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What's with those people? (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 104 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Probably irritated that they're in the middle lane instead of keeping right except to pass. (or left except to pass in countries that drive on the left).

[-] lemming741@lemmy.world 46 points 8 months ago

It's an indicator that the center lane driver is not paying attention. I want to be far away from drivers that are not paying attention.

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It could be, but I just think they think it's OK to chill in the center lane. Everyone else is doing it, after all, never mind that everyone else is also causing traffic to be worse.

Edit: After returning and reading more comments, yeah, a lot of (likely) Americans think it's OK to be a middle lane camper, even in more rural areas.

[-] lemming741@lemmy.world 33 points 8 months ago

Another class of driver I want to be far away from

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago
[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago

The California DMV handbook literally tells you to do that. If there's three lanes, cruise in the middle lane. If there's two lanes, cruise in the right lane. I don't think it's a requirement, but it is the official recommendation in California.

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Interesting, that seems to me like it would encourage people to pass on the right. In my experience driving with 3 lanes the right lane is often bare and clear while the left lane is clogged and the middle lane is moderately busy which is, of course, the opposite of what it should be, generally. In cities, obviously, cruising in the middle lane can make more sense, as there's much more merging on/off of the freeway.

[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

I looked it up to see if they provide reasoning for it, and discovered that they've removed the language about where to cruise (at least I couldn't easily find it) since I took the test years ago, but they're kind of saying it between the lines:

Here are some tips for choosing a lane:

Use the left lane to pass or turn left. Use the right lane to enter or exit traffic or when you enter the road from a curb or shoulder.

Sidenote: In my experience, on/off ramps in California are ridiculously short, often with low visibility until you're on it, so they're kind of relying on the right lane not being all that crowded.

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

Yea, in cities it can make sense to cruise in the middle lane. Where there's an exist every few miles, nah, keep to the right.

[-] FishFace@piefed.social 6 points 8 months ago

Passing on the right is also... Not that big a deal. The only thing that supposedly makes it worse than passing on the left is that supposedly people don't check when moving right. Realistically, the people who don't check when moving right are also mostly not checking when moving left.

[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Legally speaking it's a big deal in some states. California discourages it at highway speeds, but doesn't ban it.

[-] oyo@lemmy.zip 4 points 8 months ago

When did they change that? No wonder traffic is so fucked. That literally conflicts with the LAW that says 'slower traffic keep right.'

[-] gopher@programming.dev 1 points 8 months ago

Interesting, that is directly illegal afaik in many EU countries, where the rule is you must keep as far right as possible at all times. I.e use only left lanes when overtaking.

[-] Empricorn@feddit.nl 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

If I merged onto the highway on the left, I have to eventually get right. I'll move to the middle lane when it's safe, but then 1-2 miles before my exit, I'll move to the right lane (for right exits). But it's unreasonable to expect drivers to crowd the far right lane all the time, making merging/exiting the highway more congested and dangerous just because I only drive 0-9 mph over the speed limit at the speed of traffic flow...

[-] monkeyslikebananas2@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago

As long as you’re not impeding the flow of traffic that’s fine. Some people stay left or center and impede traffic because they want to make everyone go slower. My brother is one of those people.

I tell him he’s not the police and is actually being more dangerous than just getting the fuck out of the way.

Just like someone wants to go slower. Let others live and they can live or die with the consequences. Don’t inject yourself into a dangerous situation to prove a point.

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 1 points 8 months ago

Let others live and they can live or die with the consequences

Most of the time they will be bringing others with them in the "die with the consequences" phase. Speeding benefits nobody, not even the speeder (speeding doesn't save any noticable amount of time at all)

[-] monkeyslikebananas2@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

My point is that if you are not in a police vehicle, You should focus on keeping yourself safe and get out of the way.

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

If I am going the posted limit and others feel like speeding, why is it my job to get out of the way? Whether it's a country road with intermittent passing lanes or a multi lane highway with plenty of lanes to the left, that's their choice to speed but I ain't risking my license because some chucklefucks choose to be hostile to anyone they share the road with

Whether they feel like speeding or running red lights, they're going to have to contend with other drivers who don't feel like breaking the law, and they'll have to choose to either abide by best driving practices or to continue to be careless

[-] PaintedSnail@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It's entirely about your safety:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_curve

In short, all else being equal, the safest speed to drive is as close to the median speed as you can estimate. The probably of an accident increases with the number of cars that you pass and the number of cars that pass you.

If course it's not completely cut-and-dry like that, and is more applicable to higher traffic situations, but it's a good general rule.

[-] monkeyslikebananas2@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I’m not saying you HAVE to. But the safest thing you can do for yourself is get out of the way. Do you want to be right, or do you want to be safe? There’s a reason that it’s called defensive driving.

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[-] pageflight@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Yeah. If I stayed in the right lane, every couple miles I'd need to change lanes to avoid an exit only, or free up space for entering traffic to merge. But that leaves one of not two open lanes to my left.

Also changing lanes is stressful for me: the situation changes quickly, and even after checking blind spots I've almost sideswiped someone a couple times. (Also honked to keep a pair of cars in front of me from picking the same moment to shift into each other.)

So, I get the principle, and I also am annoyed with slow traffic in the left lane. But if there's room to pass on the left, that's what I see as necessary.

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

It is the job of the person merging onto the freeway to find a safe place to merge. The person on the freeway is also able to move out of the right lane if they so desire, but they aren't required to from what I understand.

All of that said, I see people being center lane campers all the time whether it be in the middle of a city, where it's arguably fine, to rural but populated areas where it causes traffic, to the middle of nowhere, where it isn't inconveniencing me, but is just weird.

[-] oyo@lemmy.zip 5 points 8 months ago

But it's entirely unreasonable and incredibly dangerous to expect someone on a freeway onramp to stop and wait for an opening. Drivers must leave enough room to allow a speed-appropriate merge in front of them.

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

When did I say stop and wait for an opening? Don't stop on an on-ramp.

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 4 points 8 months ago

It is the job of the person merging onto the freeway to find a safe place to merge. The person on the freeway is also able to move out of the right lane if they so desire, but they aren’t required to from what I understand

Part of merging is to let the vehicles merging safely merge. That might mean slowing down a bit, speeding up a bit for a moment or moving a lane over. The only time when doing nothing for a merging vehicle is okay is when there's literally nothing you can do due to the quantity of traffic

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[-] Sunsofold@lemmings.world 10 points 8 months ago

People often forget, this is only on highways/motorways. On surface streets (recognizable by their lack of entry/exit ramps/infrastructure and same level intersections) left lanes are for those expecting to turn left next, right lanes are for those expecting to turn right next, and middle lanes are for those who will be going straight past the next intersection, with some variance expected on occasion.

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 20 points 8 months ago

Surface streets

3 lanes

You don't need to tell me where you live.

[-] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 9 points 8 months ago

Its sadly not only an America problem. Its not uncommon here in China to see 3 lanes each way, a seperated motorbike lane that's like 10 feet wide, a seperated bus/bicycle/car parking lane, 5 feet of bike parking, and then 15 feet of sidewalk.

And somehow cars still drive on the sidewalks.

[-] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago
[-] Anivia@feddit.org 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Which country do you think this picture got taken in? Hint: It's not America, China or Dubai

[-] llii@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 8 months ago

Probably some parade street in North Korea.

[-] Anivia@feddit.org 5 points 8 months ago
[-] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Based on the overall frequency of people from Southeast Asia vs. the US on Lemmy, my guess is still going to be "US" when people tell me about 3+ lanes on municipal roads, even though I am of course aware that such roads exist in other countries (including my own).

[-] Ibuthyr@feddit.org 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I would have said Philippines but the avalanche of cars is missing. So I'll guess Myanmar?

Edit: Lol, I still had this post open from this morning and just saw that you already gave the answer

[-] SLVRDRGN@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

Where do they live?

[-] Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Yeah, if I come up on someone in the middle lane when there’s clearly space in the right lane, I get pissed. I don’t even drive fast, so if I catch up to you, you really have no business being anywhere but the right lane.

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[-] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

One thing I don't like about NY, there isn't a stay-right law. It's actually a "use any open lane" law. Crazy.

Plus all the Stroads.

[-] Saapas@piefed.zip 1 points 8 months ago

Sonetimes that's the turning lane. It doesn't make much sense to bop in and out of that one. If it is a regular lane and additional turning lanes are to the right of that then sure

this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
775 points (94.2% liked)

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