Minnesota: where drivers camp out in the fast lane (1 Viewer)

[Drew Bethel]

Having recently returned from England where I lived for one year, one of the first things I've noticed is the total disrespect for the fast lane in Minnesota. I mean, drivers camp out in the left lane and won't budge. Either they are too lazy or just plain clueless!
I think the system in England worked like a charm. Example, if there is a three lane motorway, the slowest traffic can be found in the far left lane, medium speed traffic in the center, and the fastest in the far right. And, it's actually illegal to pass on the left.
ok, rant over.

 

[Janna S]

I grew up in Minnesnowta and lived there until I went away to law school in California in my late twenties. Then I thought Minnesotans were poky drivers.

Now, after having lived in Alaska for twenty years, when I visit family in Minnesota I think they are all driving really fast (we have a dearth of good, fast highways up here). God knows what I will think if I ever visit California again!

But I do have fond memories of the Minnesota approach to four-way stops: "No, you go! Dat's OK!" "No, you go! I'll wait!" "No, no, you go first!"

 

[Ryan Peter]

Define camping out speed. Is 70 camping out? Is 75 camping out? Should I convert those to Kilometers per hour? To me, if I'm going 75 in the left lane, and the right lane is going 65 and is busy, and someone rides up behind me going 80, I don't feel the need to hit the brakes and squeeze into the right lane. However, if you're talking about someone going 65 in the left lane, then that's another case. But, I can say that doesn't happen a lot to me. I drive on 10 going East and West and used to drive 35W going North and South a lot. 10 seems pretty good, probably better than 35. Why do people drive 80 and over anyway? WTF is the rush, this is Minnesota we're talking about.
My biggest pet peeve is stop signs. Once a week I see someone sitting at a stop sign waiting for everyone else to go and holding up traffic because they actually have the rightaway.
PS Welcome Back

 

[Tom Johnson]

This thread could just as easily be about Maryland. They will camp out in the left lane even without any traffic in the other 3 or even 4 lanes. Ocasionally, one of them will move over when you come up behind them, and then inexplicably will move back to the left lane when you pass.

 

[ColinM]

I'll get over if someone's within 100 feet of my back bumper and there's room.

I drive 70, either lane, because that's about the farthest I want to push my '88 Mits pickup.

Come screaming up on me and ride my ass, though, and I'll pop the pup tent to spite you.

I'm passive 'till pushed.

Have a nice day, and welcome back!

 

[kevin_tomb]

in pennsylvania where I live its against the law to hang in the left lane unless you are in the midst of passing or about to turn off in 1/4 mile or less. Its called impeding the natural flow of traffic. I love when morons do that and a car comes behind them and flashes their brights and they still stay there, then all the sudden a red and blue light comes on from the dashboard...LOL...turns out to be a unmarked state police car.....MAKES ME CRACK UP AT THE IDIOTS....

 

[Leo Hinze]

Minnesota, and any other place in America, does not have a monopoly on general disregard for rules of the road and discourteous drivers. Nor do they have a monopoly on judgemental statements like 'camp out in the fast lane'.

I think a major problem is people with poor to nonexistent lane discipline. If you're not actively and promptly passing someone, stay as far to the right as possible. When passing, pass in a reasonable amount of time. These are not my personal preferences and feelings - these are the rules of the road.

Dave brings up a good point. A problem with 'slower traffic keep right' is what to do when you're already exceeding the speed limit, and making reasonable progress, but there are people behind you that want to go faster. This often happens in heavy traffic here in Houston. My solution - give and take on both parties part. I tend to drive fast. However, I am more than happy to slow down a bit and let someone faster go by. I would much rather have my trip take 15 seconds longer than to have some bonehead hang less than a car length off my bumper in his attempt to make his trip 15 seconds shorter. Of course, the other driver could back off to a reasonable distance and be happy making whatever progress he is making.

Anywhoo, I just realized that I could rant about poor driving habits and disregard for the rules for quite a while. I shall now commence lurking once more.

Leo

"Please, think of the kittens."

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Minnesotans are repressed. Ask anybody.

We have been conditioned--almost to the point of brainwashing--to recognize (if not adhere to) the line between right and wrong as taught by the Lutheran church. We know 55 is the speed limit--absolutely! But sometimes we do not follow that rule because we have also been taught to be 30 minutes early for everything. Caught in the trap between two sets of conflicting rights and wrongs (going slow vs. being late and going fast vs. being on time), we sometimes throw morality out the window and drive like hell (but feel terrible about it afterwards). So when we do decide to slow down and go 55, we invariably slip over to the left lane in a subconcious effort to exert our situational morality on everybody behind us, as if, in doing so, we can undo all our previous speeding in the eyes of God and the Lutheran church.

There's your answer.

 

[DaveBB]

I noticed that both Minnesota and Wisconsin drivers are both very bad about camping out in the fast lane.

Louisiana and Mississippi drivers are even worse though. I think I passed more on the right becuase so many people camped out in the fast lane.

Oddest drivers though: Kentucky. Nice, almost to the point of being meek in the city. But on the interstate you'd better floor it. I swear the average speed of traffic from Louisville to Lexington in more than 90mph.

 

[Leo Hinze]

Hell, even I am a LLC in Lousiana. I tried to obey the rules, and drive in the right lane. But the roads there are such crap - the expansion joints in the right lane are like speedbumps. At least in the left lane, they are only a few inches tall. I am personally willing to cut people some slack in Lousiana due to extenuating circumstances

 

[Stacie]

Yes, Drew, lots of Left Lane Campers on the Twin Cities freeways. I think it must be cluelessness -- I can't think of any other reason other than a pure desire to be a pain-in-the-ass, which is not generally typical of Minnesotans (though there are exceptions!) It's especially annoying when the highway is three or four lanes wide, and there's no one in any of the further right lanes. In cases like that, I'll pass on the right, though I don't like to.

I agree with ColinM, though -- 70-72 in a 55 is about as fast as I'm willing to go. If I'm doing 70 in the left lane and some a**hole starts riding my tail -- and it's difficult or inconvenient for me to move over to the right, then that's just too bad for him. I can't think of very many reasons why anyone would need to go more than 15 mph over the speed limit -- especially during rush hour!

A particularly bad stretch that I drive often is 35W between downtown Minneapolis and Roseville. I've often driven 75 through there and been passed by everyone else. Keep in mind, this is inside the 494/694 loop, so the speed limit is definitely 55. I am in no way a puritan about speed limits, but more than 20 mph over seems way excessive to me.

 

[Tom Johnson]

Of course as George Carlin has pointed out, anyone going slower than you is a jerk and anymore going faster is a maniac.

 

[Jay H]

Over here in NJ, there are signs all over the parkway (Not sure the turnpike) that say "Keep Right, except to pass" it doesn't say anything like "Unless you're going XX mph, keep right except to pass". Unfortunately, most people don't seem to care. Fortunately, I bike to work.
Jay

 

[CameronJ]

The worst state for this out west has to be Utah.

Not only do Utah drivers love the left lane (even on the open, not another car in sight, they're in the left lane), but when you pass on the right, they generally speed up. I don't know why, maybe it's a genetic predisposition, but upon reaching the exact same speed I'm driving, they decide that the best place to be is right in my blind spot!

Jay, my favorite in Jersey is how the second lane from the right on the GSP is almost always the fastest.

 

[DaveBB]

Hell, even I am a LLC in Lousiana. I tried to obey the rules, and drive in the right lane. But the roads there are such crap - the expansion joints in the right lane are like speedbumps. At least in the left lane, they are only a few inches tall. I am personally willing to cut people some slack in Lousiana due to extenuating circumstances

I understand what you are saying. I can't understand how a state that has no winter weather has such cruddy roads. It's understandable if Minnesota or Michigan has potholes and bad roads due to salt and short constructions season.

However I-55 through Mississippi has to be some of the best interstate I've ever driven when it comes to the quality of the road surface. The drivers are the ones that pissed me off. I think I had to pass on the right close to two dozen times in Mississippi even though I was doing maybe 75mph tops.

 

[Matt Stryker]

Which states enforce the "no passing on the right" rule? I've never heard it enforced in the South....

If traffic in Atlanta got any faster, they'd start numbering the curves in the road...."You were only going 80 coming out of turn 4; I'm going to have to take away your GA plates and replace them with Florida ones."

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

My biggest complaint about the left-lane-lifers is that they don't understand the principle of passing. If they are going 1 mph faster than the car in front of them, they will jump into the left lane and no matter what, they will not speed up to pass the car ahead of them. Meanwhile, people behind them that are going 10 mph faster have to sit and wait while he/she makes a ten minute pass. Here's a tip: if you get into the left lane, speed up by 10 mph. You can go back to the right lane and slow back down if you like, but at least have some common sense that the left lane will be moving faster than any other lane.
Bruce

 

[Ross Williams]

Here in Seattle it's an absolute free-for-all. Right, left, lane, those words mean nothing to drivers around here. People drive fast on the right, drive slow on the left and visa versa, all at the same time. The middle lanes tend to be the fastest. There's so much damn lane changing going on it's insane. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they place exits and entries on both sides of the freeway pretty much at random. Besides LA, Seattle has the worst traffic I've ever dealt with.

 

[Michael Silla]

Stacie wrote
"A particularly bad stretch that I drive often is 35W between downtown Minneapolis and Roseville. I've often driven 75 through there and been passed by everyone else. Keep in mind, this is inside the 494/694 loop, so the speed limit is definitely 55. I am in no way a puritan about speed limits, but more than 20 mph over seems way excessive to me."
I noticed this when I last visited the twin cities in Fall '96. There are some tricky kinks in the road there with a awkward left lane exit into downtown at one point. Having lived in Salt Lake for awhile now, I can tell you that in general, the pace on Twin city freeways seems SLOWER to me. Call me wierd, but I actually like the ramp meters. When they re-did I-15 over here, they installed them at every new freeway entrance - made me instantly think of Minnesota.
CameronM wrote
"The worst state for this out west has to be Utah"
Some nights I'd agree with you . Most nights though, this isn't my experience. Did you come into the Valley via I-80? - traffic is usually pretty slow there and yes I have noticed a few dawdlers. I drive through mostly Davis county daily to and from work through I-15. There are slowdowns yes (especially around Bountiful & Centerville) but for the most part traffic in the left lane is usually travelling at 80 mph or so.
I'm not proud of this and I'm not making this my excuse BUT tonight when I was making my way home I got frustrated with the Fast lane and made my way around traffic. Someone DARED to go 75 mph in the Left lane! . Well, when I completed my series of passes I noticed I was travelling nearly 100mph. NOT GOOD - for me or anyone else. Surprisingly, the speed differential between me and some of the other cars was probably only 10mph or so.
Gotta love Fridays!.
Michael.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Don't they cut up your license if they catch you doing 100MPH? Or they should?