this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

It could be, but I just think they think it's OK to chill in the center lane. Everyone else is doing it, after all, never mind that everyone else is also causing traffic to be worse.

Edit: After returning and reading more comments, yeah, a lot of (likely) Americans think it's OK to be a middle lane camper, even in more rural areas.

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Another class of driver I want to be far away from

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago
[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The California DMV handbook literally tells you to do that. If there's three lanes, cruise in the middle lane. If there's two lanes, cruise in the right lane. I don't think it's a requirement, but it is the official recommendation in California.

[–] gopher@programming.dev 1 points 1 hour ago

Interesting, that is directly illegal afaik in many EU countries, where the rule is you must keep as far right as possible at all times. I.e use only left lanes when overtaking.

[–] oyo@lemmy.zip 4 points 23 hours ago

When did they change that? No wonder traffic is so fucked. That literally conflicts with the LAW that says 'slower traffic keep right.'

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Interesting, that seems to me like it would encourage people to pass on the right. In my experience driving with 3 lanes the right lane is often bare and clear while the left lane is clogged and the middle lane is moderately busy which is, of course, the opposite of what it should be, generally. In cities, obviously, cruising in the middle lane can make more sense, as there's much more merging on/off of the freeway.

[–] FishFace@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Passing on the right is also... Not that big a deal. The only thing that supposedly makes it worse than passing on the left is that supposedly people don't check when moving right. Realistically, the people who don't check when moving right are also mostly not checking when moving left.

[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Legally speaking it's a big deal in some states. California discourages it at highway speeds, but doesn't ban it.

[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I looked it up to see if they provide reasoning for it, and discovered that they've removed the language about where to cruise (at least I couldn't easily find it) since I took the test years ago, but they're kind of saying it between the lines:

Here are some tips for choosing a lane:

Use the left lane to pass or turn left. Use the right lane to enter or exit traffic or when you enter the road from a curb or shoulder.

Sidenote: In my experience, on/off ramps in California are ridiculously short, often with low visibility until you're on it, so they're kind of relying on the right lane not being all that crowded.

[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Yea, in cities it can make sense to cruise in the middle lane. Where there's an exist every few miles, nah, keep to the right.