Quote:
Originally Posted by VRG_135
I've noticed, over the years, that the left lane is almost always the slowest lane in rush hour traffic. Is that true in your area? I'm in Dallas. I think its because most people think its going to be the faster lane, so more cars are in that lane. Thoughts?
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Interesting topic.
I've notice this phenomenon too. My thoughts are:
a) While the instantaneous speed of the left lane (or lanes) very often drops below that of the right lane (or lanes) in heavy traffic, the average speed may indeed be higher. Even when you look over to the left and notice how many people you are passing, it might not be that you ultimately get through the heavy traffic sooner than they do due to continuous changes in traffic volume in both lanes.
b) The right lane often experiences periods of low volume simply because many people are exiting from it. By the same token, it can have periods of high volume due to a large number of vehicles entering, or due to the exit lane backing up because of insufficient capacity on the adjoining surface streets.
c) Switching to the "best" lane at any given time isn't necessarily easy, or even possible, and can be dangerous (or at least, not without some risk) depending on circumstances.
d) Some drivers not only don't want the bother of switching to another, more freely moving lane when they know they will ultimately want to be in the one they are in currently, some actually think it is not polite to do so. Such drivers may feel guilty about making the switch. Maybe they are willing to do it once or twice, but no more. So they just give up. Plus, some of these drivers notice others switching lanes and get frustrated, upset, or just annoyed by it. Perhaps then they actively make it hard for others to driver in that manner - trying anything to keep gaps in their lanes closed. It can be stressful for some to navigate with such game-play going on.
Over time, if you pay attention, have a good memory, don't mind the effort or switching lanes (or perhaps even enjoy the challenge), and have a certain intuition about these things, you learn to understand the traffic patterns and other drivers behaviors and can take advantage of them and leverage them to your benefit.
By the same token, many folks just don't care. They have budgeted their commute time based on their driving habits, which include the least amount of mental effort and driver-to-driver drama. For them, just staying in one lane works out best. Maybe that lane choice should not be the left lane or other left-of-center lanes, but as I say its not always an elementary task to determine which one is best in the long run. Plus, ten minutes difference one way or the other in your commute start time can have a big impact on which lanes are optimal. In the end most people don't want to think that hard about it - they just want an easily repeatable routine where they know the worst case time, can live with that, and consider it a bonus when - for reasons they don't even choose to reason through or speculate on - that time is less on any particular day.