Is this a thing?

[Steven Allen]

You are driving down the highway in the fast/left lane. The car in front of you is doing 5-10 miles below the max speed limit. You signal and move into the right lane. As you begin to accelerate to pass the car in the left lane begins to speed up. Since there is a large truck (as is typical) you speed up to. You are now going 10 miles past the speed limit and the car in the left lane is now going faster then you. It appears they want you to be stuck behind the truck as compared to passing them up. Can someone please explain is this is a thing? If so why?

 

[JohnWayne]

This is unfortunately the driving trend here in the USA.
More and more I see packs of 5-10 cars riding in the left lane and the right lane is completely open. Then as stated people get upset when you are trying to maintain a faster speed and try to "race" you to prevent you from moving on.
I find high brights are effective for getting people to change lanes but on NSX I dont use them because its annoying to have to flip up the lights then high bright then flip back down.

 

[flaminio]

I see this behavior on I-5 in California. It doesn't help that it's just two lanes for most of the way. Horsepower helps in this situation -- if the guy you're passing tries to play this game, punch it and show him who's boss.

 

[blue_myriddn]

Yep, horribly common in the washington DC area. Its the "I want to be in front" mentality

 

[RJD1022]

These thing are very subjective and the person being "wronged" always seems to think the other guy meant to do it and it was some kind of personal affront.
I would contend that most drivers are oblivious and when a car starts to pass them on the right they naturally speed up without even thinking about it.

Now, with that said, perhaps the driver in front of you thought that he was maintaining a proper speed for whatever reason and when you started to pass with an upcoming truck in the right lane he asserted himself, so as to not have someone pass him on the right just to cut in front of him.

Now, with that said, if someone is planted in the left lane and doesn’t move over even when presented with a clear right lane for a very generous amount space, I will pass them on the right, but I don’t often fail to pass them.

People let other drivers control their emotions way too much and far too often get angered at others for doing exactly what they have personally done.

Let, he who hasn’t accelerated to keep someone from passing them on the right cast the first stone…

 

[Steven Allen]

So, what do you suppose are the motivation(s)?

 

[blue_myriddn]

So, what do you suppose are the motivation(s)?

 

[docjohn]

a lot of road rage is created by ignorance/unhappy lives/helplessness ....so many average folks out there are powder kegs....

 

[Steven Allen]

So what we really have is a bunch of frustrated individuals (mostly male) transferring their frustration and then projecting it in unsafe situations. How would you suggest dealing with this when encountered?

 

[docjohn]

You need a good rage-o-meter...meaning you need a sense of who around you might be driving angry...and stay away.If you drive fast and aggressively, and live in a very rat race kinda urban region then it is going to be a matter of when not if.....let them win...

 

[Boostedtaco]

So what we really have is a bunch of frustrated individuals (mostly male) transferring their frustration and then projecting it in unsafe situations. How would you suggest dealing with this when encountered?

A faster car! Beat them to the punch before they have a chance to speed up. Orrrr...bait them into speeding faster if you know there's usually cops ahead, then sit back and relax

 

[B2FiNiTY]

Just stay away. It's not like you're pregnant and need to get the ICU immediately.

 

[dquarasr2]

I find high brights are effective for getting people to change lanes but on NSX I dont use them because its annoying to have to flip up the lights then high bright then flip back down.

I'll leave alone the debate on why people do this, and whether it is wise in response to flash brights at a car in the left lane ......

But, don't know if they are all like that but on my '91 pulling back on the light stalk one notch raises the pop ups and turns on the high beams. A second or two after releasing the stalk the pop ups return to the down position. No need to flip them up manually with the separate switch.

 

[JohnWayne]

I'll leave alone the debate on why people do this, and whether it is wise in response to flash brights at a car in the left lane ......

But, don't know if they are all like that but on my '91 pulling back on the light stalk one notch raises the pop ups and turns on the high beams. A second or two after releasing the stalk the pop ups return to the down position. No need to flip them up manually with the separate switch.

I should have clarified it seems like unnecessary wear on the motors to have them pop up and down any more than needed.

I wont go deep in to the debate but most drivers truly zone out in the left lane and a simple flash helps bring them back to the driving task at hand.