Keep Left Unless Overtaking. How reliable?
-
they must move aside... they are not allowed to travel on lane 1 in the 1st place (refer to previous post)Originally posted by guitarman1:so by this theory, whoever is the fastest wins la?
Assuming Car A, driving at 110kmh along expressway rite lane. He will sure to du lan those ppl at 90 on the rite lane, whom he classify as 'road hoggers' even though they are observing the law. So let's say ppl move aside for him.
nope he does not have to switch lanes because the car in front must give way. okay dun say MUST say should because of keep-left rule(IMO i think this rule is something we must all practice)Originally posted by guitarman1:And he continues at 110 on the rite lane becuz at tat speed, if he move back to middle lane, very soon he will run into another 'slow' car and have to overtake again. That is also dangerous, having to switch so often.
THIS IS WHERE THE TP COMES INOriginally posted by guitarman1:So while travelling at 110 on rite lane, a guy at 130 comes up menacingly from the back. The 110 guy sure have a bit of du lan feeling "wat the heck? Drive so fast for wat? going to reincarnate?). Becuz 110 consider quite fast liao, yet got ppl coming up faster.
So the 110 guy gotta give way, either have to slow down a lot to fit back into middle lane or cut dangerously or speed up to 130.
So lets say now the cars travelling 130 on rite lane. But one fella come at 160. By what you guys say, those 2 guys at 130 should siam for the 160 guy rite?
At 130, its gonna be even harder to cut back into the middle lane.
So without ppl observing the speed limit, and only observing the rule that whoever is faster deserve the right to use the right lane, we are going to end up with an expressway of ppl cutting all over the place from right to middle to right and happy speedsters zipping away on the rite lane.
It all really depends on the situation you see.. in the first place the fella driving at 160 wun be driving at that speed for a long time. Speed traps and mobile cams will sure capture him if not i guess some motorists will Bao To him to TP. 
I see your point in what you are trying to prove. But again if some one overtakes he/she should return to speed limit ASAP. Driving consistently on Lane 1 over the speed limit is deemed 100% speeding. If anyone of those speeders get caught by TP and they cite emergency reasons, thats where body language comes in and it will be dealt with on a case by case basis. -
I think there is no doubt that motorists should drive in the 2 left lanes at speeds up to the maximum of 90 km/h. In practice, I think all will agree that most vehicles are already going at the maximum speed in the middle lane. That means there is no reason for overtaking a vehicle in front at all, because he is already at the maximum speed. Does that mean all vehicles will therefore be using only two lanes, leaving the right most lane empty....since no one can overtake?
Of course that does not happen. It does not make sense to leave an entire right lane empty because no one can legally overtake in that situation (unless you are driving an emergency vehicle). What then happens is that some vehicles will filter right into the right lane. That is allowed provided you do not go faster than the maximum speed of 90 km/h. In other words, you do not go any faster by using the right lane if you are already moving at the maximum speed in the middle lane. However, it is good for traffic flow 'cos you open up a space for the vehicles behind you going at lower speeds to move up to 90km/h.
The right most lane is indeed to be used for overtaking only. However, even when overtaking, you must not exceed the maximum speed or you will be guilty of an offence. Whether or not the TP wants to enforce it when you are overtaking at 110 km/h temporarily to go past the vehicle in the middle lane at 90 km/h is up to him. But he is entitled to book you because you have committed an offence according to the law.
So when traffic is heavy (it often is), all 3 lanes may be used by vehicles. If vehicles in the middle lane is already going at maximum speed, vehicles in the right lane CANNOT overtake and can only go at the maximum speed. In essence, the right lane then functions as a middle lane. If for some reason a vehicle in the middle or right lane wants to slow down below the maximum speed, it should filter left.
By the way, if you are already travelling at the maximum speed in whatever lane but the path is clear in front of you, you are NOT road hogging. You CANNOT exceed the speed limit just because there are no vehicles in front of you. Speed limits are fixed based on road engineering concerns, visibility, road curvature etc...they are fixed for a reason. -
Another observation about emergency vehicles. If all 3 lanes are already used and there is an ambulance behind. Vehicles in the right lane must slow down and filter left to leave the way clear for the emergency vehicle.
What I find irritating is that in Singapore, vehicles in the middle lane do not slow down to allow you to filter through and some motorists respond by speeding up ahead of the emergency vehicle!! -
Perhaps what some of us like demolition and me means when saying driving on the extreme right lane is road hogging is the fact that the right lane is for overtaking and emergency vehicles only. By driving on the extreme right lane you are in a sense hogging the overtaking and emergency vehicle lane. the utopia situation would be the right lane be clear all the time. But like you (oxford mushroom) said it will help to clear traffic no doubt. That is why TP most of the time let people off esp during rush hour. But what is so irritating is that some Singaporean drivers drive on the extreme right lane no matter what the traffic condition is like. The keep-left rule is something the TP hopes to cultivate in us by teaching freshies the keep-left rule. As such we should exercise that habit whenever possible.
Anyway whether anybody decides to speed or not is purely between himself and the law. If one wants to overtake above the speed limit on the right lane, slower cars on the right lane should/must give way. Besides the regulation doesn't say anything about overtaking above the speed limit. It may sound contradicting but one fella here overtook above the speed limit with the Volvo TP just behind him and wasn't book. I guess its a gamble that one must decide whether to take or not under the current driving circumstances.
"If one wants to overtake above the speed limit on the right lane, slower cars on the right lane should/must give way" this sentence i just mentioned again ideally should not occur at all as the right lane should be free of vehicles. So i hope i make it clear and not make it seem as if the fastest car rules the extreme right lane.
I believe whether to use Lane 1 as a regular carriageway should base on the current traffic situation. If there is heavy traffic, IMO after oxford mushroom has pointed out that it helps clear up roads, I think it is okay to be used. But on lanes with low traffic flow. Right lane should be left empty.
-
Can someone provide any evidence that driving at 89km/h on lane 1 is a traffic offence or
can someone provide an example of someone being booked for driving at 89km/h on lane 1???? -
really? read my signature.Originally posted by dracky:I am slightly perplexed why some people are so tolerant of rule-breakers. Motorists who go above the speed limit are breaking a traffic rule and should be thoroughly despised. Speeding kills, as many signs on the road warn motorists.
Motorists who try to get away with speeding (or argue their way out of it) are no better than coupon parking cheats. We should not tolerate rule-breakers, much less be courteous to them. In Singapore, everybody should respect the law as it is written. -
hmm. interesting topic. anyhow if i see an ambulance behind me on lane 1 on the expressway, my first intention will be to filter left but if the cars on the left are bumper to bumper, slowing down to filter left would DEFINITELY slow the ambulance down. that's just illogical. i'd speed up to get to the next gap in the middle lane then i'd cut in without slowing down if it is safe to do so - to ensure the ambulance doesn't have to slow down too.
with regards to the topic as a whole, i just passed my TP on 4th July so am quite sure with the theory. I remember my instructors saying that overtaking beyond the speed limit is against the law. if everyone's travelling at 90km/h then there should not be any vehicle on lane 1 (in a perfect situation). also, if you follow the recent news on the CTE ERP toll in the evenings, after a week the police have commented that the ERP has helped ease traffic and it is good now. when asked to define, they said that their goal was to reach wad they considered was a good cruising speed for expressways and that would be 60 to 70km/h. which means that to them, the cruising speed was as what they said - 60 to 70km/h. however that is obviously only true for an ideal situation. however, the road users here tend to drive AT the speed limit and over instead of below the speed limit.
so therefore, from what I understand with information from my driving centre's instructors, one CANNOT overtake a car that is travelling at 90km/h on lane 2 because that would tantamount to speeding and would be an offence. and i'm sure if you were trying to overtake a car travelling at 90km/h in front of u on lane 2, and sped up to over 110km/h onto lane 1 and suddenly saw a speed camera on the overhead bridge up ahead, you would definitely slow down and be guai kia either stay one lane 1 at 90km/h or go back to middle lane behind that car at 90 km/h but you would NOT speed up even more to get in front of the car you were overtaking right? because the camera doesn't CARE if you're overtaking. we all know that so why are we even asking if its legal to speed to overtake?
with regards to the post about the TP Volvo not bothering about the driver who was speeding ,well that's probably because it was in a rush to get to say, an accident scene. I've been caught in traffic jams due to accidents ahead and there are several cars running offences of driving on the shoulder etc. but the TP came behind them (on the shoulder too) and sounded its siren - not to stop them but to get them out of the way. it would just speed past and on to the accident scene. also happened on lane 1 once. it didn't particularly care abt any other cars.
as for my personal driving, I do drive on lane 1 and most of the time I do stay on lane 1. However I do not road hog. I filter left to middle lane if it is completely clear. I give way to emergency vehicles and vehicles coming up from behind that are faster. But I usually do not overtake vehicles in front of me that are driving at the speed limit. For example, if I'm driving on lane 1 at 110km/h (usually because the speed goes up without me noticing) and I see a vehicle in front, I'd slow down and form up behind that vehicle and continue at that vehicle's pace. unless he is travelling below 70km/h on a clear expressway. However, I don't understand why so many drivers give way to me. When I come up behind with the intention of staying behind that car he filters left to let me pass. I don't speed but I feel obliged to speed up and pass him and somehow, the next car gives way too. =/ sheesh. then i cruise through and some guy filters ahead of me onto lane 1 but then sees me and filters back into lane 2. am I that intimidating? Also, with regards to beams, I don't beam or horn people in front, but my headlights are on auto and they somehow beam the car in front whenever passing under flyovers and bridges etc. At the beginning I couldn't understand why cars in front would filter left to let me pass after we've gone under a flyover/bridge, until i saw the reflection of my own headlights on the rear of the car in front (that didn't filter left) coming on once under the flyover and switching off once clear.
oh ya, I speed up in front of emergency vehicles because of an incident that happened on the day I passed my license. I drove out to the road for the first time on to the expressway and by some god-send luck an ambulance came up behind me with lights and sirens on lane 1. I have NEVER driven on the expressway before and that was like one hour after I had passed and five mins after I first entered the expressway as the driver. my first instinct was to slow down and filter left, but i sorta panicked and jumbled up everything i was supposed to do and tried to cut in between two cars on the middle lane that were half a car length apart and got horned like mad by the car on my left that I was cutting in front of i swerved back on to lane 1 and as i've already slowed down the ambulance was slowing down too and the guy who horned slowed down as well so i went back in front of him and the ambulance had to try to speed up but it sort of couldn't? it stayed diagonally to the right behind me speeding up but after a few secs slowed down and filtered left behind the car behind me and went to the next exit on the left. i nearly caused an accident. sheesh. and in the end after all my nonsense the ambulance couldn't pass me. sigh. -
No, it is not an offence to do that unless there is an ambulance coming from behind. In that case, you will have to filter left and if any motorists in the middle lane refuse to let you in, they may will be booked.Originally posted by No_10_Tomas_Rosicky:Can someone provide any evidence that driving at 89km/h on lane 1 is a traffic offence or
can someone provide an example of someone being booked for driving at 89km/h on lane 1????
The right lane is intended for overtaking and emergency vehicles, but there is nothing in the law that makes it an offence to drive in that lane at close to speed limit if you are not impeding an emergency vehicle. In contrast, driving above the speed limit in any lane is an offence under the law (Sect 63, Road Traffic Act). -
nice a nd good long post. hope you can post here often.cheers!!!Originally posted by Tayysj:hmm. interesting topic. anyhow if i see an ambulance behind me on lane 1 on the expressway, my first intention will be to filter left but if the cars on the left are bumper to bumper, slowing down to filter left would DEFINITELY slow the ambulance down. that's just illogical. i'd speed up to get to the next gap in the middle lane then i'd cut in without slowing down if it is safe to do so - to ensure the ambulance doesn't have to slow down too.
with regards to the topic as a whole, i just passed my TP on 4th July so am quite sure with the theory. I remember my instructors saying that overtaking beyond the speed limit is against the law. if everyone's travelling at 90km/h then there should not be any vehicle on lane 1 (in a perfect situation). also, if you follow the recent news on the CTE ERP toll in the evenings, after a week the police have commented that the ERP has helped ease traffic and it is good now. when asked to define, they said that their goal was to reach wad they considered was a good cruising speed for expressways and that would be 60 to 70km/h. which means that to them, the cruising speed was as what they said - 60 to 70km/h. however that is obviously only true for an ideal situation. however, the road users here tend to drive AT the speed limit and over instead of below the speed limit.
so therefore, from what I understand with information from my driving centre's instructors, one CANNOT overtake a car that is travelling at 90km/h on lane 2 because that would tantamount to speeding and would be an offence. and i'm sure if you were trying to overtake a car travelling at 90km/h in front of u on lane 2, and sped up to over 110km/h onto lane 1 and suddenly saw a speed camera on the overhead bridge up ahead, you would definitely slow down and be guai kia either stay one lane 1 at 90km/h or go back to middle lane behind that car at 90 km/h but you would NOT speed up even more to get in front of the car you were overtaking right? because the camera doesn't CARE if you're overtaking. we all know that so why are we even asking if its legal to speed to overtake?
with regards to the post about the TP Volvo not bothering about the driver who was speeding ,well that's probably because it was in a rush to get to say, an accident scene. I've been caught in traffic jams due to accidents ahead and there are several cars running offences of driving on the shoulder etc. but the TP came behind them (on the shoulder too) and sounded its siren - not to stop them but to get them out of the way. it would just speed past and on to the accident scene. also happened on lane 1 once. it didn't particularly care abt any other cars.
as for my personal driving, I do drive on lane 1 and most of the time I do stay on lane 1. However I do not road hog. I filter left to middle lane if it is completely clear. I give way to emergency vehicles and vehicles coming up from behind that are faster. But I usually do not overtake vehicles in front of me that are driving at the speed limit. For example, if I'm driving on lane 1 at 110km/h (usually because the speed goes up without me noticing) and I see a vehicle in front, I'd slow down and form up behind that vehicle and continue at that vehicle's pace. unless he is travelling below 70km/h on a clear expressway. However, I don't understand why so many drivers give way to me. When I come up behind with the intention of staying behind that car he filters left to let me pass. I don't speed but I feel obliged to speed up and pass him and somehow, the next car gives way too. =/ sheesh. then i cruise through and some guy filters ahead of me onto lane 1 but then sees me and filters back into lane 2. am I that intimidating? Also, with regards to beams, I don't beam or horn people in front, but my headlights are on auto and they somehow beam the car in front whenever passing under flyovers and bridges etc. At the beginning I couldn't understand why cars in front would filter left to let me pass after we've gone under a flyover/bridge, until i saw the reflection of my own headlights on the rear of the car in front (that didn't filter left) coming on once under the flyover and switching off once clear.
oh ya, I speed up in front of emergency vehicles because of an incident that happened on the day I passed my license. I drove out to the road for the first time on to the expressway and by some god-send luck an ambulance came up behind me with lights and sirens on lane 1. I have NEVER driven on the expressway before and that was like one hour after I had passed and five mins after I first entered the expressway as the driver. my first instinct was to slow down and filter left, but i sorta panicked and jumbled up everything i was supposed to do and tried to cut in between two cars on the middle lane that were half a car length apart and got horned like mad by the car on my left that I was cutting in front of i swerved back on to lane 1 and as i've already slowed down the ambulance was slowing down too and the guy who horned slowed down as well so i went back in front of him and the ambulance had to try to speed up but it sort of couldn't? it stayed diagonally to the right behind me speeding up but after a few secs slowed down and filtered left behind the car behind me and went to the next exit on the left. i nearly caused an accident. sheesh. and in the end after all my nonsense the ambulance couldn't pass me. sigh. -
I first time (to and back) on the expressway, I was in the third lane all the time doing 60 odd. Second time on the expressway is already 4 years later driving my first car, also never drive lane 1, because running-in car, for 2 weeks. Must comment you have guts, but do drive safety. Resist the temptation to speed and tailgate until you have driven enoughOriginally posted by Tayysj:......I have NEVER driven on the expressway before and that was like one hour after I had passed and five mins after I first entered the expressway as the driver. ......
or have enough points to deduce. -
In my knowledge after driving for 20 years, so far, I know the middle lane of an expressway are for those who are travelling at the prescribed speed of 80/90Kmh, and the left lane are for slow moving commercial vehicles and heavy vehicles. The right most lane however, fondly called Lane 1, is for OVERTAKING another vehicle in the middle lane. After you have overtaken it is expected that you return to the middle lane and drop back to 80/90Kmh or you will be deemed to be speeding by any Traffic Police that happens to spot you.
There is NO mystery or complexity about what this or that lane is for. Just the above.
For those who think that Lane 1 is meant for travelling at 120Kmh all the way, then go ahead and continue to do so, then explain your opinion to the TP who stopped you. Nest time you see a Volvo or BMW Traffic Patrol behind when you are travelling above 100Kmh on Lane 1, don't swicth lane and slow down. Just keep speeding. -
dont i post often? anyhow already had my first accident knocked down a motorcyclist on the expressway sigh. anyway the cruising speed for expressways according to the TP on tv is 60 - 70km/h. 90 is the limit. overtake also muz keep within 90.
-
Just keep to the rule. Don't care about what others is doing as long as you do your part.