Is the left lane really the "fast lane"?

The speed limit is the same in every lane. I would definitely appeal a ticket for going too slow in the so-called fast lane.

Yes, the left lane(s) are the fast lanes.

For example: The speed limit on I-44 is 70 mph (mostly.) The only time I deviate from the far right lane is to:

1) Avoid incoming traffic merging from an on-ramp.
2) Avoid an accident or someone changing a tire on the side of the road.
3) Avoid a slow driver (minimum is 55 mph.)
4) Make way for an emergency vehicle.
5) Avoid an obstacle in the roadway.

You are only to pass, then get right back into the right lane. Most drivers (here) don’t do this and remain in the middle or further left lanes because they’re lazy, or know an on-ramp is coming up, and those drivers are really the ones who cause problems in the flow in my opinion.

*And I have a perfect driving record. :)

The left lane is the passing lane. You should keep out of it unless you are passing another car.

SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT!
If there is someone behind you, get over! I like that in Europe the left lane is for passing only. I wish we would do that here but the roads are so crappy here that people hang out in the fast lane for the softer ride.
oh @YARNLADY, I thought you had been converted!!!

I guess I’m one of these problem drivers that don’t only use the left lane to pass. If I’m going to work in the morning and I know a lot of people will be getting on the interstate from each on-ramp I pass, I stay in the left lane to avoid going back and forth 5 times in morning traffic. I also tend to ride the left lane on a long trip, for the aforementioned reason and to get where I’m going faster. It seems I’m far from the only person that does this, as there are always people in that lane. If someone comes up behind me, I’ll get over, but I’m normally going about 10 miles over the speed limit, so I rarely have people riding my ass.

I think that ticket was bullshit, nonetheless.

Yes it is! It is technically the passing lane. She was probably ticketed because her driving was reckless, or because she was “driving” in the passing lane. She is driving unexpectedly slow in the left lane, and it is important for drivers to be able to predict what other cars will and are doing. It is unsafe for a car driving 70 to have to slow way down for a car in the left lane driving 50. It means they will have to brake, and braking is to be avoided on the highway if possible it creates traffic waves that greatly slow down traffic and can lead to high speed accidents.

The rules for the left lane being the passing lane only apply to freeway type roads. Roads with no lights and no intersection, only on ramps and off ramps (exits).

Now, if the road has a ton of traffic then the left lane basicaly is the faster lane by default. It would be ridiculous to have the right lanes bumper to bumper with the left lane almost wide open, so it is ok to stay left if you are traveling faster than right lanes.

In California, the left lanes are for passing, faster traffic, and carpools (if designated as such). But there are signs that say “slower traffic keep right”, so there is definitely a gradient of speeds associated with the lanes. A ticket for 2 miles under the speed limit is ridiculous, but around here, if I see someone going less than 75 in the left lane (during non-traffic hours), I’m surprised…

You can be given a ticket for driving considerably under the speed limit in any lane. The left lane is the overtaking lane. You should stay out of it unless you’re overtaking. You aren’t supposed to speed when you overtake and of course, I never do.~

Every place I’ve driven had signs that read, “Slower traffic keep right”, “Keep right except to pass”, or similar.

Also, obstructing the flow of traffic is a ticketable offense. If you are doing the speed limit and 5 cars come up behind you at 10-over and have to slam on the brakes, guess who gets ticketed. (Hint; it’s not them! ) The job of Highway Patrol is to maintain safe, orderly flow of traffic. Those trying to enforce the speed limit by driving slowly in the left lane pose a far greater risk to their fellow motorists than a group of speeders moving in an orderly pack, and police don’t like people who pose a risk to public safety.

Driving will teach you the difference between theory and fact since driving safely often involves breaking rules. This is tolerated to an extent because most people break the same rules the same way, creating a sort of order. After all, isn’t an orderly society what the police are there to maintain?

My state has 2 seasons: Winter and Road Construction.

In the winter, people tend to stay to the left because the highways have a slight gradient towards the right to allow runoff generated by traffic friction to flow down and off the road, in theory. In reality, that right lane gets rutted and filled with water during the day and ice at night.

In warm weather, it doesn’t matter. One lane is always closed and you drive on the other one.

It’s the overtaking lane. Just yesterday I was cursing a driver under my breath because they were driving slower in the overtaking lane than those in the left lane. It’s very frustrating. Not surprised about the ticket.

FYI: There is a chance it will on your driving test if you have not taken the test yet. In some states passing is only allowed to the left, other states allow it both on the left and right. No matter what slower traffic is supposed to stay to the right, which I know sounds like a conflict, and it is.

If you think about it, the right lane is letting in traffic coming from lessor roads via the on ramp, and so for the new car entering the highway to be able to merge easily into traffic, they need to be able to accelerate to the speed of the cars already travelling on the highway. So, slower traffic stays right.

The general rule is always pass on the left. I always try to give merging drivers some room and I’ll move over from the right lane to the left when they’re coming up the on ramp. What really pisses me off is some idiot passing me as a car comes up the ramp, giving me no room or options to maneuver. Try not to do that if you can.

Some people are lazy and don’t want to make the effort to switch lanes. The Sunday stroll mentality isn’t for rush hour! Lol.

@Blackberry In Boston, they don’t change lanes to pass. Either get out of the way, or get hit! Aggressive drivers, those Bostonians….

In Connecticut it is illegal to pass a car in the left lane while in the right lane, so that clearly shows that their law views the left lane as a faster lane.

Yes, the left lane is the slow lane. The speed limit is the same. They can issue a ticket for impeding the reasonable flow of traffic. So yes, if the lady was going a lot slower than the rest of the left lane people wanted to go she could get a ticket.

Many people are saying the right thing, but they don’t realize the numbers involved.

Yes, the right lane is the slow lane, so by definition, the left lane is the fast lane, but that doesn’t mean the left lane is the speeding lane. It simply means traffic that travels the speed limit (not speeding) can use the left lanes and those people who wish to drive slower than the speed limit stay to the right.

@YARNLADY But, in practice the left lane usually is travelling faster than the speed limit. Safety should be the priority, and travelling generally at the speed of traffic is the safest speed. Many highways have a minimum speed, with the same logic even for the slower lanes. That a big speed differential on the road when people are generally travelling at high speeds is dangerous. By high speeds I don’t mean breaking the speed limit, it can be one person driving 65 and the other 45.

Still, with this particular question, my guess is she was not ticketed for driving below the speed limit, but rather for driving in the passing lane while not passing traffic.

People speed and they always will. On the highway is no place to be making a point that speeding is illegal and do the “speed limit club” in the left lane. Let the cops do their job to control speeding if they feel like it. It’s just better to acknowledge people drive too fast so to prevent accidents and save lives let the fast drivers have their left lane.

The right lane (or lanes) is also called the ‘travel’ lane for a reason. Unless you either want to pass others in the ‘travel’ lane or have an upcoming left turn, the ‘travel’ lane is where you belong. If other drivers want to pass, or risk exceeding the speed limit, the left lane is the correct place for them to do it.

Otherwise, they will pass the putt-putt left lane drivers on the right, forcing all of the other drivers to adjust to that, and making the chance for accidents much higher.

This is a VERY basic (and uncomplicated) ‘Rule of the Road’ which many people either know and ignore, or are just ignorant of it because they had lousy instruction when they learned to drive…
.

@genjgal “the left lane is the slow lane. ”

No…

@livelaughlove21 I figure either she miswrote or lives in a country that drives on the left.

@JLeslie please name the states that allow legal passing on the right, and please state under what conditions this may occur.

From what I’ve learned and experienced, Interstate highways and other 4+ highways allow faster travel in the left lane, relative to the speed in the right lane. This means that if the right lane is traveling under the speed limit, the left lane can be used to pass those in the right lane. It does not give permission to speed. In some states, the left lane or the middle lane of a 5/6+ lane highway is signed as a travel lane, meaning that there are many on-/off-ramps and high traffic volume. Those who don’t intend to use the off-ramps for several miles may travel in that middle lane. No state posts that over-the-speed-limit in any lane is allowed, but as @jerv says, such a practice is tolerated by the highway patrols in the interest of safety.

@DaphneT I know it is legal in MD, because I lived there. Here is the driver’s manual, see page 9 of the book (it’s page 13 of the pdf on my computer). I am pretty sure it is legal in some other states, but I don’t know off the top of my head which ones. I am not even sure about all the states I have lived in. MD is where I attained my first license so I know their laws more in depth.

It occurs when it is safe to do so. Like someone cruising the left lane at a slow speed and refuses to get over. As long as the lane is clear to the right it is legal to pass in MD.

@YARNLADY But there’s also the flow of traffic rule as well. When was the last time a cop pulled anyone over for going 5MPH over, for example? When the speed limit is 45, yet every car is going 55 in the left lane, no one considers that speeding. All of the times I’ve been pulled over it was for going 15+ over the speed limit, never 10 and below.

Going one mph under the limit in the left hand lane may be right. But, you will end up being dead right the day someone gets frustrated and passes you on the right and hits someone in another lane.

If you cannot follow the prevailing traffic speeds move to a lane where you can.

If the road in front of you is empty for miles and your rear view mirror shows you a line of cars behind you, aim the mirror lower to see the biggest hazard on the road.

@livelaughlove21 typo…That’s not what I meant.

@genjgal Lucky for you it was a typo. I’m getting an RPG launcher if anymore drivers do that.