Why do ....?

Question

Why do people insist on pesstering you by riding your bumper on the interstate when you are acutally going the speed limit? This annoys the stew out of me and I cant figure out why people do this. I am actually going the speed limit and saving gas, but yet you treat me like I am doing something wrong. Just interested on what other people think about this subject.

Answer 1

They (and me, sometimes) want to go a little faster than the speed limit.  If you are not passing someone, make sure to stay out of the leftmost lane, which is reserved for passing only in every state in the nation.

You are perfectly legal doing what you are doing, but for courtesy's sake, don't do it in the left lane.  Also, regardless of the situation, pay attention to what's in front of you, not what is behind you.  If someone rear-ends you, it's their fault, no matter how fast you or they were going.

Answer 2

They are bullying you so that you'll move to another lane. Just get out of their way and stay out of trouble. There's no use in insisting, you'll get to your destination just as fast and stress-free in the slower lane.

Answer 3

Well, the purpose of any road, interstate or otherwise is to allow traffic to move from one place to another with greater efficiency.  When you consider that point in tandem with another observation that I will guess has not escaped your notice, that being that most people somewhat exceed the speed limit while driving, then you muct surely recognize that driving the speed limit in any but the slow lanes on the interstate impedes traffic flow.

When you do so, you can hardly expect that the people you are annoying in this way will not respond according to human nature--irritate someone and you will more often than not excite them to behave badly.  You may as well rail away at the wind as to complain about people getting exercised when you hold them up, even if you are adhering to the letter of the law and couching your behavior in the nobler act of self-sacrifice by saving gas.  You are nonetheless seeking to impose your will on them on public thoroughfares, and you are neither the police nor the EPA.  

What you may wish to consider, however, since you seem so inclined as to justify what you are doing by your adherence to higher principles, is how much your behavior is contributing to potentially dangerous situations on the road.  People hug your bumper out of frustration over you slowing traffic flow.  They weave in and out of high speed traffic to get around you, further creating a hazard.  If you were really caring for the welfare of the planet, and its inhabitants, perhaps you would be more willing to set aside principle to reduce the potential harm you expose your fellow travelers to by your actions.

Indeed, some state police have policies of ticketing people who do what you are doing for the very reasons I have outlined.  Regardless of the fact that the people tailgating you are wishing to exceed the speed limit, your actions are the greater hazard and police are first and foremost about promoting public safety, as they should be.

Answer 4

anonymous is wrong. The fact that almost everyone is doing it doesn't make your refusal to break the law wrong. Yes, slower traffic is supposed to stay out of the left lane, but that means those who go well below the speed limit. Why would the police encourage lawlessness by advocating speeding in the left lane? I go no more than 5 miles over the limit at all times and I pay taxes for the roads too, so if its convenient for me to be in the left lane, thats d**n well what I'm going to do.

Answer 5

Yeah, I hate it when people do that. Its like they think they own the road and they try to bully other drivers to move over. I was on the interstate one day in the left lane and I had some crazy lady riding my bumper so close I could barley see the hood of her car. There was a lot of traffic in front of me so there was no way I could drive any faster. We were already traveling 75mph in a 65 so its not like the traffic was going that slow. I did not want to move over because the traffic was going a lot slower in the other lane. So I tapped my brakes a little bit to see if she would get off my bumper. When I looked in my mirror I could see her fussing and mouthing, "you need to get over" and she was pointing to the right lane. I guess since she was riding my bumper so close she was not able to see the line of cars that were ahead of me. Some drivers can be so stupid.