[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Let's be honest, although I detest left lane hoggers with a passion and am happy to move right myself when not passing, the 'keep right' rule on a multilane highway is questionable IMO. Imagine if everyone adhered to it, traffic would basically be restricted to a single file, and how would these scared operators ever safely merge from a ramp into a solid stream of vehicles in the right lane? Or should we have another rule to open up the right lane a quarter or half mile before every merge point?

Any way you slice it, the rule forces a higher number of lane changes, which is definitely a risk factor, the more frequently these inattentive drivers attempt a lane change, the higher the crash probability. It's also slightly unnatural, once you have your lane, intuition suggests to just stay there.

To contribute an actual idea, I would set up an arrangement between driving schools and insurance companies to scale the premium according to different capability levels, and link them to passing actual, tough road tests. Like the minimum requirement back in Hungary where I'm from, I swear at least half the people I see on NJ roads wouldn't pass even the basic "vehicle operation" segment there (test course with cones and hills and various parking setups), let alone the actual road test.

Great points. I think the lane hogging entices people into passing maneuvers that are questionable at best, and that I think is more of a problem than a typical lane change IMO.

All for the testing of driver’s capabilities! We’d weed out a lot of them in a hurry...