s5blitzer

Apologies if this has been posted before in 2012. Wanted to post something fun for TGIF.

Trip was 120 km round trip in 45 mins of video. Driver was averaging over 220 kph (136 mph) for the most part.

Noticed how German drivers are disciplined - move over to the right lane when they saw him coming from behind. Wish US drivers have their license revoked every time they hog the left lane when the right lane is open. DON'T GET ME GOING ON THIS TOPIC. Whether you drive a German car or anything else, PLEASE do not overtake on the right. Yes, I am guilty of this but on very rare situations when drivers occupy all the left most lanes and driving at the same speed.

Only at the 20 min mark in the first video, the blue Skoda did not change lanes until over a minute later. Car peaked at 258kph at 23:07 mark of the video.

At 2:36 of the second video, driver was ready to flash the van who was about move into his lane.

Ignore the wind noise especially at the high speed but the car sure looked stable. LOVE autobahn construction - another pet peeve about US highways.

Omeletpants

Don't think there is a law against driving in the left lane. LOL. Maybe the guys that are driving 85 mph and run up your tail should have their licenses revoked.

Just yesterday I was in the left lane when a Merc pulled up behind me. So then I moved to the right lane and she pulls inches from my bumper trying to pass on the right side. Hit the brakes hard and scared the crap out of here. Drivers like her need their licenses revoked.

Trian

There are laws and then there is courtesy driving. One major component of driving is to avoid accidents and not to cause them. If you see somebody driving overly fast or erratically, you should put yourself into a safe place, not try to cause an accident.

V10_MAN

If you aren't passing - get out of the passing lane. I mean really, how much thought needs to go into that?

dukeland

What amazes me is that the driver had no verbal expressions throughout, except for a small "FU#K" when he had to honk at the Van in clip#2.

MorganB

The left lane is for passing. It's as simple as that. It's not for constant driving. In fact here in Texas there are signs on the interstate pointing it out. People sitting in the left lane cause problems by blocking traffic and forcing others to pass on the right which is dangerous. I lived in France for 7 years and it was heaven to drive on the autoroutes with everyone automatically moving over.

Per the Texas DOT website.

"Keep Right

Watch for signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read "Left Lane For Passing Only." These signs let you know that the left lane on a divided highway is not a "fast" lane; it is a passing lane.

After you pass someone, move into the right lane once you've safely cleared the vehicle. Impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200."

s5blitzer

Law or not the law, it think is plain common sense to let faster cars pass on the left most lane; and at a minimum a courtesy.

Here's an MIT summary of which states has this in the law.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

Regards!

jr'sAudiA6

I lived and worked in Germany back in the early to mid eighties. I was strongly instructed by a german co-worker to follow the simple rule of use left lane for passing only, if it is safe to do so, otherwise remain in the right lane. Now I have tried to follow this rule of the road since I started driving over 40 years ago. Unfortunatly here in california it appears to me that drivers just drive in any lane regardless of their speed and traffic conditions. Passing on the right has become normal as a result. Even though the Vehicle Code says otherwise it is not enforced. The germans have been doing this right for decades. I believe to get a drivers license in germany is very involved, much more then in the US. As a result they have fewer accidents per capita as well as fewer deaths per capita then the US. My 2 cents on this subject.

alvam

Trust me it is not just California drivers who do that. Same thing here in Colorado. These people think they are doing the law a favor by slowing people down in the left lane and some folks I have talked to say "I am going the speed limit so too bad" What kind of idiotic attitude is that!?!?!?

mikem33

In California, there is no requirement to move out of the left lane on freeways, but there is such a requirement on two-way highways (that is, without a divider, or where there are breaks on the divider that allow for left turns). This is because freeways are considered 'restricted to one-way traffic'. On freeways, the only thing that applies is driving to the right if you are driving 'slower than the speed of traffic'. This, of course, makes it legal to drive right alongside the guy next to you on the right and then pass him REALLY slowly.

I'm not arguing for driving slow on the left lane... I frequently drive in Mexico and it annoys me that most American drivers stay on the left lane even if going slower than traffic or obviously not passing. Mexico, like most of the rest of the world, does designate the left lane for passing only.

Having said that, even if we consider it 'uncourteous' to stay on the left on a freeway when, say, driving 85MPH and moving with traffic, it is certainly not illegal, and thus it makes it hard to justify getting upset over it.
I don't see the issue with passing on the right on a freeway rather than tailgating the guy in front waiting for him to move over. At least in CA, nothing forbids passing on the right on a freeway, and since it's widely accepted, I would argue that it's no less safe than passing on the left in those conditions. From the police's perspective, anything that tends to keep the speeds on freeways slower is preferred; thus, you won't find them ticketing anyone for driving slow on the left lane, unless it's by an egregious difference (say, going 45 or so).

I guess my point is 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do...'. So, in CA, I pass on the right and try (not always successfully) to avoid the evil stare directed at the slowpoke on the left lane.