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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:
babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 14:09

cawfeee · 28/07/2022 13:24

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

Er, yes, I know. Thanks for that insight.

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 14:10

countrylifer · 28/07/2022 13:31

*Eh?

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

Oh dear.

What? The right hand lane is next to the central reservation, i.e. the middle of the road. That's the inside. The left hand lane is the one people use to join and exit. It's on the outside.

Cuck00soup · 28/07/2022 14:24

This thread has it all.

The slow lane. The fast lane.
People not knowing their inside from their outside.
People thinking it's dangerous to change lane.

Some people really shouldn't be on the road.

Laiste · 28/07/2022 14:26

@babyjellyfish no, not here in UK.

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/inside-lane

''UK
the part of the road nearest the edge, used especially by slower vehicles
US
the part of the road nearest the vehicles going in the opposite direction''

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 14:29

Err, well that makes zero sense.

What is the left hand lane on the inside of?

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 14:29

Seems like a rare occasion on which the US have got it right.

Laiste · 28/07/2022 14:35

Well, the way i think of it is that you go round the outside to over take something. Outside lane.

Inside is the closest to the natural/safe edge. Safe inside.

So to me UK terminology feels correct.

But it's not really about what we feel. It's about knowing what the correct law and terminology is of the country in which you are driving in. Other wise the highway code will make no sense.

D0lphine · 28/07/2022 14:41

Just undertake.

You aren't going to be pulled over for it.

Laiste · 28/07/2022 14:42

''in which you are driving in''

God! Apologies.
Mentally remove either of those ins for me 🙄

LadyDanburysCane · 28/07/2022 14:47

Looks like a LOT of people on here could do with these …

www.bsm.co.uk/motorway-driving-lessons

advanced-driving.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw54iXBhCXARIsADWpsG-BQZ7_uqf1feerbVtUkYXej6UTtKA95pVLwi6PT7Iem1jggMRJVVUaAgjjEALw_wcB

I’ve never been scared while driving either in the U.K. or Europe but I didn’t realise just how many people on the roads are so unaware of safe driving rules!

countrylifer · 28/07/2022 14:53

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 14:29

Err, well that makes zero sense.

What is the left hand lane on the inside of?

It doesn't matter if it makes zero sense to you or not. The inside lane IS lane 1.

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 15:00

If you say so. I will just say right and left from now on.

Laiste · 28/07/2022 15:10

babyjellyfish · 28/07/2022 15:00

If you say so. I will just say right and left from now on.

Probably wise :)

Don't feel bad. I get the inside/outside thing, but can't get on with the lane 1 2 3 labels. It was slow, middle and fast when i was learning (in about 1873 😂) and that's what's stuck.

(i do know it's not literally for slow medium and fast speeds though, before anyone bites)

ErrolTheDragon · 28/07/2022 15:48

D0lphine · 28/07/2022 14:41

Just undertake.

You aren't going to be pulled over for it.

Maybe not but you might get crashed into.

M340 · 28/07/2022 18:22

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 20:12

I drive in the middle lane. There, I said it.
I find the articulated lorries intimidating with their constant weaving in and out often with none or minimal indicating of their intentions. I overtake in the fast lane, and if there’s big gaps in the slow lane I’ll travel in that one.
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. I don’t get why speedy drivers come screaming up behind me flashing their lights when there’s plenty of space in the fast lane to overtake .
if its busy then you’re driving along at the same speed as everyone else, looking out for the ‘weavers’ , thinking of the M25.
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.
On my last trip down to Stanstead, I decided to drive at 55 to save on fuel, and it was very nice; I drove in the slow lane all the way and everyone went round me. I had loads of space in front of me and nobody hassled me at all.

I think you need to brush up on the Highway Code.

People like you are a huge problem.

thing47 · 28/07/2022 18:26

Undertaking is not illegal in the UK. Motoring organisations advise against it because it can be dangerous but if you keep a very close eye on the vehicle you are undertaking, not really a problem – the middle lane hoggers are, by definition, unlikely to suddenly pull over into the inside lane because if they were prone to doing that, you wouldn't be needing to undertake in the first place…

lovelychops · 28/07/2022 18:40

PerseverancePays · 26/07/2022 21:25

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.

Show quote history

But the point being you're NOT driving safely despite what you may think.
It's so dangerous to drive slowly on a motorway and to hog the middle lane. It's selfish and you should genuinely consider taking a motorway lesson

lovelychops · 28/07/2022 18:43

Also people saying things like 'the slow lane' need to take a motorway lesson too. It should be compulsory

lovelychops · 28/07/2022 18:46

BTW you can now get fined for hogging the middle lane. Which would suggest it is an issue, and not a safe way to drive on the motorway!

smooththecat · 29/07/2022 16:55

Opinions on this hypothetical please: driving in middle lane at 70, bit of a gap to the next lorry in inside lane. Car coming up behind at 80. If you pull in, the car behind you won’t overtake quickly enough, you’ll be blocked in and you’ll have to slow down until they overtake you. Do you hold your position or pull in and be blocked?

smooththecat · 29/07/2022 16:57

You’ve just overtaken a lorry, fyi

InMySpareTime · 29/07/2022 17:01

If they're going 10pm faster than you, they'll move past fairly quickly, and if they're in that much of a hurry they're better off past you and away than frustratedly up your rear bumper. Move into lane 1 in that case.

MsFrenchie · 29/07/2022 17:05

smooththecat · 29/07/2022 16:55

Opinions on this hypothetical please: driving in middle lane at 70, bit of a gap to the next lorry in inside lane. Car coming up behind at 80. If you pull in, the car behind you won’t overtake quickly enough, you’ll be blocked in and you’ll have to slow down until they overtake you. Do you hold your position or pull in and be blocked?

The guidance is that you do not move back in if to do so would result in “weaving”. I think that the judgement on what that means is subjective.

Doihavetogotoworkdotcom1 · 29/07/2022 17:18

🍰

Doihavetogotoworkdotcom1 · 29/07/2022 17:19

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