never knows best...

dry as toast

The 2nd lane from the right is where it is at. That is my observation after my long'ish 2 hour commute home from work today. Driving through 4 accidents will do that to you, of course my normal commute home is still about 1.5 hours long, so I guess it was not that much longer than usual. But yes, the 2nd lane, while not glamorous or speedy, it is definitely now my lane of choice when driving through traffic. It has neither the hard stops of the 3rd/4th lanes nor the onramp merges of the 1st lane, just slow chugging along with other likeminded drivers, who usually value drivability more than speed. Drivability, for me that is the key aspect of being in motion (i.e. not stuck at a stand still), so while I may only be going 3 MPH, it is still better than hard braking to a stop behind your choice of riced out cars. Plus, in general if you are leading a pack of cars, you can drive whatever speed you like in the 2nd lane. And if people think you are driving too slow? Well there is always the 3rd lane for them. Only bad things come from driving in any other lane (i.e. my car accident).