But it doesn't prevent people who are going faster than the "normal speed of traffic" from passing on the right, if they have an opening.

Right. The law has that provision so you don't get in trouble when you get frustrated and right-pass some yahoo going slow in the fast lane. I think you're right in that this is a difference between Europe and the US.

Of course, those people are probably breaking speed limit laws anyway...

Which is one of the things I complain about: the mindset that the "Keep Right" laws are somehow related to the speed limit, when they're not. Too many people think, "Well, I'm already going faster than the speed limit so I can drive in any lane I damn well please and I don't have to move over for anyone." You don't get that in Europe, I'll bet.

I freely admit that, if I exceed the speed limit, I'm breaking the law. But it's a different law.

I wonder if there are any studies comparing traffic jams in Europe with traffic jams in the US? I mean, there are times when a traffic jam can't be avoided at all: too much traffic merging into fewer lanes, construction zones, accidents, etc. But I've been in traffic jams that didn't include any of those elements, and I believe that stricter adherence to the lane rules would reduce those problems. Since the lane rules are practiced in Europe and not the US, I wonder if there's a way to prove that it's better by comparing the two? Do European cities need highways that are 24 lanes wide?

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Tony Fabris