call them on this crap, too. Every one of the above
pictures has been used in a formal report to the departments
in question.
.
_H*

The cop did the right thing, and a nice thing. It is illegal to drive in the passing lane in many countries in Europe.

KD

I do see how the cop was right to get angry at the slow driver, because he was in the left lane. I think that getting that driver out of the left lane was correct.

However, I do not think that tailgating him was a good idea. If someone is silly enough to go really slow in the fast lane, then they are most likely silly enough to do something stupid while driving, like braking too quickly. Just imagine how safe that freeway would have become if the guy did brake quickly and the cop hit him. There could be a pile- up and likely cars would bounce off each other into the neighboring lanes, causing a lot of damage and potential fatality. Tailgating is never a good idea, no matter what the reason.

What the cop was great :woot: but the only problem is the person probably has no idea what he/she did wrong

LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING!!!!!!!

I do see how the cop was right to get angry at the slow driver, because he was in the left lane. I think that getting that driver out of the left lane was correct.

However, I do not think that tailgating him was a good idea. If someone is silly enough to go really slow in the fast lane, then they are most likely silly enough to do something stupid while driving, like braking too quickly. Just imagine how safe that freeway would have become if the guy did brake quickly and the cop hit him. There could be a pile- up and likely cars would bounce off each other into the neighboring lanes, causing a lot of damage and potential fatality. Tailgating is never a good idea, no matter what the reason.

What the cop was great :woot: but the only problem is the person probably has no idea what he/she did wrong

LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING!!!!!!!
I agree that the left lane is for passing. What I do not agree with is that someone has the right to pass you if you are already going at the posted speed limit(limit is max-not minimum!). If there is a safe break to get over, I'll do it. Going the speed limit is legal; exceeding it is not. Saying that someone is wrong for going the PSL in the left lane is justifying breaking the law. Period. Okay, stepping off my soapbox. Continue on with what you were doing.

Naw Larry, you were doing great on that soapbox... feel free to jump back up! ;)

Naw Larry, you were doing great on that soapbox... feel free to jump back up! ;)
Well, if you insist.:p

I agree that the left lane is for passing. What I do not agree with is that someone has the right to pass you if you are already going at the posted speed limit(limit is max-not minimum!). If there is a safe break to get over, I'll do it. Going the speed limit is legal; exceeding it is not. Saying that someone is wrong for going the PSL in the left lane is justifying breaking the law. Period. Okay, stepping off my soapbox. Continue on with what you were doing.

They just passed a law here in Florida that you can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane, even if you are traveling the PSL.

They just passed a law here in Florida that you can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane, even if you are traveling the PSL.

And therein lies the problem; passing laws that could require you to break one law so you won't break another.:mad: Instead of actually enforcing speed laws they just wink and look the other way and come up with goofy laws like that.:rolleyes: I should clarify that I don't purposefully travel in the passing lane however, there are times when I have to be there to let merging traffic in and other traffic can't wait in the right lane and makes it take forever to get back into the right lane. It's in those case where I will not be forced to speed just to overtake someone in the right lane so I can get out of the passing lane.

I've seen LEOs pull two cars over for going too slow in the passing lane. One was a CHP in SoCal who came up behind a slow car in lane 2. CHP signaled left, then right, and hit the red lights to pull the roadhog over when he didn't respond.

The other was a state trooper or Tucson PD on I-8 in Tucson, who pulled a slow car over out of lane 1.

Come to think of it, there was one more. A CHP pulled my dad over on old hwy 395 in San Diego in Balboa Park for going too slow in the fast lane. My dad talked his way out of the ticket, saying he couldn't pull into the right lane because the CHP car was there.

I wish LEOs enforced the slow traffic stay right law more often. I regularly see cars traveling under the PSL in all lanes except the right hand one.

Pretty high on my list of pet peeves, driving slow in the left lane. Even if you're going above the speed limit, but not passing, get the F out of the left lane.

When I ride with friends I always get snappy with them if they cruise in the left lane. Nobody should be forced to pass you on the right.

It's amazing how many people do not care or openly disagree that it is not just for passing.

And therein lies the problem; passing laws that could require you to break one law so you won't break another.:mad:

I suspect that any truly contradictory law would be struck down as unconstitutional on the first challenge.

In Florida's case however the law is not contradictory. You can only be cited if you could have reasonably moved to the right.

Pretty high on my list of pet peeves, driving slow in the left lane. Even if you're going above the speed limit, but not passing, get the F out of the left lane.
Is it just me or, does that sound like a highly arrogant, selfish, and while were at it, dangerous statement? If the PSL was 65, then by definition "slow" would be anything under 65 in which case you shouldn't be passing anything greater than 65 right?

Pretty high on my list of pet peeves, driving slow in the left lane.
....
It's amazing how many people do not care or openly disagree ...

I openly disagree.

I regularly make room for merging traffic by moving to the left lane. I also drive in the left lane to make left exits and to avoid road hazards. If you do not do the same I am convinced that you are a bad driver.

Most people, including me, would be better drivers if they spent more time thinking about the behavior of the fool in the mirror instead of the fool in the other car.

Interesting comments and viewpoints during the debate.

Regarding driving the PSL /at the left-most lane or wherever/: in case I drive the PSL and someone wants to go faster, why not? I don't feel like I have the right to impede him and prevent driving faster (even if that's a felony). It has helped once or twice since the driver speeding was caught on a radar later... which could otherwise easily be me, doing 10 km/h faster on a glide into the town, where there's nobody, just roadsign.

I openly disagree.

I regularly make room for merging traffic by moving to the left lane.


At PSL I'll often not move over past interstate exits unless there are multiple cars entering. I've been stuck in the left lane (2 lanes each way north of Portland) too many times because the person I've helped merge failed to give me room to move back over to the right.

Sub-PSL I'll avoid moving over with traffic approaching behind me to avoid impeding traffic. While it's good to allow the merger to enter smoothly, they have a yield rather than right of way.

The laws are quite clear. Slow traffic stay right. When you're done passing, pull into the right lane, regardless of what speed you're driving. If you aren't passing someone, you shouldn't be in the left lane(s) at all.

Interesting comments and viewpoints during the debate.

Regarding driving the PSL /at the left-most lane or wherever/: in case I drive the PSL and someone wants to go faster, why not? I don't feel like I have the right to impede him and prevent driving faster (even if that's a felony). It has helped once or twice since the driver speeding was caught on a radar later... which could otherwise easily be me, doing 10 km/h faster on a glide into the town, where there's nobody, just roadsign.

*devil's advocate*

I didn't know that preventing someone from breaking the law could be classified as breaking the law. What if you shot someone so they couldn't shoot you? What if you are witness to a crime but wont say who did it? I'm sure there's a line drawn somewhere.

:) I agree, somewhere there's a line, but while looking for it, I yield to faster drivers if there's a safe chance of course. My instructor once said: who knows, maybe they're really in a hurry, such as going to hospital? Been there, done that, overtaking in middle of town with 60+ where I now glide 25.

The laws are quite clear. Slow traffic stay right. When you're done passing, pull into the right lane, regardless of what speed you're driving. If you aren't passing someone, you shouldn't be in the left lane(s) at all.

For the most part that is my procedure, however I do not recall seeing the law spell this out. I recall sections requiring passing on the left and not impeding the flow of traffic, but I do not recall general requirements to keep right except to pass.

In many cases roads are not engineered (e.g. left exits) or maintained (e.g. right lane snow drifts) to permit blanket imposition of such a rule. Also, in Illinois you are required to move over if there is an emergency vehicle on the right shoulder.

Common practice around here seems to be that different lanes have different speeds and that you should choose the lane closest to your preferred speed unless there is a road hazard or your exit is approaching. If traffic is light and the road is rough (a hazard?) people tend to choose the smooth lane instead of the right lane.

??? The fact that the left lane was called the passing lane should be a hint. State passing lane laws. (http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html)
The Uniform Vehicle Code states:

Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic ...

Note that this law refers to the "normal" speed of traffic, not the "legal" speed of traffic. The 60 MPH driver in a 55 MPH zone where everybody else is going 65 MPH must move right. Contrast Alaska's rule, 13 AAC 002.50, allowing vehicles driving at the speed limit to use the left lane, and Colorado rev. stat. 42-4-1103, prohibiting blocking the "normal and reasonable" movement of traffic.