Pulled Over by DPS

[txflyer]

And that is why different speeds are well managed in Germany on the autobahn. Drive right is strictly enforced as it should be here. I don't know how many times on the Bush turnpike I have to move all the way to the right lane to pass the idiots who aren't even doing the speed limit (70).

I really wish the troopers would write them up.

[pbwalker]

...some areas I've seen the sign that the left lane was for passing only...but I'm just testy enough that if that isn't the case, and I'm on an interstate doing the speed limit or a bit over, and someone comes flying up flashing and blowing and trying to make me hit my brakes and blend in with slower traffic in the right lane so that they can fly on by much faster than other traffic...just because they think they're more important than the others on the road....weeeeeeelllllllll...sometimes they get ignored...as far as an underlying blanket law requiring us to keep right unless passing...not aware of it...some folks just think they're too important to wait in line, be inconvenienced by others' presence in life, or take a number...their attitudes don't change mine....

I'm not supporting those who drive way above the speed limit, but I do need to attack you logic here a bit. You are being at least as selfish as the speeders here by not moving over. Frequently those who want to stay in the left lane and not yield to faster traffic just don't want to be inconvenienced by others and driving slowly in the left lane is the easiest way to avoid coming upon slower drivers in front of you.

I do about 5 over, I pass in the left and drive in the middle. When someone else wants to go much faster than I do, I try to weigh out how much slowing I will need to do to let them over before passing the next car vs how much slowing they will need to do to wait for me to pass. Sometimes I get inconvenienced by having to slow, other times they do. Seems like a fair trade to me, common courtesy and all that. =)

x 10

[Big Tuna]

As long as traffic cops give "professional courtesy" to off duty cops, that's an admission they don't think speeding is wrong. As long as cops on the highway (not code 3) are speeding, they say with their actions louder than words that speeding is not wrong. It's proof speeding tickets are simply another way for the government to collect money.

[speedsix]

...srothstein...that is NOT what it says...you posted this: "... An operator of a vehicle on a roadway moving more slowly than the normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing conditions shall drive in the right-hand lane available for vehicles, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless the operator is:..." and then interpreted it wrongly to fit your argument... if you'll read my post, I was moving at or perhaps slightly above the speed limit (normal speed...not more slowly)...so that which you quoted does not apply to my situation...

...tallmike...I didn't say I was driving slowly in the left lane...driving at or slightly above the posted speed is what I said...and your weighing situation, while nice and reasonable...doesn't apply to someone who wants to shovel me into the slower right-hand lane, causing me to have to slow down and blend in order to change lanes...so that they can zoom on by...why should I enable their excessive speed??? Selfish??? maybe...could it get me a ticket someday? I doubt it...unless the lights that are flashing are red and blue...there is no legal requirement unless posted to slow down and re-enter the slower right-lane traffic just so someone else can drive faster in the left lane than I already am...

[Keith B]

...srothstein...that is NOT what it says...you posted this: "... An operator of a vehicle on a roadway moving more slowly than the normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing conditions shall drive in the right-hand lane available for vehicles, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless the operator is:..." and then interpreted it wrongly to fit your argument... if you'll read my post, I was moving at or perhaps slightly above the speed limit (normal speed...not more slowly)...so that which you quoted does not apply to my situation...

You are missing the key point here. 'Normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing conditions' is NOT the posted speed limit, it is the speed at which traffic is currently moving, so yes, it would apply to you if you were moving slower than other traffic on the roadway at the present time (whether below or above the speed limit.)

[speedsix]

...the word you're contesting is "normal"...and you're saying that because a lot of folks like to speed much over the limit, that that's normal? nope...not buying that argument...there've been too many times I've pulled a speeder out of traffic and his argument was that "everyone else" was speeding just as much or more than he was...that doesn't make it normal...that doesn't make it right....and the judge has told more than one of them that no matter what someone else was doing...he was breaking the law....the point was not missed...there just is no reasonable way to justify the "right" of someone to demand the law-abiding to move out of their way so that they can break the law more flagrantly...that's what's gotten this country into the mess we're in...


...Webster's defines normal as conforming with an acceptable standard or norm....I believe the speed limit that's posted by law would qualify....


...the whole point of this discussion for me is this: no matter what our feelings/opinions are about the situation...whether it would be wiser, nicer, more polite, more peaceable, more servile for me to yield to the person who's trying to commandeer the left hand lane...it is NOT legally required unless so posted(or there is another statute that says so) and to give the driver mentioned his wishes is not worth the trouble for me to hit my brakes and try to blend into slower right-lane traffic, when he could just as well calmly wait till I'd finished passing them, and then do as he pleased about passing...why should I let him bully me into giving up my rightful, legal place on the road, just so that he can do as he pleases???

[Keith B]

...the word you're contesting is "normal"...and you're saying that because a lot of folks like to speed much over the limit, that that's normal? nope...not buying that argument...there've been too many times I've pulled a speeder out of traffic and his argument was that "everyone else" was speeding just as much or more than he was...that doesn't make it normal...that doesn't make it right....and the judge has told more than one of them that no matter what someone else was doing...he was breaking the law....the point was not missed...there just is no reasonable way to justify the "right" of someone to demand the law-abiding to move out of their way so that they can break the law more flagrantly...that's what's gotten this country into the mess we're in...

I didn't say you weren't breaking the law if you are speeding. That section refers to the speed traffic is moving and never implies anything about the posted limit. If you notice, the word 'conditions' is placed in there. So, let's take an example, it is a little foggy and you don't feel it is safe to drive over 35 in a posted 55 MPH zone. While it may not be, you are to pull over to the right and allow faster traffic (who want to drive 40) to pass you. You are NOT the person who can enforce this at that point, you are just another driver, so you are not the one who dictates who can drive faster than you or not.

Now, on the speeding, who is to say by blocking that lane and not allowing someone to go a little over the speed limit safely, that you are not hindering them getting to the hospital due to an emergency (wife delivering baby, kid started having severe asthma attack in the car and hospital is 1 mile up road, etc.) There CAN be reasons to speed and it is not your job as a civilian (or retired LEO) to slow them down.

[speedsix]

...this hasn't been at all about driving SLOWER in the left-hand lane...like your "foggy" example...but driving AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE the posted speed...your first paragraph has nothing to do with anything I posted...your second paragraph adds a lot to the discussion that wasn't there...and my answer remains the same...they can wait till I've passed the slower traffic, then pass me...unless they're an emergency vehicle...you're grasping for a way to justify the driver...and he's not justifiable...our standard answer when we found a true emergency was to tell them to slow down and get there...not causing a wreck...and we'd usually offer an escort....
...with the facts as I posted them...there's just no reason to yield to the speed demon's wishes...


...being correct is not always nice...and being nice is not always correct...why do we let people break in line on the highway just because they're in a vehicle??? You wouldn't let someone shove you out of line at the grocery store, would you???

[Big Tuna]

If they meant posted limit they would have said that instead of referring to other vehicles.

[speedsix]

...do you really believe that speeding is normal, even on dry roads in clear weather??? if 5 cars are doing above the limit, let's say...10 mph...does that make them the normal? No, they're 5 speeders, driving ABnormally for conditions...popular opinion doesn't negate posted limits...

[speedsix]

...the one thing that would change my mind about this is for someone to show me a statute(law) that dictates that I'm wrong to continue driving legally where I have a right to be...and I haven't seen that...feelings and opinions and ideas aside...tell me factually why my opinion is wrong and yours is right...that's winning the argument...

[Big Tuna]

If they meant posted limit they would have said that instead of referring to the speed of other vehicles.

"the normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place"

[speedsix]

...I'm being redundant to say again...normal is not what several choose to do...normal is what is expected...within norms...guidelines...laws...set by society...in this case...speed limits...posted speed limits...and "at the time and place" does not change what is normal where speeds HIGHER than the posted limit are involved...only LOWER...as in fog, ice, or heavy rain conditions making most cars go slower..in which case, it would apply...the only case I can think of where HIGHER than posted speeds would affect the NORMAL...would be if an officer was directing traffic, ordering the left lane to proceed at high speed for some reason...never saw that happen...but it's possible...
...normal means normal posted speeds or below...speeding well above the speed limit is not normal...


...I don't see any point in continuing to argue the same things...if anyone finds a specific Texas law that I need to be aware of...I'd like to see it...

[tallmike]

Its possible to be redundant and obtuse. You are not even trying to see the other viewpoints, you just keep stating how yours is correct when an argument is made.

Its OK to say "I don't like speeders, so I am going to attempt to slow them down by driving in the left lane"

That would negate any further arguments these folks can make against you. You aren't doing it because it is legal, you are doing it because you want to. Folks can argue that something is legal or illegal all day, its hard to argue with someone that says "I just wanna"

[PUCKER]

And that is why different speeds are well managed in Germany on the autobahn. Drive right is strictly enforced as it should be here. I don't know how many times on the Bush turnpike I have to move all the way to the right lane to pass the idiots who aren't even doing the speed limit (70).

I really wish the troopers would write them up.

I really love me some autobahn!!

Words cannot express how awesome it is to drive it! Drivers over there have a totally different mindset, at least from my personal experience. My experience was that those that wanted to go slow kept right (also those that were mandated, in certain sections, to do that - ie - trucks), those that were cruising along kept in the middle, those that were hauling were in the left lane and then would move one lane over after passing, and stay there again until passing.