A brief note on passing lanes.

If you are going to pass somebody on the left, please speed up to do so. Passing a person who is driving 67 while you yourself are going 68 is irritating for everybody else who isn't you. The people behind you are most likely going 70 (because this is I-5 and you're in the left lane, for crying out loud), and the person next to you probably wants you to get out of their blind spot. Once you have passed a person, you should move back to the right. Now I know that exuberant drivers will often stay strictly in the left lane, and usually there's a reason for it - not all of us have lead foots. And when traffic is heavier, it's easier to just stay in one lane and keep up the speed. But if you pass a person, and then just continue meandering, you're making the drive awfully irritating for the drivers closest to you.

(I am directing this one, especially, to my Montana drivers. I know that you're used to two-lane highways, and that sometimes having the space and the chance to drive at your own pace is grand, but be aware of those around you. If you're on a four-lane highway, and you notice that somebody is speeding up to you, get back over to the right, let them overtake you, and then go back to the left if you like. Seattle drivers, you have no excuse for this kind of behavior: you have four to five lanes to play with at any given time. Slow people have more than enough room to slug about on the concrete, and those who want to careen at top speed should have at least a lane to do so. But does that happen? Not as neatly, no.)

And on a personal note, even though you typically don't do this, if you need to, you can pass me on the right, as well. When I'm in a middle lane going my comfortable 66 or 67, I would much prefer you just snap on over to the right of me and get it over with, versus riding my ass down the interstate.

That said, I do not claim to be the best of drivers, nor do I never try the patience of those driving around me. As a peace offering, I bring to you my fellow west coasters trying to drive in the snow: