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 learned to drive in 1980 & I seem to know how to drive on motorways. Only one of my children has learned since the change & they also seem to know how.
If people have time & space to undertake you, you have time to move over.
I think people think "middle speed = middle lane". Aargh.

@londongirl993

I have just been driving on the M25, at 8.30pm. The slow lane was empty except a few lorries. Second lane had hardly any vehicles in. Third lane full of cruisers going at 65mph. Every time one of the cruisers decided to overtake someone, by going into the fast lane, they disrupted the whole traffic flow because a) they don’t speed up when doing so, and b) all of the drivers in that lane have to slow down.

Then, I watched some people sit in the middle lane on the A3 with both the inside and outside lane empty. Did they move? No.

It’s honestly unbelievable and I am surprised this kind of driving is not dealt with more by the police / motorway traffic officers.

Dashcam and upload the footage to the police. They are extremely grateful for it.

I would just like to be able to drive on a motorway! I am scared stiff of them. It’s ridiculous, I have been driving for over 20 years. I am thinking of having advanced lessons to get over my fear.

@Katkinsgreyy

I get a bit of a kick out of undertaking middle lane hoggers I only ever do it when the motorways are quiet and sometimes when it feels more dangerous to move several lanes just to get around them.

I was never taught to drive on motorways (I passed in 2009) but it's just kind of obvious what you do! Keep left unless overtaking.
Maneuver, mirror, signal seems to be the way people drive nowadays!

I give them a couple of flashes and if they don’t move I make a note of the time (to pull the dashcam footage) then under/overtake as appropriate. (We have a fair bit of 2 lane motorway in Wales.)

@Libraryghost I had advanced lessons after I passed my test as I would be using the M25 to go anywhere when leaving home. I found it useful.

@BonnesVacances

And people who overtake you on the inside and pull out into your stopping distance space. I've noticed this practice is increasing too.

Why is anyone able to overtake you on your nearside lane, though? If the lane's empty, you're not overtaking, so why aren't you in that space and allowing the pass on the outside?

I did driving lessons in Germany and they actually require you to have a certain amount of hours' experience driving on the Autobahn before you're allowed to take the test.

It shows. People know what to do and generally follow it, of course you get some idiots/arseholes but generally the traffic flows really well, even in the sections with no speed limit it feels perfectly safe with people whizzing past you at 200km/h.

Also undertaking is considered more serious than speeding.

When we drive through Germany/Belgium/Lux/France/Netherlands to get to the UK, in all of these countries people seem to broadly follow the motorway driving rules, whereas in the UK some people do, but a majority (it feels like) or perhaps a significant minority don't at all. It's like they don't even know they're doing anything wrong. In fact I don't think they do - I know a lot of people seem to think that the left hand lane is just for lorries/restricted speed transport or getting on/off the motorway and that you're "supposed to" travel in the middle lane most of the time unless you want to break the speed limit in which case you go into the right that or you just pick a lane at random and do whatever speed you like ranging from about 70-90mph, dodging around cars that are in your way in whichever direction has a space. When my dad came to visit, us he hired a car and said "Oh I didn't really know how to drive on the German motorway so I just went in the middle lane doing about 120 (75mph) and that seemed fine." It probably will be fine, but it's missing the point of how you actually drive on a motorway, which involves moving back over when there is a space and observing the speed of others. DH says driving on motorways in the UK is stressful because everyone's behaviour is so erratic and unpredictable, whereas in the other countries it just seems to work well because each lane has its flow and you can generally see what people are intending to do long before they do it.

I do think the lack of required motorway driving for UK learners and in fact learners not being allowed on motorways at all (I know you have to practice it now) is a problem as nobody has any experience on motorways when they first pass their test and then you're suddenly just allowed on them with nobody to point out your mistakes! I know you can take a pass plus/motorway driving course but most people don't do this. And of course you can learn the theory (and must for the theory test) but that doesn't translate to practical skills/muscle memory for a lot of people.

I wonder if UK motorway driving skills will improve now that they are actually on the practical driving test. I know it was historical that they weren't required because there aren't actually motorways in all parts of the UK but I don't think that should be an excuse TBH - my stepmum did her test in a tiny town that only had one roundabout, and she was excused from having to do loads of the test which would be required today! It's scary.

Yep. It’s the only place I sometimes sit in a middle lane - because the right or left lane can suddenly just split off or the whole road divide without enough warning to cross four lanes to get where you need to be. It’s really not fun if you don’t do it often enough to know what’s coming.

I stayed in Finnieston when I was on secondment in Glasgow and had to use a right hand exit. I never really got used to it, just slightly more aware it was coming up!

@rottd thanks! I am going to give it a go. Mad thing is I am a good driver but terrified of motorways. I don’t even like being a passenger on them. I need to get over it and get some help. I will book the lessons!

All those saying it wasn't taught - bollocks.

Dual carriageway driving and the Highway Code have always been part of driving tests. If you cannot extrapolate 'stay left unless you're overtaking' from a road with 2 lanes to a road with 3/4 then frankly I question whether you're competent to drive at all.

Conversely there is no instruction that says 'sit in the middle and obstruct overtaking traffic' so why is that anyone's default?

DH says driving on motorways in the UK is stressful because everyone's behaviour is so erratic and unpredictable, whereas in the other countries it just seems to work well because each lane has its flow and you can generally see what people are intending to do long before they do it.

Yep my parents are European & say exactly the same & it's true. UK drivers are incredibly unpredictable & you have some speeding, some undertaking, some hogging etc so it's all a mess. I think that contributes to people feeling safe in the middle.

Oh yes and people passing then being too scared to drive on motorways so by the time you do you've forgotten all the theory anyway

@Libraryghost a little bit of fear is good as it makes you hyper vigilant.

I don't like smart motorways, they are only safer in theory because in practice people don't drive like that.

I passed a month ago and didn't have to go on a motorway,its not part of your test.
I'm worried now as I want to do motorway driving but I'm scared of fucking it up.

…and another thing! Seems people think they can just join a motorway / dual carriageway at will and people already on it will just make way for them (whether or not there is space to do so). This gets my goat almost as much as middle lane hogging.

But it's not required to be taught, is it?

Sure you can drive on dual carriageways as a learner but you don't have to. And not everyone has lessons with an instructor. They may have lessons with mum/dad who might never have learned properly how to use motorways/dual carriageways either.

Learning theory does not translate to practical skills for a lot of people. For some people it does but not everyone. And as I said if you pass and then are too scared to use motorways for years you're not likely to be brushing up on your highway code the night before you finally do decide to use one.

Actually the whole notion of being scared to drive on motorways is a very British learner driver "thing"! Most people in other countries (where it's properly taught) don't find it scary because it's actually some of the easiest and safest driving you'll do, plus you feel confident in doing it once you've done so under instruction a few times. I haven't passed yet actually but I feel much happier driving on fast single-direction roads than I do driving around residential areas.

@MintyGreenDream

I passed a month ago and didn't have to go on a motorway,its not part of your test. I'm worried now as I want to do motorway driving but I'm scared of fucking it up.

If you live close enough to a motorway for it not to take bloody ages to get there and cost a fortune for the lesson, book some motorway lessons with your instructor.

Or go when it's quiet and build up to busy.

Actually I'd argue learning theory doesn't translate to practical skill for anyone really... I mean OK you can know in theory that it's best to move left when there's a space, but what constitutes a big enough space to necessitate moving back? That's the kind of thing you only work out by actually doing it and/or having someone experienced point the space out to you or say no don't bother, because you're going faster than the next vehicle so you'll be coming out again in no time at all.

[quote rottd]@Libraryghost a little bit of fear is good as it makes you hyper vigilant.

I don't like smart motorways, they are only safer in theory because in practice people don't drive like that. [/quote]
I'm not sure whether they're better or worse. What do we think?

Better in that people really can't get away with speeding, as cameras stay on all the time.

Worse in that there is no hard shoulder. Obviously very dangerous, why did they ever think this was a good idea?

I think the lane hogging is worse though. And often no one at all driving in the left lane meaning it may as well be a 3 lane motorway 🤦‍♀️

Worse in that there is no hard shoulder. Obviously very dangerous, why did they ever think this was a good idea?

🤷🏻‍♀️

@IceLace100, this says all you need to know about 'smart' motorways.

They can't be safe without places to stop as cars break down

[quote NoWordForFluffy]@IceLace100, this says all you need to know about 'smart' motorways.[/quote]
Omg this is terrible. Poor woman. I'm glad for corporate manslaughter charges being brought.

another perspective, if the car or lorry in front emergency breaked, the majority of other cars ect would either have a very near miss or be unable to safely stop in time, therefore why do drivers pretty much drive bumper to bumper on the motorway ?

[quote NoWordForFluffy]@IceLace100, this says all you need to know about 'smart' motorways.[/quote]
Yes the smart motorways are not prefect, and my deepest sympathy to the case at hand, but one of the main issues is drivers themselves not focusing that causes the accidents to begin with.