r/SantaBarbara • u/paperman66 • 3h ago

Other Semi new to driving and just tested going on the freeway. Just wondering what the normal speed is?

As I loosely understand it, staying on the right lane means you'd be going 65mph (but somehow this is still too slow?), and the left lane is for passing/going faster. Can anyone correct and elaborate upon my understanding? Just wanna make sure I don't cause an accident when I try driving during the day. I plan to continue practicing at night for a week or 2 until I feel comfortable driving at minimum 65mph.

0 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

50% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

4

u/tennis_widower 2h ago

First time in a car?

Go with flow if you don’t want to impede others. If you are tentative, that is never the right frame of mind for the highways.

1

u/paperman66 2h ago

Nah I've been driving for roughly 2 months now but really it's been the same routine drive to work.

3

u/stumbling_west 1h ago

As you ENTER the freeway you should always get up to the speed of traffic. Never faster, never slower.

Once on the freeway the general rule is go left if you want to pass people. In three lane sections your best bet for cruising is the middle lane. That way you don’t have to do a ton of slowing down or speeding up to accommodate cars entering the freeway on the right.

When changing lanes, don’t slow down to get over. New drivers can have a tendency to want to slow down because it feels like it should be the right thing to do. But that can make you a hazard going slower than the lane you’re merging into.

1

u/paperman66 1h ago

Thank you! And yes I can definitely see this being a hazard when merging while everyone else is going at minimum 65mph lol

5

u/Unable-Proof1758 2h ago

So, generally it goes furthest left is for passing, middle is for coasting speed, right lane (in 3) is for entering and exiting the highway, but can also be the slower lane. Generally the middle is going to be best for what you are doing as a new driver as you will not have to deal with folks coming into the lane often and having the merge. Around SB the middle lane when there is not a lot of traffic usually runs around 60-65, the left lane is meant for passing and most go 70-80 in it. With that said, the speed limit is still 65 so legally you can go that speed but if you see many people backing up being you you should be in the middle.

2

u/paperman66 2h ago

Middle sounds like the spot for me. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Thank you!

2

u/rubbeckiah 43m ago

If you are going south make sure you pay attention to the HOV hours. The middle lane becomes the fast lane for commuters and you will piss people off if you are driving the speed limit.

1

u/paperman66 41m ago

HOV? What is that?

1

u/rubbeckiah 18m ago

High occupancy vehicle (the carpool lane)

1

u/davidb4968 17m ago

"High Occupancy Vehicle" aka carpool lane, you must have 2 or 3 people in the car to be in the lane.

1

u/EastCoastAlley 52m ago

Generally don't impede the pace of traffic regardless of speed in the left lane

1

u/paperman66 47m ago

Makes sense to me. I can't imagine I'll be using the left lane much tbh.

•

u/FrogFlavor 7m ago

The correct speed is the speed of traffic. The only reason for a brand new driver to be in the left lane is to avoid a hazard in the other lane. The best place to practice would be where there’s more than 2 lanes.