My mother told me decades ago she just got in the left lane and drove 55.

She had no idea what the left lane was for but it made freeway driving easier for her.

Right out of the Tennessee Driver's Manual:

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I commuted for over a decade in my R-22E SR-5 Toyota truck into DC and then to CT on I-95, NJTP then the Merritt to the Sikorsky Factory: Averaged 3 round trips a month.

The R-22E is a renowned engine for durability and reliability...once I got going is was all energy management.

Left lane kerfuffles? I have seen things.

LLH's do it because it is convenient for them, they don't have to deal w/ merging traffic from the right or w/ people cutting them off from the left or changing lanes to pass anyone, They are in the no brains, no action required zone

My wife was. She just didn't know. I explained, first, it's the law "slower traffic keep right" or "right lane for passing only", and then people that want to go fast will get pissed and tailgate and do stupid stuff. It's better to move over and let them pass so they don't harrass you and end up doing stupid stuff to you or someone else.
I think most folks are clueless, but I absolutely know folks that consciously think "I'm going the speed limit. No one needs to go faster. I'm policing the rules and protecting everyone from the people behind me" or something very similar to that.
Absolutely all true. You're a lawyer. I haven't been able to find anything that says that passing on the right (in a lane of a multilane road) is actually illegal in Texas. What I found was that passing on the right (on the shoulder) is illegal, but I couldn't find anything that said that passing on the right is illegal as long as you're in a lane. I do understand that passing on the left is a best practice.
Yep, except that I don't think most use cruise. That's why as you creep past some of them, they'll speed up and match your speed. Or if they come up to another vehicle, they'll often slow down to match the other vehicle's speed.

I frequently use my cruise, and it's not uncommon for me to pass the same person 2-4 times because they speed up and slow down at random. There have also been times when I was in the left lane, and another car steadily rolled up behind me so I moved over. Then that vehicle will get next to me or just a hair past me and slow down to match speed with me (because they aren't paying attention or running cruise). On a wide open highway I don't want to have you glued to the side of my front bumper. If I can't shake them by slowing down or speeding up, I'll sometimes left lane camp. These types seem perfectly happy to follow behind someone. If I keep them behind me, then I don't have to deal with them yo-yoing back and forth past me or more irritating, they are a tiny bit ahead, pull up next to some other car that's going 5mph slower, and then they slow down to match. Now I'm stuck behind both of them.
Wouldn't work/matter. They passed the test the first time without having a clue. A second test won't improve things.
just move over, then move back over. Clearly you don't need to move over if it's not safe, but speed up or slow down until it is safe, and let them by.

The only time I get out of the left lane is when I have to pass on the right .

This is exactly what I was getting at with my question. I have absolutely no trouble whatsoever with anyone in the left lane so long as they are passing cars in the right lane. I don't mean just creeping by, a couple mph faster, but passing with conviction. No problem at all.

It's not my place to expect them to speed more to accommodate me. Once it is safe for them, without having to alter their speed to move over, common courtesy dictates that is what they should do.

Yes, they'll pass someone, dive back in, and then slow down to the same speed (or less) as the person that they just passed.

I've also been on the freeway at night or in the unusual circumstance that it's mostly empty, and seen someone get on at an on ramp and shoot across all lanes (sometimes 4-5) to get in the left lane despite the other lanes being empty (and in some ways, safer).

I have a theory and that is that some folks are afraid when they drive, and feel safer when driving in the left lane because there are no cars on the driver's side of the car.

I assume that all left lane slow-pokes have defective rear view mirrors...

Yup.

Hell, I don't even need plenty of room, but I'm not going to cut in on another driver just so someone can catch the next car shortly after I let them pass.


_

I sure hope so.

i'm fixin' to get on I-40 and head west all the way to CA. Gonna drive in the left lane at 56 mph too! Think I'll have my right turn signal on the just for grins....

Blasting Sammy Hagar (only one song tho') the whole trip....

Yeah :)

That absolutely sums it up.

^^ its the self appointed speed monitors that are the worst.. I have heard/read several comments saying things like.. "the speed limit is 65 and I'm doing 75.. There is no reason to go faster than me.."

UGH!!

I don't care if I am going 100 MPH and someone comes up behind me, you know what I do?.. I pull to the right to let them pass..!

+1
It's the PASSING lane. If I'm in the passing lane loafing along, passing traffic at the speed limit or a little over I'll speed up for someone until I can get over in the other lane. But if I'm passing a line of cars at a rate that I'll get by each one in a minute or two, I'll let the faster car behind me wait until I can move over. I can see the traffic and conditions ahead better that the drivers behind me can, so there may be a reason I'm not doing 90mph. I'll get over as soon as I can do it without squeezing between two slower cars and impeding my own progress.

Yup, pretty much my approach as well. If I'm passing cars, I'll just keep at it until I can slide over into a safe gap. I think that's entirely reasonable if I'm speeding anyway.

To expand on that, I have little patience for the guy who thinks he can crawl up my ass and push me to go faster. At the front of the line, I would be the guy getting the ticket. I'll move over as soon as I can, but no tailgater is going to make me speed up if I'm already speeding. Which, if I'm in the left lane, is a given.

Right, if I'm right behind another car, I'm not going to move over so you can just get in front of me. If it's clear sailing in front of me, and you're coming up behind, then I'll absolutely move over.

I haaaate left lane hoggers. They used to clog the middle lane when I was a kid. Now it's the #1 lane. I attribute this to not teaching Driver's Ed in high school anymore.

Other hates:
- people who turn like they're hauling a 53' dry van with a semi rig.
- trucks that slow down and creep over speed bumps.
- people who have to park facing out, or backwards.
- the term "single cab truck" wtf.

Almost all of the above are done by people 35 y.o. or less.

I think it comes down to situational awareness. People don't use mirrors or scan the 360 degrees around them.

Argh, yes, I've seen folks in the right lane that were turning right in a toyota swerve left onto and even crossing the line before they were able to make their right hand turn. Also people that practically come to a stop to turn left.
Yep, trucks, SUVs, or cars. You're not going to break it. It's designed for that. I get slowing down some, I'm not wanting you to go airborne, but sheesh, you're also not performing brain surgery in the back seat.
You do know that there are folks that are required to back into spots. And those folks probably get into a habit and do it all of the time. Although it is a bit much when folks use diagonal parks as "pull-through" parks or back into those.
LOL.