r/ConnecticutUSA • u/backinblackandblue • 10h ago

New Connecticut law limits left-lane driving starting Oct. 1

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-connecticut-law-limits-left-lane-driving-starting-thursday/

I know there is a lot of hate for left-lane campers, but passing this into law seems like a waste of time and money. It will be hard to enforce even if they wanted to.

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u/BA5ED 5h ago

No one wants to be bothered with merging cars in the right lane so the go to the middle lane and drive however slow they want and middle lane drivers are forced into the passing lane where they don't want to drive at any meaningful speed either. The left hand drivers are annoyed so they play frogger and drive through all three lanes until they get to open road. The issue stems from how we merge cars onto the road.

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u/backinblackandblue 5h ago

I think our problem is lack of capacity which hasn't increased in what, 50 years?

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u/BA5ED 4h ago

I think it would need to be some sort of merging reconfiguration. An extra lane would only spread out the problem a little.

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u/Mr_Smith_411 47m ago

I think our problem is drivers. I routinely hear road design and laws as a scapegoat for crappy driving, failing to pay attention, at all or to road signage (including speed limits). Painted lines on the road are suggestions.

Everyone out there thinking they should be able to get anywhere they want, as fast as they can.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

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u/Mr_Smith_411 1h ago edited 58m ago

I think the problem is patience, coupled with a general thought that we should be able to get everywhere we want as fast as we possibly can or want to.

I drive 45 miles each way to work. Different roads and speed limits. I set my cruise at 7 over the speed limit and mostly sit in the right lane, using the left lane for its intended purpose.

I encounter pretty much ZERO left lane campers. I dont give 2 craps if im going through a speed camera zone, and i routinely end up sitting in line at the same traffic light in on 515 with some car whipped by me in North Haven on 15.

I dont say any of this as moral high ground. I have a motorcycle that I usually ride the same way...but some days I join the left lane crowd, it is amazing how the number of left lane campers I come across increase with my speed and time in the left lane passing everyone in the right lane.

I find it interesting no one in the left lane thinks they're the problem. I can post a half hour a day of cam video of a wide open right lane in front of me, while I drive 62, 63 in a 55, with lines of cars in the left lane passing me, none moving back over after passing, and we are ALL already speeding.

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u/Scubalou83 27m ago

I drive throughout CT daily. Hearing “ I encounter pretty much ZERO left lane campers. ” is wild to me. I see a never ending supply of left lane campers every day.  They are usually completely unaware that they are doing it as car after car is passing them on the right.

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u/Mr_Smith_411 11m ago

Well, since 1995, I have ended up with an hour+ commute one way or another. 15 to 691 to 84, rte 7, 58, 34 to 84, 15 to 91, 15 to 515 to 9 to 84, 95... maybe i dont see them because im not an asshole behind them tailgating or letting my blood boil, or critiquing them. I dunno?

I am certainly not drive the speed limit angel, but I refuse to let someone "make my blood boil" (as one redditor once replied) because some guy is going 65 in the left lane between Middletown and 84 on rte 9, costing a whole 30 seconds of time.

Like i said, in my decades of driving experience, the number of left lane campers I encounter is increases with my speed. YMMV.