Current Events > In a three lane highway, is the middle lane for cruising or passing?

(+) Yeah! (+)

n/t

Turning.

Brake checking

Its for passing the people going too slow in the left lane

Cruising

Left lane for passing everybody.

Middle lane for semis to pass slower semis or people towing things

Right lane for semis, older vehicles that don't have as much get up and go, people who need to tow something

wackyteen posted...

Left lane for passing everybody.

Middle lane for semis to pass slower semis or people towing things

Right lane for semis, older vehicles that don't have as much get up and go, people who need to tow something

Are neither the left lane nor right lane for turning anymore? How do I get off this crazy expressway?!

it's for passing. if you are not actively passing someone to your right, you should get over. the only reasonable exception to this is heavy traffic in a city, but when that happens you're most likely passing the right lane by going the speed limit.

road signs even say "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS". note there is no exception for the middle lane.

GeminiDeus posted...

Are neither the left lane nor right lane for turning anymore? How do I get off this crazy expressway?!

To be fair, TC indicated a 3 lane highway only, turn lanes make them 4 lanes if only temporarily

Giant_Aspirin posted...

it's for passing. if you are not actively passing someone to your right, you should get over. the only reasonable exception to this is heavy traffic in a city, but when that happens you're most likely passing the right lane by going the speed limit.

road signs even say "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS". note there is no exception for the middle lane.

I got pulled over and a warning in Kansas for traveling in the left lane.

Left lane for passing, middle for driving, right for drivers getting on/off the highway.

Middle lanes are for semi trucks going 61 mph to pass other semi trucks in the right lane that are going 60 mph, causing traffic backups in the process.

The system works.

wackyteen posted...

I got pulled over and a warning in Kansas for traveling in the left lane.

did you learn your lesson?

i wish more cops would actively ticket people for cruising in the left

Giant_Aspirin posted...

did you learn your lesson?

i wish more cops would actively ticket people for cruising in the left

What if you stay in the left lane but are driving 80MPH and anyone behind you isn't even close? Is it okay to stay in the left lane?

GeminiDeus posted...

What if you stay in the left lane but are driving 80MPH and anyone behind you isn't even close? Is it okay to stay in the left lane?

Not in Kansas

Left is for passing only, middle is for general driving, right is for slower drivers, semis, and vehicles preparing to take an upcoming exit.

If you're going so fast that you are staying in the left lane and passing people regularly, you're almost assuredly going way too fast.

And obviously, assuming no designated carpool or express lanes and assuming that a highway isn't about to split.

GeminiDeus posted...

What if you stay in the left lane but are driving 80MPH and anyone behind you isn't even close? Is it okay to stay in the left lane?

"KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS"

GeminiDeus posted...

What if you stay in the left lane but are driving 80MPH and anyone behind you isn't even close? Is it okay to stay in the left lane?

This is basically how I handle it. Rather than switching lanes 30x just to keep passing.

i check my mirrors often, if I see anyone coming up behind me OR going my rate of speed in another lane, I get over

Giant_Aspirin posted...

"KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS"

This is only a thing in certain states

loafy013 posted...

Left lane for passing, middle for driving, right for drivers getting on/off the highway.

This is the way

I watched a trailer for a film called Bad Girls (2021) and the scene was basically

Guy cuts girl off and she's like "Hey asshole, the left lane is for fucking passing" he gives her the finger and then she in return shoots him

folks who support the middle lane for driving/cruising (not passing), how do you feel about situations where someone is going exactly the speed limit in the middle lane, with no cars in the right lane as far as the eye can see. is that acceptable? do you think that everyone on the road going 1mph over the speed limit or more should be squeezed into the only open lane on the left, while the right lane goes largely unused? do you see how this contributes to congestion and how everything would be smoother for everyone else if that one car just got over?

i have seen situations like this numerous times and it's always the fault of the car just sitting in the middle lane

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Most everywhere I need to go requires me to only be in the right lane. The only time I need to use the left lane is part of the way to get to my mother's nursing home, then I get back in the right lane again.

GeminiDeus posted...

Are neither the left lane nor right lane for turning anymore? How do I get off this crazy expressway?!

It depends on the highway, but here there's usually another lane that appears only for entrances and exits. So you have to merge out of that lane if you want to stay on the highway.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8c9b7ab2.jpg

Giant_Aspirin posted...

it's for passing. if you are not actively passing someone to your right, you should get over. the only reasonable exception to this is heavy traffic in a city, but when that happens you're most likely passing the right lane by going the speed limit.

road signs even say "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS". note there is no exception for the middle lane.

It's important to note that not every highway has those rules. I live in Los Angeles and literally no highway here has rules about keeping right. You only encounter that if you head north through the more rural parts of California.

So in LA, the left lane is the fast lane, but it's not a "passing only" lane.

Cruising, to avoid oncoming mergers.

bluezero posted...

Cruising, to avoid oncoming mergers.

what if there are no oncoming mergers? i understand this mentality when driving through a city where there are frequent merges. it's unsafe to constantly switch from middle to right to middle, and probably leads to more congestion. but on a more open road where there are less frequent oncoming merges, i don't understand folks who just sit in the middle.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

100%

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


a similar post on my local subreddit inspired this topic. that photo knows what's up.

Giant_Aspirin posted...

folks who support the middle lane for driving/cruising (not passing), how do you feel about situations where someone is going exactly the speed limit in the middle lane, with no cars in the right lane as far as the eye can see. is that acceptable? do you think that everyone on the road going 1mph over the speed limit or more should be squeezed into the only open lane on the left, while the right lane goes largely unused? do you see how this contributes to congestion and how everything would be smoother for everyone else if that one car just got over?

i have seen situations like this numerous times and it's always the fault of the car just sitting in the middle lane

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That's exactly when you should pass on the right. Only certain jurisdictions ban that maneuver.

Giant_Aspirin posted...

folks who support the middle lane for driving/cruising (not passing), how do you feel about situations where someone is going exactly the speed limit in the middle lane, with no cars in the right lane as far as the eye can see. is that acceptable? do you think that everyone on the road going 1mph over the speed limit or more should be squeezed into the only open lane on the left, while the right lane goes largely unused? do you see how this contributes to congestion and how everything would be smoother for everyone else if that one car just got over?

i have seen situations like this numerous times and it's always the fault of the car just sitting in the middle lane

in wisconsin the law does not reference the speed limit, it says slower than the flow of traffic need to keep right

if the flow of traffic is higher than the speed limit that is the speed

TheGoldenEel posted...

in wisconsin the law does not reference the speed limit, it says slower than the flow of traffic need to keep right

wouldn't that mean if the right lane is empty, you should be all the way over regardless of how fast you are going?

Giant_Aspirin posted...

wouldn't that mean if the right lane is empty, you should be all the way over regardless of how fast you are going?

If you are setting the flow of traffic youre not slower than it

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Haha, that was me about a year ago in the left lane and then getting pulled over for my regretful choices.

TheGoldenEel posted...

If you are setting the flow of traffic youre not slower than it

fair point.

but still consider the situation i outlined above where the far right lane is completely empty, one car is in the middle lane with 30 cars behind it that are going faster, effectively forcing all 30 of those cars into a singular lane on the left since passing on the right is illegal. they could be spread out into two lanes, doubling the throughput of the highway, if the slow car just got over.

admittedly the situation above is more of a problem on open highways than city driving, but i do see it sometimes within the city.

TheGoldenEel posted...

in wisconsin the law does not reference the speed limit, it says slower than the flow of traffic need to keep right

if the flow of traffic is higher than the speed limit that is the speed

Nah, that's a common misconception. Keep up with the flow of traffic, within reason. If the flow of traffic is 15 over the speed limit, then you're all at risk of being pulled over. An officer will either pick one unlucky person out of the bunch, or attempt to pull over multiple people.

cruising

Giant_Aspirin posted...

it's for passing. if you are not actively passing someone to your right, you should get over. the only reasonable exception to this is heavy traffic in a city, but when that happens you're most likely passing the right lane by going the speed limit.

road signs even say "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS". note there is no exception for the middle lane.

I've never seen one of those signs on a 3 lane road, only 2.

But it's still basically correct, if you're by yourself on the road, use the outside lane. Move to inside lanes if you encounter slower traffic.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


depends where you are. I live in MA and there are no laws against it. The left lane basically has to be used for normal driving or the other lanes would get so backed up people would be forced to use the left lane anyway

NoxObscuras posted...

Nah, that's a common misconception. Keep up with the flow of traffic, within reason. If the flow of traffic is 15 over the speed limit, then you're all at risk of being pulled over. An officer will either pick one unlucky person out of the bunch, or attempt to pull over multiple people.

Here they just ignore speeding as long as youre not going over 90, cause thats how fast the cops go

NoxObscuras posted...

Nah, that's a common misconception. Keep up with the flow of traffic, within reason. If the flow of traffic is 15 over the speed limit, then you're all at risk of being pulled over. An officer will either pick one unlucky person out of the bunch, or attempt to pull over multiple people.

Thats a separate law

This one says if everyone is going 15 over and youre only going 5 over you need to keep right