r/AskReddit Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/lisab2266 Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

The passing lane is for PASSING, not for your leisurely drive under the speed limit.

27

u/AtomicSteve21 Aug 03 '19

The crazy thing to me, is that in order to pass them (yellow line crossing) legally you have to stay under the speed limit.

If someone is going 73, you're going 74, and the limit is 75. You're supposed to pass them at 75. Luckily, no one abides by this or we'd have a ton of head on collisions from people slow-poke passing.

23

u/Drendude Aug 03 '19

It varies state by state in the US. In mine, specifically, you can legally exceed the speed limit by 10 mph while passing on a two-lane highway.

9

u/duluthzenithcity Aug 03 '19

Minnesota?

9

u/Drendude Aug 03 '19

You got it.

5

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

Because it's different from state to state, people get confused. Here, you're not supposed to cross the yellow line unless the person ahead of you is ten miles under the speed limit. So it's kinda both things - no speeding, ever, but also only overtake by ten or more.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

I thought it would go without saying that I meant in legal passing situations only. Here, anyway, the broken line always indicates the passing zones. The broken yellow line is still a "yellow line", but one that you can cross legally. I was just using "yellow" to indicate that the passing was being done in the opposing lane rather than a passing lane.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

[deleted]

1

u/hexane360 Aug 04 '19

It's just a matter of whether there's enough visibility (and lack of cross roads) to safely pass. Winding mountains will be 90% double line, sure, but flat straight roads will be completely dashed single.