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Not a rant...

A

aerog

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...just a curious question. I was driving up from Daytona this morning on I95. There was a good amount of traffic traveling from between 60-80mph (70mph posted limit). A new, silver Dodge sedan was in front of me as I pulled onto the highway, he was doing all of 60mph. The middle lane was pretty busy, as was the left lane - both were doing 70+.

I found a break, passed the Dodge, then pulled back into the right lane where there was nobody - absolutely nobody in front of me for as far as I could see.

I looked back to see the silver Dodge signal, then pull into the middle lane - still doing 60mph apparently, because people started passing on the left and right sides of him. Still... there was only me (doing about 72 at that point) in front of him in the right lane.

So here's the question: Why on earth would someone doing 10mph under the limit decide they needed to suddenly get into the middle lane like that? I'm really not ranting - I see it all the time but it doesn't make sense to me unless you're in the city where the right lane is full of traffic going on and off the highway.

Any ideas?
 
Not being aware of his surroundings?

Stoopidity?

Intimidated by the shoulder of the road?

Who knows?!
 
Basil said:
Did he have New Mexico plates?

OR TEXAS?

I`v seen some pretty strange things when I was living down there.
Like someone going slow, moving over to the emergency lane {Continuing on at the same rate of speed} to let faster traffic pass even though the left lane {two lane highway} was clear. In Utah you`d get a ticket for driving in the emergency lane!

Slow pokes in the left lane {right beside another slow poke in the right lane }and refusing to move over even though traffic was backed up beyond imagination behind them!

Entering the freeway at 40 mph {having to STOP at the end of the on ramp to wait for an opening because traffic is doing 70+ mph} {extremely SHORT on ramps around Corpus, Christi Texas}

The best for last ..... Christmas tree reefs {the kind most of us hang on the door of our home} hanging on the grill of thier cars and trucks, blinking lights and all /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif

Some people!

I call it having thier head where the sun don`t shine! {If you need an explanation of where this is, let me know.}
 
Here I thought it was just a Florida thing. It seems that there are people out there who revel in driving 5 or 10 under the limit, holding up people.
 
I dunno... I can't figure any decent reason for it.

I noticed an SUV hauling a trailer last week doing the same thing. Lots of traffic in the left lane (at high speed). Lots of traffic in the center too. All the center traffic was passing left and right of this guy, but there were hardly any cars in the right lane at all. I cruised from Daytona all the way home in the right lane and never had to pass anyone except that guy in the center.

We have the acceleration lane "stoppers" here too, and a lot of them. I can sympathize if the highway is chuck full of cars doing 80, but when there are only a handful of cars out there why would you crawl down the acceleration lane then stop!?

I found a new one lately too (aside from the center-lane cruisers): you're cruising down a road at the posted speedlimit when you come upon a green light. Just before hitting the intersection the guy in front suddenly slows to a crawl. Not quite stopping, but crawling. He hits the light, then floors it. All I can figure is they're afraid the light might suddenly turn red so they slow down just in case. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif

Nearly all the new developments and new urban road projects around here feature round-abouts. I'm afriad. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
1965_MGB said:
Here I thought it was just a Florida thing. It seems that there are people out there who revel in driving 5 or 10 under the limit, holding up people.

In the left lane of a 3-4 lane highway. You forgot to mention that /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
aerog said:
So here's the question: Why on earth would someone doing 10mph under the limit decide they needed to suddenly get into the middle lane like that? I'm really not ranting - I see it all the time but it doesn't make sense to me unless you're in the city where the right lane is full of traffic going on and off the highway.

All I can come up with is knowing they have an exit coming up and not knowing if it will be left lane or right lane, so they want to be able to go either direction at the last second. Not probable, but a possible reason.
 
In north Alabama everybody thinks they own the left lane of a divided 4-lane highway regardless of their speed (which is usually slower than everybody else!)
 
Brooklands said:
All I can come up with is knowing they have an exit coming up and not knowing if it will be left lane or right lane, so they want to be able to go either direction at the last second. Not probable, but a possible reason.

I'll buy that as a decent reason, except they were locals (I could tell by the plate) and the next left-exit was about 80 miles away (hehe) /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
Basil said:
Did he have New Mexico plates?

I would be asking the same query except I would have to include Florida and Massachusetts as well. Seems to me there are just some drivers who are simply oblivous to all that goes on around him or her.
 
Maybe some people have a phobia for the shoulder/guard-rail??
 
What gets me is when someone is doing up to 10 under and you come to a passing lane and they move to the right for slower traffic and no matter how hard you try they will speed up and not let you pass. I found it happened in maine all the time until I was doing about 130kph in an 80 kph to get passed them. Not to say that it is only Mainers but that is where I travelled to mostly for the past 4 years
 
My favorite move is when I am trying to enter the freeway,accelerating to speed and the guy on the freeway is in the lane to exit...why do they always speed up to cut in front of me to get off the highway? It seems more logical that they would slow a little, let me merge into their space on the highway and they exit into my space and get off. Also...people who BRAKE on the highway when just letting off the gas would be adequate.
 
terriphill said:
Also...people who BRAKE on the highway when just letting off the gas would be adequate.

Don`t talk about my wife that way /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif


She drives me nuts whenever we go anywhere together and refuses to let me drive. {She deems me an agressive driver}
Maybe I am ......... But I never cut anyone off or cause them to try a panic stop on my behalf. AND I won`t follow you for 900 miles before I attempt to pass you if you are going a bit slower than traffic. *SMILE*
 
I was in the left lane of a four lane undivided highway this afternoon...at a stop light.

There was a blue-hair in a white Buick in front of me. (I thought blue-hairs always frove those bronze coloured Buicks!)

the light turned green...she waited a second....then put her turn signal on...and proceeded to turn RIGHT...in front of the other right hand lane (of cars going straight)...and in from of the folks in the right-hand turn lane!

We all just stopped...mouths open....and shrugged.
 
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