First of all

I'm not kidding myself. I know that due to the nature of my web site, the people that will be reading this article are probably not the people that need this article. Therefore, I'm going to classify this as more of a rant. However, maybe... just maybe... this link will reach one person. One person that pays attention to something they're doing on the road... a habit they agree they need to change. Maybe.

Move over.

I respect you wanting to drive whatever speed you want to, so please give me the same respect.

If you refuse to pull over at the turnouts and let me pass, you're not keeping the highways safer by making me slower. You're pissing me off and encouraging me to pass dangerously. The speed limit here is not always relevant. Except on freeways, the posted speed limits in California are NOT absolute. The legal limit defined as the posted limit OR a speed safe for conditions. What is safe for conditions may very well be more OR less than the posted limit based on traffic, weather, and your vehicle type and condition.

On the interstate, don't be a left lane vigilante. The left lane is to be used for passing ONLY except in very heavy traffic.

Quoting the California Vehicle code:

22400. (a) No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with law. 21654. (a) Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway. 21753. Except when passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall safely move to the right-hand side of the highway in favor of the overtaking vehicle after an audible signal or a momentary flash of headlights by the overtaking vehicle, and shall not increase the speed of his or her vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle. This section does not require the driver of an overtaken vehicle to drive on the shoulder of the highway in order to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass.

These are examples of three mostly unknown laws.

Also, I think it's important to always yield to the faster moving vehicle. Imagine this scenario: You are in the number 2 lane with cruise control on 60mph. You are approaching a truck traveling at 58mph. There is a vehicle in the number 1 lane, 800 feet behind you, traveling approximately 65mph. It is YOUR responsibility to turn off your cruise control and allow the vehicle in the number 1 lane to pass you before you overtake the truck. If you cannot complete a pass before a faster moving vehicle would catch up to you, do not attempt it! It is more dangerous to force a faster moving vehicle to brake (of course the one exception to this are tractor trailers - while it's frustrating to brake for one truck passing another verrrryy slowly, please understand the bigger picture. 1) A tractor trailer takes a lot longer to brake. 2) The drivers are under extremely tight deadlines and every minute sooner they arrive could mean more money). Of course, this assumes you take a split second to judge the speed of a passing vehicle...

Be able to justify every action.

This one is rather easy. I see individuals entering the freeway and immediately moving over 4 lanes into the number 1 lane during very light traffic. Why?

During your morning commute tomorrow, pretend that you are teaching someone to drive who has never been in a car before. Be able to explain and justify every lane change, gear shift, brake press, etc. Performance drivers can go one level further to assess their position in a lane, shifting rpm, steering wheel hand position, etc.

Don't use your brakes.

This rant is twofold. The first part - many drivers think that their foot must be either on the gas or the brake. I'll be traveling at a reasonable speed on a city street and see a light that just turned red about a quarter mile ahead. I'll let off the gas and use engine braking to scrub off speed as I approach the light.

If it's a four lane road, drivers will often go around me - so they can get to the red light faster? They used more gas ($$$!) and more brakes than I did and didn't get anywhere faster. An additional benefit to using more engine braking is that if the light turns green during your approach, you can simply re-accelerate slowly from your current speed, which will presumably use significantly less fuel than accelerating from a complete stop.

On mountain roads or highways, this is even more important. The key is using the same gear to go DOWN a hill as you would going UP a hill. If you have an automatic transmission car, please try to be aware of gear changes. If you would hear your car downshift when going up a hill (the engine revving higher/getting louder), then you should manually downshift your transmission when going down the hill. Automatic transmissions usually have four gears - labeled as D (with [4] and without [3] overdrive), 2, and 1 (or "L"). "D" is "automatic drive" mode that shifts when you need it to. If you're traveling at highway speeds, your car will most likely be in fourth gear. To downshift into third gear, press the button (usually located on the side of the shift lever) labeled "O/D." This turns overdrive (which is your highest gear) off, keeping your car one gear lower. Alternatively, some cars may have a "3" shift position. Even if you pick the wrong gear, you won't damage your car. If you are on the highway and shift your car into "1" or "L" (low gear), your car will only shift into the lowest gear in which the engine can safely operate.

The second part of this rant is about not using your brakes in stop-and-go traffic. By leaving a space in front of you, you're not only being significantly safer, but you're actually improving traffic flow considerably. For this, I'll simply reference a fantastic experiment. Please click and read through it.

Traffic waves: Sometimes one driver can vastly improve traffic

Lane splitting

I ride a motorcycle. In California, it is legal for motorcycles to ride between lanes of cars traveling the same direction. Let me repeat: it is legal for motorcycles to ride between lanes of cars traveling the same direction. Many drivers act agressively toward motorcyclists doing this simply because they do not understand that it is legal. Others simply have a misunderstanding of the law- many think that a motorcyclist can only travel X mph faster than surrounding traffic. This is also untrue - the speed limit for a motorcycle splitting is the same as what is defined above - what is safe for conditions OR the posted speed limit. Going 60mph with surrounding traffic stopped is NOT safe, and is ticketable. When I'm splitting lanes, there's one less car taking up space in traffic. Therefore, I'm helping you reach your destination sooner. Don't be upset because I have chosen to take a risk that has benefits to me.