I Got My Lane

What is it with people driving on the road with the attitude of “I got My Lane”? We see it all the time, some clown driving 10 miles below the speed limit in the left lane, refusing to merge to the right lane. Did you know that in Virginia it is illegal to drive in the left lane? The law prohibits people from driving below the speed limit in the left lane, or from being in the left lane if they are not passing another car or turning left. But just about everyone does it. I think that if you get passed more than twice while you are in the left lane, then you need to move to the right lane. There is no reason for you to be in the left lane, driving slowly.

I particularly hate the idiot that will insist on matching the speed of the person in the lane next to them, making it impossible for anyone else to get around them. I’ve yet to figure out why this seems to be a game to some people. It must be some kind of mental block with them. I hate driving side-by-side with another vehicle. But about once every couple of days, sure enough, some joker will try to match my speed and drive side-by-side with me. If I slow down, they do too, if I speed up they will try to match my speed. It’s not like they are looking at me while I drive or anything, it’s just something that these people do.

Semi-trucks seem to be big offenders of this as well, they will be side-by-side at a stop light, and both take 6 weeks to get up to speed, and then one will be a few feet ahead of the other one, but never get to the point where they can pass. After 3-4 miles of this game one of the two slows down and tucks in behind the other until the next stop light.

How about the moron that will drive 20-30 miles faster than anyone else? It doesn’t matter what lane you are in, they will rocket up through the pack behind you and climb right up on your ass as though they want to change your radio station or something. Regardless of the lane, you are in, they want in that lane. The best part is when they finally go around you and take off like their car is on fire, and you see them pulled over a few miles up the road, by the cops.

Now I firmly believe in trying to drive in front of a pack of cars as that tends to be the safest location to be in, but I don’t consider myself a fast driver. I usually hang within 5 miles of the speed limit, but usually in front of the pack or in the back of the pack.