STOP HOGGING THE MIDDLE LANE!

[Flowers217]

Seriously what is wrong with some drivers?!?

I was driving on the m4 this morning. It was pretty quiet and the section I was driving on now has 4 lanes.

Oh, but wait - 2 of them are empty because everybody just loves to drive in the third lane.

Yes it probably annoys me more than it does but my god it is so frustrating!!! and dangerous too!

If there are lorries in the slow left lane and you are going past them at 65mph in the middle first over-taking lane, then no problem, you are over-taking those lorries.

If you remain in the middle overtaking lane continuing at 65mph once you have passed the lorries and there is nobody in the slow lane to your left - then you are lane hogging which annoys other drivers.

Return to the left once your over-taking manouvre is complete. Thank you.

Yes the middle Lane IS for overtaking the slow Lane.. but if the slow Lane is empty then THAT is where you need to be..

It's really not hard..

Middle Lane if going faster than the slow Lane. Fast Lane if going faster than the middle Lane.. SLOW Lane if no other cars or you are driving at a slower speed than anyone else ..

It's very simple. Undertaking ? No no no as it fucks up ALL of the above .

There is no 'slow lane' or 'fast lane'. I suspect that's the incorrect distinction that results in so many drivers hogging the middle lane in the first place. There's a left lane and two overtaking lanes.

Half the huge tailbacks on motorways are caused by drivers using lanes inappropriately and causing other drivers to slow down, resulting in disruption of traffic flow.

Middle lane hoggers are the bane of my life. Just what do people have against the left lane? They should be done for causing an obstruction!

@PerseverancePays get yourself booked in for a pass plus course. And do us all a favour and stay off the roads until you learn to drive properly.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/undertaking/

if I’m in the middle lane driving along at 65, what’s to stop you overtaking in the fast lane, I don’t get what the fuss is

You are forcing me unnecessarily to undertake 2 manoeuvres to switch lanes - the most dangerous thing to do on a motorway - because you are too scared to drive properly. Why should l be put at risk because of your selfishness? Lots of people find motorways frightening -there is no shame in that. But you need to get yourself some lessons, and stop putting other drivers at risk.

we need to legalise undertaking on motorways in the UK

We definitely don't. I drive in the US where it is legal and it's terrifyingly dangerous. It's a key reason why they have a much higher rate of fatal road traffic accidents than us.

So many people on these types of threads need to do basic lessons again, and an advanced driving course.

Why don’t drivers just learn to check for undertaking when they move to an inside lane though? I can’t see it’s intrinsically more dangerous that having to check for an overtaking car when changing lanes.

More to think about I realise.

There is no way I'm going to start driving in the inside lane and be constantly weaving in and out on to the middle lane to get past the caravans, lorries and 40mph drivers.

Changing lanes is the most dangerous manoeuvre on the motorway and I'll not be doing it over and over cos I want to keep up a steady 70

I'll happily drive in the inside lane if it's empty.

Just overtake or slow down and move into the inside lane
Pretty simple in my view

What really annoys me is a kind of pack mentality that sets in on a motorway that is starting to get busy and everyone moves into the outside lane because they want to travel faster, but because everyone is doing it ends up congested and slows right down, while the other lanes are comparatively clear. So the outside lane starts moving slower than the other two lanes. Then what do you do? Slow down to the speed of the outside lane or undertake?

If the slow lane is empty or has a decent gap, then I can drive in it. But if it is full of lorries why should I weave in and out of the first and second lane so that you lot are unimpeded by me? It’s not like the middle lane makes it easy to come out from in between the lorries.
not many cars drive in the first lane
@MissLucyEyelesbarrow why is it less dangerous for me to be constantly ducking in behind lorries , changing lanes from second to first then back to second so you don’t have to inconvenience yourself using the third lane to overtake me.
I am not a moron, I really don’t get it.

If you would be actually “constantly weaving” then you are fine in the middle lane. But clearly lots of middle Lane hogs object to overtaking at all.

The thing absolutely guaranteed to enrage me is lorries in the middle lane for MILES, always parallel to another lorry. Effectively turning the whole motorway in to a single carriageway.

Not long ago I saw 3, yes THREE across a four lane motorway. I hope they got pulled over. Arses.

That’s my point, the left lane is usually head to tail lorries, with little gaps occasionally. Why should I be driving into those gaps often for less than the two minutes it takes to catch up with the next bunch of lorries. Why can’t I drive in the middle lane? The third lane usually has less traffic so it’ll easy to overtake on it.

I do find it frustrating in the ‘slow lane’ that you’re travelling along happily and then you get junctions merging and slow traffic joining so you have to go out to middle lane. On some motorways junctions are close so you end up moving in and out. Changing lanes is a dangerous time statistically so it’s not great. So sometimes I stay in the middle but I adjust my speed appropriately if that’s 70mph to keep passing the lorries that’s what I do.
I hate it when you have to move two lanes because otherwise you’d be undertaking some slow coach in the middle!

You sound like you don't cope well with Motorway driving if it bothers you when you are at a point where others join.
Please stay off it for the safety of others.

Effectively turning the whole motorway in to a single carriageway.

I think you mean a single lane, there are still 2 carriageways separated by the central reservation.

Not likely, regularly drive the m25. I find merging traffic particularly shit on the m25. It’s pretty much every few miles. And m1 I find is busy for lorries. If i’m in the middle lane I’m overtaking and doing an overtaking speed, if I’m not overtaking I’ll move over. Last time I checked that’s what you do.

@PerseverancePays give off the fucking motorway if you’re not prepared to drive safely.?

*get!

I concur with your pedantry

Everyone saying “I stay in the middle Lane because overtaking is dangerous” - you realise you are just forcing other people to overtake YOU. Basically you are just passing the risk on to other people.