There are two acceptable schools of thought one can abide by in regard to speed and lane selection while travelling on a roadway of any sort with other drivers. I’ve got my preference, of course, but, I’ve decided to do the nice thing and let you choose. Which ever method you decide to employ, I will do the same.
h3. Option 1: Be Courteous. MOVE RIGHT!
This is a fairly straight forward practice with room for a little bit of interpretation. The meat of this method is simple: Regardless of if you’re driving 100mph or 10mph, always drive in the lane furthest to the right that will support the speed you are driving.
If you are travelling in a lane and pass a car on the right leaving a spot in the lane to the right that will support your speed, even if only briefly, MOVE RIGHT.
If you find that you are the only car on the entire highway, MOVE RIGHT.
If you find that the cars to your right are moving faster than you, then you’ve been in the wrong lane for a long time. MOVE RIGHT!
When to move RIGHT is fairly obvious, but I’ll restate it: If it is in any way possible for you to MOVE RIGHT without getting in an accident or cutting off another car, even if only for a brief moment, MOVE RIGHT. The interpretation in this method surrounds, not when to move right but, when to move left.
If you are approaching a car that is slower than you and there are at least two more lanes to your left, go for it, but move back as soon as you can. This doesn’t mean you should get right on their ass and then swerve around them cutting them off as you get back in the right lane. Take it easy. Act with determination, and purpose, but in a calm, controlled, fashion.
If there is only one lane to your left and it’s clear for quite a way back, go for it, but move back as soon as you can. Again, do this in a calm, controlled fashion.
If there is moderate traffic in the lane to your left and you can accelerate to match their speed, merge with them, pass the slower car, and then move back to the right and resume your desired speed, go for it. Don’t cut off other cars in order to merge. Anticipate your need to move over before it’s too late. Put your blinker on. Accelerate. Unless you are on a road with lots of bends and hills, you should have plenty of time to match the speed of the cars next to you. If you can’t reach the speed of the traffic to your left before colliding with the car in front of you, simply slow down and wait for the left lane to clear or the car in front of you to MOVE RIGHT.
If you are in the far left lane, there are no cars immediately in front of you and there are cars behind you desiring to go faster, analyze the speed of the cars in the lane to your right. If they are travelling only slightly slower than you, enter their lane, decrease your speed a bit, and allow the faster travellers to pass you. Continuing to travel in a left lane because you desire to go 42mph instead of 40mph is just plain silly. When your total trip time is calculated, you’ll never even notice the 30 seconds you spent travelling 2mph slower than you wanted to.
If you are in the far left lane and you wish that you could drive faster than you are but there is a car in front of you consider that the car in front of you probably wants to go faster too. Riding their ass won’t do you any good. At this point, you’re stuck because someone else has decided not to MOVE RIGHT. Take a deep breath. Listen to the radio. Try not to kill anyone. Unless, of course, there is only one car immediately in front of you, with open space in front of them that has passed up several opportunities to MOVE RIGHT. In that case, feel free to switch your driving school of thought to Option 2 briefly.
h3. Option 2: Be an Asshole. Drive where you want.
“I can be in any lane I want and drive as fast as I want. It’s my road too.”
Yes. You’re right. You can. Take the left lane at 59mph in a 60mph zone with two empty lanes to your right. That’s your choice and your right.
However, it’s also my right to choose my speed and my lane, just like you. It just so happens I’ve decided to drive in your lane, directly in front of you, 20mph slower than you’re driving. And when you finally decide to MOVE RIGHT, maybe I’ll move right, too, still 20mph slower than you are. Hey, I can be in any lane I want and drive as fast as I want! It’s my road too!
h3. Option 3: There is no option three.
Some of you will be eager to point out some other options. Something built on your own driving habits such as, “as long as I’m driving 10mph over the speed limit, I can be in the far left lane” or, “you shouldn’t be driving that fast anyway, so I’m going to try and stop you”. Unfortunately, everyone has their own idea of how fast we should drive and none of us agree. Any other option is simply a variation of Option 2.
h3. Conclusion
With a little bit of courtesy and a tiny bit of give and take, we can all be calm, happy drivers driving approximately the speed we’d like to be driving. From time to time we may have to go a little slower than we’d like, or a little faster than we’d like in order to maintain the flow of traffic, but, for the most part, everyone gets their way and we are all happy.
Make your choice. Just remember that I’m choosing the same thing you do. Here in Dallas, TX, I’m pretty sure most drivers are choosing Option 2. It’s a good thing I know how to be an asshole.
