"Fast lane obsessed" people

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Evil D
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"Fast lane obsessed" people

#1

Post by Evil D »

Alright guys bare with me as I do a little early morning soap boxing.


What is the deal with people who can't seem to drive unless they're in the fast lane? Surely some of you are guilty of this, I don't expect you to out yourselves but really what is the big deal?

I do a lot of driving and I watch peoples' driving behavior quite a bit. I see people all day long fight their way over to the fast lane, regardless of how fast that lane is actually going, and then just tailgate the life out of whoever is in front of them, even when that person can't go any faster because of the person in front of them, and so on and so on. Meanwhile I'm in the middle lane and sometimes even the slow lane cruising along passing those people.

I drive to work around 4am everyday when traffic is very light, and I still see people dart their way into the fast lane even when they have 3 empty lanes to drive in. Is it just a habit to some people?

Don't get me wrong, I understand being in a hurry. What I don't understand is how people can't look at the traffic situation and clearly see that we are all stuck in this and you're not going to get there any faster in the fast lane.

Then you have Mario Andretti who feels the need to change lanes and try to weave their way through traffic, and they may actually gain 5 car lengths but ultimately they're not getting there any faster for their efforts.

And while I'm complaining, why can't people merge? Why can't you let someone in? Is that one extra car in front of you really going to make a difference? And when merging into normal speed non rush hour traffic, you need to meet or exceed the speed that everyone else is going, either speed up or tuck in behind, because absolutely nobody is required to get over or slow down to let you merge. Merging means YOU yield.

Oh, and if you're that guy who pushes their way alllllll the way to the absolute end of the merge lane and pushes your way in, congratulations you made it every last possible car space forward. You'll get there 0.0001 seconds before the rest of us. Good for you.

Now to be fair, on the other end of this are the people who camp in the fast lane doing exactly the speed limit. Don't do that. Those other crazy people need their fast lane to function, and you're just an obstacle in their race to shave 5 seconds off their commute. Unfortunately for me, there are at least three exits I can think of off the top of my head around where I work that are taken from the fast lane, and my work tracks my speed so I have no choice but to spend at least some amount of time in the fast lane doing exactly the speed limit...if looks could kill I wouldn't be typing this. You'd think they would understand by now, oh there's that exit coming up and that's a company vehicle so this guy will probably be exiting and will be out of my way shortly. Nope.

Anyway. Some of y'all just need to mellow out. Oh, and use your turn signal, especially you BMW peeps because you're just fueling that stereotype.

Oh just one more thing...you're not nearly as good at multitasking that whole texting and driving thing as you think you are. You really should stop that.
Last edited by Evil D on Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#2

Post by ladybug93 »

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impressive rant. agreed.
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VooDooChild
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#3

Post by VooDooChild »

People suck.

I hate driving here. Florida is terrible. Youve got old people driving too slow. Young people driving too fast. Tourist who have no idea where they are going and are constantly missing their turns and swerving back into and out of lanes. Rednecks who come from a town with one stop light and have no idea how to drive in traffic and always have to be doing 90 mph. People from other countries who really dont know what theyre doing. Road construction and road systems that arent marked well or make no sense. An insane amount of pedestrians crossing the road to get to the beach. A large number of cyclist if one of our like 5 frickin triathlons is coming up. Roads that flood. Gridlock on pretty much any summer weekend.
Road construction that for some reason has to happen in the summer. The list goes on.

My hometown was never meant to handle the volume of people that are constantly here. I have pretty much gotten to the point where I hate driving because of what a hassle it is.

Im sure its just as bad or worse in any large metro area. Maybe the self driving cars will save us. Maybe I need to go live in the woods.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#4

Post by bearfacedkiller »

You should try driving around Boston some time! Stay out of the left lane unless you are doing at least 20 over the limit!

I live in the woods now. We don’t have many highways. I’m only on an interstate when I am leaving the state which is once every couple months. The state speed limit on typical roads is 50mph here and nobody does it. It is a good day when you are actually doing the speed limit.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#5

Post by VooDooChild »

Evil D wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:49 am

...
Oh, and if you're that guy who pushes their way alllllll the way to the absolute end of the merge lane and pushes your way in, congratulations you made it every last possible car space forward. You'll get there 0.0001 seconds before the rest of us. Good for you.
...
Theres really no excuse for merging to get screwed up on something like an interstate on ramp.

I used to give people the benefit of the doubt but I have seen too many other people do this on purpose that I have lost sympathy. What drives me crazy is when traffic is bad someone will get into a turning lane timing the light, drive to the end, then try to merge back into the main lane passing all the cars they were behind instead of turning, like they didnt realise it was a turning lane. I wont let them in. Im sure sometimes it is actually an accident but you can turn and figure out how to get to where youre going.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#6

Post by kerrcobra »

Here where I live, we have a law that requires you to slow down or move over to allow merging traffic in from the on ramps. Most people do it, but some don't of course because they're jerks. When I was younger, I drove like you were ranting about above. I try not to do that anymore, but I also don't drive every day. I work from home now and live up in the country, so I only ever get on a highway on rare weekends when I'm traveling through the big city. As far as the fast lane, I still drive in it by habit, but I don't ever tailgate folks anymore. Also, when I'm on my motorcycle, I'll drive in the right lane or the far left lane - because it's easier to maintain my situational awareness when I only have to worry about someone changing lanes into me from one side - and usually it's the far left lane because the right has merging traffic. All entrance/exit ramps for all highways here are on the right with a few exceptions from recent highway additions where you "pay to play". For the most part though, I avoid highways as much as I possibly can.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#7

Post by Filoso- »

The sign of our time extrapolated to roads. Everybody wants to be the first, nobody wants to wait for anything ...
I like the motto that some truck drivers show with humour here: If you're in a hurry, get up earlier ...
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#8

Post by JRinFL »

Late merging should be the only acceptable method. One car merging at a time is faster for everyone, like a zipper closing. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca ... 748026001/
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#9

Post by yablanowitz »

I'll never understand how people can stand to live near so many other people. From my house to the Interstate (any Interstate) is over 150 miles. Traffic like the OP describes doesn't exist here. My version of his rant is why people risk their lives passing on a two lane highway with a town every ten miles. They blow by me doing 20 mph over the limit, and I catch up to them at the next stop light. I used to be annoyed, now I'm just amused.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#10

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Nice rant David! All valid reasons for it. Speaking of tourists, our New York State Fair is going on right now and is held about 15 minutes from my home, and 5 minutes from my job...talk about chaos!

I travel Interstate 81 for about 75% of my daily commute to and from work, I'm typically a middle lane or left lane guy. I feel like it's easier to hold a consistent speed in the left lane than the others.

I also pass through a stretch where there are multiple exit and on ramps close together, coming up to that stretch I always move to the left lane just to avoid the people that don't know how to merge, or the people in the middle lane that then start braking in fear of the mergers.

Everything else you mention is so spot on. Pretty sad this is a reality across the entire country. Scary to think vehicles with 400hp is common these days too, when 15 years ago you might as well have had a supercar. Anybody can just roll into the dealership with money and good credit and walk out with a racecar...scary stuff
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#11

Post by JRinFL »

VooDooChild wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:47 am
People suck.

I hate driving here. Florida is terrible.
Since moving here, I’ve named it “Land of the Lost” since so many are constantly in the wrong lane.

I don’t blame Florida as the problem is caused by all the terrible drivers from other states moving down here. They need to relax a bit, this is Florida not some high tempo hellhole they escaped from.
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James Y
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#12

Post by James Y »

Great thread, David.

I’m in CA, which is notorious for its bad drivers. However…I firmly believe that that’s because a very high percentage of the worst drivers here came from elsewhere. Because I’m one of the very few people I know who were actually born and grew up here (3rd generation). A lot of the worst drivers from other states and countries move to CA, and simply transplant their dumb ways over here.

I stay out of the fast lane. Just yesterday, I was driving in the second-to-right-hand lane, and some idiot in a gray sports car in the far left lane sped by everyone at what had to have been OVER 100 MPH. I was going 70, which is at or below the average people drive on the freeway here, and he passed me like I was standing still. I don’t know if it was some trust fund kid showing off and overcompensating for something else, or some old guy also trying to overcompensate, because the windows were blacked out.

I do NOT like to put myself above anyone else, but the reasons for these types of behavior is obvious: Some people are stupid. Stupid because they are not only endangering themselves, but more importantly, everyone else on the road.

Just like Tiger Woods a few months back. He was in a severe crash, and the authorities kept giving him the benefit of the doubt for as long as they could (because he’s Tiger Woods), initially emphasizing that there was no evidence of negligence. It was later determined that he had been driving at around 90 MPH. That road is not even the freeway, where 90 is still too fast. The only good thing that came of it was that the crash involved only him.

I tend to stay in the slow lane, or the one next to it. Another reason for doing so is that there have been incidents of fatal crashes involving wrong-way drivers on the freeway. Whether the reason is plain stupidity, drunk driving, or suicidal tendencies. Reportedly, the safest lane to be in if there is a wrong-way driver on the freeway is the slow lane, because to a wrong-way driver, the fast lane appears to be the slow lane out of habit.

Although there is another dumb behavior. Some people will speed to get in front of me and slow down to pass to get onto the turnoff, when traffic was clear behind me for several hundred yards, and there were no other cars. The guy could have easily gone over to the turnoff lane BEHIND me, without the need to pass in front.

I apologize for taking this a bit OT, but I wonder how some people got their drivers licenses in the first place.

Jim
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#13

Post by Halfneck »

My daily commute is around 30 minutes each way, most of it on an Interstate. It's rural so I can pretty much get in the far left an set my cruise control on 80mph in the morning (6am). On the way home around 5pm there is more traffic, and I'm in less of a rush so I'm usually going around 75mph with less use of cruise control.

My only real gripe are the people in the far left lane going 70mph or less. This is made even worse if they are matching the speed of the vehicles to their right - basically making a rolling roadblock. The unofficial rule in Georgia is that the far left lane is the Autobahn lane. Stay out of it unless you are going faster than everyone else.
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Evil D
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#14

Post by Evil D »

JRinFL wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:13 am
Late merging should be the only acceptable method. One car merging at a time is faster for everyone, like a zipper closing. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca ... 748026001/


I'm referring to when there are plenty of gaps and opportunities to merge back in the middle. That guy forcing his way in is forcing someone to slow down and that's slowing down literally hundreds of cars behind him.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#15

Post by ladybug93 »

VooDooChild wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:47 am
People suck.

I hate driving here. Florida is terrible. Youve got old people driving too slow. Young people driving too fast. Tourist who have no idea where they are going and are constantly missing their turns and swerving back into and out of lanes. Rednecks who come from a town with one stop light and have no idea how to drive in traffic and always have to be doing 90 mph. People from other countries who really dont know what theyre doing. Road construction and road systems that arent marked well or make no sense. An insane amount of pedestrians crossing the road to get to the beach. A large number of cyclist if one of our like 5 frickin triathlons is coming up. Roads that flood. Gridlock on pretty much any summer weekend.
Road construction that for some reason has to happen in the summer. The list goes on.

My hometown was never meant to handle the volume of people that are constantly here. I have pretty much gotten to the point where I hate driving because of what a hassle it is.

Im sure its just as bad or worse in any large metro area. Maybe the self driving cars will save us. Maybe I need to go live in the woods.
i spent much of my life in florida and can verify this is very accurate. it's funny... i've lived in a lot of other places since then and no one can drive anywhere. i guess i shouldn't have been surprised since none of them can drive when they come to florida either. 😂
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#16

Post by JD Spydo »

David for many years now I've complained vehemently about the abysmal driving habits of these Cell Phone Junkies and just outright "head cases" that occupy the highways. I've said to members of my family that if I was to ever get into politics I would like to be the traffic administrator. I would lay down some really strict, draconian driving laws to really punish a lot of these "road roaches" as I like to call them.

Here where I live in the Kansas City, Missouri area we have a vast freeway system that I'm on almost daily at times. And the erratic and insane driving really gets on my nerves big time. I was in a serious accident all the way back to the late 1970s and I got hurt and really learned my lesson about how dangerous that driving really is on this freeway system.

Since then I've taken my driving very seriously. I try my best to obey all speed limits and you wouldn't believe how many "middle finger salutes" I've had over the years just by trying to drive with common sense. I really don't know why people go into "crazy mode" when many of them get on the road. But the problem you bring up is all over the planet. And it's gotten much worse since the advent of these Cell Phones. It's probably time I do another thread on the subject. Because it is a motorized vehicle and not a phone booth that we are talking about. Cell Phone insanity is a major part of it though. Major stress in a person's life is another component of the problem. It is irritating needless to say :cussing
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#17

Post by Airlsee »

Very impressive venting session.

It's really bad here in DFW. I just try to stay off major highways during busy morning/afternoons and generally stay in a relatively small radius on a daily basis. Liking maps and being comfortable taking side streets and backways is very handy. People are inconsiderate when they get into their metal vroom-vroom boxes, and what little common sense there is gets sucked right out the window.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#18

Post by SG89 »

I'm a country girl that has to drive to dallas and back everyday... "big city turn me loose and set me free"
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#19

Post by ChrisinHove »

It used to be me, then I slowed down but let the antics of others bother me, now I just figure to let it be their heart attack, not mine.
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Re: "Fast lane obsessed" people

#20

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Another pet peeve of mine is people driving vehicles way to fast and reckless than what their made for. During my commute home from work, on many days I see this same young woman, probably in her late teens/early twenties. This girl flies through traffic, in and out of lanes, no blinker. Meanwhile she's driving over 80mph doing this, in what has to be a late 1990's Hyundai Accent! A tiny car with tiny wheels and tires, foot probably to the floor board.

Scariest part is she has a car seat in the back of the car. Thankfully I haven't noticed a child the past couple times I've seen her.
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