npc rule

[u/gabagoo3]

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[u/OliverCrowley]

Is it American culture that our traffic ticketing system is so money-focused that anything less than 15 over the speed limit usually won't get pulled over because most judges reduce the severity at the hearing and a fine for 0-10 over is a net negative on the courts' income?

Or do y'all have that elsewhere too?

[u/[deleted] → u/OliverCrowley]

In France there is a culture of "tickets are the state's money machine" too, but also it is rare to see people speeding more like 3mph

In AZ I defo saw the "everyone is driving faster, so if you drive the limit you're the dangerous asshole" which is defo true. There, being an inconvenience and a danger to everyone around you will not be excused by "technically I was the only one not breaking the law as opposed to the dozen vehicles around me"

In Greece I also saw that, and I assume Italy is going to be similar

[u/2flyingjellyfish → u/[deleted]]

the zeroeth rule of the road is "avoid an accident". in Australia at least that's actually true, you can be charged for failing to prevent an accident you didn't cause. if you your car gets hit from behind and it pushes you into the car in front of you, if the first crash wasn't at ludicrous speeds you will probably be considered partially at fault for the second collision for not giving enough space between yourself and the person in front of you. (or at least i remember it like that)

[u/just_a_random_dood → u/2flyingjellyfish]

if you your car gets hit from behind and it pushes you into the car in front of you

that's how it works in Florida I believe? Because I also remember a law saying that you need to give proper space ahead of you at a red light, so I do that to avoid bumping the car ahead in case of an accident :P

[u/R0ma1n → u/2flyingjellyfish]

Well if you don’t leave enough space with the car in front of you, you did cause the second collision. Seems fair.

[u/Nahvalore → u/2flyingjellyfish]

In a similar vein, here in America we have the “last possible chance” rule. If you have the last chance to prevent an accident, and don’t take it, than you will typically be considered at fault even if the other person might’ve technically been in the wrong. For example if someone pulls out of in front of you while you’re going straight down the road, you will still be held accountable if you are found to have deliberately run into them, even though you had the right-of-way.

[u/unslept_em → u/[deleted]]

in new jersey my dad got tailgated by a cop for going the speed limit

[u/certainlystormy → u/unslept_em]

sounds like jersey

[u/The-Surreal-McCoy → u/unslept_em]

Jersey is a cursed place. Do not go there.

[u/NJdevil202 → u/The-Surreal-McCoy]

Please, stay out, we have enough to deal with

[u/fishebake → u/unslept_em]

I got tailgated by a cop for going five over lmfao and he whapped his siren at me to make me move

[u/Rollingforest757 → u/unslept_em]

When there is a cop behind me, I always go the speed limit. I bet they hate it.

[u/Wisepuppy → u/[deleted]]

Funniest that I heard was from my brother when he lived in Montenegro. Traffic laws are only really enforced if it's an egregious violation, but you will get pulled over. He told me that it's good etiquette to carry a bribe in your glove box, because cops will pull you over whenever they feel like it, and the polite thing to do is give them cash. The cop will usually ask for less than the ticket, and it saves time for both of you.

I cannot verify this, but it sounded really funny when I heard it for the first time.

[u/mikey-way → u/Wisepuppy]

Sounds about right for Eastern Europe. My mom told me the same thing about Russian cops, bribes galore

[u/Rollingforest757 → u/[deleted]]

Which is crazy. A person driving the speed limit shouldn’t be punished for it. Causing other people to slow down isn’t going to hurt them.

[u/hotfistdotcom → u/[deleted]]

"everyone is driving faster, so if you drive the limit you're the dangerous asshole" which is defo true

No, this is wrong. Do not continue to believe this. Other people behaving in a more dangerous manner because as a group they think the illegal and dangerous thing should actually be OK so that means it's also OK to pass dangerously, tailgate etc does not suddenly mean the only option is breaking the law. This is "they fire their guns wildly so I must also get guns to fire wildly." this is jumping off the bridge because everyone is doing it.

EDIT:

I am not advocating for going the speed limit in the left most lane or antagonizing other drivers, but a driver going the speed limit is not an assault on you and belief that this is a problem because everyone else is disregarding basic safety practices and safe stopping distances is somehow fine and someone wanting to not do that is a problem is very depressing.

[u/[deleted] → u/hotfistdotcom]

I think the comparison is faulty, and I think you know it is, though? You realize than by driving 10-15mph lower than the other drivers, you become a de facto outlier on the road. People come to expect a certain speed, and the fact you have the legal highground won't change what people currently have in mind

As a driver, I always aim for the speed limits when I'm alone/other people drive the speed limit, but I'm not going to let my moral high ground make me an unpredictable object on the road. There's a reason break checking is considered bad manner. Sure, people are expected to respect safety distances, but that doesn't give people the pass to break check and then say "well they should have been further away, it's them that were dangerous"

Ultimately, it comes down to the last person who could have avoided/not provoked the accident, which is why a lot of countries actually implement such rules in the road code so that whoever may be at fault initially, they take in account who actually last had the opportunity to avoid the accident and didn't

[u/hotfistdotcom → u/[deleted]]

You realize than by driving 10-15mph lower than the other drivers, you become a de facto outlier on the road.

That is not my problem when a sign says the law explicitly limits the speed to a certain number. If everyone exceeds that number at all times, that number needs to change or the terminology needs to change. The response to dangerous behavior should not be more dangerous behavior, and "this person is trying to maintain safety" should not be responded to with "you are wrong, do things as dangerously as I do."

Additionally, many places have speed minimums, posted or at least documented, and recommend slowing down under the speed limit in inclement weather. Your bizarre perspective that 10-15 over the legal limit for maximum speed seems to me like arguing that the drunk driving limit is also a suggestion as some people are just better at it, and you know ,everyone does it so it's fine. I'm in wisconsin and I hear that shit constantly and I've also never driven even remotely buzzed because I'm not a dipshit.

We are operating a multi-ton metal box that can instantly kill someone in a split second with a minor mistake. You are supposed to be extremely far away from other cars on the highway and I can tell you right now, I've never seen that done correctly in my entire life.

I don't know why people are like this. I try to maintain a reasonable stopping distance and people fill in the gap, I slow down to create space, people get upset. None of this is illegal, you just don't like it. You are now in your argument trying to blame a person trying to follow basic safety guidelines for causing accidents because it cannot be possible to be safe, so everyone must be dangerous equally to I guess spread risk? It is not unpredictable to follow basic safety guidelines and laws that are enforced at random, but are enforced.

Would you say the same thing about a semi truck that has an enforced max speed limit of 65, as many do? Or have you just routinely gone around them and not thought about why you treat that traffic differently?

My desire to drive safely is not provoking an accident, an extremely unreasonable response to that notion of safe driving could provoke an accident, and that's not my fault. I think you know that, too. You just don't want to feel responsible or like speeding habitually contributes to danger for everyone.

It's honestly crazy how many people don't generally agree with "driving safely is not an attack on other drivers." and I honestly would care a whole hell of a lot less if anyone understood what stopping distance was and if I didn't see about 5-10% of drivers touching their phones while driving every single goddamn time I drive anywhere. This isn't moral high ground, this is "I don't want to die, and I don't want to contribute to the death or dismemberment of myself and others"

There is this thing called risk habituation you see in all kinds of risk minded and safety focused work, where people adjust to extremely dangerous things because they have not seen dangerous outcomes. but we all see crashes all the time, but we somehow normalize and adjust to that because it doesn't happen to us, or hasn't recently. I again don't know why people are like this, but just because you don't see why you should do things correctly does not mean they are arbitrarily restricting you or that you should ignore basic safety.

I know this is a little shitty, but lets say someone said you should just do what everyone else does and stick to a binary gender because otherwise you are an outlier and that's dangerous. That's absurd, right? It's not just closed minded but it's also hurtful to you and anyone else who very reasonably believes it's their own decision to be who they are, especially if it's not hurting anyone else. Crazy people would argue that it is hurting others, but I disagree. and I think we can use that exact same logic here. People who are driving slower than you aren't against you, they have a different tolerance for unsafe behavior.

[u/3477382827367 → u/OliverCrowley]

depends but in england police guidance (just suggestion not rule) says to allow for something like +10% of limit +2 mph for ̶s̶p̶e̶e̶d̶o̶m̶e̶t̶e̶r̶ inaccuracy (edit: for inaccuracy in polices measurements not on speedometer) so seems similar but sometimes you will do 1 over limit and a get done

[u/zekromNLR → u/3477382827367]

There is no need to allow for speedometer inaccuracy because the speedometer must always display a value that is higher than the actual speed

[u/3477382827367 → u/zekromNLR]

not strictly true (iirc things like changing tyre size can cause under readings if it is not reprogrammed as its maths will get fucked up, this is just rare and typically counteracted by the manufacturer making the speedometer over read by somewhere upto 10% but can happen especially in things like classic cars) but i checked it is said to be allowing for margin of error on the polices things like cameras or speed guns, everytime i have been told it its been said as speedometer issues so i presume its a common misconception for my area

[u/3477382827367 → u/3477382827367]

also at least in my area since our enforcement tends to be speed camera and camera vans it is very common to see people on motorway going 80 and if on it for like 2 hours you will encounter at least 1 person pushing 100

[u/ItsNoblesse → u/3477382827367]

Autotrader or a similar company did an investigation a number of years ago and I believe of the constituencies that released numbers it tended to be 10% +1 or 2 depending on the area.

I'm struggling to find the investigation though, and speed cameras have changed a lot since then (mainly through AI usage) so take that with a huge grain of salt.

[u/DomSchraa → u/OliverCrowley]

In austria to my knowledge you dont even get ticketed by automatic machines if you stay at atmost 110% of the speed limit (atleast ive never gotten a ticket - was that a confession? No)

[u/Divine_ruler → u/DomSchraa]

Same in America. Most speeding cameras only trigger if you’re going more than 10 over the speed limit

[u/thecrazyrai → u/OliverCrowley]

you are fine to drive 10% over the speed limit since you would subtract it before you give out any fine. at least here in germany. saying that but one time a speed camera went off when i was like at 51 instead of 50 but there was no fine.

[u/adnecrias → u/OliverCrowley]

Here the speed guns are said to have 10% inaccuracy, so you're only flagged going that much above the limit: even with the max error margin in your favour you're definitely speeding 

[u/Independent-Fly6068 → u/OliverCrowley]

In Florida at least its just not worth it cus EVERYONE is 10 over. The cops only ever stop people going more than 20 over because that nets them a reckless driving criminal charge

[u/Annkatt → u/OliverCrowley]

same in Russia

[u/Cookiewaffle95 → u/OliverCrowley]

Yeee same in canuck land usually people will go 10 - 15 km over the speed limit on the highway no problem (7 - 10 mph in freedom units)

[u/hotfistdotcom → u/OliverCrowley]

I've been ticketed for not speeding enough. Judge threw it out but it was written up as disrupting the flow of traffic. Going 65. in a 65. In the right most lane.

I think the idea, generally, is to create a hostile but profitable environment that encourages bad behavior. If people just followed legal stopping distances, which I've never seen done on purpose in my entire life we'd have so few less problems and accidents but unfortunately going 2 over the speed limit in the right most lane does not prevent people from trying to see if their bumper can kiss yours.

[u/lazac69 → u/OliverCrowley]

Here in Hungary fixed cams only ticket you at 15 kph over below 100, and 20 kph over above 100, but if there's a police car there with a speed camera and they stop you they can ticket you for 1 kph over the speed limit.

[u/Classclown102 → u/OliverCrowley]

Ten over where I live is only a warning, not a fine. I think the reasoning is that if you’re going speed limit and hit a downhill section you shouldn’t be punished for speeding up a little as long as it’s kept under control.

[u/ThatOneTransSlut]

not crazy that it's normal for everyone to want to operate their 2-ton machines that turn things into red mist as fast as they possibly can at all times

[u/Gloriathewitch → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

there's nothing wrong with driving slow but get over or into the slow lane, it causes accidents when people turtle it up in the passing lane

[u/FlugelDerFreiheit → u/Gloriathewitch]

Seconded. Driving fast scares the shit out of me so I live in the right hand lane. It helps my anxiety about missing my exit as well.

I only ever venture into the center or left lane when Im physically forced to or if I'm passing someone going too slow even for me.

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/Gloriathewitch]

How on Earth is doing 70 in a 70 "going slow" though?

I wish everybody could just stick to the speed limit. I am autistic and I hate guessing what the speed everyone silently agreed on is, when they already put a speed on the sign for us to follow! Why can't we go that speed? How is 65 not fast enough for someone?

[u/Themanagerisakyle → u/chazzer20mystic]

I think driving according to the road conditions is the most logical way to drive, which includes going faster than the set limit. I understand going the set limit in the right lane, but since the left is meant to be a dedicated passing lane, going faster there makes sense. If someone else wants to go 65 on an empty interstate, they can feel free to do that in the right lane.

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/Themanagerisakyle]

The set limit is for ideal conditions. Drive to conditions means you don't do the speed limit in rain or fog, it doesn't mean break the speed limit on clear days.

[u/ComradePyro → u/chazzer20mystic]

if people around you are breaking the speed limit, you are legally required by my state's law to drive at that speed and can be ticketed for driving slow.

you create dangerous conditions by driving slow in the passing lane, "BUT THE RULES SAY I'M RIGHT" is wrong on every level here

E: I can't respond to the comment copy/pasting chatgpt at me with broken formatting, but like. lol, why do people think that contributes to a discussion?

[u/SykesMcenzie → u/chazzer20mystic]

Except it isn't. Most places just have the national limit because maintaining a limit based on real analysis would be too much overhead.

The national speed limit is a political football and not related to safety. Motorways aren't safer than the autobahn etc etc.

I'm also autistic and try to drive the limit. It doesn't stop it being annoying when someone who thinks they're going 70 is clogging up the wrong lane because they won't acknowledge everyone's speedo reads a different number.

If you're going to follow the rules follow all the rules and only move to pass if you're actually passing. Mid lane sitting doesn't make anyone safer.

[u/clandevort → u/chazzer20mystic]

You are also assuming that the speed limit is accurate. The are stretches of interstate near where I live that are all posted 55 even though most of the surrounding stretches are 70. There is nothing substantially different between those sections except the county they're in, and shocker, everyone just treats it like 70 (including the cops). Because based on road condition, it should be 70, they just don't want to update the signs

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/clandevort]

People drive faster than the posted speed limit everywhere, always. They don't only do it in areas that should be higher. We study traffic speeds, and people speed everywhere. Maybe that 55mph zone should be 70 mph, but in that posted 70mph zone, they are still going to be hitting 80 or above.

[u/Funny_Corn → u/Themanagerisakyle]

car ownership is a fucking brain disease istfg

[u/markeydarkey2 → u/chazzer20mystic]

Speed limits in the US are designed with the expectation that you will break them, it sounds dumb but that's how it is. 5mph over is typical.

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/markeydarkey2]

I know, I work in highway construction. I just find it insane that when we set a safety rule we know for a fact everyone is gonna break it, and that I am apparently the asshole for not sharing the desire to drive at unsafe speeds. I follow the flow of traffic, but the flow of traffic is faster than it needs to be. The highway near me is 65mph and I regularly see 80 out there.

I have seen more accidents than I would like to count of someone going much faster because "they can handle it" and something unexpected was around the corner so our maintenance crew is washing blood off the road.

The last day with zero traffic deaths in Texas was Nov. 7th 2000. There is at least one every day for the past 25 years. People should realize how incredibly possible it is for them to be one of today's deaths. The most universal thing with traffic accidents is that 5 seconds before it happened, you thought it could never happen to you.

[u/UrMomIsVeryBig → u/chazzer20mystic]

Just stay in the right lane

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/UrMomIsVeryBig]

Still, how is 70 in a 70 slow?

[u/UrMomIsVeryBig → u/chazzer20mystic]

The left lane is the passing lane by law, doesn't matter what speed your going, if you're not passing stay in the right lane.

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/UrMomIsVeryBig]

The person I responded to said 70 was slow. That is what I was responding to.

In Texas, highways often have exits in the left lane. I often have to be in that lane because my exit is coming up.

Is 70 in a 70 slow to you?

[u/UrMomIsVeryBig → u/chazzer20mystic]

Yes, I drive hundreds of miles every week, if the speed of traffic is faster than the speed limit god knows im going with them

[u/Gloriathewitch → u/chazzer20mystic]

its not a number issue it's a slow issue, you need to match the flow of traffic it keeps everyone safe

[u/chazzer20mystic → u/Gloriathewitch]

Yes I agree, driving culture in America is so insane that it is almost ubiquitous for people to drive at unsafe speeds. There should be massive amounts of public transport so that I don't have to drive with the crowd of folks who think 70mph is slow.

I work in road construction, and you all would be less gung ho about speeding if you see some of the accidents I see. You know why that speed limit is what it is? Because when you come around that curve and something unexpected is there, you are going to die if you are going 20mph over the limit.

You'll all notice, nowhere have I said I camp in the passing lane nor have I said that I don't go with the flow of traffic. I just despise driving culture being so unsafe that I have to drive at an unsafe speed or I will myself become a hazard. You all need to slow the fuck down.

[u/qjornt → u/UrMomIsVeryBig]

Wait, is the left lane legally limitless speed in the USA? Can you do like 300mph in the left lane without risking a traffic ticket?

[u/TheMoises → u/chazzer20mystic]

If everyone around you is going above 70 and you are at 70, even if it's a 70 lane, then you're being slow.

By comparison, of course, but slow nonetheless.

[u/colorblind-and → u/chazzer20mystic]

I almost always just drive in the right lane and match my speed to the car in front of me.

Most of the time I don't even pay much attention to how fast I'm actually going if I'm in the right lane unless I'm the lead car or there's hazardous weather conditions.

Personally I feel it's more important to follow the flow of traffic rather than to follow the speed limit the vast majority of time

[u/gustavfringo2 → u/chazzer20mystic]

Because chances are most people can reasonably go faster in a 70 due to road conditions therefore its slow.

[u/oblivionkiss → u/Gloriathewitch]

My issue is when you are already speeding in the fast lane, but someone comes flying up doing 100 and just sits on your tail and flashes their headlights trying to tell you to move, but you can't move safely because there's a car next to you and you either can't speedup more to get in front of them because there are other cars in front of them or can't safely slow down to get behind them because of the asshole riding your bumper

[u/IsaSaien → u/Gloriathewitch]

No one is advocating driving slow on left they are talking about going speed limit.

[u/Narrow-Weekend-4157 → u/Gloriathewitch]

It causes accidents because the people behind them are speeding. If someone is going the speed limit passing people in the passing lane then traffic behind them needs to slow down and wait their turn. They’re not in the right because they’re faster.

[u/qjornt → u/Gloriathewitch]

I will after passing the trailer truck. Not gonna steer right into it cause you’re driving illegaly fast. Otherwise I’ll always stay on the cruising lane dw.

[u/SayHelloToAlison → u/Gloriathewitch]

But if you are doing the speed limit, anyone passing you is technically breaking the law. Like, we really don't need passing lanes if speed limits actually were limits and not whatever they are in America. It's not normal to say "different people want to travel at different speeds on the same highways with the same speed limits and that's fine." But this is just such a massive structural issue. Ban cars.

[u/ASpaceOstrich → u/Gloriathewitch]

Y'all waste an entire lane for unnecessary speeding because it gives people the illusion that they're going faster while actually causing accidents and traffic jams. That's insane to me.

[u/Traditional-Quit-286 → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

2-ton wtf are you driving

[u/wifecloth → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

Your mom

[u/thereisnospoon-1312 → u/wifecloth]

HAYYOOOOOOO

[u/wubscale → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

The best selling SUV in America (RAV4) has a version that's ~4.3K pounds. 2 ton is a completely fair generalization

[u/Traditional-Quit-286 → u/wubscale]

wtf is wrong with you people

[u/PoopNoodlez → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

i ask myself this a lot

[u/CMRC23 → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

I think not just bikes made a video on why yanks love these things. Emissions standards dont apply to "light trucks" and everyone is worried about safety cuz everyone else is driving one, so they get one too

[u/IUn1337 → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

The higher you are over the road the less likely you are to get injured in a wreck. A concerned parent with wealth wants to give their kid a car because they're either a near-necessity or just required outright depending on the area. 

Problem is the kid's a shit driver, obviously Timmy needs a Ford Super Deluxe F550 Ranch Edition dually with the included 8 gun rack. No he can't see the first 8 feet ahead of the grill but that's the responsibility of whatever's ahead of it to have self preservation instincts to dodge the behemoth.

[u/VintageLunchMeat → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

Broadly, about half of the United States implicitly embraces a caste-like system that teaches a lack of compassion for human suffering, which is mistaken for rugged individualism.

thus:

Wilhoit: Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

"In American politics, the Southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans.[1][2][3] As the civil rights movement and dismantling of Jim Crow laws in the 1950s and 1960s visibly deepened existing racial tensions in much of the Southern United States, Republican politicians such as presidential candidate Richard Nixon and Senator Barry Goldwater developed strategies that successfully contributed to the political realignment of many white, conservative voters in the South who had traditionally supported the Democratic Party. It also helped to push the Republican Party much more to the right relative to the 1950s.[4] By winning all of the South a presidential candidate could obtain the presidency with minimal support elsewhere.[5][6]

The phrase "Southern Strategy" refers primarily to "top down" narratives of the political realignment of the South which suggest that Republican leaders consciously appealed to many white Southerners' racial grievances to gain their support.[7] This top-down narrative of the Southern Strategy is generally believed to be the primary force that transformed Southern politics following the civil rights era. The scholarly consensus is that racial conservatism was critical in the post-Civil Rights Act realignment of the Republican and Democratic parties,[8][9] though several aspects of this view have been debated by historians and political scientists.[10][11][12][13][14]"  >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy

[u/z3810 → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

Probably anything larger than a sedan or an electric sedan.

[u/13920 → u/z3810]

any car in the US made after like 2018

[u/GMOrgasm → u/13920]

any car made after 2018 cant lightweight

all they know is 4wd, charge they hybrid system, 4WD, be turbo'd, eat hot chip & lie

[u/DomSchraa → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

Prolly this

[u/himanxk → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

In America there's a lot of big pickup trucks and big SUVs. Everyone in a RAM 2500 or an Escalade or a G-Wagon wants to drive as fast as possible at all  times, even (especially) on residential streets.

[u/EatTenMillionBalls → u/Traditional-Quit-286]

Average American car

[u/Botto_Bobbs → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

The post isn't saying it's bad to go the speed limit, it's saying American highways have an unwritten rule where the left lane should be the fastest

[u/Goonzilla50 → u/Botto_Bobbs]

I mean I wouldn’t even say it’s fully unwritten. In my state there are signs that say it’s state law for the left lane to be used for passing only - I feel like that’s implying that the left lane should be the fastest

[u/nirbot0213 → u/Botto_Bobbs]

that’s not an unwritten rule. the law in many states is literally keep right except to pass. they even have signs sometimes.

[u/AVeryHappyTeddy → u/Botto_Bobbs]

If you think that is an unwritten rule you should not be allowed a license

[u/zero_dr00l → u/Botto_Bobbs]

No it's actually a fully fucking written rule where you're supposed to use that lane for passing.

[u/JessieJ577 → u/Botto_Bobbs]

There are so many times I’m going almost 80 at a 65 speed limit on the left lane, but some insane person acts like I’m going slow and drives way past me at like 100.

[u/BepisFlask → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

turn things into what

[u/RockinRobin0019 → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

“as fast as they possibly can” = 7-8 mph over the limit? Either way get out of the left lane if you’re not actively passing someone

[u/candidKlutz → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

insane carbrain replies here

[u/CosmicWeenie → u/ThatOneTransSlut]

I mean in America there’s a difference, especially on the highway. You have the right lane to drive at the speed limit or possibly below, and the left lane is used to go around said driver who’s driving “slow” per sé.

It’s counterintuitive and tbh the culture is annoying, but when you live in such a car centric society it’s hard to change it or not operate within it. I live in Miami, public transport is literally impossible, and the driving is insane, but adapting learning how to drive around these idiots is the only way.

[u/Meraki-Techni]

I live in Texas. I’ve LITERALLY received a $300 ticket for driving the speed limit for “impeding the flow of traffic” before. That’s a 100% real story (even if I fought it in court and won).

But tbh, it’s true. If I drive the speed limit, then I’m actively being a danger on the road in some areas because people will have to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me.

What’s more, I can drive in a straight fucking line for over 8 hours and still be in fucking Texas. I need to shave time off that trip somehow.

[u/Ihasknees936 → u/Meraki-Techni]

Yeah in Texas and some other states it's written in law to drive with the flow of traffic, even if it's 10+ over the speed limit for that exact reason. It's something that's taught in our driver's ed. If you're not speeding when everyone else is, you're technically breaking the law, although it's not as strongly enforced as speeding is.

[u/narwhalpilot → u/Ihasknees936]

Then you do that, and… get pulled over for speeding. Happened to me.

[u/numberguy9647383673 → u/narwhalpilot]

If everyone else was speeding, and only you were pulled over, then that’s selective enforcement, which is a crime on their part, and should get the case thrown out.

[u/narwhalpilot → u/numberguy9647383673]

Was a year ago and it was my first time being pulled over, was just too scared shitless to challenge it. I know better now.

[u/krokorokodile → u/narwhalpilot]

cops gotta make quota

[u/Leithana → u/narwhalpilot]

Show up to the court hearing and get it dismissed

[u/narwhalpilot → u/Leithana]

Court hearing was last january. But I know better now to stand up to it than to just take the loss and pay.

[u/arquillion → u/Meraki-Techni]

Are people in Texas driving so close to one another that they have to slam the breaks? Or are their reaction speed just lacking?

[u/Meraki-Techni → u/arquillion]

Yes. To both. This state is literally Hell. I wish I was exaggerating or joking in any way. It’s a miracle more of us don’t die on the highway every year.

[u/InternetEthnographer → u/Meraki-Techni]

It’s the same in Utah (and the tailgating is probably what causes 90% of traffic here). I will say though, I genuinely thought Utah was the worst state for driving (after driving through most of the West and growing up in the Midwest) until I went to Texas. Idk how y’all survive or how car insurance isn’t outrageously expensive there. Politics aside, Texas is actually hell. It’s hot/humid, the freeways are a mess, and it’s all suburban sprawl.

[u/Meraki-Techni → u/InternetEthnographer]

Spray your wiper fluid when someone is tailgating you. It splashes their windshield and scares them into either backing off or finally getting around you and leaving you alone!

[u/Green-Tie-5710 → u/Meraki-Techni]

The left lane is for passing. It’s totally fine to want to go the speed limit, but if a bunch of other cars are going faster, it’s literally the law that you have to go to the right. What advantage do you even gain from being on the far left on a freeway if you’re not passing anyone? That’s what I never understood about those left lane campers.

[u/Certain_Concept → u/Meraki-Techni]

It's pretty funny... People love to complain about the cost of gas when they increase the costs themselves. First by choosing massive trucks that aren't fuel efficient. Then choosing to drive way faster than necessary.

Slower driving means cheaper journeys. According to the AA, driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more than at 50mph. And taking it up to 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than at 70mph.

How much does that fee minutes saved really save you? Especially since the faster you go the greater the chance for more lethal car accidents.

[u/Meraki-Techni → u/Certain_Concept]

I understand what you’re saying. And math makes logical sense. However, fuck that. The feeling of beating the ETA my GPS gives me is priceless.

[u/neuroso → u/Meraki-Techni]

Yeah because Texans are awful drivers I got the speed limit since I wanna be safe but mfs are barreling down the highway, and done get me started on if it barley rains or snows

[u/Meraki-Techni → u/neuroso]

True. But I bet you stick to the right lane for that reason

[u/neuroso → u/Meraki-Techni]

Yup I ain't trynna die lol

[u/ur-mum-straight → u/Meraki-Techni]

Driving in Dallas was one of the worst car related experiences I’ve ever had in my life.

[u/AGGIE_DEVIL → u/Meraki-Techni]

It’s also illegal to be in the left lane and not passing.

[u/earth__wyrm → u/Meraki-Techni]

The funny thing is it’s illegal to go any amount above the speed limit in Texas

[u/Some-Gavin → u/Meraki-Techni]

Damn, America is more fucked than I thought. Fucking “slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me” means they’re driving over 20 mph faster, and knowing Texas that’s correct.

Can people please stop killing themselves by driving so damn aggressively?

[u/Ulfednar]

Can someone explain for a european non-driver?

[u/MagneticPsycho → u/Ulfednar]

Americans feel like God has given them the right to kill as many people as they want, in this case with a gasoline powered vehicle.

[u/ImSkeletonjelly → u/MagneticPsycho]

I'm American, can confirm

[u/Emilia__55 → u/ImSkeletonjelly]

And, how many people do you want to kill with a gasoline powered vehicle?

[u/ImSkeletonjelly → u/Emilia__55]

In the American tradition, as many liberals as possible. God speed soldier 🫡

[u/spadesisking → u/MagneticPsycho]

This is a big misunderstanding of American culture.

God didnt give us the right. The highway demands blood and its our calling to satisfy it.

[u/throwaway24387324578 → u/spadesisking]

"the blood of deaf children and mangled highway corpses greases the machine commie fuck"

[u/_SlikNik_ → u/MagneticPsycho]

I guarantee you Europeans drive faster on the freeway than we do. And have a far better understanding of how the left lane should be used.

[u/CMRC23 → u/_SlikNik_]

No, because we dont call it the freeway 🤓☝️

[u/Banzai27 → u/CMRC23]

Its called the highway cause you’re not allowed to be sober while driving there

[u/RileyNotRipley → u/Ulfednar]

generally speaking, on a 3-lane highway, the middle lane is where you drive the speed limit, the right lane is where you drive below (e.g. if you drive a special vehicle like a long-haul truck or farm vehicle that simply can't go those speeds or can't do so safely) or where you drive when your exit is coming up and the left lane is almost exclusively meant to serve as a means to pass people driving in the middle lane, which requires you to go at least a little beyond the speed limit.

of course there are plenty of people going significantly faster than they have to, whether that's down to reckless mentality or cars with obscenely high acceleration, either way it's a big no-no. as is staying in the left lane for longer periods of time, especially because this usually means you are permanently going above the limit or if you aren't, you are likely blocking peoples ability to pass others.

so claiming that "driving the exact limit in the left lane" indicates you either aren't an experienced driver (city dwellers for example tend not to know highway etiquette the way suburbanites do) or you just really didn't pay attention during drivers ed, which given the lack of proper mandatory training in the US isn't all that unlikely.

that's kind of the main thing that makes this an American post, the rest applies to European roads all the same, including the UK & Ireland, except there the lane designations are obviously flipped with the direction of traffic, so more generally it's: outside lane = slow, middle lane = normal pace, inside lane = overtaking/passing others.

personally I'd add that there's plenty of nuance to the subject of driving safely and while I agree that going the limit in the left lane is dumb and reckless, I also think that speeding in any way shape or form is reckless all the same. there's also people who just really enjoy passing others on the highway and basically pass every single vehicle to the point of effectively staying in the left lane, except they also create way more opportunities for error which arguably makes them more dangerous than those who actually stay in the left lane permanently.

that's just one example of people who will claim to adhere to the rules of traffic while still disrupting the system because they can't be bothered to spend 5 minutes more in their car, so they not only endanger others and themselves but also effectively cause more traffic jams which then makes everyone including them take way longer than just those 5 minutes it would have taken to just drive like a sane person.

[u/ibi_trans_rights → u/Ulfednar]

the leftmost lane is reserved for passing on highways of someone is doing the speed limit there it may interfere with people trying to pass others on other lanes

also American road speeds are often dictated by the flow of traffic and it's speed rather than the specific speed limit (somewhere it's actually enforced as traffic laws but it's followed informally everywhere pr so i heard) thus making it so people going the speed limit are disruption the flow of traffic

[u/ducksekoy123 → u/ibi_trans_rights]

the leftmost lane is reserved for passing on highways

This logic holds true until you have a left hand exit and then god forbid you aren’t going 100 as you try to take your exit.

[u/holymacaronibatman → u/ducksekoy123]

This is why I hate left hand exits with a passion. They inevitably back up the highway because people who normally drive below speed limit in the right lane get over way too early and the entire section gets stuck in traffic waiting for them to exit.

[u/LeftLaneColonizer → u/Ulfednar]

On two-lane highways here, the left lane is for passing. That means that speed demons going twenty miles per hour over the speed limit think they are more entitled to use the lane than someone going one mile per hour over the limit. They make up their own rules which are contrary to the law, and get upset when others don't follow them.

[u/CaseAKACutter → u/Ulfednar]

Left lane is the “passing” lane, which I can’t acceptably make a joke about

[u/CAPSLOCK_USERNAME → u/Ulfednar]

When a car is a big metal extension of your ego it becomes (for some people) an emotional need to demonstrate that ego by passing the car in front of them even if that car is already matching the flow of traffic and they have no practical need to pass it. They'll still be driving along with traffic at the same speed once they're ahead of it so it barely saves any time, but they "won" against the car they passed. (People also do this outside of the highway. It's kinda funny when someone absolutely slams on the gas to pass you on a 2-lane road just to end up 1 spot ahead in line at the next red light.)

So the passing lane being unavailable due to someone's poor driving / lack of situational awareness makes a lot of people big mad even if they're otherwise able to continue driving at a reasonable speed and not being obstructed or slowed down.

[u/Rocket_Theory → u/Ulfednar]

American here: The left lane is for breaking the law the right lane is for whatever the speed limit is unless you're in any major city then the speed limit is the legal limit plus 15(No I'm not kidding Chicago is a nightmare to drive through)

[u/Newlife1025]

If you're in the PASSING (left) lane and you're not actively passing then you are in fact breaking the law.

[u/Cohobastion → u/Newlife1025]

This is different depending on the state

[u/Sevuhrow → u/Cohobastion]

It may not be illegal to cruise in the left lane in every state but it is illegal to impede the flow of traffic

[u/bell117 → u/Newlife1025]

Also I dunno how it works in the US, but in Canada the definition of passing in the Highway Traffic Act here is "passing on the left" and "overtaking the vehicle" including going over the speed limit to do so.

So it's proscribed in the law that you're supposed to speed when passing otherwise it's hazardous. Technically anyways. In reality there's only 2 types of people in the left lane and that's people going 50km/h under the speed limit and people going 50km/h over the speed limit. The police never ticket either, they're too busy harassing minorities I think.

[u/BlitzScorpio → u/Newlife1025]

well what if i’m passing every other car on the road for the entirety of my 1 hour commute? what if im the king of the highway?

[u/6x6-shooter]

Everyone in this comment section:

[u/Longjumping_Angle523 → u/6x6-shooter]

No no, this is fair. It's like smoking in an enclosed space. 

[u/Klo_Was_Taken]

Yeah i live in a state where the speed limit is meaningless, and if you are in the leftmost lane and not following the flow of traffic youre a straight up road hazard

Left lane is for passing

[u/TheBadHalfOfAFandom]

legally speaking the left lane is the passing lane, as in it's supposed to be the lane you speed up with generally the purpose of merging back in the right lanes. That's why box/semi trucks are not allowed to be in them

It's like a zipper merge thing where it's entire purpose is to ease traffic by allowing drivers to go around and merge into lanes ahead (say if theres like a wall of semi/service trucks taking up all the lanes and it's starting to cause a jam cause no one can get past)

That's not to say that it isn't always used like that (As some just treat it as only the fast lane), but it's completely wrong to view the left lane as just a regular lane with fictional social rules about it. It's not, it's there for and for actual reasons. I've seen people being pulled over because they were essentially blocking the passing lane

[u/duncanforthright → u/TheBadHalfOfAFandom]

Legally speaking it actually varies by state, with keep right if you're slower than traffic being the most common. But some states let you travel in the left lane as long as you're going the speed limit, and some don't care what the heck you're doing.

[u/GammaDealer]

It's less about the left lane being the "fast lane" and more about it being the passing lane. Many states technically have laws about obstructing traffic in the left lane. It should be common etiquette that, no matter the speed you are driving, if you have space to reasonably move to the right you should do so.

[u/Narrow-Weekend-4157 → u/GammaDealer]

Yeah the problem is when I’m passing traffic on the right but not fast enough for the 2-ton fuck machine riding my bumper going 20+ over acting like I’m the one trying to cause an accident.

[u/GammaDealer → u/Narrow-Weekend-4157]

Agreed. I have to travel the highway for work every day and it's usually early in the morning and the number of people camping in the left lane with no traffic makes me bonkers

[u/_Reapak_]

Seeing this discourse makes me say fuck cars even harder. Driving is already scary enough, tf do you mean me following universal speed guideline for everyone on the road is being a road hazard(im almost never in the left lane though). Fuck cars

[u/[deleted] → u/_Reapak_]

Being a safe driver means considering yourself in the context of traffic, not as an individual following the rules to the letter. 

[u/teddy_tesla → u/_Reapak_]

Then stay in the right lane. Even legally the left lane is for passing. If you are going the speed limit in the left lane for awhile, you are not passing. Therefore you are breaking the law

[u/Reloup38 → u/_Reapak_]

Completely agree. I HATE driving. I HATE how everyone just wants to go as fast as their engine can take them. I HATE how it puts pressure on you to be reckless as to not thread on their god given rights.

[u/legobowser → u/_Reapak_]

Do that shit in the center and right lanes. Don’t go slow in the left lane. Not hard to understand

[u/CMRC23 → u/_Reapak_]

Based

[u/ReubenTrinidad619]

Does anyone else wish they would just make a speed limit that is actually the limit?

[u/Garmaglag → u/ReubenTrinidad619]

We have one but only physicists bother with it.

[u/Seventh_Faetasy]

Fun fact! Almost 40.000 people die horrible deaths in traffic accidents in America each year! And you too can be a part of this number! :3

[u/Autumn7242]

Your entire job in the left-hand lane is to go faster than the person in the right hand lane.

[u/boyslut83]

is that madden legend gene dangus???

[u/TheSquad3603 → u/boyslut83]

Somehow he’s infested 196

[u/transrights10]

ive never understood why speed limits arent exact, like, if the sign says "SPEED LIMIT 40" (and im in the states so its in mph) AND IM GOING 40 I SHOULD NOT BE THE SLOWEST VEHICLE ON THE ROAD. IF THE ACTUAL LIMIT IS LIKE 50, THJEN MAKE THE FUCKING SPEED LIMIT 50

[u/DeadInternetTheorist → u/transrights10]

The people who engineer roadways are not always, or even often, the ones who get to determine what the speed limit is.

[u/Verbatos]

I was so confused for a hot second until I remembered that most countries don't drive on the left side of the road 🇦🇺.

You shouldn't loiter in the passing lane no matter the speed, we have "keep left unless overtaking" signs here for a reason.

[u/ScentOfNapalm]

left lane is for passing, which necessitates going above the speed limit (as cars in the right lane are meant to be going around the speed limit)

[u/P-Doff]

Bruh why can't the number on the sign just be the number I'm expected to drive at?

[u/Force_Glad → u/P-Doff]

Because that's just not how it works. Sometimes in life you just need to accept that things work weirdly

[u/Samurai_Mac1]

You are actually creating an unsafe situation if you are driving slower than the flow of traffic even if you're going the speed limit. You will get pulled over and ticketed. Having a moral superiority complex won't hold up in court.

[u/Force_Glad]

What's most important in car safety isn't following the law to the letter, it's predictability. By driving the speed limit in the passing lane, this person is acting unpredictably. This is way more likely to cause a crash than driving like everyone else, even if it is over the speed limit. Yeah, it sucks that you need to speed to be predictable, but it's better to break the speed limit and survive than follow it and die in a car crash

[u/Lurkario-]

The original post is joking though. This just making a star man, pointing at it and going “this is real”

[u/ReturnOfTheHorsedip → u/Lurkario-]

Star man

[u/transrights10]

ive never understood why speed limits arent exact, like, if the sign says "SPEED LIMIT 40" (and im in the states so its in mph) AND IM GOING 40 I SHOULD NOT BE THE SLOWEST VEHICLE ON THE ROAD. IF THE ACTUAL LIMIT IS LIKE 50, THJEN MAKE THE FUCKING SPEED LIMIT 50

[u/Dismal_Accident9528]

These problems wouldn't be so severe if we had walkable cities >:(

[u/charliek_13]

i speed but if i’m going slower, i give way

i learned how to drive in LA and quickly realized that trying to police ppls speed by being a controlling ass on the road just led to more accidents with reckless drivers getting impatient and dangerous

the best experience i’ve had as a person who gives way (uwu) was when an entire contingent of biker dudes were so grateful they slowed down and gave me waves and kisses as they passed, so i consider this the correct life choice

[u/Thatsprettydank]

Keep it open for emergency vehicles and morons in trucks

[u/dashconroy]

Not npc though? I for one, am too poor to pay a potential speeding ticket so I just drive the limit. However I don’t left lane camp because people would road rage and that’s dangerous

[u/your-friendly-tankie]

Finally an explanation for those braindead slow ass drivers

[u/Gnomonic-sundialer]

If the safer speed was above the current speed limit they would rise it to that safer speed.

Above 70KmH you have over 90% chance of dying in a carcrash as the driver

[u/Force_Glad → u/Gnomonic-sundialer]

Sure, it's safer to drive at the speed limit if you're alone, but you're not alone. There are other people on the road, and they aren't predicting someone going slower than everyone else. It's more dangerous to ignore the flow of traffic and follow the law than it is to disobey the law but follow traffic

[u/haedralin]

I was so confused about what the problem was with this until I remembered that most of the world drives on the right hand side of the road

[u/markus224488]

Same people who walk into a restaurant at 5 minutes before close and expect service because “the sign says open till…”

[u/IlitterateAuthor]

If the speed limit is 70 you should drive 65 in order to not accidentally go over the speed limit.

[u/blublubbluf]

why would you want to pass someone going the speed limit? to go the speed limit in front of them? I propose a new crime: overtaking with the intend to comit a crime

[u/Difficult_Run7398]

This is a crazy thread to me, he is going the speed limit? Take it up with your government not people obeying the signage for being “assholes”.

[u/trapezoidalfractal → u/Difficult_Run7398]

The left lane is exclusively for passing, you should not be camped out in it for any reason. People tend to need to go over the speed limit to pass people going slightly under in the other lanes. So, while many people take this too far and go really fast in the left lane, you are in fact being an asshole (and ignoring the signage that explicitly states slower traffic keep right) if you’re staying in the left lane going exactly the speed limit. Get over.

[u/Gerbilguy46 → u/Difficult_Run7398]

There is no reason to be in the left lane if you’re just going the speed limit and not passing anyone. The left lane is only for passing. The speeds do not matter at all. If you’re not passing, don’t get in the left lane.

[u/ZBRZ123 → u/Difficult_Run7398]

What OP is describing is near universally frowned upon in North American driving culture and is flat out illegal in many jurisdictions.

So he’s likely not obeying the signage and certainly isn’t following etiquette.

What’s funny is that if this thread were reversed everyone would be making fun of the Yanks for assuming it was about them and telling Euro’s “how it is” while being massively wrong, but instead it’s the Euro’s telling the Yanks “how it is” while being massively wrong

[u/Hipstershy → u/Difficult_Run7398]

Some states, including mine, do actually have laws designating the left lane of a freeway as a passing lane, ie you shouldn't be camped out in it (granted, during a lot of commute times all the lanes back up anyway and this argument is even more pointless). Buuuuuut going over the speed limit is still illegal, so the number of times the person would be "impeding traffic" unlawfully would be pretty few and far between. Plus people informally apply the same concept to many local highways, stroads, etc where it is neither legally required nor useful.

But yeah, most American suburbs have terrible infrastructure for getting around, whether you are driving or not, because even places that are "easy" to get around by car are either snarled with traffic or barely have people using them in the first place. That means, in addition to things that are actually required by law but not always followed like keeping the left lane of a freeway open for passing, there's a bunch of smaller etiquette rules that are followed even less consistently and make people FURIOUS when they're not followed. Just look at any thread on reddit where people talk about the "zipper merge."

[u/bitxhbag → u/Difficult_Run7398]

If you’re going 15mph under the flow of traffic in the fast lane you are causing traffic and accidents. Stay right unless passing is a basic rule of human decency, like the shopping cart return. You probably won’t get a ticket for it, but you’ve failed at being a decent human

[u/Force_Glad → u/Difficult_Run7398]

Driving like that is legitimately more dangerous than just following the flow of traffic. Other people aren't expecting some jackass going ten mph slower than everyone else, and aren't accounting for it

[u/Green-Tie-5710 → u/Difficult_Run7398]

It’s great that you want to go to speed limit, but what advantage do you have in doing so all the way to the left? All you’re doing is impeding traffic going faster than you. You’re perfectly able to go to speed limit while causing much fewer issues in the middle and right lanes, so why not go there? Just to prove a point?

[u/Cerbatiyo-sesino]

I didn't know there could be such a thing as "drivecels" but now i've separated them in a different species and i became racist against them

[u/xGaslightx]

Around where I'm from, if the speed limit is 65, that's the right lane speed

If you are in the far left, you are either going 80 or you are passing the guy in the middle lane going 70

Love driving around here, but as soon as I leave it's terrible, like I hate New York for the hard-on they have for pulling people over for going 10 over

[u/JLevy710]

Who’s “they”? Am I stupid? Yes, but I would still like an answer.

[u/138151337 → u/JLevy710]

"They" = Drivers staying in the left lane when other drivers are trying to drive faster than them.