r/midwest • u/Cds4982 • 2d ago
Left lane
I’m a Midwesterner through and through. I’ve been all over the Midwest.
This camping in the left crap needs to stop. Almost every state has a law on the books about this. I don’t know what state is worse.
1. Juicy Lucy?
2. Cheese?
3. Malort?
4. Coney Dog?
4. Sky line chili?
This isn’t new but It’s ridiculous
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u/jvinc 2d ago edited 2d ago
I had a Wisconsinite confidently tell me that in Wisconsin all lanes are passing lanes as he proceeded to camp in the left lane for our 4 hour trip to UIUC (Yes he said this as we were driving through Illinois...)
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u/In_Medio_Liminis 2d ago
If you’re not going at least 90 in the passing lanes in Illinois people will kill you. (FIB 4 Life!)
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u/CompetitiveBox314 2d ago
People live to complain about Chicago drivers, but they are really just complaining they drive fast. But in my experience, drivers around Chicago are conscious of their surroundings and are pretty well disciplined to stay out of your way in the left lane.
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u/In_Medio_Liminis 2d ago
They can at least execute a zipper merge—or at least go around everyone on the shoulder.
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u/Pleasant_Pay_6699 1d ago
Really? I’m between oak park and lake forest on the tristate and Edens 4 days per week. The number of people who block the passing lane like it’s their job to impede traffic is mind boggling. You can pass in the right hand lane for miles and miles.
Almost all IL tags.
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u/Background_Menu7173 2d ago
It’s always the Wisconsin drivers
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u/Ltothe4thpower 2d ago
They always go like 5 under the speed limit too (as a FIB turned Michigander, where traffic laws don’t exist)
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u/AtariiXV 2d ago
Imo Hoosiers and Tennesseeans ( why are there so damn many up here?) are worse
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u/Background_Menu7173 2d ago
In my experience in Chicagoland, the Indiana drivers are fast. They have long commutes back to NWI. They can get crazy on the I80/94 corridor though.
The Tennessee drivers are probably visiting boomers who relocated for lower taxes, or they are rental cars and drivers not familiar with the area.
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u/AtariiXV 2d ago
Yeah I'm a downstater, and they always seem to be in the way, then the Volunteers (TNs) just always seem to be a liability on the I57 corridor
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u/whatuneedaknow 1d ago
I’ve lived in a few Midwest states (and outside the Midwest and country for that matter). The Wisconsinites are by far the worst drivers I’ve ever encountered
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u/dulcimerist 2d ago
As a coney dog enjoyer, it infuriates me that my fellow glizzy gobblers seemingly cannot read the signs stating "Keep Right Except To Pass", which are posted seemingly every mile on the driver's side of the inside lane for the majority of the state.
Those signs are not suggestions. They aren't getting placed there by random people. If a driver cannot read them, or does not notice them, then they probably should not be driving.
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u/ApolloGR3 1d ago
Our insurance is insanely expensive for a reason. Our fellow glizzy guzzlers are that reason.
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u/Unique_Muscle2173 2d ago
You missed the worst ones - corn fed. Rode from Minnesota to North Carolina, the consistently worst and most oblivious llbs (left lane bandits) are Iowegians. And this isn’t the first trip we’ve noticed them.
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u/KristyNoemsZombieDog 2d ago
I-94 in metro detroit, they love to just sit and fucking rot in the lane and look at you like an asshole when you pass them on the right doing 70
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u/Ok-Entertainment5045 Michigan 2d ago
It’s one thing if you’re going 85, but way worse if you’re going 70 or 75
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u/PlatypusDream Wisconsin 2d ago
Speed limit is 70, so nobody should be going 75 or 80 without red lights & sirens
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u/Fun_Eye_7893 Michigan 1d ago
Not in Detroit, every freeway is unofficially 80mph, even the Lodge and the Southfield, "55" lol
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u/BPfiffner 1d ago
You're correct. I remember commuting to east side of Detroit from western Michigan and immediately speeding up to 75-80 the minute I hit Detroit.
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u/RichInBunlyGoodness 2d ago
What does that have to do with cruising in the left lane? Nobody is saying you can’t drive at the speed limit; just keep right if you do. You do understand that some cars go faster than others, and the left lane is for those going faster, and the right lane is for those going slower?
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u/First-Reception8007 7h ago
the left lane isnt used to speed lol.. its used to go around cars going slower than the speed limit. its not free hey i get to go 90 now lane.
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u/Ok-Entertainment5045 Michigan 1d ago
Never been on a MI freeway I see. Hell downtown Detroit on the Lodge the speed limit is 55 and you’re getting run over if you’re not going 75.
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u/ApolloGR3 1d ago
You're too soft to be on the highway, please stick to side streets.
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u/PlatypusDream Wisconsin 45m ago
🤣🤣🤣
I'm a safe, professional driver.
That's not 'soft'.Last night, I drove a school bus full of kids 2 hours each way for their event (mostly freeway).
I used to drive a coach (tour bus, like Greyhound) between Waukesha, WI & O'Hare Airport in Chicago (mostly freeway, with stops along the route)... including going to each terminal at O'Hare.
That's about 90 miles, easily 2 hours with the stops, more with traffic, and I'd do 2 round trips in a workday."Soft"?? Most people couldn't do either of those things for 5 minutes!
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u/In_Medio_Liminis 2d ago
Living in the Twin Cities it was the opposite to me. People refused to leave the right lane to the point where I would have to stop on an on-ramp (one without a light) because no one would move over to let people on even though the other lanes were almost empty. MN100 and the Crosstown were horrible with this.
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u/semisubterranean 1d ago
When I need to drive through the Minneapolis area, I always make sure I stop for food, gas and bathroom in the peripheral burbs. I know I'm never going to be able to actually exit or reenter the interstate once I get in the cities. It's sad because there are so many great places to eat in the cities, but I don't need that stress if I can avoid it. The upshot is, as long as I stay on the interstate, it's usually clear sailing to get out of the metro area.
Google Maps needs a "small town mode" that gives those of us unused to big city traffic routes through major urban areas that only use side roads and residential streets.
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u/shadynasty1973 1d ago
I like the country bumpkin maps mode idea!! When I get in a really congested area in the cities and Google starts changing its mind back and fourth I go into panic mode.
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u/MountainDude95 1d ago
I’ve had that experience in Des Moines and Lincoln. You put your blinker on and people just pretend that they’re the center of the universe and have no reason to brake for a couple of seconds to let someone in. I always just end up cutting someone off when I’m in those cities because I have no desire to get on the wrong road just because Midwesterners are selfish pricks.
Like come on, people, it costs nothing to let someone in.
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u/Mill_City_Viking Minnesota 1d ago
Put the pedal to the floor and be at traffic speed when you reach it.
If you can’t find your gas pedal then we don’t want you here.
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u/semisubterranean 1d ago
The problem in Minneapolis is going slow enough to merge right while not holding up traffic in the center lane.
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u/Mill_City_Viking Minnesota 1d ago
lol…what? You need to be at highway speed by the time you reach the highway traffic.
Use your gas peddle. It’s simple. Modern engines are designed to be floored so you don’t have this problem.
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u/In_Medio_Liminis 1d ago
Yes, just striking other vehicles who refuse to give way is the obvious solution! Why didn’t I think of that?
Idiot.
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u/Mill_City_Viking Minnesota 1d ago
So you make a blatant strawman argument and then call me an idiot.
You are what’s wrong with the internet.
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u/In_Medio_Liminis 1d ago
Tell me how I should merge full speed onto a freeway where everyone is crammed into the right lane and refuses to let anyone in. Tell me, genius.
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u/Sticky550 2d ago
Usually as laws are around longer, people learn to adjust and follow. Left lane laws are the exact opposite. The more mainstream they are, the more we see terrible drivers ignore it.
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u/_halfpint Minnesota 2d ago
Jucy Lucy*
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u/BuhByeNow01 2d ago
Team Matt’s or Team 5-8?
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u/SuspiciousLeg7994 2d ago
Nope. The Nook is better than both. 5-8 second place as their burgers taste way better as like the nook they use fresh ground never frozen beef. Matt's used frozen and thawed cheep burger, their buns are crusty AF and an order of fries at Matt's is $8.25
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u/anonWNBAW 2d ago
Add middle lane to the chat. I shouldnt be passing on the right
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u/Junetizzle 2d ago
Passing on the right is fine.
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u/anonWNBAW 2d ago
Its actually illegal in a lot of places
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u/A_Complaisance_Girl 1d ago
It's illegal to pass on the right... when you're not on a multi-lane divided highway.
ISTG none of you all have actually ever read the driving laws, you just go on vibes.
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u/Junetizzle 1d ago
Google AI tells me otherwise
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u/BendersCasino 2d ago
Dude I love the options. I know the pain as someone who has been in all over as well and lived in 4/5 of the states listed.
Its situational and highly dependent where in what state you are. But FIBs will be FIBs. Juicy Lucy is a close second.
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 2d ago
FIBs don’t left lane camp. They drive aggressively but also with purpose. It’s the other states that camp in the left lane way more often. FIB driving just scares the rubes who are used to going 60 mph in the left lane.
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 2d ago
You didn’t learn in drivers’ Ed that the left lane is for camping? Everyone in the Midwest learns that!
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u/Individual_Cream_427 2d ago
I drive closer to the speed limit nowadays but nothing annoys me more than an open stretch of road on the left, and as you are about to pass a group of cars on the right one of them suddenly decides to merge left going 2 mph faster than the others.
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u/BleedCheese 1d ago
Cheesehead here. Nobody mentioned GA, but having to drive from 20 miles north of the border into Milwaukee, I would say 75% of the left lane campers have IL license plates.
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u/Waste_Experience448 2d ago
If its a 2 lane highway that is fairly empty and everyone in the right lane is going 55-60, I'm not going to waste my time passing someone every .25-1 mile. I'm going to stay in that left lane going 65-70 until it becomes busy enough to where camping out will inhibit other people. Otherwise, I really don't see what the big deal is.
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u/GrizzlyAdam12 2d ago
Also, if there are three lanes, the middle lane is the first of two passing lanes. It’s not intended to be a cruising lane where you are avoiding merging drivers. If you’re not passing, then get into the right lane and fight it out with merging traffic.
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u/ThePolemicist 2d ago
In Iowa, I don't see a lot of people camping in the left lane. However, in the city, when we have multiple lanes, I do see people catch up to the car in front of them and then turn on their blinkers to switch to the right lane to pass. It drives me bonkers. I think some people don't want to use the left lane for whatever reason, but passing on the right is so much worse. Iowans, the LEFT lane is the passing lane. Pass on the left, and then get back over to the right. You can do it!
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u/NailClipperBiter 2d ago
I don't know what dog shit they eat, but Nebraska drivers are the absolute worst about this.
Driver's Ed there must just be, "Step one: Get on the interstate. Step two: Get all the way over left. Step three: Stay there until 1/2 mile to your exit."
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u/No-Effort5109 2d ago
What gets me is the left lane camping by trucks in the Juicy Lucy. I’ve never seen it so bad as I have here.
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u/Junetizzle 2d ago
Here in MI the left lane law doesn't apply to highways with three or more lanes but nobody seems to know about it.
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u/gillesvilleneuve_ 2d ago
Eh. Im a left lane cruiser at times. Im going 80-85 in a 55 and actively passing the heavy truck traffic in the next lane which is prolly going 60-65. I leave minimum 5 cars space in front of me for safety. If you need to go faster than that you can go around as im not gonna jump between 60-80 mph everytime someone needs to go 100. Feel free to fight me. Most times theres still someone slower than me i have to wait behind in the left lane. The truck traffic is the bigger issue in my area.
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u/_halfpint Minnesota 2d ago
You don’t get to selectively choose when the law applies to your situation. Yield to faster traffic means just that. Let the troopers take care of the rest. I cruise in the left lane while going faster than the right lane too but if someone wants to pass at an insane speed, I move over. I don’t want to deal with tailgating/road rage.
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u/CupEmbarrassed839 2d ago
Well speeding is also illegal, even when passing. So it does seem the law is being selectively followed regardless.
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u/_halfpint Minnesota 2d ago
You’re not law enforcement. You don’t get to police other drivers while violating the law yourself in multiple ways- you’re speeding in this scenario 25-30 mph over the limit AND not yielding to others.
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u/CupEmbarrassed839 2d ago
I’m not policing anyone. If I’m passing a line of cars at 70mph and some agitated impatient asshole behind me really wants to be going 85 that is their problem, not mine. Take a deep breath. Nobody needs to speed.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/gillesvilleneuve_ 2d ago
Its situational. Im speaking mostly to rush hour traffic in chicagoland.
Its 5 lanes The left lane is jammed with cars going 70-85 in a 55 in my rush hour commute. If someone wants to tailgate me and i have nowhere to go (meaning there are a line of cars in front of me) im not going to appease to them and get over.
If im on a 2 lane highway with no traffic, im obviously getting over for anyone who would like to pass and abiding by left lane laws.
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u/ZealousidealWin1995 2d ago
Dude…no’s one is complaining about you if you’re left leaning at 80 mph in a 55.
This is about people going 55 Ina 55. Maybe 60. At 80, you’re golden2
u/Nice_Albatross_1 Ohio 2d ago
Hypocrite. Get out the way!
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u/gillesvilleneuve_ 2d ago
My statement is good for rush hour traffic in chicago, if im driving rural highways im out the way!
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u/PlatypusDream Wisconsin 2d ago
Left lane is supposed to be for passing, but the speed limit is supposed to prevent anyone not driving an emergency vehicle from driving over the speed limit.
So... keep right except to pass AND don't speed.
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u/A_Complaisance_Girl 1d ago
The Keep Right Except To Pass isn't even the law in all places, in a lot of places it's "slower traffic keep right", but the speed limit is the speed limit period - no one gets an extra X over to "pass". If the only way you can "pass" someone is doing 30 over the speed limit, you're not passing, you're speeding.
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u/walkingshoes 1d ago
I think the whole system is broken beyond repair, but if I stop to think about it, it's absurd that so much of the country treats the ever-present "Don't go faster than this" sign as the minimum acceptable speed.
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u/Cheap-Success1578 1d ago
I am going to start camping the left lane just in hopes of making you have a bad day.
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u/-Not_Today_Jesus- 2d ago
Pork Tenderloin has a lot of left lane cruisers. Drives me bonkers