Left lane bandits!

[TexasBrandon]

There's another group of people that are as bad or worse than the bandits. Those that sit in the right lane, going well below the posted limit and only speed up when they see people trying to merge.

That's because they just "have" to be in front. They are as bad as the people that try to merge in front of you just to hit the brakes to slow down for the off ramp.

 

[Dad_Roman]

Mercy.....

 

[Big Green]

What about the folks going slow in the middle (of three) lanes on the interstate? Now you have people passing on the left and the right trying to get around them.

 

[TxStetson]

How many times has motorcycles slowed your commute when they got ahead of you?

That’s not the point. I gotta be in the front.

Dude, unlike most of the people on this forum, you actually know me and know I’m not really that way.

 

[easy rider]

That’s not the point. I gotta be in the front.

Dude, unlike most of the people on this forum, you actually know me and know I’m not really that way.

Yeah, but there are a lot of jerks out there.
When I left Oregon and traveled around the U.S. I rode south down the coast. I took my time, so it was the next day that I hit L.A. right at the evening rush hour. I got onto I-5 to head south and it was one big parking lot. Now the fastest I rode lane splitting was maybe 25 mph, many times slower, but there was this one guy in a black Camaro that saw me coming and moved over as close as he could to the car beside him. I stopped and asked him "Is me getting ahead of you going to slow you down anymore?" and he said "That's not the point, you should have to wait like the rest of us". I had to explain to him that the reason lane splitting was allowed in California was the fact that at the time most motorcycles, like my Harley, are air cooled. Air cooled motorcycles don't fare too well running for long periods of time without moving much and broke down motorcycles have a habit of slowing traffic even further. He finally allowed me to pass.

 

[majormadmax]

Just to be clear, when you say "triple digits" are you talking kph, or mph?
Because that makes a big difference.

MPH, as I had my US-specs Honda ST1100 at the time which is a very large sport-touring bike with saddlebags...

I routinely rode at 100-120+ MPH on the autoroutes/autobahns in Europe, as it was the norm. That particular bike was actually designed in Germany specifically for such speeds.

And, to be honest, I never was scared riding at those speeds in Europe. However, after coming back to this country I have all but given up on motorcycling after the number of close calls with inattentive drivers I had.

The CBR1000RR Repsol I bought as a retirement gift to myself in 2005 sat mostly unused in the garage, I just recently sold it...

While a helluva piece of technology, I just knew it was a matter of time before it would bite me. But in terms of getting around traffic, there are no substitutes. If I could steer the ST through heavy rush hour traffic coming out of Brussels at triple digit speeds, I can imagine the Repsol (which I got after I returned home) would make easy would out of it!

 

[majormadmax]

The concept for lane splitting is during rush hour traffic when the vehicles are bumper to bumper, it's not intended for posted speed flow.

That's news to me!

 

[ZX9RCAM]

MPH, as I had my US-specs Honda ST1100 at the time which is a very large sport-touring bike with saddlebags...

View attachment 140059

I routinely rode at 100-120+ MPH on the autoroutes/autobahns in Europe, as it was the norm. That particular bike was actually designed in Germany specifically for such speeds.

And, to be honest, I never was scared riding at those speeds in Europe. However, after coming back to this country I have all but given up on motorcycling after the number of close calls with inattentive drivers I had.

The CBR1000RR Repsol I bought as a retirement gift to myself in 2005 sat mostly unused in the garage, I just recently sold it...

View attachment 140060

While a helluva piece of technology, I just knew it was a matter of time before it would bite me. But in terms of getting around traffic, there are no substitutes. If I could steer the ST through heavy rush hour traffic coming out of Brussels at triple digit speeds, I can imagine the Repsol (which I got after I returned home) would make easy would out of it!

Ah, that's different.
I was asking about you "lane splitting" at triple digit speeds.
Fast on a bike is nothing, splitting lanes is different.

I had an 05 CBR1000RR as well.

 

[majormadmax]

Ah, that's different.
I was asking about you "lane splitting" at triple digit speeds.
Fast on a bike is nothing, splitting lanes is different.

I had an 05 CBR1000RR as well.

I did lane-split on the ST1100 at triple-digit speeds, many times heading south out of Brussels during rush-hour traffic on the on the E19. It's a three-lane (sometimes more) autoroute which is the Belgian equivalent to an autobahn but there is usually a speed limit (rarely enforced against motorcycles at the time). I wish I had a GoPro then, I occasionally mounted a video camera on my tank bag but all those videos are 8mm cassettes that I have never had converted digitally.

It really wasn't any to get excited about, you'd pass between cars along the center line and continue on your way. Many times drivers would scoot over to give you a little more room to get by, but never did anyone intentionally try to stop me or anyone else on a motorcycle from passing that way.

The biggest difference was that I trusted drivers over there not to do anything stupid while I passed. I can't say the same here. In fact, I fear someone would intentionally try to stop a motorcycle from passing that way. That is the only real danger that exists during such a maneuver.

 

[deemus]

I seem to end up in slow traffic sometimes, and I have no issues with MCs passing me on the shoulder or even between cars. What I have a huge issue with is another car slow rolling down the shoulder.

 

[TxStetson]

The biggest difference was that I trusted drivers over there not to do anything stupid while I passed. I can't say the same here. In fact, I fear someone would intentionally try to stop a motorcycle from passing that way. That is the only real danger that exists during such a maneuver.

Damn man. I was just joking.

 

[oldag]

Damn man. I was just joking.

Nah. I saw you open your car door last week when the motorcylist went down the stripe...

 

[orbitup]

Just got off of 45 in Houston. Makes me wonder what the left lane hog thinks when he encounters another going slower. Does he cuss they guy for going slow in the left lane? Sometimes they just sit behind them. Sometimes they pass on the right and then... right back into the left lane. We need somebody who does this to speak up and explain themselves.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

On the way home from work yesterday, I came upon a woman going under 50mph with nobody near her on I45, at least she was not in the left lane.

 

[AustinN4]

I got onto I-5 to head south and it was one big parking lot.

If you were cool, you would have said "the 5".

 

[easy rider]

If you were cool, you would have said "the 5".

Funny, I've lived near I-5 more than half my life, not sure I've heard it called that. Must be a Californut thing.

 

[AustinN4]

Funny, I've lived near I-5 more than half my life, not sure I've heard it called that. Must be a Californut thing.

Cali, Oregon and Washington.

 

[benenglish]

Just got off of 45 in Houston. Makes me wonder what the left lane hog thinks when he encounters another going slower. Does he cuss they guy for going slow in the left lane? Sometimes they just sit behind them. Sometimes they pass on the right and then... right back into the left lane. We need somebody who does this to speak up and explain themselves.

"Just got off of 45"?

If you were in morning rush hour traffic near the city when traffic density is high and every lane is travelling well under the limit then left lane discipline ceases to be a thing. I make no apologies for that.

However, you describe a different set of events with the whole "pass on the right then get immediately back into the left lane" scenario. Possibilities?

1. Traffic density was so low that, no matter the speeds, the slower left lane hog should have moved over.
   • While you may have been technically "in Houston", that's almost never the case on any freeway anywhere close to downtown during the rush hours. "Slower left lane hogs" aren't really a problem in those circumstances since the next slowdown will put everybody back bumper-to-bumper, anyway. Remember, once traffic density is sufficiently high and all lanes are sufficiently slow, left-lane discipline serves no important function.
   • In fact, strict left-lane discipline in very high-traffic situations can cause accidents. Note how the toll plazas (the ones that are left, anyway) have put up those dividers between lanes approaching the plaza. The reason? The "EZ Tags left, cash right" situations back in the day enforced strict left-lane discipline which worked great until one of the cars on the right, traveling 3 MPH, decided to pass on the left without understanding that the cars in that lane are doing 70 MPH. The resulting accidents were horrific, something I know from personal experience.
2. Traffic density was too high for routine safe lane changes, so the slower left lane hog stayed put while letting a driver's-ed-style two- or three-second gap open in front of him. This prompted the next car to tear-ass around them via two unsafe lane changes since, during rush hour, nobody seems to feel that a safe following distance is of any importance at all.
   • Based on almost 30 years of commuting in this city, this seems to be the most likely explanation. It generally accomplishes nothing, though. It's highly likely that the faster left-lane hog will eventually make a bad decision as to when to pass, get caught behind something slower, and wind up arriving well behind where they would have been if they had just sat contentedly in the left lane.
3. Traffic density was too high for left lane discipline to be sensible (i.e., routine lane changes could not be made safely) so the slower left-lane hog stopped paying sufficiently close attention to the spaces around them, especially in their right-rear blind spot. Simultaneously, someone in the next-to-left lane was going really slow, opening an unusually large gap. This allowed someone to tear around the slower left-lane hog.
   • In this situation, the slower left-lane hog should have moved over and let the faster car pass. I can't defend sitting in the left lane in this situation even when traffic density is very high although I can forgive it if a car has a huge blind spot, big enough for the faster car to slide into easily. However, in most of these cases, the slower left-lane hog can move right and let the faster car go by. They can even move back left if they want. They have options if they'll just pay more attention to what's going on around them.
   • Sometimes, however, the slower left lane hog has those options taken away. They may want to move over but the gap opened in the next-to-left lane by a much slower car will first become available to the car behind. In those cases, the person on the left is trapped there even if they want to move over. One of the things about left-lane discipline that's difficult during high but uneven traffic density is that that the person behind must allow someone to move right and that frequently doesn't happen.
     • Side note - IMO, absolute left-lane discipline cannot be maintained in any jurisdiction where people pass on the right. "No passing on the right" must be enforced as absolutely as "Slower traffic keep right" and "Left lane for passing only"; either they go together or left-lane discipline will inevitably fail.

 

[orbitup]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was going from NASA to Hobby right after rush hour so traffic was pretty light. Anyway, I see it all the time when staying out of the left lane would be easier but they get over like it's their lane.

 

[easy rider]

Cali, Oregon and Washington.

I was born in Seattle and although I have moved around growing up, I always seemed to gravitate back. That is up until I decided I would leave the northwest for good. Proud to be a Texan now, although I still don't get how it is I have an accent.