Saturday, December 30, 2006

Driving Ethics and Etiquette

I ran into (figuratively) an automobile quandary today. Legally, we are supposed to observe posted speed limits, and slower traffic is supposed to keep to the right on multi-lane roads. In the great big reality outside the driver's manual, people speed, so in practice, the slower traffic is often that traffic that is obeying the posted speed limit.

Such is the situation that led to my quandary. I was doing 55 mph in a 55 mph zone of a freeway with 2 lanes in each direction. As is my practice, I kept to the right lane. Then I approached an onramp packed with cars. I changed to the relatively unoccupied left lane to give the cars room to merge on, but kept doing 55, in no small part because I was approaching a favorite spot for the highway patrol to nab speeders and it's a big speeding ticket weekend. Cue a half dozen or so cars to come barreling up behind me in the left lane. However, the line of cars from the onramp is still getting up to highway speed, so there is maybe two car lengths between them. Clearly, it would be a mile or two before I had a shot at getting back into the right lane. I could just feel the road rage at their sudden inability to continue going 65-70 mph.

I merged back right as soon as I had an opening, but in the meantime, should one stand one's ground and obey the speed limit, or exceed posted speed limits so as not to have cars stacking up on one's flank?

Comments are open, folks.
Nimrod: switch left and right

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you should do what you are comfortable with ... don't let everyone else bully you into going against your nature ... you will be the one that has to deal with the consequences, whatever they may or may not be.

Anonymous said...

I was going to express exactly the same sentiments as your other poster, butin my own words.

You are in front, you have control.

I hate the quandary, too, but would do what you did.

L>R got you, ta.

Nimrod