magicglock wrote:That was not very nice. I stand corrected, courtesy is not contagious.
Okay, I take back the Jethro part, but you weren't being courteous either. Nor have a few other responders here, none of whom I "threw the first punch" to. Let's move on.
The point is that law states the speed limit is 65 mph on Beltway 8. It is seldom that in either lane. Even at the brisk clip of 80 mph, there are speeders, weavers, and tailgaters who want to go faster. Doing 65 mph in the right lane is not an option at certain times of the day. It causes anger in many drivers who get behind a 65'er. I see this everyday between I-45 and Hwy 59 on Beltway 8. Drivers are pushed into going 80 whether they like it or not. Drivers don't keep their distance either. They will camp on another car's rear while both are going 80. It's like NASCAR. Then someone up ahead does a lane change, a car brakes, then you have an accordion multi-car collision because there is no distance between cars. The lane change is usually caused by a slalom driver who speeds, weaves, and tailgates. He's insistent on going faster then the flow of traffic. This is more prevalent in the sections where the Beltway has only two lanes, like between I-45 and Hwy 59. There was an accident like this almost everyday, so I changed my departure time from 0615, to 0530. Guess what? The traffic at the earlier time is even faster. This is because there are less cars slowing down the pace. However, there is enough space for passing on the left, so if I am in the right lane, cars can pass easily on the left. I also ride with a 9500ix. These cars passing me at 90 will blow right past a constable. I know the constable has his radar on because my detector picks it up, yet they still don't pull over these speeders. It appears that all the constables want to do is clear the wrecks off of the freeways quickly. Then after passing Hwy 59 the traffic gets slightly more responsible, this is because on Beltway 8 between Hwy 59 and the Westheimer toll plaza there is a known speed trap. I do not believe it is the constables who patrol this section and give out the tickets. I think it is Bellaire police or some other department.
In any case, everybody is in a hurry, and as illustrated in this thread, they have their own concepts of what is right and wrong. Like in my first post, the pickup truck driver thinks he's right, the Lexus driver thinks he's right. The pickup driver pulls a gun. He probably still thinks he was right, and by the way, he was passing on the right to get in front of the Lexus.And just for the record, passing on the right is illegal if the car in front you is doing the speed limit. This is because that car in front may also be trying to pass but is doing so at the posted speed limit.