Heres a little twist to the conversation. Last October I was rear ended by a car that didnt see me, so I was hit at full speed (45 mph). The way my body hit his car, If I hadnt been taking the lane, my spine would have hit the support beams of the windshield (most likely killing me or at least paralyzing me), rather than right in the middle where the roof crumpled instead. This position saved my life as the impact shattered 1 vertebrae and fractured another. I had a bone fragment from the shattered one about to pierce my spinal cord resulting in 5 1/2 hours of emergency surgery. If the road isnt wide enough to give 3 feet of passing room without crossing the center line, I take the lane everytime no matter what.