toedtoes wrote:
JT wrote:
"I will ride the shoulder if available to make room for passers"
----
Trying to be "nice" and let faster traffic pass, a friend did this "pull over far to the right" stuff until she caught a wheel on the shoulder and put her rig into the ditch.
Use all of your lane; if you don't, somebody else will! Pull over when it's *safe*, when you can see what's coming behind you and from the other direction, and when have *space* to pull back out into the lane. And, what happens if you're lane-sharing and the passer(s) don't have enough of your lane to get by before oncoming traffic smacks into them? Will they try to pull back or let you ram into a tree or go over the edge? There are many who do not care one whit if they force you off the road when you're "lane-sharing". Be aware of any traffic build-up and pull over when you can do so safely, of course, but endangering yourself, any passengers, and your rig just to allow followers to speed around you is a bad idea!
I think you're confusing "lane sharing" with pulling over as far as possible to let the person behind me see around my rig and pass when safe to do so. Some clarification:
I do not ride a shoulder that isn't paved and wide enough to allow me to easily stay on the pavement. I don't risk hitting the dirt - period.
I do not ride a shoulder if there is any traffic coming the other direction - and that means I don't ride a shoulder if I can't see far enough ahead to know if it's safe for passing.
I do not ride a should indefinitely letting multiple vehicles whip past me in a frenzy. I let a single vehicle pass, move back into the lane, and then, if conditions allow, I will move over and let a second vehicle pass.
I ALWAYS stay aware and adjust my speed accordingly. If I ride the shoulder, my speed drops so that the other vehicle can get around me as quickly as possible. It also drops so that my rig (and I and my passengers) are safe.
I let a single vehicle pass, move back into the lane, and then, if conditions allow, I will move over to let a second vehicle pass - I do not let multiple vehicles whip past me in a frenzy.
Again, I find that by not playing games on the road, by being cognizant of other drivers, and by being considerate to others, I rarely have issues with problem drivers. And the problem driver issues I do have are pretty much confined to multi-lane rush hour freeways.
I will also move to the right side of the lane to allow the vehicle following me to have a clear view, to me this means putting the Right tires of the 5er on the "Fog Line" on the right side of the lane.
I had a trip to the coast a year ago Christmas, and I got up to be the first vehicle, behind some person doing between 40 to 50 on a posted 55 highway.
Well after leaning on the Fog Line, several times to allow those behind me to pass, next clear opportunity, I just flipped on the left turn signal and passed the dude myself. Some people just don't get it!
