If there’s one thing that quite irritates me on the road, it’s people not keeping right (or left in the UK) when they’re not overtaking.
In the vast majority of states, it is the law to keep right unless you are overtaking and this is far from the norm on the roadways as many of you are probably already aware.
It makes the roads so much slower than they need to be. By keeping slower traffic right and faster traffic left, traffic moves much smoother and causes less road rage in people being held up by those not obeying the law.
I could rant on and on about this topic, but suffice to say that I believe if the vast majority obeyed the “keep right” laws, traffic would flow a lot more freely and the need for new roads would be greatly reduced because of increased capacity on our existing roads.
Having just come back from the UK, where roads are much more congested and people generally keep right (left), it’s easy to see how much more fluid traffic flows.
Please don’t sit in any lane but the right lane. All other lanes (even if there’s another 3 or 4) are for overtaking only.
Dave, I couldn’t agree with you more. I just a couple of months ago finished teaching my son how to drive. One of the many things I told him about driving courteously is to stay in that right lane unless you are passing someone. Although, I did tell him that when going through a town, it’s OK to be in the left lane so that people can more easily get on and off the main road.
Another is to not drive the same speed as the person in the lane next to you!! Talk about blocking traffic… Then there’s getting up to highway speeds *before* you hit the highway when using the entrance ramp.
Use your signal so that others are aware of your intentions. Do not do something that will make other drivers be in a situation to where they have to react very rapidly if at all possible.
Just a few little things that would make commutes, errands and pleasure trips a bit more enjoyable that some people seem either unaware of or couldn’t care less about.