The 'fast' lane?

Question

On motorways in the UK, the speed limit is 70mph for cars. From left to right, the lanes are named (by drivers, not officially) the slow lane, the middle lane and the fast lane, even though all three lanes are legally the same.

Do others countries have the same system? Apart from driving on the wrong side of the road, of course...

Answer 1

In the USA the lane closes to the center is lane 1 and it is consider the fast lane.  Our highways usually have 4 lanes in the city areas and 2 lanes in the rural areas.  In the rural areas is usually the number 1 lane is for passing and the number 2 lane is for slower traffic.

Our speed limit in the city areas is 65mph and in the rurals areas it is 70mph.

Answer 2

It's hysterical to hear people discuss this question, because absolutely none of them know what they are talking about. In America, there is no such thing written in any vehicle code as a fast lane. I'm glad you realize that the lanes are named fast and slow by drivers, not officially. Believing otherwise would put you in the idiot category. There is a sign on every public street, highway, freeway, road, and avenue that says one of two things. Maximum Speed or Speed Limit. This sign is in place so you know as a driver what speed never to exceed. There may also be a sign that says Slower Traffic Keep Right. This sign means that if you are going to be driving slower than the Maximum Speed or the Speed Limit, you are required to keep to the right. There are also signs that say to keep right except to pass, which is done to keep the left lane open so drivers can pass traffic that is moving slower than the posted Maximum Speed or Speed Limit. Idiots all over the country interpret the Slower Traffic Keep Right sign as overruling all other speed signs and allowing them to drive faster than the Maximum Speed or the Speed Limit as long as they do it in the number one lane. The lane numbers are assigned from the center (left, in America) as follows. Rideshare, (if there is one),1,2,3,4, etc. The lanes toward the right tend to move slower because it is into and out of these lanes that people are moving in order to enter or exit the highway or street. All this being said, if you desire to risk personal and public safety and increase your chances of a speeding ticket by driving faster than the posted Maximum Speed or the Speed Limit, the least-dangerous lane to do it in is the number one or number two lane. There are going to be a lot of thumbs down for this answer. Please note that they are from the people who don't agree with me, but cannot argue with me on a factual basis, because what I said is law, not opinion.

Answer 3

We have a fast-lane too. We also have idiots who drive slow in it.

Answer 4

I thought the speed limits were: 75 on interstate,65on county roads & 55 on the other roads. Unless otherwise stated!

I guess each state differs on that,ex: Montana. We drive on the right side of the road & the "Passing Lane" is too the left, so I guess that's the fast lane~so you can get ahead of the car in front of you. Once you do, you resume driving in the right lane. When there are no cars in sight I start "Multi-tasking" (we all do it!!) so I'm in & out of lanes...But.... I"m still on the road...Right? I"m either calling for directions or making sure my make up is just so!!! Can"t forget about the hair either!  So you see I don"t care what "lane" I"m in as long as I look good when I safely reach my destination!

Answer 5

In the USA from left to right we have the fast lane and then the slow lane. Though legally they are all the same and top speed on the major interstates is also 70 mph.

Answer 6

The speed on interstates is determined by each state.  For example, in IL, interstates are 65mph, but in IN, it is 70mph.  So the speed can vary from state to state.  Unofficially I think most people in the US call the left lane the fast lane if there are multiple lanes and the far right the slow.  This doesn't mean that everyone drives that way though!

Answer 7

Left lane is the fast lane, right lane is the slow lane, centre lane is for the typical driver (on three-lane highways). Major through-city highways have even more lanes. Stretches of the 401 through Toronto have 4-5 lanes in the collector, plus an additional 4 lanes on the express side of the barrier. Drivers, even police are aware that people in the right lane can drive slower than the limit, or the limit itself. The centre lane is used for people driving acceptably over the limit (10km/h, or 5 mph over the limit). The fast lane is for people driving even faster than that, who run the risk of recieving a speeding ticket.

As much as people don't like hearing about it, speeders keep congestion down. I spend 3 hours/day on the highway, and what I see is shocking. An ambulance going down the highway may be doing 110 km/h in the fast lane. People will not pass it because it's an emergency vehicle, 5 km behind it is congestion. Why? Because the ambulance is travelling  slower than what drivers typically do on the highway, single-handedly forming a rolling roadblock. If a typical car were doing that, he may be charged with being a 'left lane bandit'.

To 'Me again':

There is an interesting article from a few years back where someone was going 100km/h in the slow lane, and his friend was doing 100km/h in the fast lane down a two-lane highway (100km/h was the speed limit). Some drivers were so frustrated that they were passing these two on the shoulders. The two were both pulled over by police, charged with obstructing traffic and mischeif (the latter being a criminal charge).

The informal law of the highway is just as important as the formal law of the highway. This is NOT an invitation or legal right to speed, its just the way things work.

Answer 8

Same everywhere, exept we drive on the right side of the road and you drive on the left or "wrong" side. Also it's official here, not just something drivers made up.

Answer 9

In South Africa the highways are two lanes, you pass on either side and use the grass central reservation to do a " U" turn. The standard of driving is appalling and over the coming Easter holidays the death toll will probably be about 150 to 200 ...

Answer 10

I call it the fast lane and slow lane,Indiana,,I'm in the fast lane all the time...