I’m driving in the right lane. I come up behind a car going slower than me. I wait for the left lane to be clear without any nearby traffic that’s going faster, then I pull into the left lane to pass. As I’m passing, say, a string of three slower cars, someone comes up fast behind me and sits on my butt as I’m passing. I finish passing the string of cars and put on my signal to merge back right, waiting a few seconds to build up a bit more space between myself and the car I’m about to merge in front of so they have a safe stopping distance should they need it. Butt-sitter behind me zips into the right lane just before I merge (sometimes as I’m actively merging), goes around me, and back into the left lane. I then merge right.
Where the hell is butt sitter coming from? If the left lane was clear then you should have had plenty of room and time to safely pass three cars.
Otherwise the left lane wasn’t safe to enter. You entered slower than the car behind you. You essentially cut him off. I don’t blame him for passing you on the right and cutting you right back off. You damn near killed him.
The important corollary of “left lane is for passing only” is that you should never see a lit brake light in the left lane. If he’s riding your ass, you forced him to use his brakes.
Okay, here’s the scenario.
I’m driving in the right lane. I come up behind a car going slower than me. I wait for the left lane to be clear without any nearby traffic that’s going faster, then I pull into the left lane to pass. As I’m passing, say, a string of three slower cars, someone comes up fast behind me and sits on my butt as I’m passing. I finish passing the string of cars and put on my signal to merge back right, waiting a few seconds to build up a bit more space between myself and the car I’m about to merge in front of so they have a safe stopping distance should they need it. Butt-sitter behind me zips into the right lane just before I merge (sometimes as I’m actively merging), goes around me, and back into the left lane. I then merge right.
Where the hell is butt sitter coming from? If the left lane was clear then you should have had plenty of room and time to safely pass three cars.
Otherwise the left lane wasn’t safe to enter. You entered slower than the car behind you. You essentially cut him off. I don’t blame him for passing you on the right and cutting you right back off. You damn near killed him.
The important corollary of “left lane is for passing only” is that you should never see a lit brake light in the left lane. If he’s riding your ass, you forced him to use his brakes.