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?

‘It’s not to do with the actual speed you are travelling, but the speed you are travelling relative to others’

This is basically it in a nutshell, you can’t doggedly stick to 70 in the middle or outside lane if everyone else is doing 75-80.

You need to read the road and adapt to it accordingly to maintain the flow.

I commute on the M4 most days and there are tons of dickheads pootling along in the middle lane with nothing on their left for miles. I do sometimes flash them but often they don’t notice as they never look in their mirrors!

For those who are nervous, statistically motorway driving is a lot easier and safer than driving on A roads, those are where more fatal accidents happen.

I passed my test in the late 80s and have no problem driving on motorways! People who sit in the middle lane and don't move over to the left drive me mad. They are a danger to others and shouldn't be on the motorway if they're not confident enough to change lane when they should.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of someone in a VW golf doing around 45-50mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane stretch, very dangerous. I did overtake her, but a lot of other motorists, especially lorry drivers etc who can’t use lane 4 underook her.

I’m amazed she even managed to get into lane three in the first place.

I drove to Belgium once and the driving experience in France and then Belgium was the total opposite of here in England

I don't remember any poor road surfaces, traffic cameras, tailgating or lane hogging. I remember getting back to England and straight away in Dover it was back to people lane hogging

I've driven in Spain too and that wasn't very enjoyable. They are very fast drivers. Even our guide book warned us!

I don't enjoy driving in the UK at all, not even 1%. When I passed in 1997 I loved it but standards on the road have plummeted. More often than not now I notice ppl getting in the wrong lane at lights or at roundabouts to then cut in as that queue was slightly shorter

I see driving as an expensive, necessary evil

@Snailhaterz2

I belted up and down the M5/M6 the other week, and found it almost impossible NOT to be in the middle lane when it was really busy. The main reason was lorries taking up nearly all of the left hand lane - I found it very difficult to get into that lane, and even harder to get out again. I also can't help thinking that in a smallish car, in a motorway without a hard shoulder, being sandwiched between two lorries in a stream of lorries, I'm pretty vulnerable in the event of a sudden slamming on of brakes further up the line. Having said that, I don't think I "hogged" the middle lane - I drove as fast as I could, used my rear mirror constantly to check others weren't queuing up behind me, and used the outer lane(s) to overtake whenever cars ahead were slower, or whenever lorries were overtaking out of the left hand lane.

If you're overtaking the lorries, then you're using it correctly.

@SimonJT

Yesterday I had the pleasure of someone in a VW golf doing around 45-50mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane stretch, very dangerous. I did overtake her, but a lot of other motorists, especially lorry drivers etc who can’t use lane 4 underook her.

I’m amazed she even managed to get into lane three in the first place.

Technically, if someone is in lane 3, then vehicles moving faster in lane 1 aren't undertaking as there's a lane in between them. You can only undertake someone from the lane immediately to their left.

I commute on the M4 most days and there are tons of dickheads pootling along in the middle lane with nothing on their left for miles. I do sometimes flash them but often they don’t notice as they never look in their mirrors!

Yep that's my experience too.
Middle lane hogging is indicative of a lazy entitled driving style and I suspect those people are generally poor drivers

Where I live there's no motorways (East Anglia), however there are dual carriageways - even a stretch with three lanes. The driving is the same though.

The first lane is always full of lorries, pulling over is relatively pointless at rush hour. Out of those hours it's mostly fine though and most people drive fine.

The second lane, during rush hour, also has lorries in it, playing at overtaking on hills . The slower lorry should ease off marginally to allow the fractionally faster lorry to pull over, but that rarely happens. Meanwhile, all the traffic builds up behind and everyone has to do 56mph.

@DinosApple

Where I live there's no motorways (East Anglia), however there are dual carriageways - even a stretch with three lanes. The driving is the same though.

The first lane is always full of lorries, pulling over is relatively pointless at rush hour. Out of those hours it's mostly fine though and most people drive fine.

The second lane, during rush hour, also has lorries in it, playing at overtaking on hills . The slower lorry should ease off marginally to allow the fractionally faster lorry to pull over, but that rarely happens. Meanwhile, all the traffic builds up behind and everyone has to do 56mph.

DH is convinced the lorry drivers do it so they can have a chat.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of someone in a VW golf doing around 45-50mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane stretch

Definitely very dangerous, but I always find it funny how some people think the type of car is an important part of the story. It's like the Daily Mail always mentioning how the price of someone's house in every story about everything!

I think part of the issue is the different nature of motorways, and their location. Some people live nowhere near one, and rarely have to use one. My 'local" is the M25 - I have to use it to get pretty much anywhere. I think it is unlike any other. We have dual carriageways near us that are busier than stretches of the M4. Stay left doesn't really work well on the M25 - for a start the lorries rarely leave enough space to allow you back in if you have been overtaking. They usually occupy the two inside lanes in a constant stream of trying to overtake each other. Also the left lane us usually the exit lane at most junctions - there isn't a filter lane. So you then have to fight your way out of the left lane through a solid line of HGVs to avoid being forced off the motorway.
The M25 is the only motorway I've come across where you frequently have to join it from being stationary on the slip road too.

@NeonJellyBaby

I passed my test in the 1980s, I didn't go on the motorway before that but I did go on dual carriageways.

We ought to have ‘space’ chevrons on the road, like they do in France

We do.

@MurielSpriggs

Yesterday I had the pleasure of someone in a VW golf doing around 45-50mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane stretch

Definitely very dangerous, but I always find it funny how some people think the type of car is an important part of the story. It's like the Daily Mail always mentioning how the price of someone's house in every story about everything!

It is relevant as it's illustrating that the car is capable of going faster (even if the incompetent driving it isn't).

This is why I haven't been able to build up my confidence with motorway driving!

I feel like I'm a safe driver but I have to react to stupid drivers who:

• overtake in the inside lane
• don't use their indicators
• change lanes almost nipping the front of my car
• move dangerously from the outside lane because they've suddenly realised the next exit is theirs
• drive too slowly on the inside lane

I know motorways are supposed to be safer than country or even town driving but I feel I can read other drivers much better than the inexplicable actions on the motorway.

I quite like a 4 lane motorway. Most people seem to be stuck in lane 3, so it means I have lane 1 all to myself, with an occasional overtake of a lorry. It's like I have my own personal driving lane!

I say this somewhat lightheartedly of course. It is a total pain that the middle lane hogging is so prevalent. I'm not deliberately undertaking them, but if I happen to be in lane 1 already and travelling faster than lane 3 then, technically, I don't think this is illegal.

The other thing that really pisses me off is if a motorway has, say, one lane that comes off at a junction, but it's busy. There's always at least one arsehole who doesn't think they should have to queue, so sits in the middle lane indicating to pull in, expecting someone to let them in, thereby rendering a 3 lane motorway a single lane motorway for anyone wanting to go straight on.

@Donelurking

Preparing to be flamed but I’m in favour of undertaking said middle Laners. Something that is allowed in the US.

No flaming from me - I agree it seems to work better over there with a bit more of a free for all.

The issue in the UK is that as it's ingrained to not undertake, middle lane hoggers create a bottleneck, which increases the traffic jams.

I went to Los Angeles a few years ago and though we admittedly didn't drive in rush hour, I found the traffic and motorways easier than my normal London commute!

I’m from the north of Scotland, very little in the way of motorways there and nothing that would prep you for driving on one even in Glasgow. Which is a nightmare with its exits being on both sides. You do get used to it though. I mostly drive early morning as I’m a nurse so roads are v quiet, driving home after night shift is not fun. I just leave plenty time for my journey, usually at work 30 mins or more earlier so I can then get changed and have a cup of tea peacefully before handover.

Complexity agree OP. I was on the M25 and M4 this week and I'd say 70% of drivers don't use the lanes correctly. I take pleasure from undertaking morons in the middle lane. Also agree that traffic police should be telling these cars to move over and not just sit in their lay-bys doing nothing.

@clothpeg83

This is why I haven't been able to build up my confidence with motorway driving!

I feel like I'm a safe driver but I have to react to stupid drivers who:

• overtake in the inside lane
• don't use their indicators
• change lanes almost nipping the front of my car
• move dangerously from the outside lane because they've suddenly realised the next exit is theirs
• drive too slowly on the inside lane

I know motorways are supposed to be safer than country or even town driving but I feel I can read other drivers much better than the inexplicable actions on the motorway.

You may feel like you're a 'safe driver' but

If there's space for drivers to undertake you on the inside, you're in the wrong lane.

Indicators are preferred but not required by the HWC - get in the habit of checking your mirrors regularly so you're aware of the traffic flow and better able to predict other driver movements

[quote sashh]@NeonJellyBaby

I passed my test in the 1980s, I didn't go on the motorway before that but I did go on dual carriageways.

We ought to have ‘space’ chevrons on the road, like they do in France

We do.[/quote]
Not on any stretch of motorway I use on a regular basis! (M3, M4, M25)

Why can't lorries overtake but you can? Lorries are limited to 56. Fully laden it is hard for them to pick speed up again if they lose momentum- if they didn't overtake when they needed to it would be carnage.
You can help them out by letting them out to overtake before they lose their momentum and then they will get back in again more easily. You can't expect an empty lorry to sit at 45 behind a fully laden one lumbering up an incline.
Be lorry aware and you will improve the flow of traffic.
Selfish drivers are the biggest problem anywhere. Being inconsiderate slows things down as a rule. We live rurally, instead of stopping in the passing place they drive at you where there's no room to pass. Totally stupid. You rarely need to reverse if drivers pay attention and give way appropriately, and it's quicker and easier as the traffic flows.

I too use those 3 very regularly and there are definitely chevrons on parts of the London to Bristol stretches - can't remember exactly where.

@Seeline

I too use those 3 very regularly and there are definitely chevrons on parts of the London to Bristol stretches - can't remember exactly where.

Near Swindon, I think

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER there definitely are chevrons on the M3 near London & m4 near / past Bristol.

Agree they’re not everywhere though, and they are a useful tool for reminding people what a safe distance actually looks like.

I rarely drive on the motorway. When I do I stay in the left hand lane. I genuinely don't understand though why if you're meant to stay left why there's three lanes? Why not just two? One to drive in and the other to be used for overtaking?