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What's with those people? (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] lemming741@lemmy.world 46 points 2 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 2 months ago* (last edited 2 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 2 months ago

Another class of driver I want to be far away from

[-] Joelk111@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago
[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 22 points 2 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 2 months ago* (last edited 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 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.

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

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