Correction - the RIGHT lane is for passing.

For all those state Department of Transportation driver's manual writers reading this, please take note:
American society has decided to alter a long standing rule of the road: The left lane is no longer for passing, but rather for:
1. maintaining a slow to average speed
2. stroking one's ego about being part of the "fast lane" clique
3. annoying drivers who actually were are stuck with the notion that the left lane's for passing
4. initiating gridlock, damming any following drivers who refuse to pass on the right for safety reasons

This change will delight insurance agencies, since they will now be able to charge higher rates, as it's definitely less safe to make headway on a highway darting in and out of the right lane to get around the left and center lane blockades.

People complain vehemently about distractions while driving, and laws are enacted to limit these distractions, yet decent road manners are left out there as if they have no impact. Not so, say I, and many others I've talked with recently. For instance, the traffic engineer, who'll tell you that abuse of the left lane can often lead to a minor slow up that carries a domino effect, eventually resulting in the long gridlock backups. Or talk to a commerical truck driver, who'll tell you that the right lane is actually now the fastest. This, even though it's the most unsafe lane to move along fastest due to constant exiting and merging in this lane.

If you've been to some of the countries where the "left lane only for passing" law is part of the societal norm, or effectively enforced, you'll have likely noticed just how much more volume is moving, and at a higher rate of speed down a similarly designed highway to those in the states. I don't know, but I'm guessing that a traffic engineer would tell you that, even including the recent (traffic density increasing) effect of tailgating, the US traffic volume per mile has gone down since the same norm has diminished in the US. It's simply not as easy to fit cars efficiently into the lanes when there's no rhyme or reason to their use. Ants are likely more efficient in movement. Speaking of animals, ever feel like a sheep, or monkey, or something a bit less intelligent than (most) humans, when sitting in gridlock. How is it that we can send a man to the moon, invent a HighDef flatscreen, and still can't get traffic to flow. What a waste of resources.

Hopefully, some group will start lobbying the police to start enforcing the "stay right, pass left" rule/law (in some states) and this epidemic will diminish. I for one, could sure forgo the wasted time, gas, and frustration.