Word or phrase for hogging the left lane

Frequently on two-lane freeways, at least in the US, people drive in the left lane at exactly the same speed next to a car in the right lane, thus blocking the road.

Cars tend to back up behind these oblivious people. Is there a word or phrase for hogging the left lane?

Solution 1:

The term I heard most as a kid was Sunday drivers.

Sunday driver: A slow and leisurely driver who appears to be sightseeing and enjoying the view, holding up traffic in the process.

While it's not explicitly about hogging the "fast" lane, I think it gets the point across as far as blocking traffic.

Solution 2:

I think that the simplest (and most polite) phrase is that the person is a road hog:

Fig. someone who drives carelessly and selfishly.

Look at that road hog driving in the middle of the road and stopping other drivers from passing him. That road hog nearly knocked the children over. He was driving too fast.

To capture that the driver is oblivious, another option is absent-minded:

so lost in thought that one does not realize what one is doing, what is happening, etc.; preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one's immediate surroundings.

So you could say,

That driver in the left lane is so absent-minded! He doesn't realize that there are 5 cars behind him trying to get past.

Solution 3:

Here's one I think you might be looking for:

Left-Lane Camper: slow driver in passing lane

Solution 4:

The group is referred to as a "rolling roadblock".

Of course that implicitly distributes the blame, where some would rather direct their ire to the schmuck in the left lane who isn't bothering to pass.

However, it should be noted that sometimes this is done on purpose. For instance, trucks (who are often in communications with each other via citizen band radios) will occasionally do this when approaching a speed trap, so that no poor unsuspecting soul will get caught.

Also note that in some states (I know Kansas used to be this way) you can get a ticket for doing this. "Traveling in the passing lane" or somesuch. A cynic might postulate this is more so that they have a reason to ticket folks who are preventing their speed traps from working than it is for public safety. But where would we find a cynic on the internet?