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Post by lucyg on Apr 26, 2016 15:45:21 GMT
The distinction is irrelevant, at least in California. The law is that if there is room for you to pull over (a lane to the right, or a pullout at the side of the road) you don't hold up traffic gathering behind you, whether they're speeding or not. Their speeding is a separate issue that may also be addressed, but it isn't your place to hold them up. If you are holding them up, you are impeding traffic. Ironic or not. I don't think it's irrelevant to the discussion (otherwise, I wouldn't be discussing it). Sure, she's going to have to pay the ticket but, again, I find giving a ticket for impeding traffic when she's going over the limit illogical. Improper lane usage and speeding, I could get behind. Calling her violation 'impeding traffic' just doesn't make sense to me because it gives implicit approval to those who are speeding to get around her.
It may be illogical, but my point is, the law takes that illogicality into account and still says you don't have the right to hold up traffic, at any speed. It's not like no one ever noticed the disconnect before. Lawmakers know (or at least accept) there are good reasons for it. Specifically to prevent my know-it-all 85yo aunt from deciding just how fast traffic in the fast lane is really entitled to go. |
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Apr 26, 2016 15:49:44 GMT
My mother in law is an entitled driver. We were taking a family trip once, and she got into the left lane. During rush hour. In california. And she was driving about 50 MPH. My husband and father in law kept telling her she had to get over to the right because there was a huge line of cars behind us. Her response? "But I don't want anyone in front of me, and this is how I control that."  I wish left lane violations were more stringently enforced where I live. |
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MizIndependent
Drama Llama
Quit your bullpoop.
Posts: 5,836
Jun 25, 2014 19:43:16 GMT
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Post by MizIndependent on Apr 26, 2016 16:08:23 GMT
I don't think it's irrelevant to the discussion (otherwise, I wouldn't be discussing it). Sure, she's going to have to pay the ticket but, again, I find giving a ticket for impeding traffic when she's going over the limit illogical. Improper lane usage and speeding, I could get behind. Calling her violation 'impeding traffic' just doesn't make sense to me because it gives implicit approval to those who are speeding to get around her.
It may be illogical, but my point is, the law takes that illogicality into account and still says you don't have the right to hold up traffic, at any speed. It's not like no one ever noticed the disconnect before. Lawmakers know (or at least accept) there are good reasons for it. Specifically to prevent my know-it-all 85yo aunt from deciding just how fast traffic in the fast lane is really entitled to go. It is because, Dalai Mama, that impeding traffic in the left lane sets up the dangerous driving condition of passing on the right because if you're going a couple miles under what I'm going, I'm not gonna want to kick off my cruise control just to adjust to your speed, I'm going to want to get around you and if you don't move to the right, my options are adjust to your speed or pass on your right. I'm gonna pass on your right...as safely as possible, but that's what I'm gonna do. The impeding law is to prevent passing on the right which is dangerous because of merging traffic coming onto the freeway in the right lane. If people are continually changing into the right lane to pass and other people are merging into the right lane as they get on the freeway, well...that's just asking for a collision. It is safer for slower traffic to keep right and/or give way to faster traffic on the left. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 26, 2016 17:44:57 GMT
I really wish we had better transportation options so that people uncomfortable driving didn't. You're operating 3,000-7,000 lbs of metal at a high rate of speed. If you're uncomfortable changing lanes, being on the highway, driving at the normal speed of traffic, or having cars in front of you - you really should find an alternative. I understand that depending on where one lives, the alternatives may be slim and that's extremely unfortunate. It's really no wonder our accident rates are so high. Driving is probably the most dangerous endeavor the average citizen engages in - and it's made significantly more dangerous when people are not equipped to handle the skills required. ETA - oh and I forgot one - if you can't see at night - don't drive at night. I'll never forget when my cousin told me how much she hated driving at night as her night blindness made it so hard to see!  If you can't see- don't drive!!! |
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Post by cade387 on Apr 26, 2016 17:46:38 GMT
Not sure where you are from but the campaign is all over SE Michigan in the Tri-county area too (Oakland/Wayne/Macomb). I realize that 2 hours from GR could be several places, but I know they have ticketed several folks along I-96 near Brighton and I-94 near the airport as well. I'm located in SE Michigan and haven't heard a thing about this "campaign."
It has been on channels 4 and 7 a lot during the news in the mornings. I've also heard them talk about it on the radio (not a commercial, just the DJs talking - I think on 96.3 or 99.5). It was also a front page story in the Free Press. I saw it first on thefreep.com
I think it stood out to me because I drive in Europe for work a lot, where this is pretty much the number one rule on the road. You do NOT drive in the left lane in Europe, anywhere. I always get twitchy when DH drives in the left lane and used this to point out to him that it is a real law.
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huskergal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,441 
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Post by huskergal on Apr 26, 2016 18:10:18 GMT
People who drive slow in the left lane are my biggest driving pet peeve. It doesn't matter how fast you are doing, if someone behind you wants to go faster, you get over and let them. It is not your job to police the traffic. I have been behind slow drivers on a 2 lane interstate that literally have 20 cars behind them and yet they drive at the same speed as the person in the right lane next to them or a mile over. They do this on the 4 lane highway as well. I understand if you have a turn coming up, but if you are just cruising, get in the right lane.
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theshyone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,436
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Post by theshyone on Apr 26, 2016 20:27:28 GMT
I'll have to disagree. Coming from NY to NC, that is one law we would love to have here. I can't tell you how many time people drive below the speed limit in both lanes. This allows gridlock and impedes the flow of traffic. I can tell you that in the Greater Toronto Area, if the left lane was empty for passing only and traffic was only in the other two lanes gridlock would be a nightmare. It's a nightmare on many of the highways with people in all three lanes. Trust me, in my area, a passing only lane would make things worse not better. You can only go the speed that the traffic is going in gridlock and that's in all three lanes. Having experience with losing one lane to either mandated HOVs for the PanAm or even just an accident, traffic goes at a crawl in two lanes, a passing only lane will not make it better. Not even close. I thought Ontario was considering it, alberta is and its law in BC now. Be aware if you visit. |
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MorningPerson
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,550
Location: Central Pennsylvania
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Post by MorningPerson on Apr 26, 2016 20:34:12 GMT
I don't like driving in the right lane on our highway because there are so many on and off ramps and people can't figure out how to merge on or get off. I would be in big trouble! OP, can you go to court over the ticket? My sister got her first ticket and she went to court, the officer didn't show up, the judge saw her record and dismissed it if she didn't get another ticket in the next six months. This is me. I'm not from the city, and driving in it terrifies me. I feel much safer staying in the left lane than going back & forth all the time.
Sorry, posting from my phone and it's so hard to edit. With all due respect flute4peace, if you're uncomfortable changing lanes, is there a reason you can't stay in the right hand lane? |
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Post by elaine on Apr 26, 2016 21:26:21 GMT
To answer some questions.... I was on the west side of the state. Grand Rapids. I live two hours east of Grand Rapids. There is no campaign for that law where I live contrary to what the cop said. Everyone I told about this was shocked to hear that it was a ticketable offense and had never heard "the campaign". Even the attorney I work for thought I was joking when I told him about it. I was passing traffic in the right lane. I was going with the speed flow of traffic in the left lane. I couldn't tell when I looked in my rear view mirror that it was a cop cycle. He was at least a car length behind me and it probably wasn't a mile and a half that he followed me. . I couldn't tell until he pulled up to my bumper and flashed his lights that it was a cop. I had trouble moving over to the right lane to merge off because of the right lane traffic. I was very polite and had the radio off and my license and registration ready when he came to the window. I referred to him as a fucker because he told me "you do have an excellent record. Here's your ticket" with a smile. I didn't call him a fucker to his face. The campaign obviously hasn't made it to my side of the state yet. If it has, I've never seen a sign or heard a commercial for it. Some people drive over the speed limit and some drive under it. He never made mention about my speed. If that was a problem for him he certainly would have cited me for that too, I'm sure. He told me that they were "the stay right" law in force that weekend. Maybe I used the wrong choice of words when I said I didn't deserve it. I didn't mean to sound entitled. I hate entitled people. I still think he could have given me a warning. He knew where I lived. He probably knew that the chances of me driving 4 hours to fight were slim to none. It is what it is. Cindy And I am going to maintain that 40 years without a ticket or accident could have warranted a warning. I guess I really don't understand your dogged holding on to "40 years without a ticket or accident so I should have gotten a warning." You were lucky. That is all. You have been breaking the law for probably all those 40 years - speeding, rolling stop, etc., things ALL drivers do - and just lucked out that you weren't caught until now. Somehow being proud of not having one ticket in 40 years is like being proud of never being struck by lightening in 40 years, and deserving special treatment because of it. You have simply been lucky for 40 years that no one pulled you over for speeding, which you admitted to doing. Why that deserves special treatment is beyond me. For the record, my driving record looks exactly the same as yours to a police officer looking it up. I haven't had a ticket or accident in over a decade, but I have had a few speeding tickets that long ago were dropped from my record and my first ticket was for pulling into the center turn lane when I was 18 to get out of the way of an ambulance roaring up behind me and the person to the right just stopped in place. My thought was to get out of the way, but I should have stayed where I was. I was 18, with a "perfect record" but got a ticket and yelled at on top of that by the LEO. I haven't had a ticket in a long time because I am driving less now than I was a decade ago. My husband gets one every couple of years because he has quite a commute to work. It just seems odd to me to hold onto a "perfect driving record" like it is somehow something special, all the while admitting that you make minor violations like everyone else on the road. Occasional tickets are just a fact of life, just like getting the occasional flat tire. It doesn't make you special if you have avoided ever having a flat tire, it just makes you lucky. |
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Apr 27, 2016 0:09:00 GMT
I just opened this thread for the first time and fully admit that I clicked on the OP's user name (!) and went to her profile page (!!) and read her recent posts (!!!) instead of slogging through eight pages. And nope, I ain't gonna' apologize for doing it.  Tangent: I think many people would be surprised to learn how much space they should allow between their car and the car in front of them. Here's an explanation of the Three Second Rule. (It replaced the Two Second Rule, which replaced the One Car Length for Every Ten Miles Per Hour Rule.) |
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If you can't see- don't drive!!! 
