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Original poster

STOP HOGGING THE MIDDLE LANE!

249 replies

Flowers217 · 26/07/2022 19:07

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!

OP posts:
dolphinsarentcommon · 26/07/2022 21:22

JumpTheGun · 26/07/2022 21:19

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.

You can't possibly expect someone who wants to drive at 65/70 to be in the inside lane on a busy motorway. They'd be constantly in and out.

Donotgogentle · 26/07/2022 21:23

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 20:55

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.

Because you’re forcing other drivers into the outside lane to overtake you, which eventually clogs up the outside lane, then the motorway.

If you’re not actually overtaking anything you should be in the inside/slow lane.

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 21:25

FAQs · 26/07/2022 21:16

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

I drive safely and I don’t believe all you ragey drivers are lurking in the slow lane as last time I looked there’s mostly lorries there with an occasional car waiting for the next exit.
I keep up with the flow, I go in the third lane when the lorries take up the first two, and that’s never fast enough for the speedy drivers. I don’t stay in the third lane any longer than I need to. But I don’t see why I should be in with the lorries when no one else is. If the first lane has cars on it, I’m happy to drive there, non stop lorries not so much.

smooththecat · 26/07/2022 21:29

It’s bad, but not as bad as the people who swerve in and out of traffic and cut you up in the name of keeping to the letter of the rule rather than the spirit of it.

FAQs · 26/07/2022 21:32

Because if you’re driving along at 55 (!) to 65 you’re within the same speed as the lorries, indeed potentially slower, you shouldn’t sit it the middle lane, you should only use it for overtaking, pulling out and back is literally what you’re supposed to do, stay off the motorway or take additional lessons!

dolphinsarentcommon · 26/07/2022 21:37

Not sure if you were replying to me @FAQs, because I said 65/70. I would agree if youre driving like a lorry then you should be over there with them. The rest of us driving at a reasonable speed will be in the middle lane for miles going past them.

Porridgeislife · 26/07/2022 21:40

What’s with this “changing lanes is dangerous” business? It’s really not. Mirror, indicate, shoulder check, move across. It’s a very simple manoeuvre and if it makes you feel uncomfortable or if it’s not second nature then you really shouldn’t be on a motorway.

I drive at 70ish (usually a bit over) and happily drive in the left lane, it’s hardly an imposition. It’s often the quietest lane on the M40.

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 21:42

I drove once to Stanstead and back doing 55 , just to see what it would be like, in the first lane, and it was quite pleasant as the lorries went round me. It was also 4 o’clock in the morning so not normal conditions and I was home by 6.
normally I drive a 65 , and 70 to overtake like @dolphinsarentcommon who also has admitted to driving in the middle lane past all the lorries.

JumpTheGun · 26/07/2022 21:46

dolphinsarentcommon · 26/07/2022 21:22

You can't possibly expect someone who wants to drive at 65/70 to be in the inside lane on a busy motorway. They'd be constantly in and out.

Show quote history

Your mph has nothing to do with it - if you are consistently travelling faster than nose-to-tail traffic in the left hand lane then obviously it’s fine to be in the middle lane, no-one is expecting you to be squeezing in and out after every vehicle

The problem is people saying they might have to overtake every 2-3 miles so they stay in the middle lane instead.

tootrueblue · 26/07/2022 21:49

Manekinek0 · 26/07/2022 20:25

@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.

This. You shouldn't be driving if you're that easily intimidated

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 22:11

JumpTheGun · 26/07/2022 21:46

Your mph has nothing to do with it - if you are consistently travelling faster than nose-to-tail traffic in the left hand lane then obviously it’s fine to be in the middle lane, no-one is expecting you to be squeezing in and out after every vehicle

The problem is people saying they might have to overtake every 2-3 miles so they stay in the middle lane instead.

Show quote history

This.
I can’t be keep rewriting the same thing for people who aren’t reading the posts.
If car drivers were actually using the first lane there would be cars in it, which there hardly ever is, as it’s full of lorries, so I’m pretty sure this is just venting and virtue signalling. Driving in the motorway is tedious so vent away.
I can drive just fine, I haven’t ever had an accident or a ticket for a driving offence and other drivers don’t beep at me in town, so I think I’m doing ok.

camelfinger · 26/07/2022 22:21

I don’t drive very often (about 3 years ago), or go in cars very often, but I have noticed the huge increase in lorries over the last 20 years. So I kind of wonder if the guidance needs to change to reflect this. It seems crazy to have everyone generally all sticking to one lane with two lanes just for overtaking (or twats). Based on my not very scientific experience it seems that the left hand lane is full of lorries at about 60, the middle lane is 70-75 and the right hand lane is 75+. I’m not sure what the point of the fourth lane would be.

Hannakl · 26/07/2022 22:23

I don’t lane hog but I don’t mind other people doing it. Non-irate people driving at 60 miles an hour and sticking to one lane aren’t the ones causing accidents, even if it is the middle lane.

Original poster
Flowers217 · 26/07/2022 22:23

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 22:11

This.
I can’t be keep rewriting the same thing for people who aren’t reading the posts.
If car drivers were actually using the first lane there would be cars in it, which there hardly ever is, as it’s full of lorries, so I’m pretty sure this is just venting and virtue signalling. Driving in the motorway is tedious so vent away.
I can drive just fine, I haven’t ever had an accident or a ticket for a driving offence and other drivers don’t beep at me in town, so I think I’m doing ok.

Show quote history

THIS is the problem though and as someone said earlier, why the whole traffic flow of the motorway is disrupted....

"If car drivers were actually using the first lane there would be cars in it, which there hardly ever is, as it's full of lorries..."

This is such an irresponsible view of motorway driving, and also incorrect. This morning on the M4, the 2 outside lanes were literally practically empty - NO lorries. There are no cars in there because they are all hogging the middle lane because they are terrified of having to overtake a lorry or keep having to overtake every few minutes. This is why traffic builds up......

OP posts:
OliviaBond · 26/07/2022 22:23

I hate lane hoggers. Move over if you're not overtaking someone ffs. I sometimes wish it would be made law to move over like in some other countries. I've undertook when there's an empty lane between me and the lane hogger before, but wouldn't risk it in the lane directly next to them. Sometimes they get the hint if you overtake them, then go back to the inside lane again once past them.

doitwithlove · 26/07/2022 22:27

I have this problem daily, lane hoggers doing 63-64mph , I have to go over the speed limit to overtake them on the outside lane. It really gets my goat - the selfish fuckers

Original poster
Flowers217 · 26/07/2022 22:27

JumpTheGun · 26/07/2022 20:45

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?

So true! I often think this and it makes me laugh because most times you are better driving in the inside lane than the outside lane.

J16 of the M25, where the M4 merges onto it, is a bad spot for this. The lane merging in from the M4 becomes the 4th lane and except a few lorries who are already on the M25 who move across, 90% of drivers coming from the M4 join the second outside lane, consequently leaving the outside lane empty and free!

OP posts:
sanityisamyth · 26/07/2022 22:27

Donotgogentle · 26/07/2022 20:14

“The slow lane is for trucks, the middle lane is for people observing the speed limit, the fast lane is mostly for people exceeding the speed limit, sometimes by a lot, and for overtaking the lorries when they are doing their own overtaking manoeuvres.”

The middle Lane is for overtaking the slow lane.

It fucking isn't. The "slow lane" which isn't the "slow lane" it's lane 1 or the left lane is the correct driving position. Lane 2 not the middle lane is for over taking cars in lane 1. Then you PULL OVER to lane 1. Lane 3 is for overtaking lane 2. Then you PULL over to lane 2 and then to lane 1.

Original poster
Flowers217 · 26/07/2022 22:28

Flowers217 · 26/07/2022 22:27

So true! I often think this and it makes me laugh because most times you are better driving in the inside lane than the outside lane.

J16 of the M25, where the M4 merges onto it, is a bad spot for this. The lane merging in from the M4 becomes the 4th lane and except a few lorries who are already on the M25 who move across, 90% of drivers coming from the M4 join the second outside lane, consequently leaving the outside lane empty and free!

Show quote history

Meant to say 'better driving in the outside lane than the inside lane'!

OP posts:
Selkiesarereal · 26/07/2022 22:43

All lanes on a motorway have a limit of 70mph, there is no slow lane!

If you are driving a car and not able to overtake and return to the left hand lane where the traffic dictates then you shouldn’t be anywhere near a motorway.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 26/07/2022 22:49

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 22:11

This.
I can’t be keep rewriting the same thing for people who aren’t reading the posts.
If car drivers were actually using the first lane there would be cars in it, which there hardly ever is, as it’s full of lorries, so I’m pretty sure this is just venting and virtue signalling. Driving in the motorway is tedious so vent away.
I can drive just fine, I haven’t ever had an accident or a ticket for a driving offence and other drivers don’t beep at me in town, so I think I’m doing ok.

Show quote history

The left hand lane might be full of lorries on the motorway(s) you travel on, but the last few times I've driven on them, there have been a fair number of cars in it too (including me when not overtaking).

FinallyHere · 26/07/2022 23:02

user1471505356 · 26/07/2022 19:53

Passing on the inside is also known as undertaking, might get you pulled over by traffic branch.

There is nothing to stop you passing a car in a lane to your right, if the traffic in an 'inside' lane is moving at a faster rate.

Also nothing to stop you hanging back, in that inside lane until there is a car coming up fast in a further right lane, so you can both go past the middle lane higher at the same time, so on both sides.

Just sayin.

SilentHedges · 26/07/2022 23:06

When we were in our early 20s (on quiet motorways) my mate would deal with middle lane drivers by over taking on their right hand side, moving in front of them and then to the slow lane, and get your passenger to wave each time you go past. The record was 7 waves before the stupid middle lane driver worked out why a car was doing circular laps of him and waving.

cakeorwine · 26/07/2022 23:23

Yes, there are lorries in the inside lane. But if you are travelling at the same speed as the lorries, then you should be in the inside lane. Then overtake, get past and move back to the inside lane.

Don't go as the same speed as the lorries in other lanes. You are not getting past them. You are just making people go across several lanes to overtake.

I had a very frustrating trip up the M1 at the weekend. Someone in the 3rd lane of 4 with 2 the lanes on their left going faster than them. I was on the inside lane and had to get out into lane 4 to get past.

LittleScottieDog · 26/07/2022 23:24

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.

@PerseverancePays

Two minutes is ~two miles!!

Why do you sit in lane 2 when you could be in the inside lane for a mile or more? You're not overtaking at that point. Lane 2 is for overtaking those in the inside lane. If you're driving along for over a mile with an empty lane to your left, then you do need to refresh your driving skills.