The law is that where the speed limit is above 80kmh you are required to keep left unless overtaking.

However some may claim that politeness would mean you should keep left in speed zones lower than that.

Whilst you probably didn’t deserve the “bird”, you shouldn’t be driving in the right hand land if you are going slower then the rest of the traffic, no matter what the speed limit is.

I hate, hate, hate people that drive slow (even if it is the speed limit) in the right hand lane. Slower cars use the left lane – This seems to be a little know road rule because it happens all over Canberra. If someone does not want to do the same speed as you, let them pass.

If you were doing the speed limit then the only reason they could be angry with you was if they wanted to speed. I think that weakens their claim to a righteous finger significantly.

I would agree with planeguy about ‘politeness and the left lane’ though.

Shake it off because it sounds like you didn’t do anything wrong. Next time, raise your finger in righteous rebuke.

You probably didn’t deserve the finger, but yeah, keep left unless overtaking. (Note: if you need to be in the right lane to exit/turn, that’s fine, but not four k’s before the actual exit/intersection.)

kkcscdp said :

you shouldn’t be driving in the right hand land if you are going slower then the rest of the traffic, no matter what the speed limit is.

Slower cars use the left lane – This seems to be a little know road rule because it happens all over Canberra. If someone does not want to do the same speed as you, let them pass.

I hate hate hate moronic drivers that can’t overtake in the left hand lane. It’s not that hard. The road is NOT only yours to use.

Get your facts straight. There is not a blanket rule that slow cars use left lanes.

planeguy said :

However some may claim that politeness would mean you should keep left in speed zones lower than that.

Politeness? Turn it up. The right hand lane isn’t for overtaking, it is for right hand or ‘U’ turns. Or for merging into a transit lane. Or for stopping on the median stip to syphon the python. Or to irritate idiots who think they own the road in their Diahatsu Charade.

Keep left all you want. But don’t expect others to do the same.

> Politeness? Turn it up. The right hand lane isn’t for overtaking, it is for right hand or ‘U’ turns

So those signs everywhere that say “KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING” are just a Government joke? On some highways they even mention fines for driving along in the right hand lane without overtaking.

Sitting on the speed limit in a 80 zone in the right lane is perfectly legal and acceptable behaviour. But in the interests of safety, if someone tailgates you, you should slow down (to prevent accidents of course).

Hanging out in the right lane can be viewed as inconsiderate but if you must do it at the speed limit here’s a hint.

Sit there until you see the speed camera van, obstructing the accelerating cars from behind you from seeing it. Pull into the centre or left lane at the most opportune moment for the accelerating car to be hitting maximum overtaking pace in the right lane you just occupied whilst in full view and detection of the speed van. Casually drive up to the next set of lights, pulling next to the recently detected speeder. Make signals with you hands as if you were taking a picture, laugh and give them a pleasant wave. You will be happy in the knowledge of knowing that:

a) You did the right thing by getting out of the right lane; and
b) The ass whno sped up behind you may think twice about doing it again.

Funny thing about some of these impatient drivers around this town is there’s not much put up and plenty of shut up. I sat casually right on the speed limit in my little Beetle on the way home from the gym. Young impatient man sat millimetres from my clacker down the single lane road flashing his headlights and then cutting me off overtaking on a roundabout. Predictably we finished up next to each other at the lights. I looked at him and shook my head then went back to listening to the radio. He started with the horn blasting and abuse. I ingored it for a piece but then he made motions about wanting to sort it out outside of the car. I thought to myself ‘why thats a bit childish but hey, I didn’t start it’. I said to him ‘if you’d like to discuss it further just pop into that bus stop down the road’. He did and got out of the car all fired up and stormed towards my car. I then alighted from the vehicle slowly and stood my full 6 inches and 40kg heavier than the young chap, a little pumped up after a gym session. He looked at me, sh1t himself and ran back to his car. He couldn’t pull back into traffic so I stood next to the drivers side window and gently tapped on it and asked ‘got something to say asswipe?’. He looked at me and actually started crying in fear.

I haven’t laughed that hard in years. I guess he’ll think twice.

Its amazing how much more relaxing the driving experience is when you get away 5 mins early and stick to the speed limit, not to mention the improved fuel economy. People should relax more in cars

When it is signposted such a rule is in effect. Otherwise, no such rule

Deserves the bird….

I hate slow driver’s using the right lane.

helpful vg,

but i’m a hobbitt and inspire fear in no man, woman, child or small furry creature.

Use the left lane to get around them, instead of having your little hissy fit.

If unable to get around, good luck to you. Might prevent you from crashing while speeding and texting your besties

Either way it is polite – like standing to the left on escalators and letting ladies out of a lift first.

Recently I have noticed a distinct correlation between the (short)distance between the driver and their steering wheel and their propensity to sit in the right lane doing barely the speed limit.

Thumper said :

helpful vg,

but i’m a hobbitt and inspire fear in no man, woman, child or small furry creature.

Except errant Raiders now forced to walk the straight and narrow in fear of your mad song-parody skillz!!

dorrie, I wouldn’t have flipped the bird but maybe would have shot an incredulous glance/glare at you. Unless you’re about to turn, stick to the left as a courtesy to your fellow-driver. Forcing others to overtake on the left comes with risks, as you’ve got less of a view of someone coming up the blind-side than on the right, where I would suggest most drivers are expecting overtakers.

I think it is a matter of consideration.

I have no desire to control other people, and if they want to go faster than me I certainly don’t want to be stuck in front of them.

If somebody said, “Excuse me” in a shopping centre you would let them past. The road shouldn’t be any different.

I think that making people desperate to escape from behind you is likely to cause them to do something foolish and get somebody killed. You see this all the time on the way to the coast, particularly with young drivers. Why provoke them?

It is easy to just keep left and get into position in the right hand lane as necessary.

You do not know all the circumstances of why the other person is in a hurry, and whilst they are probably just disorganised or impatient they could be desperately attempting to get to a hospital in time with a woman in labour, or a child with a nosebleed that won’t stop, or somebody convulsing with seizures, or even a beloved pet that has been run over.

Sometimes in these circumstances a person will call an ambulance and other times they will just race them off to the hospital.

In the end, driving is mostly about consideration and common sense.

I’m in two minds on this one & I thnk it depends on the road.

On Belco Way, I’d say “flip the bird back”. It’s an 80 zone at it’s fastest point & there’s heaps of off/on roads. There’s no “overtaking lane” as such.

On Tuggeranong Parkway though (for example), it’s very frustrating to find people in the right hand lane travelling at exactly the same speed as the car in the left next to them (both under the speed limit). This happens a lot. It would be unlikely to get me to “flip the bird” at them though, more likely I’d be mildly annoyed for a second, forget about it & then go about my day. It does puzzle me sometimes why people are so insistent on driving in the right hand lane though, I’ve witnessed people go to great lengths to get in that lane only then to hold up traffic.

Not polite. Plain unnecessary. Especially when on the speed limit.

I lifted this from the ACT Road Users Handbook available from the TAMS website

If you are driving on a multi-lane road
it is advisable to drive in the left hand
lane, leaving other lanes available for
overtaking vehicles

^^
Added to the above

I take that to mean that if you’re not overtaking then get in the left hand lane

Granny said :

You do not know all the circumstances of why the other person is in a hurry, and whilst they are probably just disorganised or impatient they could be desperately attempting to get to a hospital in time with a woman in labour, or a child with a nosebleed that won’t stop, or somebody convulsing with seizures, or even a beloved pet that has been run over.

Good point, well made, Granny. On occasions I’ve had to cross my fingers and hope to Bob there were no speed cameras around as circumstances dictated I speed for some minor emergency.

“Recently I have noticed a distinct correlation between the (short)distance between the driver and their steering wheel and their propensity to sit in the right lane doing barely the speed limit.”

There’s a trifecta of characteristics I am very wary around: fish sticker on the back of the car, driver wearing a bowling hat, and a certain Swedish make of car being driven.

Courtesy of The Law

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road
where:

• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; or
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

You must not drive in the right lane unless:

• you are turning right, or making a U–turn from the centre of the road, and are giving a right turn signal;
• you are overtaking;
• a left lane must turn left sign or left traffic lane arrows apply to any other lane and you are not turning left;
• you are required to drive in the right lane;
• you are avoiding an obstruction;
• the traffic in the other lanes is
congested; or
• the traffic in every lane is congested.

A keep left unless overtaking sign on a multi-lane road applies to the length of road beginning at the sign and ending at the nearest of the following:

• an end keep left unless overtaking sign on the road;
• a traffic sign or road marking on the road indicating that it is no longer a multi-lane road;
• if the road ends at a T–intersection or dead end — the end of the road.

If there are three or more available lanes, use the left lane. Move with care to the
centre lanes if you need to pass slower vehicles. Move back to the left lane once it is again clear. The right lane is normally reserved for overtaking and you must move out of it as soon as it is safe to do so.

Mælinar – *spoiler alert* I’ve seen S04E13 said :

Courtesy of The Law

Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road

This rule applies on a multi-lane road
where:

• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; or
• a keep left unless overtaking sign applies.

I drive on the footpath as much as possible if one is available.

It leaves more space on the road and I avoid speed cameras and recumbent bicycles.

The sound you are now hearing is the petulant, pedantic types printing out and enlarging this excerpt so that the next time they are doing 80 in an 80 and are flipped the aforementioned bird, they can justifiably wave their copy of ‘the law’ in the aggrieved party’s face and feel quite smug and justified in tootling along in the right lane on the gazetted and sign-posted speed limit while others are forced to overtake on the left (which used to be illegal in some circumstances in some jurisdictions — a mate got pinged for it in Yass many, many, many years ago and as he lived in Melbourne and couldn’t justify the cost of returning to challenge it in court — there were mitigating circumstances — had to stump up the fine).

(For the record, dorrie, the above spit was not a shot at you. You’ve asked an innocent question in good faith, for mine.)

The road rules are very clear :

This rule applies on a multi-lane road
where:
• the speed-limit is over 80 km/h; or
• a keep left unless overtaking sign
applies.
You must not drive in the right lane
unless:
• you are turning right, or making a
U–turn from the centre of the road,
and are giving a right turn signal;
• you are overtaking;
• a left lane must turn left sign or left
traffic lane arrows apply to any other
lane and you are not turning left;
• you are required to drive in the right
lane;
• you are avoiding an obstruction;
• the traffic in the other lanes is
congested; or
• the traffic in every lane is congested.

For those that drive in the right hand lane and hold up traffic, you are being rude, lazy and selfish.

Worthy of the Bird!!!!!!

Being overtaken on the left is a bit of a hint really.

: )

Regardless of what you think is right or wrong, what’s legal or not, or what motives the other driver has for speeding, the fact is that we all must share the road. It really is as simple as that.

Besides, moving over and letting them past is much safer than letting them tail-gate you and getting all road-ragey on your ass.

I could go on for days about Canberra drivers, but I’ll settle for relating a beef I had with two Canberra drivers this morning;
Two boneheads, side by side, blocking up the whole road, doing 75km/h along Parks Way… nothing unusual about that, until you realise it was at 4:45am in the god damn morning with not a single other car anywhere in sight! NNNNNGH!

I particularly like the comments about “holding up traffic” when you are doing the speed limit. funny that.

I try to get to the right lane to turn right. in some instances, I have to try and get into the right lane waaaay back from the turn, otherwise I don’t get there.

undertaking is a practice that I engage in only when:

a) the driver in the right hand lane is doing less than the speed limit
b) there aren’t any other options, and they insist on jamming on the anchors when i get closer to them
c) I am certain there are no coppers around.

always thought it was against the law to undertake.

unless you are an undertaker.

Keep in mind that the tolerance of the average car’s speedo is pretty wide, so while your speedo may be telling you 80 on the dot, the guy behind’s might well be reading 70.