I think I try to imagine myself in the other person's shoes. What if that tailgaiter is hurrying to the hospital or needs the nearest restroom? A tailgaiters motives are unknown to you, but being courteous and moving over when you can is the best thing you can do.

It isn't a race or pissing contest. You aren't the traffic police or the speed limit police, I say move over let this person go about their business.

IMHO

I agree. I'll move over regardless if they are tailgaters or not. Why do people play games and get all pissy about this issue? Slowing down just to piss off the guy behind you is childish as well as dangerous. Do people like power trips so much that they do this? I just don't get it.

/agreed

Also, willravel... in most states you can pass on the right as long as there are 3 lanes or more not including "special" lanes such a time-of-day lanes or HOV lanes.

Just as annoying, and to add to the thread, what about people who wait until the last second (or sometimes longer) to merge out of their lane that is ending? I hate this even more and tend to be the guy that goes over the line so they cannot pass me on either side until they have no choice but to be behind me. I've done this for years, even in a small sporty car, and have never had an issue. I've had people in big F-350's try to bully me by getting right on my ass and honking... but since they are not only violating safe driving rules, but also being rude assholes, I don't mind so much.

I wish we could all keep this in mind even on the stressful days. Fast, slow, whatever, traffic bites. It's so much easier when we aren't at each others' throats.

Obviously you've never driven in a Vancouver, BC rush hour :p Then, the politest drivers quickly turn into the most vicious drivers.

Here in Oregon you will get pulled over for impeding the flow of traffic--it is against the law. We don't have as many state patrol as we once did thanks to budget cuts, so we also have a lot of speeders. The average speed of the freeway in a 65 is usually 70 with a sprinkling of folks going faster. I like to drive 75-80 (when the conditions are good). What annoys me is that on a stretch of I-5 from where it cranks up to 65 after Portland to where it goes from 3 to 2 lanes (in Salem, Oregon), people SIT in the fast lane going 65-70 and make people pass them on the right. There have been several instances on the freeway where the MIDDLE lane is going faster than the left lane. That annoys me. And yes, that left lane is supposed to be for passing. Usually, desiring to go 80, I actually just stay in the right lane and use the middle lane to pass the occasional truck. Also, on some two-lane highways here in this state, truckers have no qualms whatsoever about holding up five or more cars, even though it says clearly that they can't, and must pull over. I've seen several trucks pulled over by the state police for holding up folks, though with the decrease in law enforcement, I doubt this will happen as much as it once did.

Well, that's funny. I was taught in driving school, very specifically that, in the province of Ontario and as a matter of law, the driver merging with the highway has the right of way and the people on the highway must yield to them. Do you live in the US? If so, I'm surprised our driving laws can differ this much, considering how free we are to drive across the border.

Oh, and if the guy in front of you slamming the breaks can result in a collision, you were driving too close!

The laws seem to vary. In Minnesota years ago, a highway patrol officer told me that "merge" meant that neither had the right of way -- merge meant figure it out and get it done without killing each other. At that place at that time one driver had the definite right of way only if the other had a yield sign (and at some ramps there were yield signs, as I've seen in other states as well). The trooper said that a ramp situation operates on the same principle if a 4-lane road is reduced to 3 lanes.

THANK you. Even more annoying than left-lane-campers... is being behind somebody on the onramp who slows down to merge.

I watched a guy come to a complete stop (and as a result, I came to a complete stop) while he waited for a long enough break in traffic for him to accellerate into. Which, of course, never came--he ended up squeezing his SUV-driving ass into a hole that was too small for him to get up to speed in, causing half a dozen people to brake for him.

Fortunately, I was in my Miata, which got me up to merging speed by the time I my lane ended.

Those are the Washington drivers getting ready to go slow in the left lane, or fast in the right lane, whichever direction they're heading. :D Anyone reading from up there? You have the oddest traffic habits! :icare:

I was once pulled over for this on my twice monthly drive home from Cupertino. When the roads were fairly empty I'd take to using both lanes in the mountains to round off corners. An Oregon trooper spotted me in the left lane with nobody in the right, and that was enough. He reminded me about "Left lane for passing." I let him know I was from Oregon and that the California license was a temporary affliction. :) Not too many things better than driving away from a traffic stop without a citation.

It's nice that he didn't issue you a ticket but it was quite dickish of him to pull you over for that in the first place.

Trust me, had he been watching before my 'out' corner to a left-lane straight he would have had more to talk about. I wasn't complaining. At the time I had only driven in the Bay Area a year or so and was very conscious of the cursed left lane bandits. In no way did I want to be lumped with them.

I'd prefer officers round off the traffic corners by warning/educating people about simple things like lane choice, signals, etc. For me it carries more weight than just collecting revenue since they aren't getting any trackable compensation. If only they had the time & flexibility to worry more about preventative measures.

It was about that time that bumping into a few troopers mellowed my stereotypical negative image of police. After growing up in a small town listening to the depressing radio gossip of Mayberry's finest, I didn't have a great attitude. Speaking to prefessionals made all the difference. They aren't all bad, they aren't all good. It has the same spread as any other job. With this profession though, best to get to know them in a good way first. :) A simple change of approach can make all the difference to a cop who's having a crap day and deciding your fate.

Actually it was on the 401 at Division Street in Kingston. And yes, the cop told me the merging traffic do not have the right of way. How the accident occured was the guy in front actually stepped on it to get by but must have realized he wouldn't make it so instead he almost came to a dead stop. The car merging was going slow. We (the traffic flow were all spaced equally doing about 65 mph. My left lane had a stream of cars passing the the rest of us in the right lane)

I agree that when it is safe to change lanes, do so to let people on. But one lane grinding to a halt to let a slow poke have the right of way is wrong. At least the cop and the judge reiterated that to me. My old handbook I used to learn the rules of the road stated if one cannot get on safely, to proceed to the oncoming shoulder, stop and wait until it's safe to merge. Was even taught that in drivers ed. in high school. Before my court date, I even called the local OPP because so many people told me what you have told me. The OPP told me what I'm telling you.

And again this same cop mentioned 90% of accidents on the highway happen at highway onramps because of this misunderstanding.

But do you know who has it right? The State Of Vermont. If you drive on the I-89 you actually see yield signs where people are merging onto the highways, for those about to merge.

Has anyone else never heard the term "Camping" used in this context?

here i thought the thread was discussing people setting up tents for the night in the left lane. Traffic can be bad sometimes, but not that bad...


Ok, so I really don't like it when people tailgate me, but then again, i've done it to a jerk or two myself (some were probably decent people that just didn't realize I don't like driving 25mph). so i can't pass judgements either way.

if you drive recklessly or frighten other drivers, you've earned the ticket.

I'm from Minnesota too -- I know what ratbastid was saying

um yah yah!

Absolutely. "LLBs camping in the fast lane." AAA even had them in one of their handbooks as a driving no-no....searching fruitlessly... might not be online.

I know that you're trying to understand the differences of law and reality.. and you can see by the people posting here it's QUITE different from place to place, but yet still the same.

The worst place I have ever seen drivers is in India. When I was growing up in and went to Mexico, I thought that was bad, then I went to the Philippines, wow, that's bad. I thought in Singapore they'd have better drivers, nope. I had the opportunity to go to Bangkok, boy they made the Philippines look like it was organized. Most recently, I went to India, wow, Imagine, 4 lanes of traffic painted on the road, and having 6 lanes. Side mirrors? Tucked in because they can be removed by someone jostling for position. Now, that I've been to India, it explains how the cabbies here in NYC drive.

Oh, and best drivers? Germany and Austria.

What I mean is, some people just can't hold a speed. I realize it's a relatively simple concept (more gas to go faster, less to go slower) but I see people who vary in speed 10, 20 or 30 kph and I wonder. I can understand 5 or even 10 on a hill or something. I mean, it comes with practice and I have no idea who the person in front of me is; it could be a new driver. But on a flat stretch of road, it makes no sense to not be able to hold one speed.