The Safe Driver

Sorry, but the “fast” lane doesn’t really exist

Opinions are like elbows, most people have a couple of them. When it comes to driving, many people more than a couple of opinions. Unfortunately, these opinions can get some people into trouble. Sometimes that trouble spreads to others. For years I’ve always heard how the right lane was considered the driving lane and the left lane was considered the “fast lane” or the passing lane. For the most part, that’s true. The only part that isn’t true is the “fast” part.

Believe it or not – and I hope you do – each lane has the same speed limit. This is true for the city, highway or freeway. It’s also true that the basic rules of the road ask drivers to keep to the right except while passing. It asks slower moving vehicles keep to the right. Makes sense to me.

I was recently traveling through Quebec Canada and the drivers there did a great job with following this basic rule. They kept to the right lane until they decided the driver ahead was traveling too slowly for them. They pulled out to pass and once they passed, they moved back into the right lane. It was rare they stayed in the left or middle lane unless they were passing a slower moving vehicle. That’s the way it should be.

I get it when traffic is thick and heavy, such as rush hour. There doesn’t seem to be enough space to handle our traffic. Go ahead and travel in the lane which flows well. However, if you begin to move faster than a crawl and a driver is approaching you quickly from behind, do your best to move over to allow them to pass. Once they pass, you can always move back into that lane if you feel the need to. Just don’t hold someone back who wants to travel faster than you.

So here’s the thing. The left lane and the middle lane (if it exists) do have the same speed limit as the right lane. There may be reasons to be in those lanes besides wanting to pass a slower moving vehicle. Let’s talk city first. Driving in the right lane means you may come across parked vehicles or buses. It makes sense to change lanes and travel in the left lane. At that particular time, the left lane would flow the best and have the better view. When the right lane is once again clear and safe to travel in, it’s recommend to move over and use that lane.

Let’s now talk highway/freeway. Moving to the middle or left lane when approaching merging traffic allows drivers a free lane to safely merge onto the highway/freeway. It’s a courtesy. One thing to remember is that if traffic approaches from behind a little quicker than you, move back to the right lane. Allow faster moving traffic to continue. No one has the right to purposely slow down other drivers. That’s quite risky and dangerous for them, you and all passengers involved.

And if you have a designated lane for vehicles carrying multiple people, such as a restricted lane, there is a speed limit for that lane too, which is the same as the other lanes. Being in that restricted lane, such as the High Occupancy Vehicle lane (HOV lane) in Ontario, doesn’t give you the freedom to drive as fast as you like. It’s not like the Autobahn in Germany.

Sharing the road and following rules helps to protect everyone, including you. Many drivers get ticketed for speeding and I do believe they may be surprised because they were in the “fast” lane. They thought they were allowed to drive beyond the posted speed limit. Perhaps it’s time to let them know about the true speed limit and reasoning for each lane. These aren’t opinions. They’re facts.