I have no problem with people going 55-60 on the RIGHT lanes. Coming home from the airport yesterday there was a guy cruising below speed limit on the far left lane, and a good 5-6 car line had formed on his ass and he had no problem just moseying along. (Slower) traffic keep right, pass on the left, if everyone kept that in mind it would save a lot of high blood pressure cases in the future.
ladies and gents, the select idiots in this thread is the SOLE reason why some of us suffer from road rage explaining why going slower than the flow of traffic is dangerous to you is like explaining the color red to a person born blind, good luck have fun
According to the link, he was going 58 in the area right where a 55 MPH limit merges into an area with a 65 MPH limit. Technically, he may have been speeding by 3 MPH when he was pulled over.
There's a MAXIMUM speed limit for a reason. There's also a minimum speed limit. And usually that's about 15 mph slower than the maximum. Going 7mph slower than the maximum I would think wouldn't be illegal, nor would it be detrimental to other drivers. Honestly if you can't recognize a car that's going 7 mph slower than you in time, then you are going too fast....or just not paying attention. And maybe instead of getting pissed off at those drivers that are going slower than you, you should put yourself in their shoes. Maybe they are driving at a speed that is comfortable to them, and so long as they are not below the legal limit and are driving in the right side lanes, then there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.
Isnt it also hazardous to go above the speed limit? I think most people try to go 70, arent most of the posted speed limits 60? And 65 when you get further away from downtown? (I dont think...for I45...it becomes 70 until past Conroe, towards Huntsville.)
Gladly. Person A is driving 8 MPH under the speed limit. Everyone else on the freeway is driving 8 MPH faster (most would be going faster than that, but for arguments sake, we'll assume everyone else is going the same speed). Person B enters the freeway, attempting to merge with traffic, but cannot reach the necessary speed because they are trapped behind Person A. Person B attempts to merge into the next lane, but is rear-ended by Person C who was keeping up with the flow of traffic. Now, Person B has whiplash, Person C has a busted radiator, and Person A drives along, completely ignorant of the accident they just caused. Then they should stay on the frontage/feeder roads. They don't have to get on the freeway. If you're not in much of a hurry (which, if you're driving that slow, you obviously aren't), you shouldn't mind waiting through a few red lights. But that's not what a freeway is for. The freeway is for destination-based driving: getting from point A to point B in the quickest, most direct way possible. If he can't handle that, he should get off the road.
Nice scenario. But you missed something. Person C should not be driving that fast on the lane next to the feeder where cars enter the freeway. Person B does not need to go fast to enter the freeway either. Person B can actually slow down and wait if he sees a car coming too close for him to enter the freeway. No car will hit person B from behind because they are waiting to enter the freeway.
Betterthan1 So are you saying that the freeway should be reserved for fast drivers? Old drivers and shy drivers pay taxes too. You don't think it is unfair that an old man has to take the bottom roads with a bunch of stop lights when he can get to his destination faster on the freeway? Of couse he is still slower than young drivers, but still faster than if he were on the bottom roads. Not just old people, some people might have some health problems or whatever. The point is, if they are licensed to drive, then they deserve the freeway just like anyone, as long as they are within the limits. And for the special case of this man, 58 MPH is not that slow.
I'd be really interested to know the average speed of traffic at any given time of day on the different freeways around town. I'm willing to bet it'd be close to the speed limit, if not a little under. Just my hunch though.
Person C was driving the speed limit, no more, no less. They are not in the wrong. Person B is accelerating to match the flow of traffic. They are MOST DEFINITELY not in the wrong. People who slow down/stop when entering a freeway are a menace, and the cause of countless accidents. You're ignoring the obvious cause of this whole problem: Person A deciding that the entire world needs to slow down because THEY don't want to drive faster. The rest of the drivers in this scenario were not speeding or driving recklessly. Person A was the problem. Person A should get the ticket.
Person A is entering the freeway, correct? The farthest right lane is the lane for slow people, correct? So why should he drive faster? And how is he causing accidents by slowing down traffic when he's still on the feeder to enter the freeway? Drivers on the feeder should not drive freeway speeds. All it takes is for driver B to wait a few seconds for driver A to enter and then he enters. Less than 10 seconds I gaurantee. Have you seen traffic lights for ramps before entering the freeways? No one says you have to drive like you've been driving on the freeway right when you enter it. Any car driving next to a ramp that connects the feeder to the freeway should know to slow down a bit.
Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying: a freeway is for high-speed driving . And you know who agrees with me? Websters Dictionary ("an expressway [high-speed divided highway] with fully controlled access"), Wikipedia ("a freeway is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles "), and just about anyone who's ever driven on a freeway. Just cause you are licensed and pay taxes does not give you the right to drive wherever/however you want. There are rules and expectations of drivers on the road, and one of them is that you maintain the flow of traffic. 58 in a 65 is too slow. It impedes the flow of traffic and puts other drivers at risk. Ticket worthy? That's up to the cop to decide.
Have you seen traffic lights on the ramps that connect the feeders to the freeways? Do you live in Houston? They have those in Houston. The purpose of that is to slow people down as they get into the freeway. And how do you go from a stop up to 65 MPH onto the freeway in that small stretch of about 20 feet from where the traffic light is and the actual freeway? Most people do not have sports cars. The same can be said for fast drivers. Just because you paid taxes that does not mean you can drive however fast you want. But we were talking about the scenario you came up with. A fast driver should not be driving on the right lanes, if a slow driver should not drive on the left lanes. But if a driver driving on the right lane is driving at the speed limit, then he should have no problem with a car entering the freeway.
Betterthan1 Think about this for a moment. You are probably young. But when you are old and you eyes are not as good and your reactions are not as fast, do you think you'll be able to drive like you do now? So would it be fair to put you off the freeway or ticket you if you drive a couple miles below the speed limit, (since you think 58 MPH in a 65 MPH zone is too slow)?
58 mph is faster than most roads anywhere that I know of. So are you supposed to go with the flow of traffic even if it disregards the law? I get crap for this all the time when I am driving in Memphis. I drive at the speed limit or just below it while 90% those driving in Memphis are going 10+ mph over the limit. Should I break the law just to keep up the flow of traffic?
Yes, I've seen them. Yes, I've lived in Houston. And most people hate them? Why? Because they create an unsafe traffic condition in which people must do exactly what you said: accelerate from 0-65 in .2 seconds. But you don't speed up to the speed you want. You speed up to match the flow of traffic. To do otherwise puts other drivers in danger. But let's get back to the original incident: he was driving at 58MPH in an area marked for 65. There's no mention of accelerating from a stop light or entrance ramp. Quite the opposite. He says that he was cruising at 58MPH deliberately. The fact that there was a 65MPH speed limit sign within sight of the spot where he was pulled over doesn't really support his case, either. But to expect the entire freeway system to alter their behavior (that is, to not drive at a high rate of speed, which is the purpose of a freeway) because you want to drive slowly is ludicrous.
