jeichelberg87

No. I did not fail reading class, as I already am aware that slower traffic has been required to keep to the right on multi lane highways since the interstate system was born.

You can receive a ticket for obstructing traffic if you are traveling less than the maximum posted limit and driving in the left lane of the interstate; however, if someone rear ends you, that person is at fault, period.

AlmostTrick

Agreed. It's nice to have you drop back in, noisebeam. (I was missing for a while myself)

The thing that some drivers fail to acknowledge (or prefer to ignore) when pointing to the "slower traffic right" laws, is that the speed limit is the same for all lanes... and there is no provision to allow exceeding it for any reason.

kickstart

Not exactly correct, some states such as Washington allow exceeding the speed limit to expedite a safe pass.

RCW 46.61.425
Minimum speed regulation — Passing slow moving vehicle.
(1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law: PROVIDED, That a person following a vehicle driving at less than the legal maximum speed and desiring to pass such vehicle may exceed the speed limit, subject to the provisions of RCW 46.61.120 on highways having only one lane of traffic in each direction, at only such a speed and for only such a distance as is necessary to complete the pass with a reasonable margin of safety.

AlmostTrick

Thanks for that clarification, kickstart. Last time I checked IL vehicle code there was no such provision.

The WA code is well written, as drivers are only allowed to pass a vehicle traveling less than the maximum limit, must return to the limit once the pass is complete, and can only do so on two lane roads. Clearly the code was written to facilitate safe passing of slow moving vehicles when no other same direction lane is available.

This provision would not allow exceeding the speed limit in any lane of a 4+ lane road, which was kinda my point. Speeders love to point to the "slower traffic keep right" rule, while conveniently ignoring the speed limit rules.

kickstart

Sorry, I expressed myself poorly, I didn't intend to introduce a point of contention, but rather that there are exceptions to the speed limit.

baron von trail 

I take the lane in the AM as I cross a narrow bridge on a 4-lane road. But, I make sure the road behind me is reasonably clear before venturing out on it, meaning I make sure that oncoming cars are not stacked up two abreast but rather that only a few are approaching, and then I hurry across it before the next wave of cars approach. I also choose a different route in the afternoon when traffic is heavy, avoiding the narrow bridge altogether.

baron von trail 

The most dangerous areas on a cycling commute are not traffic lights. They are the places where cars on secondary roads or parking lots turn onto the main highway. Whether there is a stop sign or a yield, the chances of one of those cars pulling out in front of me is high.

Next on the list is passing a line of parallel parked cars. A door flying open or a car suddenly pulling out is highly probable.

kickstart

While there are things to be aware of and watch for, other road users aren't such an issue as to require frantically dodging, or running away from them.

baron von trail 

All it takes is getting hit once by a careless, distracted or impaired driver. I'd rather run, dodge and veer away from them than not, to be honest.

Chris0516

I would rather dodge a motorist. Why? Because pedestrians may jaywalk, fall down drunk, trip on something, have a Walkman w/ headphones on, read a book while they walk.

A motorist may drive erratically for whatever reason. But they don't jaywalk, fall down drunk in the street, or trip on something(Wearing headphones in a car was legal at one time. I am glad they no longer are.).

I would rather have to deal with an motorist, than an erratic pedestrian.

kickstart

Statistically I'm far more likely to be injured or killed as a P&D driver, yet even then I find little more than a reasonable amount of awareness is all that's needed to mitigate the potential dangers.

Sometimes things happen out of the blue than no amount of caution will prevent, and something will get all of us eventually. It doesn't make sense fretting over the inevitable when the odds are still significantly in our favor, even without taking extraordinary steps, that it wont happen on a bicycle.

Daniel4

All it takes is getting hit once by driver because at least one of you thought it was clear. Collisions occur when one or more of those involved didn’t have the time or the reflexes to dodge and veer away from the other.

baron von trail 

Typical week sees at least one moment where the car driver either didn't see me or underestimated my speed and pulled out in front of me. Most often this happens on a country road and the driver is approaching at right angle to me, usually facing a stop or yield sign. They either stop and go, or they just go. It is what it is.

JoeyBike

STAY stopped??? Not even close. If the coast is clear, I go without even breaking stride. If I have to stop, I stop...then go when I can. Better to explain like this: I don't even look at colored lights unless the light looks like it might fall on me and hurt me. I look for VEHICLES and PEDESTRIANS ONLY. Only animated objects can kill me out there. So I pay close attention to the animated objects and zero attention to traffic fixtures, mail boxes, fire hydrants, lawn jockeys, inflatable Santas and reindeer, etc.

As someone else here wrote once: "I stop for everything, but I don't stop for nothing."

As for the driver who yelled at you, I would have made any number of interesting anatomically impossible/improbable suggestions to him/her if I could.

NOTE: I live and commute in New Orleans, USA where everybody, regardless of means of travel, break every law they can. If not for traffic cameras here and there around town it would look like Pakistan on the roadways. Cyclists are EXPECTED to run lights and stop signs because as dumb as our population is on average, they seem to realize that a bike stopping in front of them at a light will slow them down when the light turns green. It is better for everybody if cyclists blow the lights (carefully).

Hey....you asked.

JoeyBike

This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. The whole point of the "slower traffic keep right" law is to facilitate emergency/law enforcement vehicles travel and is NOT for the convenience of anyone who wants to speed.