Comic Strips

But it's unreasonable to expect drivers to crowd the far right lane all the time, making merging/exiting the highway more congested and dangerous just because I only drive 0-9 mph over the speed limit at the speed of traffic flow...

So what do you do when there are two lanes? Ride the left lane? No? But then how do people possibly merge? Huh, somehow it works. Shockingly, you can move to the other lane when someone needs to merge because, whoa you guessed it, the lane isn't full of people going slower.

It's not unreasonable, and there's a reason why it's the (sadly often unenforced) rule almost everywhere to keep right/left. Somehow it works in Germany where it is more heavily enforced. Oh, and guess what, it's safer for everyone.

This is totally psychological (thinking it's crowding the right lane and causing merge issues). You may not realize it, but you're doing this just because you unconsciously feel more comfortable with more space (for yourself) on both sides. It's called the "space cushion". You might even tell yourself you are safer because you have more directions to escape to if a situation arises. Or you might just be lazy, as it's a lot easier to sit in your cushy middle lane and not have to think about what you're doing.

But you're actually creating more problems by riding the middle lane, leading to people passing on both sides, doing more dangerous weaving maneuvers, reducing the optimal flow of traffic overall, and making the road less safe for everyone. And did you know you're probably making merging worse? Yeah, the fact that you think you don't have to change lanes to assist with people merging just because you're in the middle lane means that you're part of the problem. You still have to pay attention and be ready to move over, in case there is already someone in the right lane who needs to move over.

It's pretty selfish to be honest. Stop being a lane hog.