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    grencha's Avatar
    grencha Posts: 71, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Mar 13, 2013, 07:47 AM
    Aggressive Driving
    Just read a story about a woman in Maryland who was issued a ticket for driving 63 mph in a 65 mph zone. What is the deal with most drivers doing at least 5-10 mph over the speed limit and no police enforcing the speed limit? Especially for following to close when they come up on a person doing the speed limit. I realize she was in a passing lane but at what point do they need to issue a citation for that?
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #2

    Mar 13, 2013, 08:08 AM
    grencha - I'm trying to understand what happaned here, so please clarify - was the woman issued a citation for not keeping right except to pass? If so - bravo! If cars are forced to pass her on the right because she was not traveling at the prevailing speed then yes, she should indeed be issued a ticket. The left lane is for passing, not for cruising while traffic passes you by. It doesn't matter that she was going close to the sped limit, or even if she was going faster than the speed limit, if she fails to keep right she deserves the ticket. I wish the cops would issue many more tickets for this offense, because there are way too many drivers who are lazy, don't paty attenetion to what's going on around them, and sit in the left or middle lane when instead they shoul be keeping right except to pass. Rule of thumb: if two or more cars pass you on the right and there isn't a car ahead of you that is keeping you from moving faster then you should move to the right.

    As for people tailgating - of course they should be cited as well, but in my experience most of the people who complain about being tail-gated are those who fail to keep to the right lane where they belong, are impeding traffic, and causing other drivers to pass on the right. Also keep in mind that in most states on highways with three trucks are not allowed in the extreme left lane, so if you are sitting in the middle lane the driver of that big rig behind you is going to get frustrated and will likely tailgate trying to encourage you to move over so he can pass.
    dontknownuthin's Avatar
    dontknownuthin Posts: 2,910, Reputation: 751
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    #3

    Mar 13, 2013, 08:20 AM
    She will probably get off if she goes to court because 63 in a 65 is so minimally low per the limit that it could be within a reasonable margin of error - her spedometer could certainly be off by two miles. Nevertheless, if she's driving under the limit she has no business in the left lane.

    Her driving habits are dangerous. Most people drive 5 to 10 miles over the limit, which is wrong but is the reality. Driving below the limit in any lane, particularly on a highway or other busy road, creates a hazard. It is usually caused by being inattentive. I was behind two of these yokels this week - when I passed them I saw that one was eating a burger, and the other was on the phone.

    Some drivers go under the limit because they are intoxicated, on medication or, due to age or illness, are no longer fit to drive. Slow drivers do need to be pulled over if, for no other reason, to make sure they are fit to drive. In my area there are many illegal immigrants who drive the exact limit to avoid getting pulled over and facing immigration problems or driving without a license issues. While I'm not in favor of total amnesty for all illegal immigrants, I do wish they could get an alien driver's license so they won't be so paranoid about being pulled over - they create a huge hazard. Not having a license, they can't get insurance, either - not good.

    But yeah, this lady needed to be pulled over. Maybe she shouldn't have to pay the ticket once she gets to court, but she needed to be woken up.
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #4

    Mar 13, 2013, 10:15 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by dontknownuthin View Post
    She will probably get off if she goes to court because 63 in a 65 is so minimally low per the limit that it could be within a reasonable margin of error - her spedometer could certainly be off by two miles. Nevertheless, if she's driving under the limit she has no business in the left lane.
    Hopefully the OP clarify things, but as I read the original post the issue isn't that she was driving too slowly - on most limited access highways the minimum spped is something like 45 MPH, so driving 63 MPH is not an issue. I believe the issue is that she was in left lane and not passing. She could have gotten the same ticket even if she had been going 5 MPH over the speed limit.
    smearcase's Avatar
    smearcase Posts: 2,392, Reputation: 316
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    #5

    Mar 13, 2013, 11:42 PM
    I am a retired MD highway engineer and have read the news account of this specific incident. It occurred on I-95 and in one of the most heavily traveled areas on the east coast.
    The MD State Police responded to media that the officer issued the citation because the driver was impeding traffic and ebaines is correct that she could have received the ticket even if she was traveling at or over the posted limit, and rightly so in my opinion. Drivers blocking the fast lane on highways of this category cause a hazard because drivers behind them make erratic movements into other lanes to get by them. Those erratic drivers are wrong to do so but if I end up in the multi-car pile up that may result- that fact will be of little solace to me. The root cause of the problem will still have been the driver who failed to conform to the present flow of traffic. The goal of the highway agency in this specific location is to move the most traffic possible manner in the safest manner. The policy may be different on a rural, low volume interstate or state highway.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
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    #6

    Mar 14, 2013, 02:30 AM
    I agree,while of course speeding and following too closely are also issues, and ones that also receive traffic tickets all the time.

    Going slower than the flow of traffic in a passing lane is very serious and the cause of many accidents

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