Speeding: the fundamental cause of MFFY

With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit the
fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.

There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually has
no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.

So, given a two lane road in one direction, and the following legal
assumption:

* The Left Lane is for traffic that is passing/driving at the speed limit
(no vehicle shall exceed the posted limit).
* The Right Lane is for slower traffic that is travelling below the speed
limit.

Let's look at some scenarios and how they reflect MFFY:

#1: Driver in the left lane is driving the speed limit, traffic in the right
lane is below the speed limit; therefore, the driver in the left lane is
passing traffic. Speeder comes along in the left lane and expects the legal
driver to move to the right lane, either by tailgating and flash to pass =
MFFY, the speeder just can't seem to legally drive with the flow of traffic
at the speed limit and follow 2 to 3 seconds behind, after all, they have to
be *first*, ahead of the pack.

#2: Driver in the left lane is speeding, and again, here comes the speeder
driving even faster, once again using flash to pass or tailgating to force
the other driver to the right lane = MFFY. Now, it's been said that the left
lane is the passing lane, not the fast enough lane, but how fast is fast
enough? Again, it's another indication that the second driver can't drive
with the flow of traffic, they have to be *first*.

Now, there are genuine situations where a driver in the left lane is an LLB,
for example, driving below the speed limit/not passing traffic/driving in
the left lane, but doesn't everything else over the speed limit also amount
to MFFY?

I think it does. And of course, this isn't to say that I haven't found
myself speeding with the flow of traffic on more than one occasion, but I'm
generally following 2 to 3 seconds behind the other car in the left lane,
passing slower traffic, not tailgating, not flashing to pass, and not
passing on the right--I have no need to be in first place. Predictably, I
encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right just to
be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.

"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in message
...
> With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit
the
> fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.
>
> There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
> drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually
has
> no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.
>
> So, given a two lane road in one direction, and the following legal
> assumption:
>
> * The Left Lane is for traffic that is passing/driving at the speed limit
> (no vehicle shall exceed the posted limit).
> * The Right Lane is for slower traffic that is travelling below the speed
> limit.
>
> Let's look at some scenarios and how they reflect MFFY:
>
> #1: Driver in the left lane is driving the speed limit, traffic in the
right
> lane is below the speed limit; therefore, the driver in the left lane is
> passing traffic. Speeder comes along in the left lane and expects the
legal
> driver to move to the right lane, either by tailgating and flash to pass =
> MFFY, the speeder just can't seem to legally drive with the flow of
traffic
> at the speed limit and follow 2 to 3 seconds behind, after all, they have
to
> be *first*, ahead of the pack.

Are they continuously passing traffic, or do they think "I see some slower
traffic on the horizon in the right lane, better keep left"

> Predictably, I
> encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
> braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
> safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right just
to
> be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
> they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.

If they can pass you on the right, that means you aren't passing traffic,
and should be in the right lane.

"Bill 2" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in message
> ...
> Are they continuously passing traffic, or do they think "I see some slower
> traffic on the horizon in the right lane, better keep left"
>
No one is ever continously passing traffic unless the right lane is
completely stopped.

> > Predictably, I
> > encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
> > braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
> > safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right
just
> to
> > be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
> > they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.
>
> If they can pass you on the right, that means you aren't passing traffic,
> and should be in the right lane.
>
By that logic, no one should ever be in the right lane because there might
be a situation like this:


[aaa] [me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[car2]

Now, [aaa] could pass [me] on the right...

[me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[aaa] [car2]


but not get past the [car2] in the right lane. At some point [car1] would
pass [car2], and then, of course, [me] would also pass [car2] approximately
2 to 3 seconds later.

And given another lane to the right, [aaa] could always recklessly weave
through traffic in order to pass [me], then [car2], and then ultimately pass
[car1]. It's *always* possible to pass someone on the right if traffic isn't
actively blocking, which is where the question comes up again, how fast is
fast enough?

What usually happens, though, is this:

[aaa] [me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[car2]

Now, I'm not going to merge right, in fact, [aaa] needs to back off.

"Bill 2" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in message
> ...
> Are they continuously passing traffic, or do they think "I see some slower
> traffic on the horizon in the right lane, better keep left"
>
No one is ever continously passing traffic unless the right lane is
completely stopped.

> > Predictably, I
> > encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
> > braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
> > safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right
just
> to
> > be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
> > they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.
>
> If they can pass you on the right, that means you aren't passing traffic,
> and should be in the right lane.
>
By that logic, no one should ever be in the right lane because there might
be a situation like this:


[aaa] [me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[car2]

Now, [aaa] could pass [me] on the right...

[me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[aaa] [car2]


but not get past the [car2] in the right lane. At some point [car1] would
pass [car2], and then, of course, [me] would also pass [car2] approximately
2 to 3 seconds later.

And given another lane to the right, [aaa] could always recklessly weave
through traffic in order to pass [me], then [car2], and then ultimately pass
[car1]. It's *always* possible to pass someone on the right if traffic isn't
actively blocking, which is where the question comes up again, how fast is
fast enough?

What usually happens, though, is this:

[aaa] [me] [car1]
----------------------------------------------
[car2]

Now, I'm not going to merge right, in fact, [aaa] needs to back off.

"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in message
...
> With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit
the
> fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.
>
> There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
> drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually
has
> no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.
>
> So, given a two lane road in one direction, and the following legal
> assumption:
>
> * The Left Lane is for traffic that is passing/driving at the speed limit
> (no vehicle shall exceed the posted limit).
> * The Right Lane is for slower traffic that is travelling below the speed
> limit.
>
> Let's look at some scenarios and how they reflect MFFY:
>
> #1: Driver in the left lane is driving the speed limit, traffic in the
right
> lane is below the speed limit; therefore, the driver in the left lane is
> passing traffic. Speeder comes along in the left lane and expects the
legal
> driver to move to the right lane, either by tailgating and flash to pass =
> MFFY, the speeder just can't seem to legally drive with the flow of
traffic
> at the speed limit and follow 2 to 3 seconds behind, after all, they have
to
> be *first*, ahead of the pack.

Are they continuously passing traffic, or do they think "I see some slower
traffic on the horizon in the right lane, better keep left"

> Predictably, I
> encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
> braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
> safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right just
to
> be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
> they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.

If they can pass you on the right, that means you aren't passing traffic,
and should be in the right lane.

In article >, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:
> With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit the
> fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.

The fundamental cause if any, is the teachings of 'just let them do it'
and "consideration" coupled with underposted speed limits.

> There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
> drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually has
> no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.

So you are arguing from the authority standpoint, that one must OBEY
regardless of how stupid the law is. This is what caused the problem in
the first place. Rules should be few, simple and make sense. Not many,
complex, and total nonsense.

In article >, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:
> With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit the
> fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.

The fundamental cause if any, is the teachings of 'just let them do it'
and "consideration" coupled with underposted speed limits.

> There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
> drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually has
> no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.

So you are arguing from the authority standpoint, that one must OBEY
regardless of how stupid the law is. This is what caused the problem in
the first place. Rules should be few, simple and make sense. Not many,
complex, and total nonsense.

It should be GF. as in GOD FIRST
"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in message
...
> With all this discussion of Me First/F**k You (MFFY), it's time to admit
> the
> fundamental problem leading to MFFY: speeding.
>
> There's all kinds of excuses--the limits are underposted, it's not safe to
> drive the speed limit, etc.; however, unless a particular road actually
> has
> no speed limit, the speed limit is still the law governing the roads.
>
> So, given a two lane road in one direction, and the following legal
> assumption:
>
> * The Left Lane is for traffic that is passing/driving at the speed limit
> (no vehicle shall exceed the posted limit).
> * The Right Lane is for slower traffic that is travelling below the speed
> limit.
>
> Let's look at some scenarios and how they reflect MFFY:
>
> #1: Driver in the left lane is driving the speed limit, traffic in the
> right
> lane is below the speed limit; therefore, the driver in the left lane is
> passing traffic. Speeder comes along in the left lane and expects the
> legal
> driver to move to the right lane, either by tailgating and flash to pass =
> MFFY, the speeder just can't seem to legally drive with the flow of
> traffic
> at the speed limit and follow 2 to 3 seconds behind, after all, they have
> to
> be *first*, ahead of the pack.
>
> #2: Driver in the left lane is speeding, and again, here comes the speeder
> driving even faster, once again using flash to pass or tailgating to force
> the other driver to the right lane = MFFY. Now, it's been said that the
> left
> lane is the passing lane, not the fast enough lane, but how fast is fast
> enough? Again, it's another indication that the second driver can't drive
> with the flow of traffic, they have to be *first*.
>
> Now, there are genuine situations where a driver in the left lane is an
> LLB,
> for example, driving below the speed limit/not passing traffic/driving in
> the left lane, but doesn't everything else over the speed limit also
> amount
> to MFFY?
>
> I think it does. And of course, this isn't to say that I haven't found
> myself speeding with the flow of traffic on more than one occasion, but
> I'm
> generally following 2 to 3 seconds behind the other car in the left lane,
> passing slower traffic, not tailgating, not flashing to pass, and not
> passing on the right--I have no need to be in first place. Predictably, I
> encounter MFFY speeders that attempt to "divebomb" me by tailgating and
> braking suddenly. As such, I simply tap the brakes twice and continue my
> safe following distance behind the other car--and if they pass right just
> to
> be in first place ahead of me, and the car in front of me... once again,
> they are epitome of the MFFY type of driver.
>
>

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 10:20:23 -0800, "Daniel W. Rouse Jr."
> wrote:

>Now, there are genuine situations where a driver in the left lane is an LLB,
>for example, driving below the speed limit/not passing traffic/driving in
>the left lane, but doesn't everything else over the speed limit also amount
>to MFFY?

No

Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote:

> * The Left Lane is for traffic that is passing/driving at the speed limit
> (no vehicle shall exceed the posted limit).

Why should the left lane be used by people driving at the posted limit?
Why can't it be for passing only regardless of what speed one chooses
to drive?

> * The Right Lane is for slower traffic that is travelling below the speed
> limit.

Why should the right lane be only used for people driving below the
posted limit? Why can't it be used by people driving at a given speed
(whether under, at, or over the posted limit) who are not passing anyone
at the moment?

> #1: Driver in the left lane is driving the speed limit, traffic in the right
> lane is below the speed limit; therefore, the driver in the left lane is
> passing traffic.

Is the driver who is going the speed limit beside traffic going slower
or behind it?

> Speeder comes along in the left lane and expects the legal
> driver to move to the right lane,

Which can only be done when the driver ahead has finished his pass.

> #2: Driver in the left lane is speeding,

Driver should be in the right lane unless passing slower traffic.

> Now, it's been said that the left
> lane is the passing lane, not the fast enough lane, but how fast is fast
> enough?

Fast enough is where faster traffic won't catch up to you while passing.
One is free to slow back down after one has finished passing.

Let's say that there was a road where nobody drove faster than tht
posted limit. Suppose there were 3 cars driving in the right lane.
From first to last, their speeds are 70 mph, 72 mph, 75 mph. The car
going 72 mph is preparing to pass the car going 70 mph, and the 75 mph
car is preparing to pass the 72 mph car.

The 72 mph car would be a MFFY driver if he:

1. Did not speed up to 75 mph during his passing maneuver if he decides
to pass before the 75 mph driver passes him.

or

2. Did not wait for the 75 mph driver to pass him first if he wasn't
willing to speed up.

> Now, there are genuine situations where a driver in the left lane is an LLB,
> for example, driving below the speed limit

Not necessarily true. If a driver going 65 mph is passing a driver
going 60 mph in a 70 mph zone, the passing driver is certainly not a
LLB. He could still be a MFFY driver if he doesn't speed up so faster
traffic doesn't catch up to him first, or wait until that is no longer
necessary. In any case, you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding
as to what constitutes a LLB.

> /not passing traffic/driving in the left lane

That is the definition of a LLB and also a subset of MFFY drivers.

> but doesn't everything else over the speed limit also amount
> to MFFY?

No. If those driving over the speed limit are in the right lane and are
not passing anyone, there's no reason that they should be considered
MFFY. If they have assured that they won't interfere with faster
traffic behind before initiating their pass, and get their pass over
with promptly, there's no reason to consider one driving over the speed
limit MFFY.

> I think it does.

You also have a fatal flaw in your argument. You make the faulty
assumption that the speed limit defines the actual speed of traffic. If
the speed limit was 50 mph, and 0% of traffic was obeying it, 29% were
driving between 51 and 55 mph, 43% were driving between 56 and 60 mph,
and 13% were driving between 61 and 62 mph, and 5% were driving between
63 and 65 mph, then you can't claim by any standard of reasoning that
the flow of traffic is actually 50 mph.