Bay Area driving etiquette

foreverinane · 8 months

No, but you are obligated to move over, unless you can't (like on express lane)

I've also noticed that sections on 101 where speed limit is 55mph still go 75mph when traffic is light without issue from cops

cokacokacoh · 8 months

I don't know if there is such a thing as Bay Area driving etiquette. I've seen every kind of non-sensical driving on the roads (880, 80, 101).

My pet peeve: All lanes going the same speed. There's no traffic, just drivers side-by-side-by-side, all going about 70-75. I thought the whole point of lanes was to allow a varied set of driving speeds, with slower traffic staying right.

maredc · 8 months

From my own experience, I think 80 mph is the standard for the fast lane on most of the freeways... does that sound about right to people?

stave · 8 months

If all other lanes are practically empty, wtf are you doing in the express lane?

fawnmm · 8 months

I grew up, learned how to drive and drove in So Cal for 13 years. I've been a Bay Area resident/driver for 4 years.

While there are drivers in every state that are complete morons (I travel for work) I am sometimes blown away at the large number of the drivers in the Bay Area that can't seem to drive over 50mph on the freeways. WTH??!!! Am I the only one that comes across this every time I get on a freeway? Of course there are always the speeders but I take issue with the pokie joes too. And I seem to have a huge problem with drivers who have issues with merging onto the freeways up here. I think it's because the majority of the ramps in the Bay are short. I have no problem because my dad taught me to "shit or get" when it comes to merging, meaning to press on the gas and get up to speed best you can BEFORE you merge on the freeway.

charliehustlee · 8 months

Since no one has said this yet, ill be the asshole. All the issues with driving in the bay area have to deal with the larger than normal Asian population, (not just eastern Asia - Chinese, Japanese but also central, Indian, Pakistani etc) If this makes me a racist than so be it. If you are born here/grew up here(this extends to people of Asian decent as well) then you know how to drive properly. If you moved here on a visa/green card then you drive 50 mph in the left hand lane when there is no traffic and just box people in. Also when merging you show no confidence and end up driving on the shoulder for 1000 feet till there is a 500 ft gap so you can join the rest of us on the legal roadway.

I commute 50 miles a day from Hayward to Sunnyvale. I also used to hyper commute from Campbell to Tiburon so I have SEEN some shit my friends.

[deleted] · 8 months

If you're passing/driving fast than traffic to your right, knock yourself out.

If not, then you should be over at least one lane except if it's the HOV lane during HOV hours. Then you should move over and let people pass only if safe; if not, fuck them.

ShakeyBobWillis · 8 months

"Slower traffic keep right." Everything else is always viewed from within this framework.

detaer · 8 months

Stop driving slow in the fast lane, or get out of the fast lane.

superrandomguy · 8 months

I started a thread about this exact same issue a while ago:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/h4woc/why_do_people_insist_on_tailgating_the_person_in/

The problem is, everyone chiming in from areas with no carpool lane (and no firm grasp of what its function actually is) will respond with "move out of the way if someone wants to drive faster than you"

Even if it's not the "express lane", in my opinion, the standard carpool lane should not be treated as a "fast lane" unless it is being used during the hours when the "2 or more persons per vehicle" isn't in effect.

Why should anyone have to pull to the right into much slower traffic (we're talking 65+ mph vs below 50) when the reason they are in that lane is because they have 2 people in their car...not because they wan't to drive above the speed limit.

You're not obligated to move in your scenario...however if it's between 9am and 3pm, then it's a fast lane and normal rules apply.

za1nsta · 8 months

DAE notice how san jose seems to have tons of the on/off ramps that are one thing altogether. So that people getting on the freeway have to fight through the people getting off the freeway into the same lane. These frustrate me because they OBVIOUSLY create traffic jams during peak hours. ie. 101 and capitol expressway.

theblackoutdetective · 8 months

I think most drivers will assume you will move over or go faster, the drivers behind you wont move, they will just ride until you submit :/ I have seen more and more drivers going over 75 MPH regularly, it is crazy!

renner2 · 8 months

no, you have zero obligation to drive faster than safe. The benefit of the carpool lane there is its limited access, not that people can drive 85+ on it.

hollywoodhoogle · 8 months

No. Just because the car pool lane is on the left does not make it the fastest lane. It is the chill out at 70, 75 I'm on my way to work. Also known as I got my Prius a yellow sticker lane.

People forget that the car pool is an outside lane to the normal system. There are slow and fast lanes then there is also, wait for it .... A car pool lane.

sticky_wicket · 8 months

Yes it is still a passing lane. You should not occupy it if you are not passing cars even if you are a carpool. Why would you anyway if the other lanes were clear? it doesn't get you ahead and it does block others.

R3Dscar13 · 8 months

if someone is on ur ass, move to the lane on ur right then move back after the person has past.... It's not that difficult.

treitter · 8 months

75 is about my limit for any fast lane. I've noticed in the Bay Area cops don't seem to car, but I've gotten pulled over elsewhere for it.

If someone is riding me I tend to slow down to the speed limit. It's just rude to be on someone's ass like that.

I haven't done much driving outside the Bay, but I've noticed on my few excursions to Sacramento and San Diego that people do not know how to drive in traffic there. It seems like no one knows how to merge properly and everyone just doesn't give a shit. At least around here the majority of people know how to merge and drive with some manners.

red0x · 8 months

People like this are assholes. Anything over 65 mph is a 'bonus', not a right. In fact, it's illegal, and they shouldn't be pressing you to break the law.

Especially given that you're in a lane you can't legally merge out of to get out of the way. I just let these people break the law to pass me.

Anecdote time: I heard a story of a guy getting pulled over for being in this lane without the minimum 2 people. So, cop pulls up behind with lights and sirens, and he crossed the double lines to pull over. Cop gave the driver TWO tickets: one for breaking the carpool law, and another for crossing the double lines.

Let the asshole continue being an asshole.

Also, merge better, bay area.

m0llusk · 8 months

Around 75 seems to be when I get tickets. There isn't much to be done about tailgating except to make sure you avoid doing it also by maintaining appropriate distance in front.

jintana · 8 months

This is a general Bay-Area traffic rant, not a specific-to-OP situation.

People in the left lane going slower than the car behind you:

You do not know why the person wants to pass. Perhaps they budgeted their time perfectly but ran into a train on a side road and are now late. Perhaps there's someone about to literally pop out a baby in the car. Perhaps it's a random person who's been just trying to get somewhere but has been impeded every single time by people who box them in and refuse to let them pass and you're the twenty-seventh person to do that this trip. Perhaps there's a financial incentive. What the fuck ever the reason, unless you are the police, it is not your job to decide what speed is too fast for someone else. It is your job to decide what speed is proper for the vehicle you are driving. It is just as illegal to impede passing traffic in the left lane in California and 28 other states as it is to drive over the speed limit, so that argument is bogus.

MOVE OVER.

Also, people need to judge how fast an oncoming vehicle is traveling before cutting out in front of it, whether making a turn or switching lanes. If it's going faster than yours, wait a damn moment. It's dangerous and discourteous to assume someone driving faster than you prefer to will slow or stop for you just because you feel like wandering out into the road. (Don't do that on foot or bicycle, either!)

WitheredTree · 8 months

Tailgaters suck!

lolstebbo · 8 months

You should be obligated to not get in the lane to begin with. The idea of the express lane is it's faster, and if you're impeding the flow of traffic, then don't get in the damn lane to begin with.

After four years of college in SoCal, I thought I was finally free of the stupid "stuck in the carpool lane" nonsense (it's extra-infuriating when the carpool/express lane is moving slower than then regular lanes when drivers enter the carpool/express lane "because they can" and then defeat the purpose of the lane).

EkriirkE · 8 months

So you are one of those assholes that goes all the way left because they can (eg 2+ people and HOV), and then proceeds to go the speed limit? Stay to the very far right lane, please.

FrugalNinja · 8 months

Speed limit is 65, guess how fast you are supposed to be going, stay in your lane and fuck that asshole behind you, he needs to learn how to drive.

theblackoutdetective · 8 months

I love to put on the windshield wipers and fluid if someone is riding my bumper. Especially if we are going over 75 mph with room on either lane. It is also a great tool for d-bags who don't signal.

Sleepyaahh · 8 months

80 mph or get out

rouxx · 8 months

STOP FUCKING PASSING ON THE RIGHT.

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