hov lane is 2+ or toll

we had an experience yesterday that we decided encapsulates the mentality of utah drivers.

on the way back from dinner in salt lake, we were in the fast lane, alternatively called the commuter lane or hov (high-occupancy vehicle) lane. we've noticed that people here tend to think of the lane as being designated for cars with more than 2 people in them, and they fail to recognize that the point of making such a lane is to reward people for commuting by letting them go faster.

so when we came up behind a car going 63 in a 65 zone, jarom waited until there was room in the lane to the right and flashed his brights at the car ahead. I had been taught that this is a request for the front car to move out of the way. either the car ahead of us was unaware of this practice or felt no need to hurry, since they were driving approximately the posted speed. of course, it became clear that they wouldn't move, so jarom passed them in the right lane and moved back over in front of them.

for the next 45 seconds the guy in the car flashed his brights at us, until we could hardly see him in the rearview mirror.

why?

oh yeah. because it's utah.