Guess I was bird watching today...

Sorry for the rant, but...driving in Washington and Oregon is getting to be downright crazy. I got flipped the bird twice today because I was in the far left lane and only going 10 mph over the limit It's insanely scary how fast many travel these days, cutting in and out of lanes like they are immortal. And it's not just young bucks with sports cars, or even motorcycles. It's huge trucks with trailers! I didn't think I'd ever be the one driving slow with my lead foot


Or maybe I'm totally mistaken and instead of showing me a birdy, they were trying to say my 4Runner is #1

 

There are a lot of terrible drivers out there, but if you're in the fast lane and you've got drivers coming up fast behind you, passing you on the right, making obscene gestures, you need to get out of the fast lane!

 

In Sacramento I get passed by cars doing 90+. So you have to dodge the semis in the 3 right lanes, the rockets coming up behind you, and the rando walking on the freeway. Good luck and may god have mercy on your soul.

 

Texas is a complete shitshow. Most of our state troopers who normally do traffic control on state and interstate highways are assigned down along the border for illegal immigration purposes. Having gotten paid to drive fast for nearly 3 decades, I really enjoy chilling in the right lane and trying to keep it under 70. I’m driving to Arlington this afternoon and will be paying close attention to my mileage. Truck traffic is insane here and because of the way trucking companies, as well as independent drivers, are required to calculate their time, they gotta keep moving as fast as possible. Time sitting in line waiting on a short staff to unload them counts against their limited wheel time.

 

I'm quoting this for some educational purposes, not to attack you so don't take offense!

The left lane/passing lane isn't for speeding, it is for passing. Your speed in it and what you think is "fast enough" has literally no bearing on its purpose. That lane is for passing. Before entering that lane, check to see if it's clear, make your pass and get out of it. If in the middle of your pass you see a car coming up behind you, speed up more and get your pass over quicker, and get out of the lane.

Too many people put their own spin on what that lane is for. It's a passing lane, and that's why you're getting the bird. Yes, they're doing something illegal by going 80 in a 55, but so are you clogging up the passing lane.

Happy and safe driving!

 

As mentioned, don't hang out in the left lane, as it truly is only for passing. As Beachguy does, I like cruising in the right lane and relaxing. The 4Runner is a vehicle that encourages relaxed driving anyway. So what if I'm getting passed by this guy or that, or 'only' doing the speed limit? Plus, you get to watch people get pissed at each other from a safe vantage point.

 

I didn't explain it very well. I totally agree with you all on passing in the far left only. Thing is, that is what I was doing. I passed 3 slower cars, and was going to get over when these people (on my ass while passing) whipped over to the right, probably cutting off cars I passed, and proceeded to jet passed while flipping me off. I had every intention of getting over after passing. I guess I wasn't fast enough to do so. Which is why it made me upset. I passed and was going to get out of their precious way and still it wasn't to their liking.

 

Was it a Tesla?

 

Yeah, there are also idiots out there who display their idiocy at every opportunity. You can't escape those. Sometimes I'm passing a slow car, along with a line of 18 other cars doing the same thing, all in front of me. I'll get the numbskull riding my butt as if I could move the whole line faster. I just ignore him, because he's gonna make a stupid move anyway. My responsibility is in front of me, and he's not there. Just realize those folks exist and will never be happy driving.

 

Texas is the #1 state to get hit by: 1. An illegal immigrant 2. An uninsured driver 3. A drunk driver 4. An unlicensed driver
5. An unlicensed uninsured drunk illegal alien
The roads here are truly not safe.

 

In Colorado, it’s the law that you have to move to the right & not cruise in the left lane. I drive like a grandma so I get the bird all the time, even in the slow lane. Too many guns out there for me. My neighbors Jeep got shot up because her truck was in between to road ragers & one of them fired through her jeep. She was very fortunate that no bullets struck her!

Denver is nuts because everyone moved here & brought their shitty driving habits. ATL is by far the crazy place I have ever driven, that & DC. Fuck DC traffic!!

 

No offense to Californians, but it's been way worse since a lot of ya'll moved up here.

 

Quote from info board on Ohio interestate 77 - " Camp in state parks not the left lane."

 

I get that crap mostly from drivers on BMW's and big Pickups. And I only use the left lane to pass but apparently I don't pass fast enough for some idiots.

 

After +40yrs we left the Bay Area 6yrs ago. We return 2-3 times a year to see medical specialist and are amazed at the death-wish lunatic freeway drivers. I breath a sigh of relief when I exit onto rt88 in Stockton coming home to be away from the freeway craziness.

 

Once I was in the right lane on I-15 with my cruise set at the speed limit. Another car in the left lane came up and started matching my speed blocking a whole line of traffic behind him. I sped up so they could get in the right lane and go around they guy but I ended up getting the bird from these idiots that I let pass like it was my fault.

 

How dare you use cruise control and go a consistent speed

 

When I come up behind someone who is clearly passing, I'll give them some space. I'll give them room to safely move over after they pass, also

But, if they're only going a few MPH faster than the traffic they're passing, I do get annoyed. Sometimes you just need to hammer down and get out of the way.

There's nothing more irritating than a semi going 68 MPH passing a semi going 67.5 MPH. I wish the slower truck would just take his foot off the gas for 5 seconds and let the other guy get out of everyone's way.

 

Same crap happening in Vegas. They're driving up housing costs and freeway accidents.

 

When I was still capable, I rode motorcycles crazy, I'll admit. Heck, I'd go out and run the LA freeways just for the fun of it. Did the same in the Bay Area when I'd go home for long weekends. Just go drive as crazy as all the other idiots. Yeah, when I look back on what I did, I'll admit, I was an idiot, right there with the worst of them.

Now I'm older than I was, mentally as well as physically, and have been in 3 bike accidents coincidentally, I drive my pickup, and 4Runner, a LOT less crazy. I'm turning into my mother, who once told me "that's the MAXIMUM speed limit, not the minimum". I let the idiots, like me, do as they please, and just stay clear of them. Especially come winter here in South-Central Oregon. I figure, and am often proved right, I'll see them in the ditch, wrapped around a tree, or something like that.

They go past, and flip me the bird, but I just smile and give them a friendly wave. Drives them more nuts with anger than anything else I've found. Accelerates their chances of being seen alongside the road with a block of metal that was once their car.

Stay safe, all!
Pat☺

 

Totally understandable! And I can admit to being at fault sometimes and deserving of a honk or middle finger albeit not intentionally . Yesterday was not that, and it seems to be the case more and more in this area. It just makes me disappointed in humans. I love driving my rig, but these "gotta go 90+" drivers are scary to be around.

Guess I need to do more off roading to destress

 

I agree with you there, driving in or near DC is the fucking worst.

I hate driving on the highway so when I'm on the highway I'm normally cruising pretty just to get off it. On country, city, town, etc.. I do the speed limit

 

Reserving the left lane for passing is a sensible idea. But it doesn’t apply in the most populated and congested US cities where there are multiple lane freeways. During commute times all lanes will be packed with everyone going about the same speed. The idiots constantly cross lanes cutting people off while jockeying for a few hundred yards of progress. Unfortunately they bring these habits to two lane highways also.

BTW, no state can claim the worst drivers. They’re everywhere.

 

The 495 beltway is the worst highway ever

 

My GF once told me to set my expectations of other people really low. Sadly it works, to a degree.

With gas prices through the roof you’d think some folks would slow down a bit to increase their efficiency. I don’t see that happening here.

I mostly enjoy cruising along in the slower lanes at +5 mph. My road rage and speeding days are mostly behind me anyway.

 

Lived in California all my adult life and for 30 years, I drove a tractor trailer for a living in the LA basin. That was a rat race the has only gotten worse since my retirement in 2005. We still have family in Ca, so, we do make an occasional trip. I hate driving in Ca. I now live near a town of 11,000 people and no traffic jams unless there is a herd of elk or deer crossing the road. So nice just to take my time when I drive.

 

^^^This!^^^

 

Drove from Vegas to Newport Beach once. Never again.

 

The freeways are completely nuts where I live. It's like the cops stopped pulling anyone over when covid hit. All the crazies have just taken advantage of it and the cops haven't returned to patrolling. It is literally like a race track sometimes.

 

When I'm in the left lane and see someone someone coming fast, I pull to the right lane to let him or her past. Not once but twice I've seen these same cars pulled over by a highway patrol. How satisfying.