Lane Etiquette: Read before you drive!
Highways with three lanes is where things get complicated for many
drivers. I've spoken to a few and this is what many of them thought and
really what I see on a daily basis: the right lane is for merging, the
middle lane for driving and the left lane for passing. This is
incorrect. I will now explain the correct way to travel on a three-lane
highway in moderate to high volume traffic situations.
The on-ramp or acceleration lane is of course for accelerating, in
order for drivers to merge into the right lane at a speed that matches
the flow of traffic.
The right lane is usually the slowest lane, if you're on a slow
cruise and it happens to be Sunday afternoon, this is probably the
correct lane for you. If you like to travel slightly under or at the
speed limit this is usually also the best lane to be in. It is the
simplest and safest. You are only exposed on one side, you are the
farthest from oncoming traffic and you can't be passed on the right, we
will see why that's important later on. When in this lane and
approaching an acceleration lane, check for approaching vehicles, if
there happens to be one and you can safely move to the middle lane, do
so. If the middle lane is too crowded, remain in your lane and let the
merging vehicle make the decision to either speed up or slow down. He
yields to you.
The middle lane is the most complicated and misunderstood lane.
Traffic in this lane should be moving faster than the traffic on the
right. If you are in the middle lane and someone approaches you from the
rear at a higher speed and the right lane is clear, you should move
over. Most drivers in the middle lane believe that it is always up to
the faster approaching vehicle to pass them on the left. This is only
true if the right lane is too crowded to make a safe lane change. When
slow moving drivers stay in the middle lane, it has the effect of
bogging down traffic as faster drivers accumulate behind them and try to
pass on either side.
Also, on most three-lane highways, trucks are not allowed to be in
the left lane, which means if you are being tailed by a truck, you
should move over, the reason he isn't passing you in the left lane and
is blinding you with his lights is because he isn't allowed to. The
middle lane is also the most dangerous, as you are exposed on both sides
and more people tend to cut in and out of this lane.
Finally, the left lane is for traffic moving the fastest. If you are
driving at speed and approaching a slower vehicle in this lane, do not
pass them on the right. The correct thing to do is to slow down and wait
behind them until they make a proper lane change. Most highway
accidents happen when faster vehicles move to pass on the right while
the slower vehicle makes a simultaneous lane change.
(AutoBlog.com)
