Righteous Right Laners

[Fatjim]

I asked the local paddy wagon driver if it was policy for them to sit in the right hand lane from Upper Hutt to Wellington at 85kph.

Got a totally expected sub 100 IQ response from the uniformed cunstable.

He did get the message when I pulled in front of him on another occasion, slowed down and gave him the "wanker" sign although I was generous, and didn't use the tweezer version.

[Ixion]

I am throughly in favour of slow drivers sticking to the right hand lane.

The result is that the left lane is nice and clear for me to tootle past . The pinnacle is the special lanes marked for "Slow traffic" on the Auckland motorwyas. Since no driver will EVER be so humble as to admit that he is a slow driver, noone uses them. Even when the other lanes are totally congested. Whilst I, being the slowest of slow riders, tootle merrily on my way and leave them behind.

[Badjelly]

I am throughly in favour of slow drivers sticking to the right hand lane. The result is that the left lane is nice and clear for me to tootle past.

You do realise that passing on the left is considered by Poms, Europeans and other immigrants unwilling to adapt to our culture(*) as a crime against decency and public order.

(*) You know who you are!

[Ixion]

Yes. I do realise. Sucks to be them. 'lesser breeds, without the Law' and all that. This is Godzone, we rewrite the Rules.

[Mikkel]

• Drivers who absolutely refuse to move over - no matter how patient or insistant you are to get by. W A N K E R S

Honestly I haven't encountered any other kind than that one...

Many other drivers in many many other countries can get it right. How come drivers here cant?

No Formal Driver Training.

You do realise that passing on the left is considered by Poms, Europeans and other immigrants unwilling to adapt to our culture(*) as a crime against decency and public order.

(*) You know who you are!

Well, in the holy name of integration one has to learn how to adapt. If there are two lanes and the left lane is free I'll pass anything in the right lane that I can get away with And I couldn't care less if the right-hand lane is a passing lane, if you don't accelerate fast enough to keep in front when you enter the passing lane, too bad.

Desperate circumstances requires desperate measures. As such one has to compromise with ones traffickal manners.

[cs363]

I find this a fascinating topic.

I worked as a sales rep around Auckland for over 20 years, travelling the motorway at all times of the day, every day of the week. I have spent a huge amount of time on the open roads of the Nth Island, and even now I still clock up 50-70,000kms annually in a variety of vehicles and bikes.

The motorway/open road speed limit is a blunt instrument. The limit of 100kph is applied universally to young and old regardless of skill level or experience (and this diatribe isn't a criticism of the speed limit as such!). It is also applied across the board to 1956 Morris Oxfords and 2008 Porsche GT3's. Now, I spent a lot of time in old Morris Oxfords in my distant youth, and I'm here to tell you that they don't have brakes. They have a centrally mounted floor pedal that when jumped on with both feet in anger will cause the car to gently slow down, but stopping quickly is an unknown concept to an Oxford driver. Emergency stops are executed exclusively by hitting an unmoveable object. Combined with glow-worms at the front thoughtfully provided by Joe Lucas, a set of crossply tyres, and a top speed (on a good day!) of 115kph, one can only marvel in amazement that these vehicles are legally allowed to proceed on our open roads at the same 100kph as everyone else. Yet our yuppie 2008 Porsche GT3 driver can be pinged for 111kph by an impartial hidden camera van in the name of road safety, and nobody has too much sympathy because he clearly has too much money anyway!!! This in a vehicle capable of almost three times our speed limit.

I realise that there are some places where higher speeds aren't desirable, but my point is that the capabilities and safety margins of the different vehicles on our roads vary widely, as do the drivers.

The pet frustrations I experience are:
* the slow drivers in the fast lane on motorways
* folk who don't appreciate how dangerous it is to fake-brake the cars behind to get them to slow down. Last time I checked, the cops don't like that practice either since it has resulted in several nasty accidents
* the drivers on the open road that travel at 80-90kph until they hit overtaking lanes and then inexplicably speed up to 115 so that nobody else can overtake
* vehicles that are clearly travelling together in convoy, sitting below the speed limit yet travelling so close together that nobody can jump one car at a time, yet it's too dangerous to overtake two or three cars in one go
* cars or trucks that are travelling below the speed limit and are aware of it, and pull over to the far left of the road into the gravel even though it's not remotely possible to overtake safely, so you get sprayed with stones and debris

If I have someone wanting to overtake me, I let them go. I figure that they can keep the cops occupied, not me. Staying in the left lane also draws less attention from police.

Of course, choosing a lane in peak-hour traffic on a multilane motorway where the vehicles are moving at 5kph is a completely different situation, and becomes a game of strategy and forward planning!

My $0.02

I gave you bling for that - brilliant, reasoned post! (What the hell are you doing on KB? lol)

[Biggles2000]

I try very hard not to be bothered by other road users. Its not worth the effort all you end up with is an ulser. I used to get wild when I was held up, passed, hell anything and did some pretty stupid out of control things, but I try not let other drivers drag me down to that level anymore, I can't improve others driving but I can control how I react to it.
I was in Ak recently and I didnt think the traffic was too bad, sure it was very heavy and slow but on the whole the standard of driving was OK, more considerate and better than down here.

[ElCoyote]

Its fine if some of you think its wrong, I think speeding is wrong.

It's your attitude and thinking that's wrong. Exceeding an arbitary limit that's designed to cater to the lowest common denominator which is YOU is harmless if you exceed that criteria, which you obviously don't. Sell your 50cc Zundaap moped and catch a Cullen train................oh and by the way it's brakes not breaks.............but then again them's the breaks.

[Maffoo]

wow what a thread .... im gonna add my opinion

i ride a bike, drive a car, & also drive a great big fuckin truck

& no matter what im in, or on... ill move over for anyone who obviously is faster than me, & only sit in the right hand lane if im going past someone (i get overtaken on my bike ALL THE TIME)

its a damn shame common courtesy isnt taught at driving schools
actually its a damn shame driving schools are compulsory to getting a license....

[Swoop]

its a damn shame common courtesy isnt taught at driving schools
actually its a damn shame driving schools are compulsory to getting a license....

You are quite right there. Courtesy is forced onto us in the guise of "cultural sensitivity" but totally useless.
I get concerned with a lot of the driving schools as well. You see them teaching the student to drive in the middle f*cking lane on the motorway ffs!

[Maffoo]

holy crap what a typo

i ,eamt its a shame driving schools arent compulsary

[DEATH_INC.]

Interesting thread.....dunno if it's been said yet (don't wanna read through 10 pages) but some of the worst culprits are on here....I've lost count of the amount of times I've ridden down the motorway on a group ride with 20 kB'ers all pootling down the right lane with some poor bugger in a cage trying to get past........bikes are supposed to keep left too....

[twinkle]

And how can i be holding anyone up when i am going between 100 and 110 when the posted limited is 100k's an hour.

I am one of the evil cagers that sit in the right hand lane on the motorway doing between 100 - 110k's and I will not move over to the left

and the speed limit is 100, if you going faster than me at 110 then you can bloody wait

If i get someone that is sitting on my butt in a car, I have no problem slamming on my breaks to get you to back off, if that does not work i will then find a car to the left of me doing 90 and I will slow down to 90.

Breaking the law, and driving dangerously, to try to enforce the speed limit law on other road users... wtf?

[trumpy]

sprag you're an idiot. It's your job to obey the law, not be the law.(try reading it and you'll see...failing that, go and find a good lawyer to explain it to you....very slowly...)

[PrincessBandit]

OMG, I haven't bothered reading the whole 9 yards (or 10 pages) either. Don't know if my brain would cope. But at the risk of just saying what others have said, adding my support to them, if i'm travelling in the right lane and there's no one else in the immediate vicinity I'll sit there at whatever speed I'm doing until i feel like moving over. If I'm doing 115/120 and someone is tailgating me and there's nowhere for me to move left then that's tough noogies for them; if I can move I will but I won't be hassled by some impatient git who wants to give me vehicular herpes. I have also been know to slow down to 45 to piss off people who tail gate from speeding in 50 kph zones. Petty I know, and plenty of you out there who'd give me the "all you'll do is make them more angry and you could contribute to them causing an accident further down the line". But my reply to that is - they'll probably cause one whether or not I piss them off further. It is annoying when you are normally a considerate driver/rider to have wankwits hassling you to break the law just because you're holding them up from breaking it.
So glad I got that off my chest.