Yes; it is called a “passing lane”. Except for traffic jams, it is empty when a highway is functioning as designed. Upstate NY is a great place (or was) to watch roads function as designed; I assume Social Darwinism was removing bad drivers each winter.
“Upstate NY is a great place (or was) to watch roads function as designed;”
Ride down 88 from Albany to Binghamton in the right lane and you will see why people drive in the left lane. The trucks have damaged the right lane so badly that it is almost impassable, particularly from Oneonta west. Sections of the Thruway are similar.
Here in the Houston area, there is too much traffic to leave an entire lane empty. Here we refer to it as the fast lane. I frequently drive in it on my way to work, and it always goes at speeds of 70-80. I like to drive nearer to 70-75 than 80, and if someone comes right up behind me because they want to go 80 or more, I move to the next lane to the right to let them get around me. If I stay in the lanes to the right of the fast lane, I will scarcely be able to drive faster than 60 (speed limit is 65).
In parts of the country where there is more than enough traffic to fill all the lanes, it may not always make sense. Many highways in the NYC metro area are 3-4 or more lanes. In those cases the right lane absolute doesn’t work.
Darwinism is people driving 20-30 miles over the limit. Its a passing lane. Not the Autobahn
I have a cousin who stays left lane always, drives the posted speed and then rails about people passing him from the right lane. He calls them dangerous drivers.
I tell him blocking the left lane is much more likely to cause an accident but he says I’m driving the speed limit and won’t hear of it.