Why can SO many people not drive properly on the motorway?

[londongirl993]

I don’t know why this annoys me SO much, but the amount of middle lane / third lane hoggers on motorways is actually getting ridiculous. There needs to be some sort of surveillance / fines for poor (and v.dangerous) motorway driving because it is getting so much worse!

There is literally no point having 4 lane motorways because nobody drives in the slow lane, or even the second lane. No point having 3 lane motorways either really because they are basically just 2 lanes of traffic.

It’s not only hugely frustrating for those who actually follow the Highway Code (like me), but also disrupts the traffic flow so much. And it’s so dangerous!! I honestly believe that if everybody / 90% of drivers actually drove on motorways like you were supposed to, traffic would flow so much better.

Okay, rant over. Anyone else agree with me? Can anyone give me an insight as to why people just don’t drive properly on the motorway?

I feel like there is a massive increase in people undercutting and weaving in and out and driving too fast. I am blaming people used to playing driving computer games. Probably wrongly,it is just dangerous driving.

b) "Zig-zagging" in and out of lanes IS how to drive on motorways. That's why they have all those lanes!

No it isn't. The safety advice is to remain in the same lane - when there's a hazard ahead and the overhead signs tell you to reduce speed, they also advise not to switch lanes.

Isn't there some fact that states we'd have the equivalent of thousands of extra miles of motorway if people just bloody drove correctly on the motorway?

People saying we weren't taught it, that's bollocks. You drive as you would on dual carriageways, which we were definitely taught on, which is keep left unless overtaking. Same speed road, same rules.

I passed my test in May '94 and shared the 400 mile trip to Edinburgh with my mum in the August. She was so glad to finally get a family member who could share driving, as my dad can't drive and my older sister couldn't then either!

@GreenTeaPingPong

b) "Zig-zagging" in and out of lanes IS how to drive on motorways. That's why they have all those lanes!

No it isn't. The safety advice is to remain in the same lane - when there's a hazard ahead and the overhead signs tell you to reduce speed, they also advise not to switch lanes.

I see!

It depends which part of the motorway you mean. I was flashed to pull over this weekend on a managed motorway, with a 50 limit and a sign specifically saying "stay in lane". I was travelling at 50 mph.

Of course I would usually pull into the inside lane (not the slow lane), but in that circumstance, you're supposed to stay in lane to help he traffic flow. So, some of the people who think they know how to drive on motorways and berate others for not pulling in are wrong.

We have a section of average speed camera roadworks on the motorway near me and the amount who sit in the middle lane at around 45 is infuriating

@GreenTeaPingPong

b) "Zig-zagging" in and out of lanes IS how to drive on motorways. That's why they have all those lanes!

No it isn't. The safety advice is to remain in the same lane - when there's a hazard ahead and the overhead signs tell you to reduce speed, they also advise not to switch lanes.

No it's not. The rule is keep left unless overtaking.

Obviously you wouldn't bounce in and out every 5 seconds, but you should be returning to the left at every opportunity.

One of the most crazy things I have seen was a man deciding it was his job to set the speed of traffic through a long stretch of roadworks. Two narrow lanes, 50 mph limit. He decided 45 was good for everyone, and proceeded to straddle both lanes and go at 45 so nobody could get past!

You'd only stay in lane if the overhead gantries / dot matrix signs say to. No such message = stay left unless overtaking.

Oh the bellends who sit in lane 3 on a 4 lane motorway aggravate me immensely! I assume they are usually middle lane hoggers on a normal motorway. If I can overtake you and get back over to lane 2, you shouldn’t bloody be there!
I’m also in favour of undertaking being allowed

Drivers do not need to be 'taught' about changes in road traffic law which occurred since they passed their test. They have an obligation to keep themselves up to date.

The law was changed in 2013 to classify lane hogging as careless driving and to allow the police to issue £100 fixed penalty notices when they considered it appropriate.

In 2013, hogging the middle lane on a motorway became a 'careless driving' offence, punishable by a £100 on the spot fine by the police.

You can’t ever do 70 in the left lane. Zig zagging in and out are motorway rules from a distant past when there was less traffic and it needs changing. It’s not safe to be changing lanes to then have to change back every 30 seconds. You should be in the leftest lane for speed limit. Maybe the motorways you’re driving in are not busy and that’s how you’re able to do 70 in the left lane.

These threads never go well, they never get momentum because to many of us do not drive in the left lane if the speed of traffic is less than 65/70.

Goodness, there is some serious inaccuracies here. I learned to drive in 1987 and multi-lane driving was absolutely taught. I had lessons joining and leaving a 3 lane A road, which is essentially the same as a motorway.

I am always worried that posters that say they are gripped with anxiety on a motorway, or insist on their right to middle lane because of joiners are actually licensed to get behind the wheel.

Surely you’re only a middle lane hogger if you are not doing 70. To overtake you go into the right lane.

If there is slower traffic in the left lane, you'll be overtaking and in the correct lane if you're in the middle. We've often driven on the motorway at weekends where it's more than possible to drive at or above the speed limit in the left lane for a fair while. So to say it's never possible is also rubbish.

If you allow undertaking, doesn't it make it impossible for drivers "caught" in the middle lane to pull over?

That's the only time I've stayed in the middle longer than I should, when some idiot decides I've finished my overtaking manoeuvre a fraction earlier than I did and undertakes, blocking my way back to the inside lane. Also really dangerous.

@BareVanilla

Surely you’re only a middle lane hogger if you are not doing 70. To overtake you go into the right lane.

No. Read the link and look at the photo. You are clearly a problem driver. Learn the rules!

I drive a 300 mile motorway journey at least twice a month. It would appear that a lot of drivers learnt their skills on video games!
Recently, holiday traffic drivers probably rarely drive on motorways and are very unsure of the rules.
A couple of weeks ago on a M1slip road, I had a driver move from the outside slip lane into the near side one which I was occupying!!

@icedcoffees

Because until very recently, it wasn't taught on tests.

I've never driven on a motorway and DH had his license 15+ years before it became necessary for him to drive on one!

Dual carriageways have always been taught and it's the same rules. Stay on the inside, use the outside lane(s) to overtake, then go back to the inside.

There should be a special place in hell for middle lane hoggers. And people who leave huge gaps in queues of traffic. Joined by those who can't see the fucking white lines painted around roundabouts let alone drive in them

Don’t see the issue. Motorways are not “ special” really. Drive to the conditions, treat every fucker as a hazard. Try not to get frustrated at the hoggers. Pass them safely and hope that the tailgaters are in front of you, not behind you. What’s the hurry? I like to make progress but I’m super aware of the numpties and drive accordingly.

I just can't get my head around accidents on motorways. Why can't people drive in a straight line .

"Zig-zagging" in and out of lanes IS how to drive on motorways. That's why they have all those lanes!

This only works if others are good drivers. Leave reasonable distance, maneouvre at reasonable times and with reasonable distance.

Unfortunately this is not the case. So I change my driving style to suit region.

M25 I am sticking in my lane because people are just too distracted and its too busy.

Anything above the Watford Gap and Zig-zagging within reason can resume - although I am not going from fast lane to slow lane and back again every two minutes. I middle lane and overtake, but if the morons are out then I am fast laneing and moving in to let the super speeders overtake when it is safe.

I can’t stand people who can’t drive on country roads. Speeding round a corner in the middle of the road. Can’t judge how wide their car is. Keep coming at me when they’ve just passed a wider bit of road expecting me to reverse. Or worse just sitting there in the middle of the road because they can’t judge the width of their car. Shouldn’t be bloody driving.
I was behind an older lady driving about 10 miles an hour and either driving on the middle or completely the wrong side of the road. A complete hazard and shouldn’t have been driving.