Keep right except to pass!

[TOM'98*540i*6sp]

We had Obama a few years wagging his finger at America telling us "everyone just properly inflating their tires would save 3-4% off our national fuel consumption"

Well...if everyone would simply keep right except to pass, it would practically eliminate traffic jams...
during peak season and peak travel times the highways turn into parking lots with everyone idling and wasting fuel, not to mention polluting...
what percentage of fuel savings would eliminating that yield...? or more importantly, spare us in aggravation!?!?

I've never driven in Germany but from what I read in car magazines, everyone sticks to the right like there's a magnetic pull...
unless you're actively overtaking the car to your right, THEN GET BEHIND IT regardless how many lane road it is.

Here, in U.S., especially in S Florida, people barely competent enough to use a cell phone or drive a car attempt to both simultaneously!
...soon as they merge onto any road or highway, they immediately sweep into the left lane regardless how many lane road it is...and proceed to ineptly, fumblingly attempt to text while holding up traffic to boot.

Ive installed a super loud horn, flash my brights away, and they are either oblivious, indignant or too incompetent to change lanes once theyre there.

Despite signs all over "NO TRUCKS IN LEFT LANE" here in FL there's everything from convoys of cement mixers, tanker trucks and Mack dumps filled with gravel all hours from packed rush hour to the lone truck late night IN THE LEFT LANE!

Even off duty cops, in both unmarked or out-of-jurisdiction squad cars (I imagine heading home from work in a different town) I see constantly trundling along in the left lane, in light to nonexistent traffic, while blathering away on a cell phone. I guess these incompetents just like the feeling of the guardrail closer to them, like theyre incapable of judging their distance within the lane to the other side or something.

Ive also encountered many cars bedecked all over with "So-and-So Driving School" or "Driving Instructor" and the best one, "Be Patient: Student Driver"
yet they are oblivious to the rules of the road hogging (and clogging) the left lane (despite signs all over "Slower Traffic Keep Right")

I frequently drive the 1300 mile trip each way between FL and NJ and have noticed a big increase in accidents, especially single car accidents regardless of weather conditions...ppl running off the road, spinning, etc that absolutely must be the result of inattention due to texting.

We as driving enthusiasts have got to do something (Im surprised the insurance companies arent) to call attention to this safety and efficiency issue---some of us focused on driving simply want to get where we're going efficiently.

If I were the editor of a car magazine, until things noticeably change, I'd launch a re-education campaign and put on every month's front cover in bold reflective letters KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS and DONT TEXT AND DRIVE until hopefully it would sink in to the skulls of all the dimbulbs who might look upon them in supermarkets, bookstores and magazine racks and maybe our national habits would improve.

Theres a total lack of courtesy and awareness...

Any thoughts how we can go about improving this hazardous and annoying national situation?

[shogun]

penalties + driver penalty point system might help.

In Germany the traffic rules regulate to drive whenever possible on the right lane, penalty EURO 80 = approx $100. ("Rechtsfahrgebot") https://www.bussgeldkatalog.de/rechtsfahrgebot/
cell phone (in German = Handy) use while driving EURO 100-200 https://www.bussgeldkatalog.de/handy/
In Germany, the laws concerning the use of mobile phones whilst driving have recently become more specific. Drivers are not allowed to pick up, hold or use their phone whilst the motor of the car is on. If caught using the phone, even if it´s just to control the navigation system or to click away an incoming call, drivers are required to pay fines of at least €100 if there is no accident and more if someone was endangered or an accident took place due to the use of the electronic device. Additionally, the driver gets a point on their license.

The UK is even stricter with drivers who use handheld mobile devices whilst driving. Drivers that go against the mobile phone driving ban will get six points on their license and will have to pay up to £200. If caught using their phone again, drivers will risk having to go to court and paying up to £1000 pounds, as well as receiving a driving ban for at least six months.

Both Spain and France have a ban on Bluetooth headsets such as headphones and earphones as well as on mobile phones. This means that drivers will also be fined if they are caught taking a call through an in-ear Bluetooth device. Drivers can also expect to receive three points on their license in both countries, but there is a slight difference in the size of the fines. In France, drivers have to pay a €135 fine if caught using a mobile device, whereas in Spain the fine is €200.

[TOM'98*540i*6sp]

I'm sure those penalties would help...but my gripe is more cultural. Here, cops ignore people on cell phones, pass them on the right! In Europe, I suspect there is in place a higher baseline appreciation for adhering to the rules váv traffic flow.
I was listening to NPR radio interview with some "researcher" (who undoubtedly received a lucrative taxpayer-funded grant) to investigate the causes of traffic jams.
At no time was driving discipline and the effectiveness of keeping right ever considered.
Its a matter of educating drivers and cops alike.

[MarcoZandrini]

Here in Virginia you can call a phone # for the state police when there’s a left lane bandit. The cops will issue the jerque a ticket. We’ve also have a law that makes holding a cell phone a primary offense for which the police can pull you over. The fine is $350 and 2 points on your license.

My wife and I have been to Bavaria several times. We rented a car, a MB 160, during one of those trips. I felt safer are 120mph (as fast as the car would go) on the Autobahn than I do in my bimmer on northern Virginia highways. I think metro DC has the dumbest drivers of anywhere I’ve driven.

[TOM'98*540i*6sp]

Thats good to hear about VA...it shows some people "get it", but I'm pretty sure if there's a hotline in most places, it'll be to report "aggressive drivers" who insist on passing on the left only

[MarcoZandrini]

In Virginia it’s legal to pass on the right! Gott im Himmel! Years ago there was an article in the Washington Post about a member of the German ambassador’s staff who commented about metro DC drivers. He wrote that they were the worst drivers he’d ever seen. I think they’re the dumbest. South Florida drivers are aggressively bad drivers.