An occasionally petty rant about drivers...

The "fast lane". That's the lane on the lefthand side of the freeway where ostensibly people who are driving faster position themselves, of their own accord, to exceed the speeds of those people driving in the right lane, or more often in the right two or three lanes. I find myself witness to an entirely different reality daily. The fast lane is where people who are obstinately oblivious to the civil realities of freeway driving position themselves. What mental calculations, if any, lead them to believe that being in the fast lane at 63mph in a 65mph zone is a righteous choice I cannot imagine. Particularly when there is a Ford Excursion tailgating them followed by six other cars. True, it is dangerous and rude for the Ford Excursion to "hover" waiting for an opportunity to 'go through' but the fault is no less that of the "well mannered" driver puttering in the fast lane. Unless one has been anointed by the angels as an arbiter of traffic speed, being in the fast lane when other people wish to go faster is a form of troglodyte obstinance and creates greater hazards than speed alone. Whether they are right or wrong, the people who begin maneuvering to get around the person who is a 'fast lane ninja' create speed variants in the middle and slow lanes that are ferociously dangerous. At some moment, it doesn't make a difference who's obeying the Driver's Manual; dangerous is dangerous. The principle of "slower traffic keep right" is based largely on a system that triages drivers so they aren't competing with each other on the basis of speed. Drivers who choose, with clear intent, to drive in the fast lane knowing that other drivers are going faster are a hazard. They exhibit passive-aggressive tendencies which are truly scary. "I'm in the right because I'm driving the speed limit."isn't sufficient.

I try not to tailgate. I don't want to slide through the slow lane to go around. I wait for an opportunity to just civilly pass on the right when there's an opening. I find myself taking deep breaths when the driver ahead positions themself at the same speed and adjacent to the car in the lane to the right, effectively blocking everyone behind. Did they really enjoy Roller Derby? The thing is driving isn't a game.

Lord, this is obviously one of my chances to achieve humility.