[cdcox]

I have invented...

the gap theory.

You can be in the left lane under the following conditions:

a. no one is behind you
b. there is no gap in front of you
c. you are temporarily inhibited from getting over because you are passing someone quickly -- you might have to drive faster than you normally would.

If you are in the left lane under any other condition, you are being an asshole. Pull over and let people through.

You are allowed to pass on the right if there is a gap in front of the person in the left lane. Often when someone who has backed up traffic for miles gets passed on the right, they wake up and finally pull over. You are doing everyone in the left lane a favor, by passing on the right. Yes, it's true.

Now to the radical part of the gap theory. Say there is an exit only lane and traffic is backed up in the other lanes. You are allowed to use the exit only lane to zoom to the front of the pack. This sounds radical, but bear with me. In a line of 20 or more cars, at least one person will be leaving a large gap. You can easily slide into the gap, merge smoothly with traffic without slamming on your brakes, slow no one down at all, and increase the usage rate of the highway. This increases the capacity of the capacity of the highway and everyone gets where they are going faster. I'm not the asshole, its the person who leaves the gap. If no gap forms, I fall on my sword and take the exit. I won't back up traffic to force my way in.

Behold the gap theory.

Caveats: no fiddling with the radio, no cell phone use. You are hard core driving. Speed limits are not enforced where I do most of my driving. 15+ over the speed limit is routine in the left lane. 5-10+ is typical for the right lanes. I would probably drive differently when surrounded by different drivers or enforcement policies.