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 the trucks are doing 60 and you are doing 70, then you are overtaking them.

If there are a lot of trucks, then there is no problem.

If there aren't many trucks, then get in and let cars get past.

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

when you got your driving licence didn't you understand that you can't decide which rules you would and wouldn't follow? thats the bit I don't understand - its not about other people being inconvenienced by you but the fact we are all supposed to follow the rules to help prevent crashes

I guess in this case, the fact that the other drivers are breaking the law by speeding to overtake her when she's doing 70 doesn't mean she is therefore excused from also following the guideline/law (not sure if it's a 'should' or 'must' in the Highway code?) of using lane 1 if possible.

You should care. It's a dangerous way to drive

We are lucky in Norfolk in that we don't have middle lanes for people to hog!

On the dual carriageway (2 lanes) recently, though, a learner in a driving school car was driving quite slowly in the right-hand lane and was holding up a lot of traffic behind them. I was quite annoyed with the instructor!

I was once on the M23 to Brighton and there was a car in the outside lane doing about 50! No traffic at all in the lanes to their left. Many cars were pulling up behind them, flashing lights etc. before being forced to undertake. I pulled over to the empty lane 1 and sat kind of keeping an eye on them for about five minutes as I've never seen such a thing in my life. I have no idea how they didn't realise they were in the wrong.

But then, you read this thread and realise that people do just sit in one lane and think that their driving is fine!

The other day I was driving back at 11pm on a 4 lane motorway. 2 cars in the 3rd lane. Me on the slow lane. I then had to go all the way to the fast lane just to overtake these two cars going 50mph!!!! 50!!!!

In this instance you could have stayed in lane 1. As long as you're not then pulling out in front of the cars in lane 2 or 3 once you've passed them, you're not undertaking (assuming there was nothing in front of you that you needed to get past).

Can anyone explain why car drivers are supposed to stay in the outside lane?

Given that lorries and other heavy vehicles will be in the outside lane, it makes it much more dangerous for vehicles needing to join the motorway in the outside lane if that's where everyone else is.

I don't really understand why it isn't outside lane for heavy vehicles, middle lane for other vehicles, inside lane for overtaking.

There's a middle lane hogger on the M4 who I come across most days on my commute. As it's part of the 4 lane stretch, they're actually in the third lane from the left. They travel at 68mph.
In the mornings, there are often a number of lorries and it's fairly busy and they cause utter chaos. Lorries etc are in the inside lane, lane 2 can be empty as everyone comes out to lane 4 to overtake the middle lane hogger but some of those overtaking the middle lane hogger only want to go at 70 (understandably) so the overtaking manoeuvre takes a bit of time and during that time other people are travelling faster in lanes 2 & 3 (and possibly lane 1) and realising that the issue is late in the day so coming out to join lane 4 meaning that each time you try to leave a safe space between you and the car in front it gets filled with someone else.
In the evenings, it's usually quieter and there are fewer lorries. Middle lane hogger is back in the third lane but I can usually pass them in the inside lane. Where it gets annoying is if there is a similar speed car a bit further ahead in lane two as I don't like to undertake without a clear lane between me and the other car as it seems too risky so I have to go to the effort of moving across four lanes to over take middle lane hogger, come in a lane to make a point and overtake the person in lane two and then often go back to the inside lane. What worries me about that manoeuvre is that going from lane 1 to 4 can be unexpected and, whilst I position myself briefly in each lane and do it as three separate lane changes, I always worry that there may be someone racing up in lane 4 who I won't see and won't be properly looking out for me.
Whilst middle lane hogger annoys me, I do worry for them. One day they are going to get shunted by someone who isn't fully paying attention and just doesn't appreciate how slowly they are going. On stretches of the M4 when they're not there, particularly in the evening, lanes 3 and 4 aren't used that heavily so, if someone is in lane 3, you make a presumption about what speed they are moving it. It's wrong to make that presumption but understandable.

Because there's no reason for a car to be sitting in the middle lane if there is an empty lane to their left.

The outside lane is rarely empty though.

Ok I understand now what being a middle lane hogger really means. Why the hell doesn't M4 person drive in lane 2 at 68! They could still sit there and hog it as they probably be going slightly faster than the lorries in lane 1. That is bonkers.

Porridgeislife ·

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.”

This. If a driver is so anxious on the motorway, they need to stick to smaller, slower roads or take a motorway driving course.

Really? I've driven plenty of times when there have been big enough gaps between traffic to sit in the left lane for a bit.

I'm not talking about when 100yards up the road there's another lorry, so staying in the middle lane makes more sense.

I see some people middle aged men- doing 68/69 in lane 4 on the motorway and refusing to move. I think they think well I'm doing the speed limit for this lane pretty much so why should I move. Very dangerous as they then get a load of irate drivers wanting to do 75/80 up their arse. Wrong of course but inevitably happens.

The whole thing needs an overhaul doesn't it as lots of people drive up to 80, past traffic police, and nobody cares as it's become the de facto limit. Which is confusing and wrong really I guess.

I have a friend that does this, she's worried that she's going to accidently come off the motorway if she doesn't stay in the middle lane.
She counters her unreasonableness, by driving in the middle lane very fast ?
I think it's probably just poor motorway driving skill and confidence for people that do it.

I think you have your inside and outside mixed up. Inside is lane 1 or what people like to call the slow lane. Outside is lane 2/3/4 (depending on whether a 2,3 or 4 lane carriageway) or what some people like to call the fast lane.

Eh?

The slow lane is on the outside and the fast lane is on the inside.

@babyjellyfish
UK drive on left, so left hand lane would be 'slow' lane. Other lanes are for overtaking.

In most places, yes.
However, there are stretches of the m60 which have so many filter lanes and splits that it's really more like a 2 lane motorway with a lot of off and on lanes and most drivers treat it as such.

*Eh?

The slow lane is on the outside and the fast lane is on the inside.*

Oh dear.

Are there any other bits of the Highway Code that you’ve decided don’t apply to you?

If you aren’t capable of following the rules of the road please stop driving, or get some proper tuition.

Utter nonsense, of course it isn't. It's a lot more dangerous to keep weaving in and out of lanes and waiting until you are a few cm from the lorry in front of you before you come out again. If the inside lane has a constant "supply" of lorries to overtake, you stay in the middle lane and overtake them. Most motorways have four lanes now anyway, so it's not like there isn't space to get past someone in the second lane.

I know MNers don't like the word hysteria, but people (not just on MN) really do get hysterical about middle lane sitting, when 90% of what is happening isn't middle lane sitting at all. As I said upthread, middle lane sitting is when the inside lane is empty and they don't move over for miles and miles.

They only cause congestion because people are too scared to use the outside lane. I'm not saying it's not annoying - it is. But most of the behaviour people attribute to middle lane sitting isn't.

I'm not talking about someone sitting in the middle lane as the motorway splits off, or changes, she's doing it on every motorway. The overhead signs tell you when a lane is leading elsewhere, there is no need to sit in the middle lane, just in case.