Date:         Fri, 17 Nov 95 12:28:33 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Which is the outside lane?

On Fri, 17 Nov 1995 12:21:17 -0600 Neil Wigley said:
>So here's a Friday question:
>Which is the outside lane? The fast one? The slow one?

i always was told/brainwashed that the lane next fartherest away from the
median (the center strip of the multi-lane bi-directional highway) was the
SLOWEST lane. the lane closest to the median was the FASTEST lane.

this was supposedly to allow for the best-of-all-possible-worlds where ALL
exit ramps exited off the slow lanes (away from the median).

unfortunately, the american theory of high-speed highways has become very
muddled in politics and money ("There's never enough money or time to do it
right the first time, but there's ALWAYS enough money and time to do it
over!")

the lanes between the slow and fast lanes are medium-speed lanes for people
who can't make up their minds.  :)

now ... you drive like that in Atlanta or Chicago, and you will be run over
... reminds me of Saigon traffic: two paved lanes of highway, five streams
of traffic, seemingly all going in different directions!! and God help you
in the traffic circles!!!!

joel
"didn't we pass that statue a minute ago???"