Georgia's 'Slow Poke' bill moves step closer to reality

The best I remember eons ago, the right lane was for slower traffic. If someone came up on you in the left lane going faster, then you were to merge to the right lane. Trucks are not allowed in the far left lane if there are 3 lanes. If you were in the left lane and a vehicle came up on you, you were to move over and let them go by. Driving the left lane and holding up traffic was called impeding traffic, even if they were going 80 when they went by you.

I do think some areas, that when you have a lot of merging and exiting traffic, all vehicles should be allowed to stay in the left lane till the area is cleared, in busy cities esp . In some areas they have these sections at a reduced speed to begin with, usually 5 mi under the regular speed, places like Hattiesburg on 59 was one such place. This should be called and signed "Thru Traffic" "use middle lane", at a reduced speed if needed. The only problem truckers have when moving over to the left lane to let merging traffic out they have gotten leary of the move back over because by then the right lane traffic decides it is time to out speed them and they get in the right side blind spot.

Courtesy goes a long way. Slower traffic keep right had been the norm for over 40 yrs that I know of.

 

Talk about opening up a loop hole to get out of a speeding ticket. lol

 

gpsman - so you are recommending 30 yards for 20mph? and then 90 yards for 60mph? So I might be misunderstanding you here - are you saying to leave a football field between each vehicle on the highway?

 

Well said. Although as a truck driver caught in a 4wheeler's body, I don't think the problem is with the trucks for the most part. I saw 2 rigs driving in the HOV lane yesterday, but I think truck drivers generally are not the problem. It seems as if my fellow 4 wheelers have never heard of slower traffic keep right. Bunched up traffic with open space as far as the eye can see in front of the idiot yuppie in prius riding in the hammer lane. I wonder how much better traffic would flow if people would go back to this common courtesy you speak of...

 

Don't worry according to some drivers on here we all will have speed limiters and Elogs and this will matter less and less to us…..

 

Your circumstances are too rare to be applicable to the real world. Most often when traffic is bunched up ~the speed limit you can see another platoon ahead within a mile. You ain't going nowhere. Move to the R lane and let the nitwits who measure a 20 mile/30 minute trip in seconds and feet if not fractions thereof hash it out.

 

well silly me i thought that speed limit signs were just a suggestion.

 

Yeah, but today there's often insufficient room to move safely back R. When traffic gets heavier tailgating increases. Motorists don't like to let anyone ahead of them, ever. They'd lose ~15 feet plus another ~15 feet for a 1 vehicle-length following distance. At 60 mph that would delay a motorist almost a half second. 10 of those add up and next thing ya know you're almost 5 seconds "behind". The stunningly fragile Dumerican motorist's ego just can't handle that. You'd look Obama-weak!

 

Yeah, we'd need a lot less laws if folks would just be "old fashioned decent" and stop thinking just of themselves. The same people leaning on their cart, stopped in the center isle of the grocery store also drive vehicles. I wonder if I'm too young to be a hermit, hmmm.

BTW - thanks for answering the distance question I asked.