Unpopular opinion: the left lane is for passing, not for going the speed limit

I drive I-5 through Seattle every day and about 8 out of 10 drivers just camp in the left lane doing 60. It backs up traffic for miles and causes way more accidents than people speeding. Am I the only one who wishes cops would ticket lane campers instead of just speeders?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_allen5d ago

You are totally right. Driving through Seattle is a nightmare because people treat the left lane like a cruising lane. I was stuck behind a Prius going 58 in the left lane for five miles last week near the Mercer mess, and when I finally got around them on the right, they had no idea they were backing up a line of twenty cars. Traffic engineers talk about lane discipline being a safety thing, but the cops around here pretty much ignore it and just sit in the median with radar guns for speeders.

the_grace5d ago

Has anyone looked at how lane camping messes with the merge points on I-5? Like the express lanes ending near Northgate, people in the left lane are forced to slam on brakes when they finally realize they're running out of lane, and that ripple effect goes back for miles. I saw a near miss there last Tuesday because someone camped at 55 and a semi had to cut across three lanes to exit. It feels like the real problem is designing roads that let people camp without consequences, not just the drivers themselves.