Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Yield the Left Lane

Have you ever been driving on the highway, cruising along, only to get stuck behind two cars traveling side by side at exactly the same speed? Have you ever found yourself idling along in the left lane, daydreaming, only to have a faster driver pass you on the right?

This behavior has a detrimental impact on gas mileage. Slow left-lane driving can have a ripple effect on traffic, backing it up, slowing it down or occasionally even causing full-fledged traffic jams.

In fact, you probably didn't know this, but June is Lane Courtesy Month, as sponsored by the National Motorists Association. Now seems like the perfect time to become a more aware driver and make sure you always yield the left lane to faster traffic.

Related:
More Gas-Saving Moments of the Day (KickingTires)

Comments

[Spanky]

Biggest pet peeve ever!!!! Left lane's for passing people.

[Rich]

I live in Will County in Illinois. Now, if only we could get the cops to ticket these truck drivers going 10 mph under the speed limit who hog the left-hand lanes. Worse yet, these semi-trucks accelerate so slowly from the traffic lights in the left-hand lanes that they serve the same function as a cork bobbing around in the liquid going down the neck of a funnel. Large trucks should be required to stay in the right-hand traffic lanes. This would definitely lessen the traffic congestion on the roads in Will County (especially on the highways and interstates within 15 miles of the inter-modal shipping yards in southern Will County).
It seems like it would be such an easy fix to improve traffic congestion and save on fuel usage, yet nobody does anything about it? Why? Trucking industry lobbiests carry so much clout downstate in Springfield?

[Spanky]

Rich,

I believe the trucks in the left lane is a personal greed attribute. People are doing what is best for themselves....ONLY. They need to start thinking in what is best for themselves AND everybody else.

A perfect example is when you see a sign that says LEFT LANE CLOSED IN 2 MILES. You know if everybody were to begin merging at that point, you may slow down 10mph because of traffic compression, but traffic would flow far more efficiently. Instead though, you know there are many that now jump into the now vacated left lane to "skip ahead" of everyone that is getting in line. Now EVERYONE will be forced to wait as this person forces someone to break when merging last minute. It only takes a couple people to ruin it for everybody and make you sit while they merge.

[LM]

Hey Spanky - people who merge miles ahead are wasting precious roadway capacity. The merge is at the merge point, not 2 miles before it.

As far as left lane hogs - they seem to be omnipresent here in Mass. Down south and out west people were more aware of hogging the left lane. Here, people enter an empty highway and go right for the left lane, then stay there until 100' before their exit and cut across 3 lanes to reach the offramp.

They need to be given a lesson...

[markt]

drivers in this country need more education when it comes to getting a license. It takes much longer and its more expensive to get a DL in european countries. From seeing this myself, in germany, the left lane is never hogged by anyone. and they have fewer traffic jams then us.

[Ira]

I lived in Germany for 9 years and can state first hand that the left lanes are often hogged even on the bahn. Germany only has fewer traffic jams than the US because it's a much smaller country. To imply they don't have them or have fewer of them is misleading as I've been involved in more than I care to recall. Ever been through Munich between 4 and 6? You will encounter traffic jams.

[Spanky]

LM,

I grasp your concept of roadway capacity. Although my comment was to BEGIN to merge at the 2 miles point. Far to many people run right to the point where they HAVE to merge and then consessions have to be made. We cannot ALL merge at the last moment. That is physically impossible. The person behind you has to check up to let you in if you are indeed @ capacity in the merge-to lane. That's just a one car jumping in line scenerio as well. Think about it like a zipper (weave). Zippers are more likely the jam up if you rip them up/down. They however are very effective when the prongs are equa-spaced. I'm saying people wait too long to start the weave and you end up waiting at the back of the line for traffic to decompress.

[LM]

If everyone is going the same speed then merging at the merge point is quite doable and efficient. What happens is you get people acting irrationally and slowing down long before they have to.

The other thing I noticed living in rural PA is truckers who coordinate and block both lanes and go 25mph miles before a merge. That should be illegal and they should be punished for traffic infringement.

[Spanky]

"If everyone is going the same speed then merging at the merge point is quite doable and efficient"

I still beg to differ LM. At the merge point is too late. 10 cars don't go into 5 holes...people will check up in the merge-to lane because they have to. I say get in when you fit in. @ 70mph and a packed 2 lane interstate that 2 miles to left lane closure comes up really quick. If there are gaps in traffic, by all means blast past I say, but this quite often seems to happen when when people get greedy and jump when there are no free holes in the lane.

[J]

Just get off the DAMN PHONE!

Every lane will be good.

[Juan Carlos]

but what if they are driving 70mph when the speed limit is 65? and shouldn't we be driving 55 anyway?

[Troy S.]

How about using a turn signal? On an 80 mile trip I took this weekend, I counted 23 vehicles out of hundreds that actually used a signal.

And.... to the morons who nearly PIT you on the highway.... yeah.... the ones who barely clear your front bumper as the begin to merge in front of you.

Then there's the folks who think 25 mph over the limit is O.K...... I actually once saw someone get rear ended in the fast lane by a 25 MPH over achiever.

The folks who drive thier vehicle with one out of 3 break lights working...

We could go on and on here.....

[DL]

LM,
not everyone is as good a driver as you, to be able to handle a slalom-style lane change @ highway speeds right before hitting the orange cones. so invariably the jerks would say, "oh $#!%" and slam on the brake, cut in line, and cause everyone else to slam on the brakes.

but i agree w/ the lane hogging comment -- in MA, people often hog the left lane below the speed limit; but when you are going faster to pass, they'll speed up; then they slow down again if you couldn't pass.

[J]

LM,

Am I supposed to keep the speed when I see the light 0.3 mile away just turned red?