In the city it is definitely usable for navigation purposes, getting to the intended destination.
So is the right lane. If you’re driving the same speed as the car in front of you, you have no reason to use the left lane. Unless you’re making a left turn. Right?
Nah, if it’s in the city (or in a small town with 4 lane roads and low speed limits), you’ll see semis use the left lane for the same reason I do: the right lane stops a lot due to right turns.
If I’m going straight, or right eventually, I wouldn’t use the left lane to pass people when driving in the city. That’s just lane surfing and not very safe driving.
I don’t think it’s lane surfing if you’re not changing lanes. Anyway, this comment section has made me realize that it always just depends. Drive aware, keep safe distance, don’t unnecessarily change lanes, let people pass (on the left) if they’re going faster than you, etc.
The best advice I ever got about driving was “be predictable.” I think if anyone really takes that to heart empathetically then it would be safer.
I dont agree, I use the left lane frequently to not have a car in front of me. Increases visibility and security a lot, and just gives a nice feeling of not being blocked.
I do drive a bit faster than cars in the right lane almost always though.
Sure, I do the same thing sometimes. But I also pay attention and move to the right when I see someone catching me from behind. And I especially don’t drive at the exact same speed, side-by-side with the car in the right lane. And yet I see other drivers do that constantly.
Some people seem to think of it like a moral crusade or a pissing contest and they feel emasculated if another vehicle passes them. The sociology of automobiles and traffic is endlessly fascinating to me, although I often forget my intellectual curiosity when I’m actually driving 😅
No I drive fast enough to never have cars behind me. :) So Im actually not part of the problem the thread was discussing, with drivers just driving the same speed in the left lane. That is really frustrating when people do that.
I would go as far as saying that this behavior of driving faster in the left lane helps to make traffic flow a lot better and avoid congestion. But it’s not legal.
If you’re driving the same speed as the car in front of you, you have no reason to use the left lane
What if the car in front of you is driving at the same speed but heading right at you? Or if there is an angry T-Rex in the right lane?
