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I checked with a civil engineer friend who worked on road projects. He says there's no "official" designation of inside or outside lanes. There's right lanes, passing lanes, left turn (suicide) lanes, but no inside/outside lanes.
In a race, having the inside lane means having the advantage of a shorter distance around a curve. As a metaphor, it simply means having an advantage. Of course, on a real road, with traffic going in both directions, that metaphor kinda loses its meaning.
So to answer the original question, I'd have to say I also agree, but it's really kinda arbitrary when you're talking about a normal road instead of a racetrack.
I go with the left lane being inside. I did not think about racing until Heimhenge mentioned it but I don't think it's a metaphor, except when it is used for something other than racing. It also further confirms the left lane as inside, at least in the U.S. where all races are counter clockwise. In G.B., races are clockwise but they also drive on the left side of the road so over there the right lane would be inside, still being closest to the center of the road.
After I wrote the previous paragraph, I thought I would Google "inside lane outside lane." I never would have guessed there were so many different opinions. You would think there could only be two different opinions, but, not so. First of all, in the U.S. the majority agree that the inside is the left driving lane. (not turn lanes) But there is considerable disagreement. Then I find out that in G.B. they not only drive on the opposite side, their terms are opposite. In spite of what I said in the first paragraph, the majority of Brits consider the left lane (away from the median) to be the inside lane, again with considerable disagreement. Now it really gets good. When I read a blog that is attended by both U.S and G.B. people, they often give their opinion without saying where they are from. I think they don't realize there is a difference.
My conclusion is that the terms, "inside lane" and "outside lane" should never be used again except in a race with a circular track.
FWIW, I agree with dn but only with regard to divided highways. If someone talks about the "inside" lane of an interstate, I'd think of the leftmost lane; but if they used it of a downtown city street, I wouldn't immediately think of any lane at all. This is all reflex, you understand; I might figure it out eventually, but even then I wouldn't be sure what he meant.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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