Why does everyone overtake on the left?

[Synaesthesia]

Gonna stick to the leftmost lanes from now on. Speeding is a national disease. What are you gonna do with the 20-30 seconds you save? Relax and enjoy your drive, you'll live longer and so will your car.

I drive the R21 nearly every day and I usually drive in the slow lane at 120km/h and weave between the left and middle lanes.
There are 4 lanes but hundreds of idiots who drive at 100km/h in the middle two lanes while another twit decides to overtake a 1km long queue of cars in the fast lane at 110km/h.

If the left lanes are open and you're not prepared to drive 120 then move over you idiots!
Actually I take that back. Stay where you are so I can cruise past you in the left lane at 120km/h.

It's a bit reckless.

Exactly. I usually give them 5 car lengths and if they haven't moved over by then I over take on the left.
Further more I will never change lanes or over take if it means that I will slow someone down - it grates my nerves when people pull out in front of me and I have to slam on brakes.
That's when I get vindictive, overtake them and slam on my brakes to see whether they also enjoy the experience.
If I cannot match the speed of someone coming from behind then I stay put until there is an adequate gap - even if that means sitting for 2 minutes behind a truck doing 40km/h uphill.
People are so damn inconsiderate on the roads.

Well 100% agree with you. Match speeds!! You have to take other cars into account.

 

[diabolus]

There is a catch 22:

In the right lane chances are you will be moving into a lane where people are driving faster than -you- [otherwise you would be in the right lane from the start] . So you end up moving into faster traffic, kinda like the 2 trucks passing each other at 60kmh, and you the faster driver have to slam brakes because the $%$ 60kmh truck moved into your lane...same situation..

To put it another way, the left and right lanes might be open IN FRONT, but is it open BEHIND? The right lane you have much higher chance of moving in front of someone going faster than you and then THEY
expect you to move out of their way [as in move BACK] !

Either way, the slow driver in the middle lane is the one at fault at the end of the day, but people unfortunately use the middle lane as the "cruise" lane. You know the lane where you don't need to pass anyone [no trucks to pass] nor have people tailgate you and flashing lights [because they can move over to the right] .

 

[SaiyanZ]

I overtake on the right unless:
1. I'm going to be taking an offramp on the left in the next km or so.
2. The person in the right lane is driving too slow (below the speed limit).

 

[Jonny Two Shoes]

There really seems to be no place for the driver doing 120km on the roads. Either being a fast douche or a slow idiot seems to be the way to remain happy. No one can just be normal and generally happy with life they must be ugly or something, hell I would also either give up on life or drive insanely fast out of frustration if I had to stare at an ugly mug in the mirror every morning.

Lol on my way to Bloem on Friday this merc flies past me. I see him pulled over later. Then I see him fly past me again. What an @rse.

 

[genetic]

What are you gonna do with the 20-30 seconds you save? Relax and enjoy your drive, you'll live longer and so will your car.

To the contrary - driving slow all the time can make your car sluggish - it's good to let your car get some speed, as long as you are far from redlining it.

 

[Nanfeishen]

Scenario: I'm driving on the highway, at normal speeds. Someone wants to drive faster. There's a lane open on my left, a lane open on my right. Which one do you think 90% of South African drivers choose?

It really gets on my nerves, I wanna keep billboards in my car to flash at these *******s.

It is perfectly legal to pass on the left, and if you are not aware of that, then you shouldnt be on the road.

You may overtake a slower vehicle ahead of you on it's left when:

1. That vehicle is turning right or signalling to turn right.
2. The road is a one-way and wide enough for two or more lanes of traffic.
3. The road is divided into two or more lanes.

http://www.trafficsigns.co.za/rules-of-the-road.php

 

[MiY4Gi]

If I want to drive slowly, I find a conspicuous vehicle like a truck or something, then drive behind it, so that people they should change lanes. If I'm in a fast lane and someone approaches me from behind, then I change lanes until the guy has passed, then I change back. I always prefer driving in the middle or right lane since it offers the least air resistance, since the local wind on the road is moving at the same speed as the cars driving on it.

 

[PetrolHead]

I always prefer driving in the middle or right lane since it offers the least air resistance, since the local wind on the road is moving at the same speed as the cars driving on it.

That's interesting, I'm not sure whether to burst out laughing or request additional information as to how you managed to get that idea into your head. My first reaction is to roll on the ground laughing hard while holding my stomach with both hands and kicking my legs in the air like a dog dreaming about a car chase.

Now back to the original post. Get out of the middle lane and move into the left lane the moment you are aware that other cars catching up to you. It's common road sense and common road manners.

Don't worry about what others are doing, just get out the way and let them pass.

 

[[email protected]]

I found that you can actually see better to overtake when you are indeed travelling in the left lane. When you are in any other lane, you cannot see what's happening in front because the other cars are blocking you view.

 

[MiY4Gi]

That's interesting, I'm not sure whether to burst out laughing or request additional information as to how you managed to get that idea into your head. My first reaction is to roll on the ground laughing hard while holding my stomach with both hands and kicking my legs in the air like a dog dreaming about a car chase.

Now back to the original post. Get out of the middle lane and move into the left lane the moment you are aware that other cars catching up to you. It's common road sense and common road manners.

Don't worry about what others are doing, just get out the way and let them pass.

Laugh if you want, but if does make sense. I noticed that there's considerably less air resistance when driving on a freeway as opposed to driving on a road with many stops. This is a result of the local air current on the road caused by the moving traffic, which flows in the same direction as the traffic. Now that much I'm sure of. Along that line of thought I made an assumption that the faster the traffic moves, the faster/stronger the local air current will be, and that would be in the right (i.e. fast) lanes. Since the air current is flowing in the same direction as your car, your car get's propelled forward.

You call yourself PetrolHead. Does that mean you waste petrol or save petrol? If you're a hyper-miler then you should know about local air currents.

 

[genetic]

Laugh if you want, but if does make sense. I noticed that there's considerably less air resistance when driving on a freeway as opposed to driving on a road with many stops. This is a result of the local air current on the road caused by the moving traffic, which flows in the same direction as the traffic. Now that much I'm sure of. Along that line of thought I made an assumption that the faster the traffic moves, the faster/stronger the local air current will be, and that would be in the right (i.e. fast) lanes. Since the air current is flowing in the same direction as your car, your car get's propelled forward.

You call yourself PetrolHead. Does that mean you waste petrol or save petrol? If you're a hyper-miler then you should know about local air currents.

:erm: If you drove a bus or truck, then yes, but the resistance on a car at normal highway speeds is negligible.

 

[MiY4Gi]

:erm: If you drove a bus or truck, then yes, but the resistance on a car at normal highway speeds is negligible.

You can feel it if you pulse and glide.

 

[HapticSimian]

Laugh if you want, but if does make sense. I noticed that there's considerably less air resistance when driving on a freeway as opposed to driving on a road with many stops. This is a result of the local air current on the road caused by the moving traffic, which flows in the same direction as the traffic. Now that much I'm sure of. Along that line of thought I made an assumption that the faster the traffic moves, the faster/stronger the local air current will be, and that would be in the right (i.e. fast) lanes. Since the air current is flowing in the same direction as your car, your car get's propelled forward.

You call yourself PetrolHead. Does that mean you waste petrol or save petrol? If you're a hyper-miler then you should know about local air currents.

So much for physics, eh? Come on, you can't seriously think this makes any sense whatsoever?

Mind you, it does explain why American NASCAR tracks frequently get ripped apart in the vortices caused by 40 cars going in circles at 300km/h+ bumper-to-bumper...

Wait... No, the don't...

 

[genetic]

You can feel it if you pulse and glide.

Ok... whatever rocks your boat...

 

[themba990]

Are you 12?

I guess i'm a child at heart.

 

[HapticSimian]

I guess i'm a child at heart.

...and in mind judging by your own posts. People that exhibit such a lack of basic courtesy and combine it with an infantile attitude should be kept away from car keys, lest they stab themselves in the eye with it.

 

[shogun]

So if I drive 120km/h I have to add 8% to know what my actual speeds are? then by law I should have gotten more than a 100 speeding tickets because 120km/h is not correct on my clock.

If you drive 120, you need to subtract roughly 8% to see your real speed. At 120, you are likely doing 110. Speedo's purposely understate your speed. Depending on the GPS receiver, antenna size, Horizontal and Vertical Accuracy, signal strength and a few other goodies (I have experience with GPS receivers and data filtering), GPS accuracy can be within 2 - 3 meters. Average the positions, or take them further apart (say 2 seconds) and you get very accurate distance (and hence speed) data. Also, GPS positions tend to get more accurate as speed increases as the internal receiver can take your movement and direction into account to help filter out reflected signals. I notice around 9km/h difference in my car at around 100km/h, so generally I follow my GPS on speed rather than the speedo.

 

[mackwii]

I agree with Bullzeye.za you should share the road with other people.
Move to the left.. so that the other guy can pass.

 

[MiY4Gi]

So much for physics, eh? Come on, you can't seriously think this makes any sense whatsoever?

Mind you, it does explain why American NASCAR tracks frequently get ripped apart in the vortices caused by 40 cars going in circles at 300km/h+ bumper-to-bumper...

Wait... No, the don't...

THAT doesn't make sense. I'm talking about freeways and you start talking about racing tracks? Whatever, it's pointless trying to explain things to people who clearly don't understand air dynamics.

You don't seem to believe me. Listen, next time you're on a free way, accelerate to 100km/h then clutch for 10 seconds, and observe your speedometer. Obviously you have to do it when there's nobody behind you. Now do the same thing on an urban road with robots etc. Summa take a video and upload it on Youtube. Hold one, maybe I should do that, but really it feels like a waste of time. You don't force knowledge onto people, because it makes you come across as annoying and arrogant. So do what you want.

 

[HapticSimian]

THAT doesn't make sense. I'm talking about freeways and you start talking about racing tracks? Whatever, it's pointless trying to explain things to people who clearly don't understand air dynamics.

You don't seem to believe me. Listen, next time you're on a free way, accelerate to 100km/h then clutch for 10 seconds, and observe your speedometer. Obviously you have to do it when there's nobody behind you. Now do the same thing on an urban road with robots etc. Summa take a video and upload it on Youtube. Hold one, maybe I should do that, but really it feels like a waste of time. You don't force knowledge onto people, because it makes you come across as annoying and arrogant. So do what you want.

Especially if said 'knowledge' has no real-world basis.

Dude, what is a racetrack if not, for all intents and purposes, an enclosed highway? You seriously want to contend that objects with a drag area of on average less than 1m², specifically designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, create 'local air currents' with a measurable effect on one's own fuel consumption at highway speeds? Yet apart from yourself the entire internet is mute on the issue?

Forget the Youtube videos... this is Nobel prize material.