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Re: Freeway Etiquette



In article <48flvn$om1@curly.cc.emory.edu>, lparker@curly.cc.emory.edu (Lloyd R. Parker) writes:
|> Lord Kittenslayer (nbassett@hmc.edu) wrote:
|> : On Wed, 15 Nov 1995, Adam Szymczak wrote:
|> 
|> : > My biggest beef: people who insist on driving in the middle lane around 
|> : > the speed limit on 3 or more lane highways. I have one piece of advice: 
|> : > MOVE OVER! I hate passing on the right, especially near onramps/offramps. 
|> : > Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that passing on the right is 
|> : > illegal in Germany and other European countries.
|> 
|> So why don't you pass on the left if the other car is in the middle 
|> lane?  After all, that's really what the left lane is for on a 3 or more 
|> line highway.  Why would anybody pass on the right in this situation?

Think about it!  If this is somewhere in the U.S., the traffic in the far left lane
could be running at 15 to 20 mph above the speed limit.  If it is in the Northeast,
where highways tend to carry a lot of traffic at high speed, then the left lane
is usually not vacant, so one has to wait for a "slot."  There are cars that
simply cannot make the jump in speed to fit the slot in the brief time available.  
On the other hand, given that you are moving as fast as or slightly faster than
the traffic in the right lane, the "slots" there are a lot easier to enter,  although
one needs a slot large enough to pass the offending car in the middle lane.  Of
course, when enough people start passing on the right, then nobody can leave the
middle lane because the other two available lanes are moving too quickly.

As you might be able to tell, I've spent some time in this situation, and probably
way, way too much time thinking about it.

-- 
Bob Phillips            NEC Systems Laboratory       VOX:(609)-734-6125
bobp@syl.nj.nec.com     4 Independence Way           FAX:(609)-734-6002
                        Princeton, NJ 08540



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