Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I haven't defended him, but when I filter, it just doesn't have the delaying effects you're describing. The Alaska law applies to where traffic flow control really isn't much of a consideration. I don't know what you thought the relevance was when you brought it up, and I suspect strongly it's more of a trucking industry backed measure to facilitate speeding as are the keep right laws.
The Alaska law was put into place to facilitate the movement of traffic at the posted speed. Alaska is stunningly beautiful. People will go into tourist mode when they are driving and stack cars up behind them while they gawk. RVers will be going 10-20 below the speed limit on tight winding mountain roads, stacking cars up behind them as they creep along. There are frequent pull-outs on these roads. They are there to allow traffic to vent. There is signage telling drivers to pull over if there are more than 5 vehicles behind them. I like that. The law is dictating action that common decency should.
I see it as relevant to this conversation because it touches on the principle that it's the right thing for slower moving traffic to allow faster moving traffic to vent. I happily move over on my bike to allow traffic to vent when I can reasonably do so. As long as I can do it without compromising my safety, why not?
The trucking industry may have been behind the slower traffic keep right laws. I am not familiar with the driving force behind that law. It seems to make good sense to me. Save for overall traffic density being very heavy, most often when I have to drop below 70 on the interstate, it turns out to be the result of a slow mover in the left lane. FWIW the majority of tractor trailer rigs are speed governed to a speed below 70 MPH. Fleets have voluntarily done this.
I take you for you word that when you filter, you don't stack traffic up behind you. This guy was going to stack traffic up behind him Unless he could ride at 35 MPH or unless he was going to pull off of the road to let traffic vent. I have my doubts that he'd do either.