Blog #6: Thou shalt not block the left lane

The last blog was a little late and I accept full responsiblity. Not that this is an excuse, but there was a woman driving an SUV with South Carolina plates in front of me in the left lane of I-485.

And even though I courteously flashed my brights several times - there is a courteous way to do it - she wouldn't move. Apparently she had a deed.

I believe that if there were cars and freeways in the old days there would have been an 11th commandement: Thou Shalt Not Block the Left Lane.

I can't prove it, though.

Moving from one point to another is what people do worst. No other endeavor troubles humans so.

And even worse than our driving is the way we get on and off airplanes, especially on.

I flew Saturday from Charlotte to Dallas to Phoenix and on Monday from Phoenix to Dallas to Charlotte.

And on each flight, passengers would hover near the gate long before their zone was called. It became so bad in Phoenix that a flight attendant said into his microphone that the plane would not arrive any faster if passengers crowded the gate. He promised everybody that their seat would not be given away. I thanked him.

Why do passengers hover and lurk?

Is it fear that somebody will take their seat or overhead compartment? Or is it a larger fear, a fear of being left out? I vote for the latter.

Three women and a kid stood a few yards away from the gate for the Phoenix to Dallas flight. As soon as their zone was called they jumped into line in front of me. I let them. I was surprised and, frankly, curious.

When I meet somebody who blocks the left lane or who hovers and lurks near the gate or parks for an hour in the 15-minute spot or goes through the 10 items and fewer line with a cart full of groceries, I like to look and listen to try to understand their motives and their lack of ethics.

The three women immediately complained to another flight attendant when they were told they couldn't carry their stroller onto the plane. And when they got on the plane, when they moved down the narrow row to their seat, they dawdled.

First they were in a tremendous hurry, all Marion Jones on speed-enhancing steroids. Now they were like golfers standing over a putt.

Every bag had to be petted and stroked before it was lovingly put in the overhead compartment. They took so much time I felt as if I was in one of those slow Southern towns, imaginary as far as I can tell, in which people spend the day on front porch rocking chairs as they drink lemonade and whittle.

The wait was such that I could put together a personality profile.

The women are unhappy. They are single, or will be. Life continually fails to meet their standards. And when they get back to their town, they leave the airport parking lot, pull onto the freeway and block the left lane.

Comments

[Haywood]

Good one.

[Stephanie]

People who ride in the left lane actually believe that they will get "there" faster because it is the "fast lane." ie, they believe it works like the moving sidewalks at the airport. The left lane is for PASSING people. NC drivers are some of the worst for this offense!

[JDP]

Amen!! I'm from Georgia and just having the two lanes on 485 annoys me enough without adding some slow poke in the fast lane. Makes you want to drive in the median!

[VBK]

I hate it when people flash their brights at me! I don't move! Sometimes I like to drive the speed limit in the "fast lane" and people flash their brights. I never move over..even though I drive the speed limit I hate driving in the slow lane because thats where the really slow people drive. So if Im driving the speed limit in the fast lane I'm not doing anything wrong--its called a SPEED LIMIT for a reason! What part of limit don't you understand?? I have every right to drive in that lane bc the fast lane is for people who are at least driving the speed limit and thats what Im doing.(I'm not rich like some people so I can't afford speeding tickets) nobody uses it as just a "passing lane". I pay my taxes just like everyone else so if I want to drive in the "fast lane" then I will!!! Flash your brights all you want-Im not moving! and I wish people would keep some space between them and the car in front--scares me to death when people follow too close!

[Susan]

Well of course the driver had a deed to that lane - she was driving an SUV. Don't you know that SUV drivers own the roads?

[hipquest]

VBK, do you have a NC DL? The left lane is for passing (you should have learned this in the handy book the DMV provides in order to pass your driving test), you should not just hang out there and be the speed police. Let those "breaking the law" pass you and get a ticket.

If it "scares you to death" when people follow too close-MOVE OVER! YOU just don't want to get behind that driver who goes under the speed limit-which is their right under the law.

Also, a high-beam light flash is a courteous way to let the driver in front of you know you wish to pass. I was taught to do this even on a two-lane road. It gives the other driver notice of your intention and allows them to be a courteous driver, in return.

You want it your way, period. People like you CAUSE accidents.

[vbk]

no..i have a SC DL..i did have a nc dl for a year but i didnt read the book cause i thought it was stupid to have to take the test over when i had been driving in sc for a long time...

well i see a lot of people who stay in that 'passing lane'...

well if a high beam shows they want to pass...then they should just pass instead of flashing it over and over and over and over...yes one night i had someone flash their brights about 10 times..they didnt just pass like they should have...

I don't cause accidents..im a good driver-2 accidents in 10 years that i've been driving-not my fault-caused by the stupidity of others who think its okay to drive straight through a stoplight..bad drivers scare me....i hate driving..if i was rich yes i would hire a driver..cause im scared Im going to die just because im the only law abiding citizen who knows what a speed limit is...

and for goodness sakes...use your darn blinkers..i can't read your mind

[BB]

VBK.....
Are you ready for your driving in the left lane to cause an accident? Sure you may feel you have a "right" to drive there, but let that clinging to that "right" cause that wreck and you may find yourself defending yourself in a civil lawsuit.

Maybe it's cheaper to pull over in the right lane and when you come up on a slower driver use the left lane to pass and then pull into the right lane like you're expected to do.

[nctrooper]

Check the driver's manual published by the DMV. The left lane is for passing. I work in NC, but the rules are the same in SC and everywhere else. Leave the law enforcement to law enforcement, VBK.