Driving on the right.

As one who is paranoid about being in other peoples way, I insist on sitting in the back, keeping my head down when I can’t, and staying in the slow lane when I am not passing someone. Few drivers however, pay any attention to the rear view mirror, causing massive frustration. You have all seen it. A car going slower than the speed limit sits in the left lane while a string of cars piles up behind. The car pays no mind. Finally a few cars take an opportunity to pass on the right. The car pays no mind and continues on in the left lane sometimes even showing frustration at the cars that pass.

The building frustration of this situation drives people to take risks. Passing at high speeds is dangerous. It is even more dangerous when those cars are moving much slower on the right side. It encourages weaving in and out of traffic, which again is dangerous and causes a lot of angery drivers who then pay more attention to the waving cars than the other cars around them.

This is why several states have laws against driving in the left lane or “fast lane”. Vehicles pulling trailers are banned from driving on the left in most cities or congested highway sections and the most common roadway sign after speed limit signes are “slower traffic keep right”.

Ok, as you can see, I am a very passionate about this subject, probably because I tend to pass more than let myself be passed. So you can imagine how enthused I was on a recent road trip through Oregon to find the drivers are somewhat stringent on the passing on the left rule. It really is an experience all drivers should have in their life. It was beautiful.

But the novelty quickly wore off for the passengers in my van. In attempting to keep out of the left lane unless passing, I change lanes more than most. Now I was practically weaving left and right as cars jossled back and forth letting faster cars through while slowly overtaking the slowest half of the cars. In the back of my van there were growns as a motion sick passenger attempted to fool her senses into thinking it wasn’t moving.

Now I had to either settle for traveling at the speed of the slowest trucks, or break my own rule and spend more rime in the left lane even when other cars wanted to pass.

I longed for home, where I wouldn’t stand out for being a left lane loafer, because everyone is. I could get away with being slightly better than the crowd and still feed my vanity by feeling better than those other terrible, worthless drivers. Add to that the fact that I could pump my own gas and I really couldn’t wait to get out of the state. Maybe a more rule following society isn’t what I want, or at least not something I am prepared to be a part of.

They say that you are often the person you get along with least, and in this case it was true for me. I really don’t get along with people like me. Perhaps this is I say that if you like what you read here, then this is not where you belong. Think about the people you don’t get along with most, are you like them?