Utah Drivers - justified?

I am firmly of the mindset that Utah drivers are among the worst in the world. Many Utah drivers would say it's not really Utahns making the roads scary - it's all the out-of-state drivers who are living in the area. I do admit, the idiotic girl doing her makeup in the left lane the other day was from out of state, but I still don't buy it.

I drove in London, England, for 7 months. Opposite sides of the road, tiny cars and tiny roads, high speeds, roundabouts, etc. But never was I frightened for my life until I visited Utah after my mission and drove the freeway from Salt Lake to Provo. People whizzing by on the right - I felt like I was back in England. I was even talking to one friend from Utah and mentioned the fact that it's actually illegal to pass on the right. She was genuinely surprised!

But despite all that, let me make a fantastic statement - it's not the crazy Utah drivers that people always complain about who are the most dangerous ones on the road. Who is it? The slow Utah drivers who are in the left lane.

Why, you ask? Because they're the reason Utahns have adapted to the way they drive. For some reason, old people, people on cell phones, people using the rear view mirror to do their makeup while driving - they all think the left lane is for traveling. It's NOT! It is for PASSING! Everyone in every other state in the union knows that! (I think New Yorkers know it too, but they choose to ignore it...and most every other traffic law anyway. I could write another blog just on my cab ride from JFK airport to Manhattan.)

But these Utah drivers have got it in their head that they can travel in any lane they want, regardless of their speed. This is simply not true. If you're not the fastest car on the road, you do not get in the left lane unless you're faster than another car in your lane - it's that simple. You use the left lane to PASS. That's why it's called the PASSING LANE.

So why do Utahns drive as they do, passing on the right at high speeds? Plain truth of the matter is, they have to if they want to get past Grandma in the left lane who's talking on her cell phone and going 60 in a 65. Cuz Grandma sure isn't paying any attention to anyone behind or beside her, and isn't going to budge til she's 200 feet from her exit, when she might look to the right and might signal before crossing 4 lanes of traffic to make her offramp. I once followed someone at very close proximity, going 55-57 mph (in a 65), hoping he would move over so I wouldn't have to break the law and pass on the right like everyone behind me was doing. Nope - after about 10 minutes of this, I gave in and did it.

Moral of the story - passing on the right is illegal, but until we can educate Utahns on proper driving rules, sometimes it's a necessary illegality here in Utah.