If you’re in the left lane, and there’s someone behind you but no one in front of you, move over and let them pass. Simple.

Or better yet, if there’s room to your right and the lane to your right isn’t the right-most lane, move right. It doesn’t matter if someone is behind you or if you’re one lane from the left, move right if you’re not passing someone.

Far too many people camp in the left most lane when there’s plenty of room to the right. This forces traffic that you’re probably not actually noticing to pass on the right, which is unsafe and, in some areas, illegal.

It doesn’t force them to drive unsafely. That’s a decision they make on their own.

Unsafe driving is anything that’s surprising. Having a car go faster than your to your right is surprising, thus unsafe. The #1 rule in any kind of dangerous activity where a lot of independent actors are involved is to be predictable.

Here’s a clear scenario:

Driver A is cruising in the left lane

Driver B comes up behind driver A

Driver A notices B, checks to the right (looks over shoulder), and decides to merge right

Driver B gets impatient and starts to overtake A on the right

Driver A, assuming moving to the right is safe (mirrors look good), moves right and collides with B, who is in their blind spot

It’s reasonable to assume someone isn’t going to jump into your blind spot on the right. That’s less reasonable to your left, so you should be extra careful when merging left.

Merging right should always be safer because you may need to move over if an emergency vehicle approaches from behind.

So Driver B made a conscious decision to make an illegal and dangerous pass. That’s not Driver A’s fault. You guys want to drive like it’s NASCAR and blame everyone around you but it’s just not true. If you’re coming up behind someone you have more situational awareness not less. It’s on you to make a safe move, like applying your brakes. That’s a safe predictable response to a slower car in front of you. Nobody is forcing you to drive in an unsafe manner.