Is lane choice based purely on preference?
Discussion
I've spent the last few weeks in the US on both the West then the East coast and it seems like the choice of lane is entirely based on personal preference, Is this the case of am I missing something?
I quite like the way people pas either side depending on where the space is, but I'm I have no idea if I'm breaking the law by following the example of others.
How is it meant to work over here ?
I quite like the way people pas either side depending on where the space is, but I'm I have no idea if I'm breaking the law by following the example of others.
How is it meant to work over here ?
State dependant, see below.
That said, I was recently in AZ with my Dad and he had read that the recommendation (not legislated) is actually that on a dual carriageway the advice is to keep left, the idea being less chance of a problem with merging traffic etc. This may be b
ks for all I know.
ttp://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html
That said, I was recently in AZ with my Dad and he had read that the recommendation (not legislated) is actually that on a dual carriageway the advice is to keep left, the idea being less chance of a problem with merging traffic etc. This may be b
ks for all I know.ttp://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html
I moved out to California last August and took my driving test here. From what I remember of it, it advises to keep right unless passing, but you can pass on the right if there is no junction coming up. People do what they please though.
I remember hearing something interesting, that Germany and the USA have very similar road rules, but the difference is that in Germany they stick to them, and in America they don't.
I remember hearing something interesting, that Germany and the USA have very similar road rules, but the difference is that in Germany they stick to them, and in America they don't.
unrepentant said:
You can be pulled for undertaking but it hardly ever happens. "Weaving" is generally frowned upon but widely practiced. Lane discipline is nonexistent. Where I live they have started putting in roundabouts instead of 4 ways resulting in carnage.
Some states are more tolerant of it than others; CA freeways are basically a free-for-all, both with regards to lane choice and speed limits. The freeway I take to work has exits and entrances every mile. People use the right lane purely for entry and exit. The middle lane is the slow lane and the left lane is the lane where everybody gets frustrated because somebody is sticking to their personal speed limit and is holding up huge numbers of cars. On this particular road, at 7.15 this morning, with the limit being 55, the left lane speed was 75 because somebody though that was fast enough. And there was a queue. Cue numerous drivers darting to the right lane, accelerating ahead via the open right lane, going around said driver and the cars in the middle lane then continuing as normal. This is all pretty typical.
It could be worse. They could have poor lane discipline and stick to the speed limit.
It could be worse. They could have poor lane discipline and stick to the speed limit.
Here is a categorical statement of law.....
It is illegal to under take in NJ and NY but not in MA. The same for mobile use. The equivalent of the Highway Code in NJ tells you to travel in the middle lane near junctions. Those in the slow lane give way to entering traffic.
Reality may be different though.
It is illegal to under take in NJ and NY but not in MA. The same for mobile use. The equivalent of the Highway Code in NJ tells you to travel in the middle lane near junctions. Those in the slow lane give way to entering traffic.
Reality may be different though.
whoami said:
I've never managed to determine the law regarding this.
Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
Not odd - it varies from state to state. In FL it is legal to pass on the right in situations where there are two or more lanes traveling in the same direction - or when you are passing a vehicle that is turning left (as long as you remain in the travel lanes i.e. you have to stay on the road, rather than pass on the median/sidewalk/turn lane etc.)Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
In states where it is not (technically) legal, it's never enforced, unless it is deemed as "aggressive lane changing" (weaving). The country would grind to a halt if it was enforced.
Matt Harper said:
whoami said:
I've never managed to determine the law regarding this.
Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
Not odd - it varies from state to state. In FL it is legal to pass on the right in situations where there are two or more lanes traveling in the same direction - or when you are passing a vehicle that is turning left (as long as you remain in the travel lanes i.e. you have to stay on the road, rather than pass on the median/sidewalk/turn lane etc.)Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
In states where it is not (technically) legal, it's never enforced, unless it is deemed as "aggressive lane changing" (weaving). The country would grind to a halt if it was enforced.
What is quite Ironic is, I spent a few weeks driving V6's in the US and have to come back to the UK so I can drive a proper American V8
Matt Harper said:
whoami said:
I've never managed to determine the law regarding this.
Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
Not odd - it varies from state to state. In FL it is legal to pass on the right in situations where there are two or more lanes traveling in the same direction - or when you are passing a vehicle that is turning left (as long as you remain in the travel lanes i.e. you have to stay on the road, rather than pass on the median/sidewalk/turn lane etc.)Much opinion, but never a categorical statement of law.
Odd.
In states where it is not (technically) legal, it's never enforced, unless it is deemed as "aggressive lane changing" (weaving). The country would grind to a halt if it was enforced.
Here in SC there is something I have never seen before, an interstate rest stop BETWEEN the carriageways, so you enter and exit the rest stop via the outside ('fast') lane!!!!
If you try the UK style of flashing your headlights at someone bimbling along in the 'fast' lane as a hint to move over, it is not generally understood here.
If you try the UK style of flashing your headlights at someone bimbling along in the 'fast' lane as a hint to move over, it is not generally understood here.
pasogrande said:
(Getting a bit off topic)
Flashing car lights indicates a speed trap ahead. You may be ticketed for this.
Flashing headlights for trucks however is similar to the UK.
Wilf.
You know what, Wilf, I've never experienced that flashing lights thing for trucks since I've been here. Whenever I flash headlights to let a trucker know he's clear to move back in, I'm pretty much ignored here, vs UK where you invariably get a flash of hazards in appreciation.Flashing car lights indicates a speed trap ahead. You may be ticketed for this.
Flashing headlights for trucks however is similar to the UK.
Wilf.
Also, regarding the thing about warning of police speed-traps ahead, apparently it's super-hard for a cop to ticket you for it as he/she has to prove intent. My daughter's an Orange Co Deputy and when she was doing her radar/laser certification there was a woman down the street holding out a sign warning that they were speed controlling ahead - in her own neighborhood! So this dumb woman presumably appreciates people storming past her front yard.
I asked if they ticketed her and she shrugged and said, "What's the point - we could never have made a charge stick".
Gordon,
Here in South Florida we also have left exits for Service areas as well as for actual exits (mostly downtown Miami) Luckily the FDOT signs them pretty well. I still follow my "one-way street" theory! On many local streets there is another reason for using the median lane; most streets started their lives as two-lane roads. The planners had worked out that eventually they would be widened to four or six. However the utility companies put their cables and pipes in the grass verge. When widened they didn't like moving them (especially the phone companies). So the "slow" lane is full of manholes, as well as trucks; the median lane is much more comfortable.
Matt,
Flashing to tell trucks they are clear is very common among the long distance 18 wheel drivers. Especially in rural areas. And they almost always acknowledge my flash, in my little F150, by two or three flashes of their hazard lights. Local dump truck drivers don't; maybe because I am not flashing in Spanish.
Flashing for speed traps was more common further West, say Texas. Here the locations are announced on the radio!
Wilf.
Here in South Florida we also have left exits for Service areas as well as for actual exits (mostly downtown Miami) Luckily the FDOT signs them pretty well. I still follow my "one-way street" theory! On many local streets there is another reason for using the median lane; most streets started their lives as two-lane roads. The planners had worked out that eventually they would be widened to four or six. However the utility companies put their cables and pipes in the grass verge. When widened they didn't like moving them (especially the phone companies). So the "slow" lane is full of manholes, as well as trucks; the median lane is much more comfortable.
Matt,
Flashing to tell trucks they are clear is very common among the long distance 18 wheel drivers. Especially in rural areas. And they almost always acknowledge my flash, in my little F150, by two or three flashes of their hazard lights. Local dump truck drivers don't; maybe because I am not flashing in Spanish.
Flashing for speed traps was more common further West, say Texas. Here the locations are announced on the radio!
Wilf.
geeman237 said:
Here in SC there is something I have never seen before, an interstate rest stop BETWEEN the carriageways, so you enter and exit the rest stop via the outside ('fast') lane!!!!
If you try the UK style of flashing your headlights at someone bimbling along in the 'fast' lane as a hint to move over, it is not generally understood here.
The M60 anti clockwise after Stockport has a fast lane entry point. It may not feel safe but I believe it has less accidents than a normal entry point. If you try the UK style of flashing your headlights at someone bimbling along in the 'fast' lane as a hint to move over, it is not generally understood here.
There is a central rest stop on the Garden state parkway in NJ near the state border with NY. It's the last stop on the parkway. It is dangerous because there is an exit straight after the rest stop entry and all the locals fill up with the cheap "gas" before leaving the motorway. They cross the carriageway at around 30mph inevitably with me in the car behind screaming at them to speed up because there are cars travelling at us at 80 and I will be left on the motorway.
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