It really doesn’t have anything to do if there is a car in front or not.
At least in the Pittsburgh area, because of the hilly terrain, there is often not enough reaction time between seeing if a car is waiting on an on ramp and switching lanes.
Also, it isn’t just me. AAA driving instructions say use the middle lane for through-traffic.
Generally, the right lane of a freeway is for entering and exiting the traffic flow. It is a staging lane, for use at the beginning and end of your freeway run. The middle lanes are for through traffic, and the left lane is for passing. If you are traveling on a roadway with more than two lanes, you should move out of the right lane unless you are driving at a slower speed or preparing to enter or exit.
It really doesn’t have anything to do if there is a car in front or not.
At least in the Pittsburgh area, because of the hilly terrain, there is often not enough reaction time between seeing if a car is waiting on an on ramp and switching lanes.
Also, it isn’t just me. AAA driving instructions say use the middle lane for through-traffic.
https://autoclubsouth.aaa.com/Assets/PDFs/freeway_driving.pdf