Driving in the middle lane of a 3 lane hwy.

I stay in the right lane mostly and might move over to the middle if I see a long line of cars coming off a ramp about to merge and the middle is quite clear for a ways. If I'm in the middle I'll move over well before another truck is even close to my tail. There's no reason for me to hold people up. Merging traffic sucks but it's not that hard to deal with.

I like to take it slow through cities but I'm not going to make everyone else do it as well.

 

DING DING DING, We have a WINNER !!!! And he's a newbie, Where/Who taught you the correct way ?

 

That's what you call a "SUPER TRUCKER". DirtyBob can sure show you a good few pointer's.

 

I personaly cant stand when someone rides the middle lane without passing anyone. I drive a truck governed at 65MPH and am paid by the mile and am usually running JT loads, Its Usually always a company man I come up on doing it. I politely come up behind them and flash my lights at them signaling that i want to pass them because i will not pass another semi on the passenger side and on most US highways trucks are prohibited from the far left lane on a 3 lane most of the time they move over and let me by but you always get someone who is in there own little world and wont let you by, at this point i get onto the CB and say "hey driver I dont want to pass you illegally, you mind moving over so I can get by?" i havent had anyone give me a hard time about it but when your on an open highway and are not passing anyone and theres no one else around you should be in the far right lane.

I also only move over to the left lane if i see a bunch of 4 wheelers or another semi entering the highway and also for stopped vehicles on the shoulder and bears on the shoulder

 

Really, it's when I moved to California and realized everyone drives below the speed limit in the left lane and it always made me angry when driving my pickup. It pretty much just made me not want to ever be that guy holding everyone up because it makes me angry when it happens to me.

Growing up in Indiana I was always taught anything left of the right lane is for passing only which a majority of people there follow. We didn't really have any 3 lane roads except in Indy and the area getting up to Chicago, so you stayed out of the left as that is the only way to get around anyone in most areas. Seems simple to apply the same logic to 3 lanes.

 

The Ohio Turnpike and other similar places is about the only 3-laners I'll stay in the granny lane on. It's not urban, you don't have traffic merging in every 40 feet. In urban areas I'll run the middle lane. If you guys enjoy having to slow down every 30 seconds and waste all that fuel getting back up to speed, you go ahead and do that.

Like I said before though, when I'm running the middle lane, I keep an eye out for trucks coming up behind me and I let them over. I aint' holding anybody up so in the rare event somebody says something to me on the CB, I say "you drive your truck, I'll drive mine"

 

I still cant figure out when the lanes went from local, travel, and passing, to slow and fast.
When did it also become the norm to drive over the speed limit?
The right lane is easy to drive in if you learn about relative motion. Look ahead, plan for oncoming traffic, vary speed a mile or two per hour and its all good.
The center lane is the travel lane (in places where there are 3) people can stay at, or near, the speed limit if traveling thru, not local.
I use whichever one works best for the time of day. Rush hours I stay in the middle and go on thru town. If traffic is light, I will stay to the right.
Posted speed limit is the max speed in perfect conditions, there is also a minimum, anything in between is legal, and slower often smarter in heavy traffic.

 

I'm positive that atleast 85% of the driver's on this forum drive truck's that are governed at 65mph. CB? What the hell is that? Well, I knew when it was still a respectible piece of hardware but these day's it's nothing more than a "#### you" or "shut up stupid" box which thank god has an off switch. I sold mine when I went local and don't miss it one bit. It just plain garbage. It's rare to find repsect on the road anymore. Now days its pretty much every man for himself. Run over or get run over. Good to know you have a respectible attitude like so though. But just to test the point, wait until you break down somewhere and then see how many drivers will actually stop to offer you help and you'll see what I mean. Money is on the mind and they just don't care. Not all but MOST. Wait until you find a REAL ####### and he'll do everything he can to keep you from passing just to piss you off and he'll get his chuckles.

 

if you are moving too slow, no you have no business there,if it is 2am in the morning and there is no traffic,commen sense should provale.

 

When you have 3 lanes and the 3rd lane is restricted still leaves truckers 2 lanes. I'm still trying to figure what changes the mentality that they have to hog the middle lane. They won't do it on a 2 lane. It's just an extra lane out there for 4 wheelers. So what's different?

I'm pretty sure it's all about me instead of what's right.

I come to the conclusion a long time ago, unless you educate the whole world of drivers 100%, you are wasting your time educating one on one. It's a lost cause.