Topic: No Passing on the Right Nonsense.

[Angry Chicken]

I haven't been on the forum all day but reading this thread certainly has been an entertaining one!   

I remember when I first drove in Europe for the first time (it was Portugal on the A2 auto-estrada) and what an awesome experience it was.  Going south from Lisbon (I was in an Opel Corsa) and I was doing a steady 150km/h and was passing a slower car.  Out of freaking no where came a Porsche 911 flashing his lights at me.......basically meaning get the fvck over.  At first thought, I was like what the hell is this guy doing?  It wasn't long after that same day I knew what it was all about and why he was flashing the lights.  After many trips to Europe since then, I feel MUCH safer driving over there at 150+km/h than I do here at much slower speeds.

In the 70's & 80's in Ontario, people use to flash lights to get people to move over, you do not see that anymore

I still do it.  In fact, my owner's manual calls this the "flash to pass feature".  Works about 30% of the time on the 401 but I don't bother on the highways through Ottawa.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Time for a derail...


Phew!

Which one is in the passing lane?

Are any of them over 20 !
I like women not girls 

[Snowman]

I haven't been on the forum all day but reading this thread certainly has been an entertaining one!   

I remember when I first drove in Europe for the first time (it was Portugal on the A2 auto-estrada) and what an awesome experience it was.  Going south from Lisbon (I was in an Opel Corsa) and I was doing a steady 150km/h and was passing a slower car.  Out of freaking no where came a Porsche 911 flashing his lights at me.......basically meaning get the fvck over.  At first thought, I was like what the hell is this guy doing?  It wasn't long after that same day I knew what it was all about and why he was flashing the lights.  After many trips to Europe since then, I feel MUCH safer driving over there at 150+km/h than I do here at much slower speeds.

A Portuguese friend of mine told me back home he would turn his left indicator signal on in the left lane to inform the slow person in front of him to get the fack out of the way. That does not work here. I would say 1 out of 20 drivers in the left lane driving slower than me attempt to move over. The biggest offenders are people driving vans, pick ups, and Prius.

[Ex-airbalancer]

I haven't been on the forum all day but reading this thread certainly has been an entertaining one!   

I remember when I first drove in Europe for the first time (it was Portugal on the A2 auto-estrada) and what an awesome experience it was.  Going south from Lisbon (I was in an Opel Corsa) and I was doing a steady 150km/h and was passing a slower car.  Out of freaking no where came a Porsche 911 flashing his lights at me.......basically meaning get the fvck over.  At first thought, I was like what the hell is this guy doing?  It wasn't long after that same day I knew what it was all about and why he was flashing the lights.  After many trips to Europe since then, I feel MUCH safer driving over there at 150+km/h than I do here at much slower speeds.

A Portuguese friend of mine told me back home he would turn his left indicator signal on in the left lane to inform the slow person in front of him to get the fack out of the way. That does not work here. I would say 1 out of 20 drivers in the left lane driving slower than me attempt to move over. The biggest offenders are people driving vans, pick ups, and Prius.

Hey, I never hold up traffic
I am either in the right lane, or out passing in left lane

[ArticSteve]

This is for the folks that are scared stiff of Vic Toews' ghost (former Minister of Justice  ) and what it may do to you if you cross a double yellow in the magnificent land of Harponisim (aka a society based on fear and whimps). 

This is an example of an Ontario double yellow that extends 20 km east out of the OS.  I took this shot this afternoon.  Finally some rain!  It has a few hills, but is straight as an arrow.  It's a brand new highway and for reasons that only idiots at the MTO might know, but probably not, it is two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound.   Obviously, the eastbound is a breeze, but the westbound can really stack up if you get a slow poke up ahead or a loaded tanker truck.  99% of users will opt to follow the wanker @ 75 kph, bumper to bumper, middle of nowhere, for the duration, hating every minute of it.

I opt to use the open lanes and a big FU to Vic's ghost.   

[CanuckS2K]

I haven't been on the forum all day but reading this thread certainly has been an entertaining one!   

I remember when I first drove in Europe for the first time (it was Portugal on the A2 auto-estrada) and what an awesome experience it was.  Going south from Lisbon (I was in an Opel Corsa) and I was doing a steady 150km/h and was passing a slower car.  Out of freaking no where came a Porsche 911 flashing his lights at me.......basically meaning get the fvck over.  At first thought, I was like what the hell is this guy doing?  It wasn't long after that same day I knew what it was all about and why he was flashing the lights.  After many trips to Europe since then, I feel MUCH safer driving over there at 150+km/h than I do here at much slower speeds.

A Portuguese friend of mine told me back home he would turn his left indicator signal on in the left lane to inform the slow person in front of him to get the fack out of the way. That does not work here. I would say 1 out of 20 drivers in the left lane driving slower than me attempt to move over. The biggest offenders are people driving vans, pick ups, and Prius.

I've actually seen that a couple times driving over there.  However, driving up on your ass flashing the lights seems to be the more popular approach........or at least in the Countries that I've driven over there.  Italy I would say seemed to have the most common use of it.  I only wish more people here would be so courteous.  I've had some fairly scary driving moments over there so I don't want to paint a rosy picture of driving in Europe, BUT I would hands down choose to drive over there ANY day compared to driving in NA. 

[aquadorhj]

i don't flash to pass any more.   1 in ten responds appropriately and the rest just stays oblivious or gives the 1-finger salute back. 
i pass on the right in most cases.  never in the shoulder, though..  i'm not an idiot.   

i think on the road, might is right.  if i bring the full fury of my car in the left lane, for whatever reason, person going slower in the left move over, and if someone faster is on my tail, i move over.   simple, really.      just like if an 18 wheeler wants to occupy my space, i move over.   

[dougjp]

i don't flash to pass any more.   1 in ten responds appropriately and the rest just stays oblivious or gives the 1-finger salute back. 
i pass on the right in most cases.  never in the shoulder, though..  i'm not an idiot.   

i think on the road, might is right.  if i bring the full fury of my car in the left lane, for whatever reason, person going slower in the left move over, and if someone faster is on my tail, i move over.   simple, really.      just like if an 18 wheeler wants to occupy my space, i move over.   

Yes its simple, and can be called awareness of surroundings AND consideration for other people. A lesson learned, intentionally not have these qualities, and everyone will vote against you, no matter what forum you are in.

Another way to induce a left lane bandit to move over is change your position side to side in your lane, as follows. Only to be performed when the person ahead is not passing anyone and can safely move out of the passing lane. When behind the blocker (in the same left lane of a multi lane highway), accelerate on the extreme right side of the lane towards the lane blocker, then when somewhat close (doesn't have to be tailgating), brake and move decisively to the extreme left side of the same lane. Repeat if necessary. The blocker will frequently and subconsciously respond by drifting half way into the right lane, at which point if they don't carry on and change lanes (most will), then you know what kind of person you are dealing with. Alternately you can reverse the positioning, coming up on the left and veering right, but that would be cruel as the person might drive themselves into the guardrail on the left side or off the road.    And that, shall we say, would be a little less considerate. 

[quadzilla]

I had my GTi reprogrammed to allow the inside halogen lights to be used for FTP as they were meant to be. For some strange (stupid) reason they are turned off in North America. They work well at getting most peoples attention. Obviously those still talking on the phones or sipping their Starbucks are oblivious to everything around them.

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

[CanuckS2K]

^ Nice.  Quad, do you flash them often when wanting to pass? 

[quadzilla]

Depends. I try to make some judgement as to what the person is doing.

If they are stalling, talking, drinking, phone and not passing, they get the beams even if I can pass on the right.

On corners I don't bother because some people can't drive straight and I don't want to have them crash in front of me.

Old people I leave alone, they have enough problems in life as it is.

[Angry Chicken]

I had my GTi reprogrammed to allow the inside halogen lights to be used for FTP as they were meant to be. For some strange (stupid) reason they are turned off in North America. They work well at getting most peoples attention. Obviously those still talking on the phones or sipping their Starbucks are oblivious to everything around them.

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

I believe it's a function of the McGuinty-mandated governors.  For some truckers this means they might have a whole 2 km/h advantage over another truck.  Even on our little junket to Kingston yesterday for the 25K service on my wife's Q5 we at least 3 times each way had to deal with discourteous (no other word for it) truck drivers performing this maneuver.  It's rude, inconsiderate, impolite and possibly even dangerous since the conga line of traffic behind has often had their frustration at the slow progress of the trucks bottled up over several minutes.

[tooscoops]

just in response to george...

i have no issue with speed limits. i think they are fine. sure I'd *like* them to be higher, but i understand that given the abilities of our drivers, they have a purpose over here.

racing laws are fine by me as well. seems like many of those that race and get caught are immature and should not be speeding let alone racing. but the gov't does seem to be linking many of societies plagues to street racing where there is no reason to do so.

truck limiters... yep, trucks are scary as hell driving around... if all the drivers were more like people on this forum though, they'd have fewer issues because the people on the road would be respecting them rather than seeing them as that prime opportunity to change lanes.

overall... i think you'd be surprised how many people on the roads don't think the way you do regarding the lanes and such.

oh, and my ideal car right now?... tesla s. so an all electric car. there goes your environmental point as well.

[george]

Ok.

[tooscoops]

ok. we cool?.....



we cool./

[Ex-airbalancer]

I had my GTi reprogrammed to allow the inside halogen lights to be used for FTP as they were meant to be. For some strange (stupid) reason they are turned off in North America. They work well at getting most peoples attention. Obviously those still talking on the phones or sipping their Starbucks are oblivious to everything around them.

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

Did he move over once he passed the guy ?
The problem was the guy he was passing should of slowed down just a touch to let him by

[tenpenny]

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

That's one of the neat joys of speed limiters on trucks.  Works well, doesn't it?

[aaronk]

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

That's one of the neat joys of speed limiters on trucks.  Works well, doesn't it?

Agreed. That's the tip of the iceberg for frustrated truck drivers. When they go into the U.S., as many do for long-haul routes, they are getting passed by trucks going 120-130, which is a dangerous speed difference. Also trucks hauling a load get slowed down going uphill and then get blocked by slow drivers who pass, then are stuck behind these cars because they can't get up enough speed to pass.

In regards to speed, it's not the speed that causes more accidents. Not having the skills (or attention) to respond accordingly is what causes accidents. For the life of me I can't understand why in-car training for drivers ed isn't even mandatory. Not only should a certain number of hours of 1-on-1 in-car training with a professional driver be mandatory, I think collision avoidance, high-speed car control and poor traction training should also be covered. We wonder why people fly into ditches as soon as a snowflake drops or people park in the fast lane to exchange info after a 5 km/h bumper rub. If we invested in proper training, we would have fewer deaths, more efficient roads, less vehicle damages, cheaper insurance, etc. etc. etc.

[vdk]

I believe trucks should be speed limited. Most trucks are not taken care of and are breaking apart, and drivers can barely stay in their own lane. How many times have you had a truck drift into your lane? They should be limited at 100. Germany lets you go crazy on the Autobahn in a car, but trucks? 100 tops. In other countries trucks are topped to 80. Arguably, the trucks I've seen in Europe are in much better condition than most I see in Toronto.

Make it so that trucks can only overtake in certain spots.
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/upixel123/upixel1231207/upixel123120700075/14487857-traffic-sign-no-overtaking-trucks.jpg

The problem is also that most truckers are jerks and don't slow down at all, resulting in a delta of .1km/h.

[tpl]

Speaking of hogging the left lane, trucks (18 wheelers) are getting to be horrible on the 2 lane sections of the 401. I waited 15kms for one truck to finish passing (yes I measured) which should be illegal. If you can't pass quickly, don't bother passing at all.

That's one of the neat joys of speed limiters on trucks.  Works well, doesn't it?

Agreed. That's the tip of the iceberg for frustrated truck drivers. When they go into the U.S., as many do for long-haul routes, they are getting passed by trucks going 120-130, which is a dangerous speed difference. Also trucks hauling a load get slowed down going uphill and then get blocked by slow drivers who pass, then are stuck behind these cars because they can't get up enough speed to pass.

In regards to speed, it's not the speed that causes more accidents. Not having the skills (or attention) to respond accordingly is what causes accidents. For the life of me I can't understand why in-car training for drivers ed isn't even mandatory. Not only should a certain number of hours of 1-on-1 in-car training with a professional driver be mandatory, I think collision avoidance, high-speed car control and poor traction training should also be covered. We wonder why people fly into ditches as soon as a snowflake drops or people park in the fast lane to exchange info after a 5 km/h bumper rub. If we invested in proper training, we would have fewer deaths, more efficient roads, less vehicle damages, cheaper insurance, etc. etc. etc.

Sorry Aaronk, proper driver training would cost money and immediately be labelled a "tax grab".   Find me a political party or even an individual politician in Ontario who would stand up and say "that's the way it is arseholes, like it or leave the province" and I would vote for them....but there is no such politician around at the moment.

In practical terms it would be a good idea to enhance driver training but it would takje decades to filter through the population  by the time every set of whining special interests had appealed that it should happen to them.