Why does practically everyone break he speed limit and tailgate?

John Utah wrote:

If you drive in the left lane and are going "only" 5 to 10 mph over the MAX POSTED LEGAL SPEED LIMIT other drivers behind you freak the f out and act as if you were doing 20 mph UNDER the max speed limit. wtf?

the left lane is for passing only.

Ggjkjf wrote:

I’ll usually drive about 5 over except through residential where I’ll usually go 5 under. Without fail people will tailgate. It’s the only way to keep people going through a neighborhood at 40 mph.

So you're driving 15 mph in a 20 mph? Might as well bike around, grandpa.

The stats say that Florida is among the top in death rate per 100 million miles driven, but that several states are higher

in that statistic and that some of the places I mentioned as safer have higher death rates, such as Alabama. Well, there are a lot of variables in those rates, depending, for instance, on the age of the driving population, how urban or rural the state is, etc.

Tampa and Orlando have crash death rates of 13-14 and Miami has a rate of over 16, while most midwestern, far west, and northeast metro areas have rates closer to half those. In general, the south has high rates, but things vary. Houston has a high rate, but other Texas cities don't. I couldn't find accident rates by city or metro area. I'm betting that Florida cities are particularly high in this regard. The death rates are going to depend a lot, I would guess, on highway speeds. With crash energy proportionate to the square of velocity, that is where your speeding is going to lead to higher death rates.

There are certainly reasons to drive 5 under in a neighborhood. It very much depends on where though. In the northeast the roads are narrow, and often times there are no sidewalks or a shoulder. If you are driving by a house with kids playing in the front lawn its prudent to slow down. If it's raining, it's prudent to slow down. If there is someone walking on the side of the road with a stroller, it's prudent to slow down.

I do agree weaving, tailgating, both slow the flow the road down. It's not surprising that people don't understand this though because it requires thinking about something beyond yourself and even requires a some strategic thought that goes beyond 1 move. With regards to weaving, if you see that another lane is going faster, guess what? So does everyone else. When you move into the "faster" moving lane so do 10 other people in front of you. Now guess what? That's no longer the fast lane that's the slow lane because 10 more cars just moved into that lane. Also guess what? Since the flow traffic in that lane has slowed down everyone needs to break. This creates a "bullwhip" effect where the first person only lightly breaks but the 20th person dramatically slows down. This further slows down the flow of traffic in that lane. Then the process starts all over.

Tailgating has the same impact as the second half of above. Everyone breaks more frequently, creating more frequent bullwhip effects. The left lane tends to yo-yo in terms of speed because of this.

/tldr people are strategic mushrooms.

I don't. Therefore almost nobody does these things.

heyyo wrote:

John Utah wrote:

If you drive in the left lane and are going "only" 5 to 10 mph over the MAX POSTED LEGAL SPEED LIMIT other drivers behind you freak the f out and act as if you were doing 20 mph UNDER the max speed limit. wtf?

the left lane is for passing only.

I don't think that's an accurate statement for congested freeways within larger cities. Left lane is the fast lane. Right lanes are entry/exit onto the freeway. You're talking about open road interstate travel.

Also, why is there a need to pass vehicles already going 10+ mph over the max speed limit?

John Utah wrote:

heyyo wrote:

the left lane is for passing only.

I don't think that's an accurate statement for congested freeways within larger cities. Left lane is the fast lane. Right lanes are entry/exit onto the freeway. You're talking about open road interstate travel.

Also, why is there a need to pass vehicles already going 10+ mph over the max speed limit?

Because they want to. Who are you to stop them? I'd just pass you on the inside if you decided to tell me how to drive.

Why do conservatives feel the need to get involved with everything. Just leave people alone.

You guys are supposed to want smaller, less intrusive government's but here you are policing the roads.

John Utah wrote:

heyyo wrote:

the left lane is for passing only.

I don't think that's an accurate statement for congested freeways within larger cities. Left lane is the fast lane. Right lanes are entry/exit onto the freeway. You're talking about open road interstate travel.

Also, why is there a need to pass vehicles already going 10+ mph over the max speed limit?

During the hours when freeways are actually congested in larger city no one is driving 10+ over the speed limit and no one is freaking the "f out" other than for the reason that rush hour traffic blows. So your reasoning doesn't really make sense.

During all other hours, even in congested cities there is plenty of room on the freeway to use the left lane to pass cars in the middle lane and the pull over so faster driving cars can pass you. You should drive down the west side highway in NYC on a Friday afternoon. That road is packed but almost all the drivers are incredible about moving out the fast lane when other cars are behind them.

As to your last question, now your really only asking, why is there a need to drive 10+ mph over the limit... The perceived need is probably idiosyncratic and may or may not be warranted. That doesn't make obstructing the left lane okay unless your in California where that's legal.

Because speed limits are set by legislators rather than professional engineers and are often much lower than the design speed on highways.

I agree. The average car going down my street is actually going about 5 mph under the 25 limit. It's a nice neighborhood, there are no sidewalks, people, kids, dogs, are often walking along the road or stopped to chat with neighbors.

zzzz wrote:

I agree. The average car going down my street is actually going about 5 mph under the 25 limit. It's a nice neighborhood, there are no sidewalks, people, kids, dogs, are often walking along the road or stopped to chat with neighbors.

That's unusual

Wrong. During many hours of the day all three or four lanes are experience high volume and relatively high speeds. Have you driven on freeways outside of NYC area? Left lane is fast lane, not the "passing lane".

Driving 10 mph over posted MAX LEGAL SPEED LIMIT is not obstructing in any way shape or form.

Conservative with speed even wrote:

John Utah wrote:

I don't think that's an accurate statement for congested freeways within larger cities. Left lane is the fast lane. Right lanes are entry/exit onto the freeway. You're talking about open road interstate travel.

Also, why is there a need to pass vehicles already going 10+ mph over the max speed limit?

Because they want to. Who are you to stop them? I'd just pass you on the inside if you decided to tell me how to drive.

Why do conservatives feel the need to get involved with everything. Just leave people alone.

You guys are supposed to want smaller, less intrusive government's but here you are policing the roads.

You are completely misunderstanding the issue. I'm saying the opposite. I'm not asking for government intervention of any kind. I'm not telling anyone else what to do. Drive however you want. I'll drive however I want. The police will enforce the laws as they see fit. I'll drive in the left lane at 10 mph over the limit if I want. Why are you telling me I can't ? Leave me alone, yo.

John Utah wrote:

Driving 10 mph over posted MAX LEGAL SPEED LIMIT is not obstructing in any way shape or form.

Of course it is. You're obstructing the person who wants to go 15 over. Get out of the left lane. You don't belong.

I have driven in all of these cities: Seattle, Portland OR, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tuscon, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Miami, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Buffalo, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Haven, Hartford, Boston, and Portland ME.

The only time I encounter what you're describing is when some jabroni like yourself decides that he'll use the left lane for cruising, causing a pile up of cars and creating a pocket of traffic. Outside of bumper to bumper traffic it's always possible to hop in the left lane pass some or many cars and get back over. Sometimes it might take a few minutes particularly if someone like you is on the road, but you can always get back over. Of course there are always people like yourself who refuse to do that. You do you, but don't be surprised or act so indignant when people tailgate you for being a self-centered prick.

Not so fast bro wrote:

John Utah wrote:

Driving 10 mph over posted MAX LEGAL SPEED LIMIT is not obstructing in any way shape or form.

Of course it is. You're obstructing the person who wants to go 15 over. Get out of the left lane. You don't belong.

Tough s#it. I'm driving responsibly, above the speed limit. I don't have to get out of your way so you can drive as fast as you want. Go around if you don't like it.

Cruising at what speed?

John Utah wrote:

Not so fast bro wrote:

Of course it is. You're obstructing the person who wants to go 15 over. Get out of the left lane. You don't belong.

Tough s#it. I'm driving responsibly, above the speed limit. I don't have to get out of your way so you can drive as fast as you want. Go around if you don't like it.

If you're in the left lane and not passing, then moving right, you are not driving responsibly. You are causing problems behind you. Move over.

Not so fast bro wrote:

John Utah wrote:

Tough. I'm driving responsibly, above the speed limit. I don't have to get out of your way so you can drive as fast as you want. Go around if you don't like it.

If you're in the left lane and not passing, then moving right, you are not driving responsibly. You are causing problems behind you. Move over.

Wrong.

If you are weaving in and out of traffic driving like and a hole and flipping people off because they are "obstructing" you.... Guess what? You are the a hole. Get a life coach.