"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

How does the Texas law address the
use of highways with say 4 or more
lanes? (snip)


It's on the driver's test in most states - you drive with the "flow of
traffic" in any specific lane (neither too fast or too slow for that lane,
with the far left lane always reserved for passing). You'll see "flow of
traffic" repeated in many driver's test questions (how to merge with traffic
when entering a highway and so on).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

"Kim W5TIT" wrote:

Why should it be *me* who has to yield
to someone else to be courteous to them,
when it is *them* acting unsafe, (snip)


It's not just you - it's everybody driving in the left lane. If someone
wants to pass, everyone has to let them do so. If they're speeding, the cops
will eventually get them (that's what they're there for). If each driver is
allowed to set the speed others can drive, what will stop it from reaching
an extreme (I'm sure there is someone who doesn't think people should drive
faster then 45 mph)?


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

Dee D. Flint wrote:

"JJ" wrote in message
...

N2EY wrote:



Hmmm...

She's going with the flow of traffic, *above* the posted speed limit,

but she

should slow down and change lanes so that someone who wants to go even

faster

can get by?

Yes, in Texas it is the law. You are supposed to drive in the right lane
and use the left lane for passing, even if you are doing the speed limit
or over, you are obliged to pull to the right lane to let another pass.
The following is an exerpt from an article in the Ft. Worth Star
Telegram, April 12, 2003.
************************************
Texans must drive in the right-hand lane.

In other words -- move over.

Yes, you. Get out of the left lane.

I don't care how fast you're driving. Or what the speed limit is.

Texas law is blunt.

Except to pass, motorists "shall drive in the right-hand lane."

Both chronic slowpokes and self-appointed speed-limit vigilantes were
stung by transportation writer Gordon Dickson's report. He told how
habitual left-lane drivers are "despised" and how some traffic engineers
believe they cause wrecks.

I am not going to defend the lunatics who zoom up from behind at rush
hour, bearing down two inches behind your rear bumper and so close that
you can smell the extra-grande Starbucks coffee on their breath.

But the law is the law. Yes, it says drivers can't speed or tailgate.
But it also says to stay out of the left lane.

Some violators are obviously in denial.



How does the Texas law address the use of highways with say 4 or more lanes?
If everyone is supposed to stay in the right lane except to pass, the
highway then fails in its design purpose, i.e. to reduce congestion. The
law would seem to indicate that no more than two lanes in each direction are
ever needed.

Slower traffic stays to the right no matter how many lanes, if you are
in the left most lane of a four lane expressway you should move right to
give way to faster traffic.

Dwight Stewart wrote:

"JJ" wrote:

Yes, in Texas it is the law. You are
supposed to drive in the right lane
and use the left lane for passing, even
if you are doing the speed limit or
over, you are obliged to pull to the
right lane to let another pass. The
following is an exerpt from an article
in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram,
April 12, 2003.
************************************
Texans must drive in the right-hand lane.

In other words -- move over.

Yes, you. Get out of the left lane.

I don't care how fast you're driving. Or
what the speed limit is.

Texas law is blunt. (snip)



Thanks for looking that up, JJ. I suspected it was the law in Texas. I
suspect it is also the law in Jim's state. Most states have, or are passing,
laws in this regard because of studies which show that drivers who refuse to
move to the right to allow others to pass cause accidents. I haven't seen
these studies myself, but I've heard mention of them in debates about these
laws.

I've read one. It notes that vehicles tend to get clogged up for that
reason, and that you end up with odd clots of vehicles all bunched
together, with a few people that want to get ahead of the clot.
Dangerous? You betchya! Their recommendation was that laws about letting
people pass, pullover when followed by too many cars, and enforcement
that takes into account traffic flow rather than absolute speed was
important.

Personally, I've found that the cure is to travel between those nasty
clots of traffic. I don't have to worry about all the brake checks and
close-in driving at 75 mph. I get there about 10 seconds after all the
smart people driving inside the clot!

- Mike KB3EIA -

"JJ" wrote in message
...
N2EY wrote:


Hmmm...

She's going with the flow of traffic, *above* the posted speed limit,
but she
should slow down and change lanes so that someone who wants to go even
faster
can get by?

Yes, in Texas it is the law. You are supposed to drive in the right lane
and use the left lane for passing, even if you are doing the speed limit
or over, you are obliged to pull to the right lane to let another pass.
The following is an exerpt from an article in the Ft. Worth Star
Telegram, April 12, 2003.
************************************
Texans must drive in the right-hand lane.

In other words -- move over.

Yes, you. Get out of the left lane.

I don't care how fast you're driving. Or what the speed limit is.

Texas law is blunt.

Except to pass, motorists "shall drive in the right-hand lane."

Both chronic slowpokes and self-appointed speed-limit vigilantes were
stung by transportation writer Gordon Dickson's report. He told how
habitual left-lane drivers are "despised" and how some traffic engineers
believe they cause wrecks.

I am not going to defend the lunatics who zoom up from behind at rush
hour, bearing down two inches behind your rear bumper and so close that
you can smell the extra-grande Starbucks coffee on their breath.

But the law is the law. Yes, it says drivers can't speed or tailgate.
But it also says to stay out of the left lane.

Some violators are obviously in denial.


That was an excerpt from the Startlegram? Shocking.

This violator isn't in denial at all. This violator is waiting for mere
words to turn into action...

Kim W5TIT

"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
gy.com...

"Kim W5TIT" wrote in message
...
"N2EY" wrote in message
[snip all the long thread]
'Zactly.

Kim W5TIT

Just to illustrate the idiocy of some of the people on the freeway, I'll
throw in a personal anecdote. I was driving down a multilane freeway
through a construction zone and I was in the rightmost lane. I was going
with the flow of the traffic in the slow lane, which was slightly above
the
limit posted for the construction zone. A semi truck comes up behind me,
rides my bumper, honks, flashes his lights. Now, I'm already in the slow
lane with no way to speed up since the vehicles ahead of me aren't going
any
faster and wouldn't want to anyway as there is too much chance to hurt a
construction worker plus fines in construction zones are very steep here.
This idiot keeps it up until we are out of the construction zone and it is
possible to move further to the right.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE


You must have been driving near Dallas...GRIN

Kim W5TIT

"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
gy.com...

"JJ" wrote in message
...
N2EY wrote:



Hmmm...

She's going with the flow of traffic, *above* the posted speed limit,
but she
should slow down and change lanes so that someone who wants to go even
faster
can get by?

Yes, in Texas it is the law. You are supposed to drive in the right lane
and use the left lane for passing, even if you are doing the speed limit
or over, you are obliged to pull to the right lane to let another pass.
The following is an exerpt from an article in the Ft. Worth Star
Telegram, April 12, 2003.
************************************
Texans must drive in the right-hand lane.

In other words -- move over.

Yes, you. Get out of the left lane.

I don't care how fast you're driving. Or what the speed limit is.

Texas law is blunt.

Except to pass, motorists "shall drive in the right-hand lane."

Both chronic slowpokes and self-appointed speed-limit vigilantes were
stung by transportation writer Gordon Dickson's report. He told how
habitual left-lane drivers are "despised" and how some traffic engineers
believe they cause wrecks.

I am not going to defend the lunatics who zoom up from behind at rush
hour, bearing down two inches behind your rear bumper and so close that
you can smell the extra-grande Starbucks coffee on their breath.

But the law is the law. Yes, it says drivers can't speed or tailgate.
But it also says to stay out of the left lane.

Some violators are obviously in denial.


How does the Texas law address the use of highways with say 4 or more
lanes?
If everyone is supposed to stay in the right lane except to pass, the
highway then fails in its design purpose, i.e. to reduce congestion. The
law would seem to indicate that no more than two lanes in each direction
are
ever needed.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE


Well, I don't believe what JJ (or my husband, incidentally) is saying is
correct. I just went to the State of TX DPS website looking to see if I
could find the traffic laws, but it looks more involved (read: ridiculously
arranged) than I had thought it would be... I'll find it.

www.baetzler.de/humor/texas_driving_rules.html in the meantime!

Kim W5TIT

"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
ink.net...
"N2EY" wrote:

I'd call it an accurate description, not
an interpretation.


And I could just as easily say mine is an accurate description.


She's going with the flow of traffic,
*above* the posted speed limit, but
she should slow down and change
lanes so that someone who wants to
go even faster can get by?


You're not that ignorant of the traffic laws around the country, Jim. In
most states, slower vehicles must drive in the right lane (or right lanes
on
multiple lane roads),


I'd go along with that. However, I have always (maybe incorrectly, but...)
interpreted that "rule" to mean traffic that is going *slower than the
posted speed.* Wrong? Right? If the rule is designed to facilitate a
smooth flow of traffic *and* driver safety, why would it be contrary to the
safety aspect by making drivers constantly adjust to how much or little
someone is following the posted speed? The *flow of traffic* is probably
meant to imply flow of traffic at posted speeds.


drivers should not impede the flow of traffic, and
drivers must allow others to pass. Of course she doesn't have to slow down
to do so. Instead, she would be expected to move to the right as soon as
there is an opening for her to do so (instead of camping out in the left
lane because she is driving fast enough).


I'd *almost* be willing to bet that I am more in line with the law--and even
the spirit of the law--than a person behind me acting like an idiot. I am
acting like an idiot, too, because you are correct in feeling that I could
just move over. But I liken it to the same thing as someone who is at an
intersection with others--in Texas it is common (though I would venture to
say illegal) that the first person at a stop sign goes first. This practice
ignores all right-of-way laws I learned when I was learning to drive, but it
is common practice. So, do I part from common practice and keep sitting at
a stop sign, waiting for the person going straight to go through the
intersection before I take my turn?


Where is it in the motor vehicle code
that a driver on a multilane divided
highway has to change lanes and slow
down to allow a speeder to pass in a
non-emergency situation?


Don't be silly, Jim. I don't live in your state. I've already said that
is
the law in "most" states, which obviously isn't a statement about all
states. If you have any question about the laws in your specific state,
look
it up yourself. After all, it's your motor vehicle code, not mine.


I am looking for that now.


It's everyone's business.


It's everyone's business to enforce the traffic laws by taking direct
action on the highways? I suppose you're also going to say she should
chase
speeders down the highway and ram their vehicles if they refuse to stop.
The
last thing we need is self-styled vigilantes on our nation's highways.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/


Then, maybe I should stop calling police when I see drunk and/or unsafe
drivers on the road?

Kim W5TIT

"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
nk.net...
"JJ" wrote:

Yes, in Texas it is the law. You are
supposed to drive in the right lane
and use the left lane for passing, even
if you are doing the speed limit or
over, you are obliged to pull to the
right lane to let another pass. The
following is an exerpt from an article
in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram,
April 12, 2003.
************************************
Texans must drive in the right-hand lane.

In other words -- move over.

Yes, you. Get out of the left lane.

I don't care how fast you're driving. Or
what the speed limit is.

Texas law is blunt. (snip)


Thanks for looking that up, JJ. I suspected it was the law in Texas. I
suspect it is also the law in Jim's state. Most states have, or are
passing,
laws in this regard because of studies which show that drivers who refuse
to
move to the right to allow others to pass cause accidents. I haven't seen
these studies myself, but I've heard mention of them in debates about
these
laws.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/


I don't accept JJ's submission at all. Perhaps if he'd reference more than
just the name of a newspaper, I could go and do some research myself. What
*part* of the "submission" from JJ is actually from the newspaper? The line
that says, "Texans must drive in the right-hand lane" or the rest or any
other part of it? I just tried on the Startlegram (an affectionate local
colloquialism for the Ft Worth newspaper) to lookup any news article with
"traffic" in it and didn't pull a thing related to what JJ has above. Not
even anything remotely connected for that matter.

So, JJ, how 'bout something a little more concrete. By the way, the
research did just net that beginning on Sep 1 of this year there is some new
law in effect regarding police safety on highways during traffic stops.

Kim W5TIT

"JJ" wrote

Both chronic slowpokes and self-appointed speed-limit vigilantes were
stung by transportation writer Gordon Dickson's report. He told how
habitual left-lane drivers are "despised" and how some traffic engineers
believe they cause wrecks.

I don't know about Texas law, but I spent part of the spring and early
summer in Germany. Over there you ABSOLUTELY stay out of the left lane
unless you in the act of overtaking and passing. If you dilly-dally around
in that lane and hold up traffic overtaking you from the rear, you'll be
cited and the fine is of some consequence (250 Euro's if I recall
correctly.) Traffic in Germany is SO much better, because everyone moves
crisply in and out of the 'passing lanes', rather than the buttheads here
who take their sweet leisurely time about overtaking and passing, often just
1 or 2 MPH faster than the right hand traffic lane is moving.

73, de Hans, K0HB