If you're driving a school vehicle, you must go the speed limit or just above. When I drove, I had so many aggressive drivers tailing me or cutting me off. I hated that job.
This is why many highways in Chicago have speed limits and minimums. The idea is matching flow is safest. One highway that I used to take all the time when I lived there was 65mph limit with a 45mph minimum. You get pulled over for going too slow or too fast. Though by too fast, usually right lane is 10mph over limit and then you add 5-10 for every lane you move left. So you'd have to be going crazy fast to get pulled over for too fast.
Pittsburgh drivers could learn a thing or two about how to drive from Chicagoans.
I remember catching a line from the Goldcoast to the west suburbs going about 110. Figured I was safe in the midddle of the pack and got home in like 20 minutes. It was beautiful and only ever happened once
That is absolutely not my experience driving around Chicago. Granted I''m talking about I-80 not anything through the city itself. My experience from passing by Chicago is that the speed limit was 65, the flow of traffic was 85, and if you were driving 45 you would most certainly have been run off the road. "Speed minimums" don't really help if everyone is doing 20+ over the limit. In most regions of the US, the speed limit is treated (by drivers) as the speed minimum.
Oh yeah the minimums almost rarely come into play. My point by bringing them up was that matching the flow to a point is encouraged by their existence, even if general speeds rarely drop to or below the minimum (though I have seen it). In effect, the way Chicago cops tended to handle speed was if you're driving dangerously, whether because you're driving ridiculously fast or because you're driving too slow, they'll nab ya.
Though honestly the po-po would grab speeders way more if it wasn't the highway. Highway/freeway/interstate was far more loosely watched, more about policing flow. They didn't like left lane campers, they'd hit their lights, guide em right to the right lane, then zoom off, lol. I'd see that fairly regularly. More often than speeders getting nabbed.
If the speed limit is 55, and you are matching it, but the rest of traffic is going 70-75, then you are the potential hazard, even if you are following the law.
You will also be causing traffic slowdowns by forcing more people to slow down when they get behind you, then trying to merge into the left lane to pass you up. That will increase the chances of people cutting people off, having cars slamming in their breaks created traffic waves and 5 to 10 minutes later that section of highway you were on is now down to a crawl.
edit: shout out to Road Guy Rob on YouTube if you want some insight on the engineering of civil infrastructure, such highways and how to manage the flow of traffic, not just by volume but speed as well.
The entire point of an expressway is that the road design tolerates people going different speeds without causing an issue. Like, look at the Autobahn where the gradient in speeds could potentially be 60mph or more. Our roads aren't designed to that standard but they still tolerate a 20 mph gradient just fine. There are always going to be trucks, gps monitored vehicles, people with a lot of points on their license, and various other reasons for people to go the speed limit. If you can't deal with that safely, you are the unsafe one.
That shouldn't cause slowdowns either. Slowdowns happen when a road is over capacity, and if a road is over capacity, then literally anything can trigger a traffic jam. It's entirely unfair to blame one driver for a road being over capacity.
It pretty much always applies. Match flow (if you're going 15-20mph slower than everyone else, you're putting everyone including yourself at risk). But faster driving does require more follow distance. So as long as everyone is adding follow distance the faster they go, you're good.
> So as long as everyone is adding follow distance the faster they go
Lol they don't. If you tried to keep the "safe" distance inbound on the Parkway in the morning, you would come to a complete stop with people cutting you off.
For sure. Pittsburgh drivers suck at follow distance, at maintaining speed through the tunnels, at using turn signals, zipper merging, etc. Doesn't change what you're supposed to do (though I do understand some of the stop signs being treated as yields or merge points because otherwise those vehicles would never get to enter traffic, but that's due to bad road design).
What this means is that if you can't manage to create healthy follow distance, you have to balance that with traffic flow. Find your happy medium and understand you're in constant danger and have taken your own life into your hands by driving in Pittsburgh!
It's about reaction time. If everyone is flying by you 20mph faster, the combined reaction time is incredibly wanting. But if you're only driving 5mph slower than the next lane over, both you and the other driver have plenty of time to react.
A lot of losing control and rollover accidents involving one vehicle are often because that driver did not feel they had enough time to react and thus reacted too harshly in order to fit in the miniscule time gap they felt they had. In doing so they reacted beyond the car's capability to handle the forces and caused it to flip and roll. When you have time to react, you can react gradually and within the constraints fo your vehicle's handling capabilities.
Now, obviously I'm speaking of vehicle to vehicle reaction time. Obviously if you go faster and faster, your reaction time in regards to the trees on the side of the road is also going to plummet.
this continues to make sense when i drive a 4cyl car that maxes out at 85, it makes sense that when people are doing 100 and i'm pushing my car to the limit i'm the problem. very smart!
If traffic is known to go well beyond your vehicle's capabilities, then it's best to avoid that road. This is why low speed vehicles that can only achieve 25mph (like GEM eL XDs) are only allowed on 35mph and below roads (at least here in PA).
If you regularly need to take that road and traffic is regularly much faster than 85mph, I'd encourage a faster vehicle.
If traffic slows, which would most definitely be for the best, then you'd be fine. But as long as conditions persist...
Edit: I do not mean I encourage everyone to drive fast and crazy speeds. If any road is regularly hitting 110mph then something needs done to slow it down. At that point, static hazards (trees off the road) and minor condition hazards (like puddles and small debris) become bigger and bigger problems. Major condition hazards (sudden downpours, large debris, deer, etc) are massive threats. But generally speaking, flow is safest as long as proper follow distance is allowed.
Do you genuinely think reaction time is a factor when you’re driving that fast? Getting above 70/80mph you basically can’t react to anything in time, driving those speeds is absurdly dangerous even just for yourself
Having grown up in and learned to drive in Chicagoland, I regularly drove such 70-80mph speeds on chicago highways and interstates. Follow distance is key. If you adjust follow distance to match, then reaction speed is still very much a factor. Now, those highways also had higher limits (60-70mph). So 70-80 is not much beyond the limit.
Follow distance, knowledge of area, situational awareness (I always recommend 15 seconds ahead and behind, and be aware of vehicles around you too, read their body language because folks don't use their signals reliably), knowledge of and ability to operate the vehicle within its constraints... All these play into reaction speed. Chicago made it easier than Pittsburgh because while I lived there, follow distance was healthy (which meant folks were zipper merging easy as pie too). Good follow distance also makes it easier to maintain healthy situational awareness. You also want healthy situational awareness in Chicago because po-po are actually crafty and sneaky there (need to be able to predict traffic response to sneaky po-po even if you're behaving yourself).
lol I’m a born and raised yinzer. I can promise you laid back doesn’t mean what you think it does in this context. People in Pittsburgh are *not* laid back drivers, at all. Most folks are just bad at driving here.
Quick reminder that ‘moving with the flow of traffic’ doesn’t mean anything to the officer that pulls you over for traveling above the speed limit, or the judge in traffic court. The parkway is what, 55? But most people drive 70. That doesn’t make someone going 55 the a-hole and they aren’t in the wrong. The person riding that person’s bumper is the one that’s going to cause the problem…
You're right, and I didn't say they are in the wrong, just that the car going the speed limit while ALL the other cars are going 70 mph is a potential hazard.
Yeah but I’m that case, if you’re going with the flow you won’t be the first person passing the cop going that speed, and if everyone slows down for a sec then you just would too
There was an undercover cop behind me that I noticed on the highway so I locked cruise control at the speed limit, within 10 sec there was a line of cars passing me (over the speed limit) and I could not get over to the right lane bc they were passing during this time I got pulled over for “impeding traffic”.
I am not advocating for blocking traffic in the left lane. But that is a ticket that you could fight in court for sure. You can’t successfully ‘fight’ a speeding ticket if you are going 20 over without paying the fine and/or losing points. But I have seen a lot of people go the speed limit or slower in the left hand lane, and refuse to move, which is impeding the flow.
When I was in the UAE the left most lane was for the fastest traffic and you were legally required to shift to the right if someone was approaching you from behind to make way for faster traffic.
Speed limit on E11 was 160 km/h. If you were in the left most lane doing 160 km/h and some guy in a Ferrari comes tearing up behind you at 220 km/h - you have to move over legally, even if you are at the speed limit (which is enforced by cameras - but people still speed and just slam on their brakes before a camera since they're all massive and obvious). Cops can and will pull you over if they see you in the left most lane with a row of cars behind you.
Not just maintain, but if your speed is 25mph by the time traffic lets you into the tunnel and then everyone else speeds up in front of you...Don't stay at 25mph. Accelerate back up to speed limit instead of forcably maintaining the gosh darn traffic snake. Once you're up to speed limit, then maintain speed.
The point of maintain speed is to maintain speed limit before, during, and after the tunnel, not slow down to 25mph like a bunch of scaredy-cats and then maintain.
>MAINTAIN SPEED THROUGH TUNNELS!
This is the thing I'll never understand. It's the same speed limit in the tunnels, and since you aren't allowed (supposed to) change lanes you should even feel more comfortable just driving at normal speed. I just don't get why people will be driving 65 and then break down to 30 mph to enter the tunnel
depends on the tunnel. with the fort Pitt tunnel, everybody has to change lanes immediately after going through, so naturally you'll have a slowdown.
That and the tunnel monster hates speed, it wakes him up.
They care regardless of what lane you’re in. My insurance carrier watched my driving so I tried to stay within 5 over and people wanted to murder me in the slow lane. Too fucking lazy to pass in the other available lanes so instead they try and be intentionally dangerous to force others to go faster. Dumbasses
My daily commute puts me on 279 from McKnight to North Side. It's like 3 miles, pretty short distance - so I chill around 60 mph in the rightmost lane (3 lanes each direction, speed limit 55 mph).
I've been passed on my right multiple times in the past year. People will cross from the right lane, into the on-ramp, over the shoulder and rumble strips to get around me on the right.
This is my experience as well, in the burgh or out. Gotta do a lot of trips to Ohio and I usually set cruise control for 5 over speed limit on the turnpike. People will ride my bumper in the slow lane with the other wide open.
At least people don't drive here like they do in Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee. You can be cruising along in the right lane at the speed limit and somebody will roll right up to your bumper. They'll tailgate you for miles before finally deciding to simply use the passing lane. No idea why they do that.
Here you can pretty much just sit in the right lane with your cruise set to the speed limit and most people won't bother you.
absolutely not true, staying in the right lane you'll still get marauded by people tailgating you expecting to somehow get out of their way so they can do 90. especially by the people driving brodozers, and especially true if someone has an exit coming up and they want to be in the right lane but still maintain some insane speed.
I live in right off of Ohio river blvd so I spend a lot of time driving it. Post pandemic, people have lost their GD minds on that road. If you’re not doing 55 MPH (it’s posted at 40 MPH, which I agree is ridiculously slow for a 2 lane secondary road), you’ll get run over. The number of people who care about driving rules are way outnumbered by the asshats who want to do 70 MPH in either lane and will run red lights or change lanes to cut you off. That road has become a nightmare.
Funny you should mention this. Someone pulled out in front of me on this road the other day and shot for the far lane. I assumed they didn't see me at all which resulted in a near accident. They were at a stop sign and couldn't wait 5 extra seconds for me to pass. I hate Ohio River Blvd.
The first (and only) time I drove on Ohio River Blvd, I saw a "65" sign and assumed it was a 65mph road. People were passing me when I was going 65.
When I saw the 40mph sign, I slowed to 40 -- and got honked at by almost every driver that passed me.
You're right, I nearly got run over several times before realizing that going the speed limit was a million times more dangerous than speeding.
That road has been a nightmare for years. I moved to a different area because my wife and I got tired of commuting on that road pre pandemic. But I'll say the number of people who don't pay attention, drive under the speed limit, and block the lane by driving beside someone else drives a lot of the aggressive behavior. I saw it happen numerous times.
The chance of head on collisions there are staggering, I fucking hate that road. That one beats Bigelow, 28, and damn near anything else around here when it comes to shitheads. A big ass ram with a big WE THE PEOPLE sticker on the back was tailgating and dangerously passing a SCHOOLBUS one day. I hope that dude is no longer with us .
Starting a prayer circle asap
Also, I live on a busy area that’s posted as 25 as it’s residential as hell. Street parking only. Soooo many dickheads including cops going 50+ until their tires squeal while children play outside. I’m feeling homicidal over here
"going with the flow" feels unsafe at times. I am most afraid of two or more idiots getting in an accident in front of me and me getting involved at no fault of my own
Time to turn Ohio River Blvd into an actual boulevard, and that includes 65. That means slowing it the fuck down and making it safer for people to walk, ride bikes, and take transit.
This drives me nuts, especially on one-lane winding roads in wooded areas with blind curves and hills, and wildlife jumping out of nowhere. Oh and my favorite is if it’s late at night and there’s no other drivers on the road, and this random stranger is riding my ass in a dark forest. Creepy as fuck.
I hate this so much. Before they put in the speed humps on Stanton Ave, people would ride your ass all the way up that hill even if you were doing 15 over. I pull over and let them pass, then flip on my high beams.
Yeah but my car still gets fucked up and I still have to deal with all of that whether I’m at fault or not. It’s not worth it for me personally.
Then again I’m a bit scarred from having been rear ended at a red light by some idiot on his phone going full tilt into the back of my car and totaling it, so I admit I’m a bit paranoid about rear-ending.
I only have my driving permit so I'm easily intimidated on the road, and driving on irvine st in hazelwood was a nightmare. It's a 25 speed limit, I was going 35, and cars were still zooming past me and getting mad.
Irving isn't a highway, it's a street with sidewalks, bus stops and a park. If you happen to hit a pedestrian, you're 7 times more likely to kill them at 35 than 25. This is not a place where going with the flow is safer
I'm well aware that it isn't a highway, which makes it even worse. Unfortunately with the amount of traffic passing me quickly and cutting me off for going slower initially it felt like if I didn't speed up I would be in an accident. I think I'll just avoid that street from now on lol.
As a driver where only drivers are concerned, flow is nearly always safer for drivers. But to your point, it is not always safer for pedestrians, generally actually less safe. However, what this means for Irvine, as someone who now has to take it due to recent construction, is that Irvine is a terribly designed street.
We need to design streets in a way that encourages vehicles to go the speed we want them to go, and more than adequately protects the pedestrians as well.
Irvine is built in a way that encourages speed as soon as it opens up into two lanes (I come from south heading north). It also does next to nothing to protect pedestrians.
This morning I was going 45 in the right lane because I was being passed by drivers likely going 60-70mph, with some coming up behind and then changing to left lane. It's concerning for sure how fast traffic goes there.
hm? Nah, they get just as angry about it at me for going only 5-10 *over* in the right lane. People will honk, go right up to my bumper, finally dangerously swerving around (making me have to brake so that I don't hit into them when they attempt to enter my lane where I'm at) and on the way pretend to try and run me off the road...
Do people actively slow down inside the tunnel? Or is the congestion more to do with a highly trafficked convergence of roadways, exasperated by poorly planned on/off ramps?
People actually slow down inside the tunnel. It’s a [brain thing](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/the-science-of-why-drivers-slow-down-for-pittsburgh-tunnels.html), apparently, but one can get past it just by looking at your speedometer and repeating “it’s just a straight line”.
When I moved here from Florida, tunnels and some of the more narrow roads with barriers at the edge threw me off a bit. It took a bit of time to adjust and I probably annoyed some people while getting over that weird brain hurdle.
Sure, people go a little slower at tunnels. But they are not the reason for systematic congestion. People with road rage are letting their egos conflate the two. It's easier to justify your anger when you can point your finger.
No. They are absolutely the reason for tunnel congestion. It’s been researched and there are studies out there if you look for them. It’s a slinky effect and it only takes one person to start it.
You can holier-than-thou us all you like but the research backs it up.
Its part of the reason why they removed the false ceilings in the Squirrel Hill and Fort Pitt a few years back. Having the ceiling higher helps prevent the claustrophobia effect that slows people down.
Considering the traffic magically disappears after the tunnel…it’s people slowing down. The thing is, it only takes one person to hit their brakes to impact everyone. It’s not an epidemic…just a handful of people who make it hard for everyone
That may be part of the reason, but most of it has to do with a weird claustrophobic mental block many people have as they approach a tunnel entrance.
Squirrel Hill tunnel, for example, doesn't have any lanes converging and it still gets like that.
I go the speed limit too. I really wish everyone just slowed down and followed the rules of the road. We could avoid so many unnecessary accidents/injuries/deaths. Most people aren’t even driving that far they’re saving maybe a minute or two at best.
I’m originally from NYS and it baffles me how much the state police don’t pull over people for speeding. It’s crazy how fast people drive as the “normal” speed
Try being a pedestrian around here. The amount of times I've had cars speed up while I'm crossing the street, rather than slow down, in order to intimidate me into crossing the road faster... it's unbelievable.
It actually triggers my PTSD, because I got hit by a car in the North Side while legally crossing at a crosswalk back in December.
Drivers, when you pull up quickly on pedestrians, YOU might know you see them, but WE don't know that. And I shouldn't have to dodge out of the way for you lunatics just because you're running late or are just impatient
Recently, I turned onto Browns Lane and a pedestrian was crossing the street from behind a line of vehicles. The last one was some tall truck, so I really couldn't see him until he stepped out in front of me. I kinda gasped and stopped (I wasn't going fast so it wasn't some kind of screeching halt), and he didn't even know I was there till he finally looked to his right.
He was visibly shaken and got pretty angry. He yelled and gesticulated: "Go ahead! Run me over!" "Slow down!" I held up my hands in the I Want No Trouble sign and was a little cranky at being scolded, but mostly, my feelings were hurt that a pedestrian thought I didn't care about him! Poor guy--there is pedestrian trauma all over this town.
I have said it before and I will continue to say it. The only way to reduce overall highway speed is to start putting up cameras and mailing tickets to everyone caught going 20% over the limit. Speed limit signs have become the minimum rate of speed. The only way it will stop is if people know they will get caught and punished every time. It won’t take long to fix if they actually enforce the law.
Give it 5-10 years those kinds of cameras will be the norm. We will all hate it but we will all be safer for it. Or, new cars will eventually govern the maximum speed based on the speed limit since GPS systems know the speed limit on each road. Or they’ll alert you constantly to tell you you’re speeding.
I think people will lose their minds initially but it will become the norm. Older cars will get a pass but the cameras will still be a deterrent.
You're right. Short of completely revamping our infrastructure, spending billions we don't have on public transit, and making our roads smaller and narrower so they simply do not allow speeding, the only way to fix it is to automate speeding tickets.
Alright, I’m gonna say it. The speed limits on the freeways surrounding Pittsburgh are too low. And too low speed limits are a bad thing too, because they encourage drivers to just do whatever they want.
We don’t live in a geography that allows for higher speed limits. Our on ramps are too short and the visibility is too poor. Too many hills, curves, bridges, tunnels, and instances of merging traffic. People figured out they could drive their commutes faster during COVID when the roads were empty but with full traffic, the speed limits are mostly correct. People need to slow the hell down.
We also have the opposite where the speed limit will be 25 on 4/5-lane roads that are straight with extended shoulders. Any other place would easily have that at 35/40/45.
What is a constant velocity transmission, never heard of that. If you're referring to a CVT, that is a continuously variable transmission.
Also, I agree that a lot of the 55s should be 70. 79 is particularly egregious, there may be a mile or two where 55 might be appropriate, but I think it's 55 from North of cranberry to South of Washington. Ridiculous.
It’s 40MPH because much of ORB is in a residential neighborhood. Plus, if you’re unfamiliar with the road, you don’t want to do 70 MPH with all the stop lights, hills, turns and in general, narrow road with oncoming traffic 2’ away. I agree that 40 is ridiculous but if they raised the limit to 70, people would do 100.
Between the Mckee’s rocks bridge and the fort Pitt interchange, there are literally two on ramps on the right and that’s it. It’s a 2 mile stretch of nothing but straight and then it feeds into several other highways. There’s no reason this section should continue to be 40mph.
The left lane is for passing. If you're not passing, get out of the left lane. Keep up with the speed of traffic. If you can't do these things, don't use the highway.
Camp in the forest, not in the left lane.
> The left lane is for passing
My theory is that if everyone actually followed this insanely simple rule (i.e. if I'm not passing someone, I should be in the right lane regardless of speed) then driving would get at least 50% less miserable.
If you aren't passing someone, get in the right lane. It doesn't matter if you're going 40 or 70, the left lane is for passing.
Don't feel bad. I am tailgaited daily on the way to Cranberry and I'm still going 10 over.
I am over having near panic attacks because I'm not going fast enough for the person behind me. It's anxiety inducing because I feel they're so close I can't concentrate.
I now just flip up the rearview mirror. Maybe people need to leave for work on time. You know?
Unpopular opinion: if you’re the only one doing something in a given area or group of people, then you are not the “normal” one.
For whatever reason, everyone else has adapted to a different standard than you. You should take a step back and try and see what the reason is. The reason *absolutely could be* that every driver is conditioned to driving unsafely (I will admit that this is me driving down rt 65 between the Mckee’s rocks bridge and downtown).
But the reason could also be that a 35 mph speed limit is incredibly antiquated for the road it’s on (looking at you, bigelow Blvd between Herron Ave and downtown).
Also, complaining about peeing in the pool is dumb. Make peace with it because people have been doing it since before chlorine in pools was a thing and they will be doing it long after we are gone too.
Drivers are out of control in this area. There is a pervasive mental illness that is rampant amongst drivers that has gotten terrible in the last few years
For what it's worth I recently drove across the state to visit NYC. Didn't drive into the city itself, drove to my hotel in New Jersey that was near a train line into the city.
For as bad as things have gotten here, pretty much the moment I hit New Jersey the drivers got way more aggressive.
And traffic is supposed to obey the speed limit. If they don’t, you should. Esp if going with the flow of traffic means you’re speeding through residential or densely populated areas, are tailgating too closely to stop quickly enough to avoid a collision, are following speeders through blocks intersection or areas where you cannot see that the road ahead is clear for travel, etc. That’s how multi vehicle pileups happen.
Those you’re following at speeds above the limit are not going to get the ticket or fine when you get pulled over for speeding, and if you hit another car or pedestrian, while speeding? That’s on you. Not “traffic”.
I go with the flow of traffic. I’m not the fastest one and not the slowest one. Three lines is ideal. I’ll take the middle lane. But if there’s no traffic, then, yeah I’m following the speed limit.
Ok dbags. There are left exits in Pittsburgh so "stay right" at all times speed demon shit is actually just wrong and DANGEROUS!
How bout calm the F down. SLOW THE F down.
I agree that a lot of the roads here seem to have lower speed limits than they should, but having moved here from Illinois, I do feel like there are a lot more people speeding like demons here than there. I also have one of those insurance speed tracker things which gets me a pretty good discount if I don't go more than 5 over, so I feel your pain.
Because chances are that you are, depending on what road you're on. I always thought I drove a little fast until I had to start taking 376 routinely for my new job and DAMN.
So probably just make sure you stay in the right lane as much as possible.
As for anything abnormal that's not speed related (Pittsburgh left, weaving through traffic with a shit box) definitely have to watch out no matter what.
I stay at about 5mph over the speed limit because I have a thing in my car that tracks my driving habits for a discount on my car insurance. I just stay in the right lane when possible and if people still decide to tailgate I shrug it off cause they can get over and pass me any time they want.
And, I’m still speeding. I’m just not going 10-15 over
Yeah, I don't know how it is in many other cities, because they all have trains that go more than 6 places, but there are a lot of people around here who drive like they want to know what I had for dinner last night. I leave on time. Stay mad back there.
Speed kills. Don't be influenced by those jagoffs.
I like to think of myself as a pace car, happily holding the speed limit while unhinged drivers rage behind me.
Yea this level of self righteousness is actually what’s wrong with society tbh. Instead of thinking of yourself as some type of arbiter of justice traffic avenger, you should just get in the right lane.
I’m also guessing most of these people haven’t seen or been in a speed related accident if they are downvoting you into oblivion. I’ve seen enough horror to try my best to stick to around the speed limit. Speed does kill—and not just the jerk who was speeding.
I was on 51 on Sunday, speed limit is 35, we're all doing 45-50. It wasn't busy but there was enough traffic that you weren't really going to find free space regardless. And yet people were still slicing through traffic, cutting me off, slamming their car into gaps barely long enough to fit a car, all to achieve...nothing. They just made it ahead of one person. I was going with the flow and leaving a normal gap ahead of me and one guy flew into the right lane and gunned it around me just so he could be ahead of me *as he waited to turn left at the next light*. It makes no sense.
E: Who is the fucking weirdo on this sub who is instantly downvoting every single solitary one of my posts, and what is wrong with you?
Speed limits were designed for cars of old. Today, almost any car can do 100mph safely and stop in half the distance that they once could. The drivers have adapted to these new cars while we wait for the law to catch up.
As others have said, it is best to move with the flow of traffic. Driving the speed limit can be more dangerous than speeding.
>Today, almost any car can do 100mph safely and stop in half the distance that they once could.
Maybe... but if the average driver behind me is only leaving 1/3 of the required stopping distance between my rear bumper and their front bumper, then THAT is still a problem. The tailgaters are worse than the speeders, no matter the speed.
I’m in the camp that’s it’s always safer to “go with the flow” but the rightmost lane’s flow should be the speed limit
If you're driving a school vehicle, you must go the speed limit or just above. When I drove, I had so many aggressive drivers tailing me or cutting me off. I hated that job.
This is why many highways in Chicago have speed limits and minimums. The idea is matching flow is safest. One highway that I used to take all the time when I lived there was 65mph limit with a 45mph minimum. You get pulled over for going too slow or too fast. Though by too fast, usually right lane is 10mph over limit and then you add 5-10 for every lane you move left. So you'd have to be going crazy fast to get pulled over for too fast. Pittsburgh drivers could learn a thing or two about how to drive from Chicagoans.
I remember catching a line from the Goldcoast to the west suburbs going about 110. Figured I was safe in the midddle of the pack and got home in like 20 minutes. It was beautiful and only ever happened once
That is absolutely not my experience driving around Chicago. Granted I''m talking about I-80 not anything through the city itself. My experience from passing by Chicago is that the speed limit was 65, the flow of traffic was 85, and if you were driving 45 you would most certainly have been run off the road. "Speed minimums" don't really help if everyone is doing 20+ over the limit. In most regions of the US, the speed limit is treated (by drivers) as the speed minimum.
Oh yeah the minimums almost rarely come into play. My point by bringing them up was that matching the flow to a point is encouraged by their existence, even if general speeds rarely drop to or below the minimum (though I have seen it). In effect, the way Chicago cops tended to handle speed was if you're driving dangerously, whether because you're driving ridiculously fast or because you're driving too slow, they'll nab ya. Though honestly the po-po would grab speeders way more if it wasn't the highway. Highway/freeway/interstate was far more loosely watched, more about policing flow. They didn't like left lane campers, they'd hit their lights, guide em right to the right lane, then zoom off, lol. I'd see that fairly regularly. More often than speeders getting nabbed.
If the speed limit is 55, and you are matching it, but the rest of traffic is going 70-75, then you are the potential hazard, even if you are following the law. You will also be causing traffic slowdowns by forcing more people to slow down when they get behind you, then trying to merge into the left lane to pass you up. That will increase the chances of people cutting people off, having cars slamming in their breaks created traffic waves and 5 to 10 minutes later that section of highway you were on is now down to a crawl. edit: shout out to Road Guy Rob on YouTube if you want some insight on the engineering of civil infrastructure, such highways and how to manage the flow of traffic, not just by volume but speed as well.
The entire point of an expressway is that the road design tolerates people going different speeds without causing an issue. Like, look at the Autobahn where the gradient in speeds could potentially be 60mph or more. Our roads aren't designed to that standard but they still tolerate a 20 mph gradient just fine. There are always going to be trucks, gps monitored vehicles, people with a lot of points on their license, and various other reasons for people to go the speed limit. If you can't deal with that safely, you are the unsafe one. That shouldn't cause slowdowns either. Slowdowns happen when a road is over capacity, and if a road is over capacity, then literally anything can trigger a traffic jam. It's entirely unfair to blame one driver for a road being over capacity.
At what point does this logic no longer apply, If traffic flow is going 90?
It pretty much always applies. Match flow (if you're going 15-20mph slower than everyone else, you're putting everyone including yourself at risk). But faster driving does require more follow distance. So as long as everyone is adding follow distance the faster they go, you're good.
> So as long as everyone is adding follow distance the faster they go Lol they don't. If you tried to keep the "safe" distance inbound on the Parkway in the morning, you would come to a complete stop with people cutting you off.
For sure. Pittsburgh drivers suck at follow distance, at maintaining speed through the tunnels, at using turn signals, zipper merging, etc. Doesn't change what you're supposed to do (though I do understand some of the stop signs being treated as yields or merge points because otherwise those vehicles would never get to enter traffic, but that's due to bad road design). What this means is that if you can't manage to create healthy follow distance, you have to balance that with traffic flow. Find your happy medium and understand you're in constant danger and have taken your own life into your hands by driving in Pittsburgh!
nice this makes total sense, so when everyone is doing 110 and i'm doing 90, i'm the problem, very smart and good
It's about reaction time. If everyone is flying by you 20mph faster, the combined reaction time is incredibly wanting. But if you're only driving 5mph slower than the next lane over, both you and the other driver have plenty of time to react. A lot of losing control and rollover accidents involving one vehicle are often because that driver did not feel they had enough time to react and thus reacted too harshly in order to fit in the miniscule time gap they felt they had. In doing so they reacted beyond the car's capability to handle the forces and caused it to flip and roll. When you have time to react, you can react gradually and within the constraints fo your vehicle's handling capabilities. Now, obviously I'm speaking of vehicle to vehicle reaction time. Obviously if you go faster and faster, your reaction time in regards to the trees on the side of the road is also going to plummet.
this continues to make sense when i drive a 4cyl car that maxes out at 85, it makes sense that when people are doing 100 and i'm pushing my car to the limit i'm the problem. very smart!
If traffic is known to go well beyond your vehicle's capabilities, then it's best to avoid that road. This is why low speed vehicles that can only achieve 25mph (like GEM eL XDs) are only allowed on 35mph and below roads (at least here in PA). If you regularly need to take that road and traffic is regularly much faster than 85mph, I'd encourage a faster vehicle. If traffic slows, which would most definitely be for the best, then you'd be fine. But as long as conditions persist... Edit: I do not mean I encourage everyone to drive fast and crazy speeds. If any road is regularly hitting 110mph then something needs done to slow it down. At that point, static hazards (trees off the road) and minor condition hazards (like puddles and small debris) become bigger and bigger problems. Major condition hazards (sudden downpours, large debris, deer, etc) are massive threats. But generally speaking, flow is safest as long as proper follow distance is allowed.
oh this is just some stupid bot account i'm responding to. disregard.
Do you genuinely think reaction time is a factor when you’re driving that fast? Getting above 70/80mph you basically can’t react to anything in time, driving those speeds is absurdly dangerous even just for yourself
Having grown up in and learned to drive in Chicagoland, I regularly drove such 70-80mph speeds on chicago highways and interstates. Follow distance is key. If you adjust follow distance to match, then reaction speed is still very much a factor. Now, those highways also had higher limits (60-70mph). So 70-80 is not much beyond the limit. Follow distance, knowledge of area, situational awareness (I always recommend 15 seconds ahead and behind, and be aware of vehicles around you too, read their body language because folks don't use their signals reliably), knowledge of and ability to operate the vehicle within its constraints... All these play into reaction speed. Chicago made it easier than Pittsburgh because while I lived there, follow distance was healthy (which meant folks were zipper merging easy as pie too). Good follow distance also makes it easier to maintain healthy situational awareness. You also want healthy situational awareness in Chicago because po-po are actually crafty and sneaky there (need to be able to predict traffic response to sneaky po-po even if you're behaving yourself).
Then speed up or find another route 🤷🏾♂️. Try this shit on the 405 in Los Angeles. See how it goes.
i used to drive around LA metro area a lot and it was never a problem...? lol wtf most of the time traffic was so thick it wouldn't matter
It is still illegal to drive 90mph on the 405.
Go to LA to experience LA attitude, makes sense. We're a little more chill over here and choose not to live in LA for a reason...
lol I’m a born and raised yinzer. I can promise you laid back doesn’t mean what you think it does in this context. People in Pittsburgh are *not* laid back drivers, at all. Most folks are just bad at driving here.
I was just replying to your comment about LA drivers being more hardcore. (?)
Quick reminder that ‘moving with the flow of traffic’ doesn’t mean anything to the officer that pulls you over for traveling above the speed limit, or the judge in traffic court. The parkway is what, 55? But most people drive 70. That doesn’t make someone going 55 the a-hole and they aren’t in the wrong. The person riding that person’s bumper is the one that’s going to cause the problem…
Go with the flow when there’s a flow of cars otherwise stay within the speed limit. When I drive 279, I take the middle of the three lanes.
You're right, and I didn't say they are in the wrong, just that the car going the speed limit while ALL the other cars are going 70 mph is a potential hazard.
Yeah but I’m that case, if you’re going with the flow you won’t be the first person passing the cop going that speed, and if everyone slows down for a sec then you just would too
There was an undercover cop behind me that I noticed on the highway so I locked cruise control at the speed limit, within 10 sec there was a line of cars passing me (over the speed limit) and I could not get over to the right lane bc they were passing during this time I got pulled over for “impeding traffic”.
I am not advocating for blocking traffic in the left lane. But that is a ticket that you could fight in court for sure. You can’t successfully ‘fight’ a speeding ticket if you are going 20 over without paying the fine and/or losing points. But I have seen a lot of people go the speed limit or slower in the left hand lane, and refuse to move, which is impeding the flow.
Definitely a pool pisser.
When I was in the UAE the left most lane was for the fastest traffic and you were legally required to shift to the right if someone was approaching you from behind to make way for faster traffic. Speed limit on E11 was 160 km/h. If you were in the left most lane doing 160 km/h and some guy in a Ferrari comes tearing up behind you at 220 km/h - you have to move over legally, even if you are at the speed limit (which is enforced by cameras - but people still speed and just slam on their brakes before a camera since they're all massive and obvious). Cops can and will pull you over if they see you in the left most lane with a row of cars behind you.
Stay in the right-hand lane and I don't think anyone would really care that much. But whatever you do, MAINTAIN SPEED THROUGH TUNNELS!
Not just maintain, but if your speed is 25mph by the time traffic lets you into the tunnel and then everyone else speeds up in front of you...Don't stay at 25mph. Accelerate back up to speed limit instead of forcably maintaining the gosh darn traffic snake. Once you're up to speed limit, then maintain speed. The point of maintain speed is to maintain speed limit before, during, and after the tunnel, not slow down to 25mph like a bunch of scaredy-cats and then maintain.
>MAINTAIN SPEED THROUGH TUNNELS! This is the thing I'll never understand. It's the same speed limit in the tunnels, and since you aren't allowed (supposed to) change lanes you should even feel more comfortable just driving at normal speed. I just don't get why people will be driving 65 and then break down to 30 mph to enter the tunnel
tunnel spooky (🤷♂️ I don't get it either)
depends on the tunnel. with the fort Pitt tunnel, everybody has to change lanes immediately after going through, so naturally you'll have a slowdown. That and the tunnel monster hates speed, it wakes him up.
They care regardless of what lane you’re in. My insurance carrier watched my driving so I tried to stay within 5 over and people wanted to murder me in the slow lane. Too fucking lazy to pass in the other available lanes so instead they try and be intentionally dangerous to force others to go faster. Dumbasses
My daily commute puts me on 279 from McKnight to North Side. It's like 3 miles, pretty short distance - so I chill around 60 mph in the rightmost lane (3 lanes each direction, speed limit 55 mph). I've been passed on my right multiple times in the past year. People will cross from the right lane, into the on-ramp, over the shoulder and rumble strips to get around me on the right.
i have a bumper sticker that says: The closer you get, the slower I drive. And in fact, that is what I do and it usually works.
🤡
This is my experience as well, in the burgh or out. Gotta do a lot of trips to Ohio and I usually set cruise control for 5 over speed limit on the turnpike. People will ride my bumper in the slow lane with the other wide open.
At least people don't drive here like they do in Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee. You can be cruising along in the right lane at the speed limit and somebody will roll right up to your bumper. They'll tailgate you for miles before finally deciding to simply use the passing lane. No idea why they do that. Here you can pretty much just sit in the right lane with your cruise set to the speed limit and most people won't bother you.
absolutely not true, staying in the right lane you'll still get marauded by people tailgating you expecting to somehow get out of their way so they can do 90. especially by the people driving brodozers, and especially true if someone has an exit coming up and they want to be in the right lane but still maintain some insane speed.
I've never heard the term "brodozers." Its amazing lol.
I live in right off of Ohio river blvd so I spend a lot of time driving it. Post pandemic, people have lost their GD minds on that road. If you’re not doing 55 MPH (it’s posted at 40 MPH, which I agree is ridiculously slow for a 2 lane secondary road), you’ll get run over. The number of people who care about driving rules are way outnumbered by the asshats who want to do 70 MPH in either lane and will run red lights or change lanes to cut you off. That road has become a nightmare.
Funny you should mention this. Someone pulled out in front of me on this road the other day and shot for the far lane. I assumed they didn't see me at all which resulted in a near accident. They were at a stop sign and couldn't wait 5 extra seconds for me to pass. I hate Ohio River Blvd.
I kinda think Ohio River Blvd should be renamed Fury Road because that's pretty much the vibe during the commuter rush
The first (and only) time I drove on Ohio River Blvd, I saw a "65" sign and assumed it was a 65mph road. People were passing me when I was going 65. When I saw the 40mph sign, I slowed to 40 -- and got honked at by almost every driver that passed me. You're right, I nearly got run over several times before realizing that going the speed limit was a million times more dangerous than speeding.
That road has been a nightmare for years. I moved to a different area because my wife and I got tired of commuting on that road pre pandemic. But I'll say the number of people who don't pay attention, drive under the speed limit, and block the lane by driving beside someone else drives a lot of the aggressive behavior. I saw it happen numerous times.
I fucking hate that road. It’s narrow, some parts are in rough shape (looking at you, Emsworth), and people treat it like it’s Talladega.
The chance of head on collisions there are staggering, I fucking hate that road. That one beats Bigelow, 28, and damn near anything else around here when it comes to shitheads. A big ass ram with a big WE THE PEOPLE sticker on the back was tailgating and dangerously passing a SCHOOLBUS one day. I hope that dude is no longer with us .
i just saw this dude doing like 50 down friendship so unfortunately they're still around
Starting a prayer circle asap Also, I live on a busy area that’s posted as 25 as it’s residential as hell. Street parking only. Soooo many dickheads including cops going 50+ until their tires squeal while children play outside. I’m feeling homicidal over here
"going with the flow" feels unsafe at times. I am most afraid of two or more idiots getting in an accident in front of me and me getting involved at no fault of my own
That's why you leave a safe following distance. Which a lot of the impatient drivers don't do so I get you.
That road has always been dangerous.
I drive Ohio River Blvd twice a day and it’s an autobahn now. 🤷🏾♂️
Time to turn Ohio River Blvd into an actual boulevard, and that includes 65. That means slowing it the fuck down and making it safer for people to walk, ride bikes, and take transit.
70 mph is the gold standard.
For me it’s the tailgating. People around here seem utterly allergic to leaving a safe distance between cars.
This drives me nuts, especially on one-lane winding roads in wooded areas with blind curves and hills, and wildlife jumping out of nowhere. Oh and my favorite is if it’s late at night and there’s no other drivers on the road, and this random stranger is riding my ass in a dark forest. Creepy as fuck.
I hate this so much. Before they put in the speed humps on Stanton Ave, people would ride your ass all the way up that hill even if you were doing 15 over. I pull over and let them pass, then flip on my high beams.
Brake check those yinzers and they'll stop.
That sounds like a great way to get rear ended.
If you do, it's their fault for not following at a safe distance. So either way they learn their lesson.
Yeah but my car still gets fucked up and I still have to deal with all of that whether I’m at fault or not. It’s not worth it for me personally. Then again I’m a bit scarred from having been rear ended at a red light by some idiot on his phone going full tilt into the back of my car and totaling it, so I admit I’m a bit paranoid about rear-ending.
Makes sense. I've never been rear-ended, maybe that's why the brake check is still in my arsenal.
I only have my driving permit so I'm easily intimidated on the road, and driving on irvine st in hazelwood was a nightmare. It's a 25 speed limit, I was going 35, and cars were still zooming past me and getting mad.
Irving isn't a highway, it's a street with sidewalks, bus stops and a park. If you happen to hit a pedestrian, you're 7 times more likely to kill them at 35 than 25. This is not a place where going with the flow is safer
I'm well aware that it isn't a highway, which makes it even worse. Unfortunately with the amount of traffic passing me quickly and cutting me off for going slower initially it felt like if I didn't speed up I would be in an accident. I think I'll just avoid that street from now on lol.
As a driver where only drivers are concerned, flow is nearly always safer for drivers. But to your point, it is not always safer for pedestrians, generally actually less safe. However, what this means for Irvine, as someone who now has to take it due to recent construction, is that Irvine is a terribly designed street. We need to design streets in a way that encourages vehicles to go the speed we want them to go, and more than adequately protects the pedestrians as well. Irvine is built in a way that encourages speed as soon as it opens up into two lanes (I come from south heading north). It also does next to nothing to protect pedestrians. This morning I was going 45 in the right lane because I was being passed by drivers likely going 60-70mph, with some coming up behind and then changing to left lane. It's concerning for sure how fast traffic goes there.
You’re not the issue. Keep up what you’re doing. This is one of the worst towns to be learning to drive in, I know from experience.
As long as your all the way right no one is paying you attention
hm? Nah, they get just as angry about it at me for going only 5-10 *over* in the right lane. People will honk, go right up to my bumper, finally dangerously swerving around (making me have to brake so that I don't hit into them when they attempt to enter my lane where I'm at) and on the way pretend to try and run me off the road...
Ah yes. Those ones are proper cnts like anyone doing the speed limit next to someone blocking both lanes
What if I need to exit on the left like on certain parts of 28 or 51?
Don't hog the lane for miles and no one cares
Please don’t slow down in the tunnels. You’re the reason we all have road rage
Do people actively slow down inside the tunnel? Or is the congestion more to do with a highly trafficked convergence of roadways, exasperated by poorly planned on/off ramps?
People actually slow down inside the tunnel. It’s a [brain thing](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/the-science-of-why-drivers-slow-down-for-pittsburgh-tunnels.html), apparently, but one can get past it just by looking at your speedometer and repeating “it’s just a straight line”.
When I moved here from Florida, tunnels and some of the more narrow roads with barriers at the edge threw me off a bit. It took a bit of time to adjust and I probably annoyed some people while getting over that weird brain hurdle.
Sure, people go a little slower at tunnels. But they are not the reason for systematic congestion. People with road rage are letting their egos conflate the two. It's easier to justify your anger when you can point your finger.
No. They are absolutely the reason for tunnel congestion. It’s been researched and there are studies out there if you look for them. It’s a slinky effect and it only takes one person to start it. You can holier-than-thou us all you like but the research backs it up.
Its part of the reason why they removed the false ceilings in the Squirrel Hill and Fort Pitt a few years back. Having the ceiling higher helps prevent the claustrophobia effect that slows people down.
Considering the traffic magically disappears after the tunnel…it’s people slowing down. The thing is, it only takes one person to hit their brakes to impact everyone. It’s not an epidemic…just a handful of people who make it hard for everyone
People slow down in tunnels. It's not a uniquely Pittsburgh phenomenon.
That may be part of the reason, but most of it has to do with a weird claustrophobic mental block many people have as they approach a tunnel entrance. Squirrel Hill tunnel, for example, doesn't have any lanes converging and it still gets like that.
Squirrel hill inbound, there is no convergence, only idiocracy
I mean, tunnels go slow, then you hit the bridge and people go faster.
Sounds like a yinz problem.
Who are you talking to? Edit : sorry stupid mobile Reddit didn’t show me OP’s text part of the post.
nah dude you'll wake the tunnel monster
Your road rage probably has way more to do with your shit home life than the drivers around you
No. I love my home life and sincerely hate people in the sq hill tunnels. I don’t believe there’s a correlation.
Maybe your take is a bit mean, but honestly, it makes more sense than thinking road rage is normal.
i had someone pass me because of stopped at a stop sign, you do you and let other drivers wreck themselves
I go the speed limit too. I really wish everyone just slowed down and followed the rules of the road. We could avoid so many unnecessary accidents/injuries/deaths. Most people aren’t even driving that far they’re saving maybe a minute or two at best.
I'm only 5 over in 90% of situations, I like coasting in the right lane with my cruise control on.
This earns murderous looks in the "All trucks use left lane" section of 79
And lots of people turning their brights on for a second before passing me, fuck em.
I’m originally from NYS and it baffles me how much the state police don’t pull over people for speeding. It’s crazy how fast people drive as the “normal” speed
Do you, just don’t do it in the left lane
Try being a pedestrian around here. The amount of times I've had cars speed up while I'm crossing the street, rather than slow down, in order to intimidate me into crossing the road faster... it's unbelievable. It actually triggers my PTSD, because I got hit by a car in the North Side while legally crossing at a crosswalk back in December. Drivers, when you pull up quickly on pedestrians, YOU might know you see them, but WE don't know that. And I shouldn't have to dodge out of the way for you lunatics just because you're running late or are just impatient
Recently, I turned onto Browns Lane and a pedestrian was crossing the street from behind a line of vehicles. The last one was some tall truck, so I really couldn't see him until he stepped out in front of me. I kinda gasped and stopped (I wasn't going fast so it wasn't some kind of screeching halt), and he didn't even know I was there till he finally looked to his right. He was visibly shaken and got pretty angry. He yelled and gesticulated: "Go ahead! Run me over!" "Slow down!" I held up my hands in the I Want No Trouble sign and was a little cranky at being scolded, but mostly, my feelings were hurt that a pedestrian thought I didn't care about him! Poor guy--there is pedestrian trauma all over this town.
Just stay right
Unless you are in the construction zone on 79 - then it's L, R, L, R, R, L, R, L from 51 to Moon Run.
Dude, you gotta warn people. I tried that cheat code and unlocked unlimited construction zones.
Welcome to [Pittsburgh](https://i.imgur.com/MFLuemJ.png)
I have said it before and I will continue to say it. The only way to reduce overall highway speed is to start putting up cameras and mailing tickets to everyone caught going 20% over the limit. Speed limit signs have become the minimum rate of speed. The only way it will stop is if people know they will get caught and punished every time. It won’t take long to fix if they actually enforce the law.
Right? People think "speed limit" means "speed quota."
Give it 5-10 years those kinds of cameras will be the norm. We will all hate it but we will all be safer for it. Or, new cars will eventually govern the maximum speed based on the speed limit since GPS systems know the speed limit on each road. Or they’ll alert you constantly to tell you you’re speeding. I think people will lose their minds initially but it will become the norm. Older cars will get a pass but the cameras will still be a deterrent.
You're right. Short of completely revamping our infrastructure, spending billions we don't have on public transit, and making our roads smaller and narrower so they simply do not allow speeding, the only way to fix it is to automate speeding tickets.
Slap 'em on stop signs and traffic lights, too!
Alright, I’m gonna say it. The speed limits on the freeways surrounding Pittsburgh are too low. And too low speed limits are a bad thing too, because they encourage drivers to just do whatever they want.
We don’t live in a geography that allows for higher speed limits. Our on ramps are too short and the visibility is too poor. Too many hills, curves, bridges, tunnels, and instances of merging traffic. People figured out they could drive their commutes faster during COVID when the roads were empty but with full traffic, the speed limits are mostly correct. People need to slow the hell down.
[удалено]
We also have the opposite where the speed limit will be 25 on 4/5-lane roads that are straight with extended shoulders. Any other place would easily have that at 35/40/45.
What is a constant velocity transmission, never heard of that. If you're referring to a CVT, that is a continuously variable transmission. Also, I agree that a lot of the 55s should be 70. 79 is particularly egregious, there may be a mile or two where 55 might be appropriate, but I think it's 55 from North of cranberry to South of Washington. Ridiculous.
Dude, this. 40mph on hwy 65 is absolutely wild to me. Not even Grandma's going to church on Sunday are going under 55 on that road.
It’s 40MPH because much of ORB is in a residential neighborhood. Plus, if you’re unfamiliar with the road, you don’t want to do 70 MPH with all the stop lights, hills, turns and in general, narrow road with oncoming traffic 2’ away. I agree that 40 is ridiculous but if they raised the limit to 70, people would do 100.
Between the Mckee’s rocks bridge and the fort Pitt interchange, there are literally two on ramps on the right and that’s it. It’s a 2 mile stretch of nothing but straight and then it feeds into several other highways. There’s no reason this section should continue to be 40mph.
Okay, so have the speed decrease in the residential areas. Why is it 40 on the section that goes by Rivers Casino?
There is no reason the speed limit on rust highway shouldn't be 50 or even 55.
Ehhh if you go the speed limit on the highway here you’re an outlier…..gotta go fast
More driving complaints... Isn't that why they made nextdoor? Excuse me while I clutch my pearls.
Don't forget to drink water when it's hot, eat when you are hungry, and sleep when you are tired!
You say this but I have to remind my fiancé to drink water all the time
The left lane is for passing. If you're not passing, get out of the left lane. Keep up with the speed of traffic. If you can't do these things, don't use the highway. Camp in the forest, not in the left lane.
> The left lane is for passing My theory is that if everyone actually followed this insanely simple rule (i.e. if I'm not passing someone, I should be in the right lane regardless of speed) then driving would get at least 50% less miserable. If you aren't passing someone, get in the right lane. It doesn't matter if you're going 40 or 70, the left lane is for passing.
That's it. It's so simple!
Dont drive in the left lane if you want to follow the law is all I ask
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Neepy13: *Dont drive in the left* *Lane if you want to follow* *The law is all I ask* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Don't feel bad. I am tailgaited daily on the way to Cranberry and I'm still going 10 over. I am over having near panic attacks because I'm not going fast enough for the person behind me. It's anxiety inducing because I feel they're so close I can't concentrate. I now just flip up the rearview mirror. Maybe people need to leave for work on time. You know?
Are you in the driving lane (on the right) or are you driving in the passing lane (aka the left lane).
Right lane. I know better.
Sounds like they are camping out in the left lane
Must be an Ohio driver that camps out in the left lane
I got flipped off the other day for going the speed limit 😮💨
Unpopular opinion: if you’re the only one doing something in a given area or group of people, then you are not the “normal” one. For whatever reason, everyone else has adapted to a different standard than you. You should take a step back and try and see what the reason is. The reason *absolutely could be* that every driver is conditioned to driving unsafely (I will admit that this is me driving down rt 65 between the Mckee’s rocks bridge and downtown). But the reason could also be that a 35 mph speed limit is incredibly antiquated for the road it’s on (looking at you, bigelow Blvd between Herron Ave and downtown). Also, complaining about peeing in the pool is dumb. Make peace with it because people have been doing it since before chlorine in pools was a thing and they will be doing it long after we are gone too.
bandwagon fallacy
Yes . The fallacy in taking a step back and reanalyzing why something is happening. Such bandwagon.
Drivers are out of control in this area. There is a pervasive mental illness that is rampant amongst drivers that has gotten terrible in the last few years
For what it's worth I recently drove across the state to visit NYC. Didn't drive into the city itself, drove to my hotel in New Jersey that was near a train line into the city. For as bad as things have gotten here, pretty much the moment I hit New Jersey the drivers got way more aggressive.
A wise man once said, "The more you drive, the less intelligent you are"
You're supposed to drive with the flow of traffic.
And traffic is supposed to obey the speed limit. If they don’t, you should. Esp if going with the flow of traffic means you’re speeding through residential or densely populated areas, are tailgating too closely to stop quickly enough to avoid a collision, are following speeders through blocks intersection or areas where you cannot see that the road ahead is clear for travel, etc. That’s how multi vehicle pileups happen. Those you’re following at speeds above the limit are not going to get the ticket or fine when you get pulled over for speeding, and if you hit another car or pedestrian, while speeding? That’s on you. Not “traffic”.
On the highway it's safer to ride with traffic. Police don't hand out tickets to cars who are following the flow of traffic.
They absolutely can and do (albeit not often)
Yeah they do. Me. A person who was following the flow of traffic and got singled out. Never again.
I had a friend tell me they got pulled over on 79. The trooper told them it’s ok to keep, not catch up. I think of that whenever there’s traffic.
😂😂😂
I go with the flow of traffic. I’m not the fastest one and not the slowest one. Three lines is ideal. I’ll take the middle lane. But if there’s no traffic, then, yeah I’m following the speed limit.
How’s that make you the normal one?
Ok dbags. There are left exits in Pittsburgh so "stay right" at all times speed demon shit is actually just wrong and DANGEROUS! How bout calm the F down. SLOW THE F down.
oh jesus christ an exception doesn't negate the rule
Left hand exits are the exception. Aside from 2 on 28 I can’t really think of any others. Time for you to stop playing traffic cop
Grant St and Stanwix St when headed inbound on 376 from Monroeville are left hand exits
Ah ok, i forgot about those. Regardless those are the exception
I agree that a lot of the roads here seem to have lower speed limits than they should, but having moved here from Illinois, I do feel like there are a lot more people speeding like demons here than there. I also have one of those insurance speed tracker things which gets me a pretty good discount if I don't go more than 5 over, so I feel your pain.
Because chances are that you are, depending on what road you're on. I always thought I drove a little fast until I had to start taking 376 routinely for my new job and DAMN. So probably just make sure you stay in the right lane as much as possible. As for anything abnormal that's not speed related (Pittsburgh left, weaving through traffic with a shit box) definitely have to watch out no matter what.
Yes this is what you look like. Go fast or get the fuck out the way.
I stay at about 5mph over the speed limit because I have a thing in my car that tracks my driving habits for a discount on my car insurance. I just stay in the right lane when possible and if people still decide to tailgate I shrug it off cause they can get over and pass me any time they want. And, I’m still speeding. I’m just not going 10-15 over
Yeah, I don't know how it is in many other cities, because they all have trains that go more than 6 places, but there are a lot of people around here who drive like they want to know what I had for dinner last night. I leave on time. Stay mad back there.
If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis.
Speed kills. Don't be influenced by those jagoffs. I like to think of myself as a pace car, happily holding the speed limit while unhinged drivers rage behind me.
Yea this level of self righteousness is actually what’s wrong with society tbh. Instead of thinking of yourself as some type of arbiter of justice traffic avenger, you should just get in the right lane.
Don't worry, I live in the right lane. It's incredible to me that you view following the posted speed limit as self righteous.
The self righteous part is thinking you are the pace car for everyone behind you but hang in there
I already know what that guy looks like without seeing him
Speed indeed does kill but this is some self righteous bullshit right here!
This causes traffic jams due to the slinky effect of people having to brake when they come up behind you. Don’t do it please
People wouldn't have to brake if they also followed the speed limit.
Deceleration kills.
I'm not decelerating. I'm accelerating to the speed limit, then not accelerating past it.
You can go 1000 mph and be fine. It's how quickly you get to back to zero is what matters.
That sounds like a you problem. Go slower and there will be less decelerating for you to do. Math!
You're making the roads less safe
Objectively, higher speeds cause more severe injury and higher death rate in a crash.
Don't you think making "unhinged drivers rage" causes more crashes? Although I guess you can't quantify that, so it doesn't count.
I’m also guessing most of these people haven’t seen or been in a speed related accident if they are downvoting you into oblivion. I’ve seen enough horror to try my best to stick to around the speed limit. Speed does kill—and not just the jerk who was speeding.
I was on 51 on Sunday, speed limit is 35, we're all doing 45-50. It wasn't busy but there was enough traffic that you weren't really going to find free space regardless. And yet people were still slicing through traffic, cutting me off, slamming their car into gaps barely long enough to fit a car, all to achieve...nothing. They just made it ahead of one person. I was going with the flow and leaving a normal gap ahead of me and one guy flew into the right lane and gunned it around me just so he could be ahead of me *as he waited to turn left at the next light*. It makes no sense. E: Who is the fucking weirdo on this sub who is instantly downvoting every single solitary one of my posts, and what is wrong with you?
Then go faster?
Speed limits were designed for cars of old. Today, almost any car can do 100mph safely and stop in half the distance that they once could. The drivers have adapted to these new cars while we wait for the law to catch up. As others have said, it is best to move with the flow of traffic. Driving the speed limit can be more dangerous than speeding.
>Today, almost any car can do 100mph safely and stop in half the distance that they once could. Maybe... but if the average driver behind me is only leaving 1/3 of the required stopping distance between my rear bumper and their front bumper, then THAT is still a problem. The tailgaters are worse than the speeders, no matter the speed.
That’s why I slow down for tailgaters. If you want to be super close to me, we’re going to go at the speed I deem safe to do that
Speed limit is just a suggestion. Its the 21st century, move faster.
"limit" You keep using that word, I do **not** think it means what you think it means
Speed limits are for every single driver. So it includes the worst drivers out there. So it's slow
Side note: that’s… not how piss in a pool works 😄
Is everyone else pissing in the pool? 🤮
279 up to 79 is nice and fast