If you drive in the middle lane, hogging it, when there is absolutely no need to - why?

[hell091727]

Please stop driving on the motorway and go re-read the Highway Code.

It is dangerous, lazy, and completely disrupts the flow of the traffic.

I have just driven 200 miles and the amount of drivers who just don’t know how to drive is astonishing. And the motorway wasn’t even busy!

Then you’d maintain your speed, and overtake.

the lane you are in should have no bearing on your speed - I regularly do 80mph in the left lane, and have to cross 4 lanes of traffic to overtake some idiot doing 65 in the middle on a clear motorway.

there zero reason why the lane selection would impact your speed, assuming you’re a competent driver who is capable of staying left and overtaking when appropriate

It's also really fucking bizarre to be told that driving in the middle lane wastes a third of motorway capacity by someone telling us to drive in the left hand lane and leave the middle and right hand lanes clear.

I’m taking about not busy motorway (m4 after reading heading west not peak hours) first lane empty yet numpties sitting in the middle lane not moving forcing anyone driving correctly in the first lane who wants to overtake legally into the third lane. Time and time again.

Sorry but this is just ridiculous.
It is your responsibility to drive behind any other car at a safe stopping distance, so you can brake if you need to. It is your responsibility to assess the cars in front of you and their speed. If someone is traveling at 50 you decelerate, or you move to another lane. If you can't then you are not looking ahead, you are not driving with a safe stopping distance, or you are stubbornly trying to maintain your speed and letting your frustration get the better of you by making an ill-judged manoeuvre. (I think a lot more accidents are caused by people getting up someone's arse, peeping, flashing, and causing skyrocketing anxiety, and sudden makeovers, than the actual lane hogging)

We all know someone may be driving at a speed that doesn't suit you in the middle lane of a motorway. If the road is empty then yes it's silly, but there is no excuse for you not looking ahead and adjusting sensibly in plenty of time, using all that space. If the road is busy, then slow moving vehicles may be in the middle lane due to even slower ones being in the left and/or driving slower makes sense as stopping distances are being eroded.

It's not an anomaly like a cow wandering into the road. Take some responsibility for your own safety (and your childrens') by driving sensibly, keeping an eye out, and responding safely... blaming other people for orphaning your children for driving a bit slow in the middle lane is OTT!

You do realise that you are making an argument for there being a slow lane, a medium lane and a fast lane, right?

Gosh you really are struggling!

If the left lane is full and you are moving faster than the left lane traffic, it’s a manoeuvre known as ‘overtaking’

you then move left when there’s an appropriate space to do so.

it is different from sitting in the middle lane.

I’m honestly baffled that grown adults are driving without gout any understanding of lane disciple or basic manoeuvres

It's infuriating! They are either so unaware of their surroundings (v dangerous) or just think it's safe to stick in one lane (it's not).
We have a small car, 1.0 engine, so it makes it hard to get past someone pootling along at 57mph as I can't accelerate away as quickly as some. Me pulling over into the outside lane would cause other cars to have to slow down/brake which is dangerous so I need to wait for a bigger gap to avoid this.
Thankfully, I don't have to drive on motorways often.

Can you genuinely not understand how hogging the middle lane obstructs 2/3 of the lanes whilst staying left uses 1/3

seems maths as well as comprehension is a challenge!

I’m making an argument for nothing except evidence-based lane discipline.

i’m afraid if that’s beyond your understanding, I can’t really help you

I'm not struggling at all.

Yes, if you're going faster than the vehicles in the left hand lane you should be in the middle lane, whether you want to call that overtaking or just driving faster.

I prefer to call it driving faster and think the Highway Code should be updated to reflect most people's reality, which is that there are slow, medium and fast lanes.

The rule that you should be in the left hand lane unless overtaking, if strictly adhered to, would waste almost two thirds of motorway capacity, clog the left hand lane making it much more dangerous for cars trying to join the road, and cause far more weaving in and out. The people adhering religiously to this rule even when the left hand lane is busy are among the most dangerous of all because they are constantly changing lanes and they believe that they are driving super safely because they are following the Highway Code (e.g. driving according to theory rather than the actual conditions of the road).

The Highway Code was written when there were fewer cars on the road and it should be updated.

The rule that you should be in the left hand lane unless overtaking, if strictly adhered to, would waste almost two thirds of motorway capacity

how? When it allows all 3 lanes to be fully utilised and a consistent flow of traffic, whilst middle lane hogging obstructs lanes 1 and 2 and forces all overtaking into a single lane (3) ?

it makes no sense.

your ‘logic’ seems to boil down to

“I think I have superior expertise to everyone else, and I’ll drive how I like, even if it’s selfish and illegal”

it’s not especially compelling

@SoonToBeinSpotlight but surely you can see that hogging middle lanes enhances the chance of an accident.

Saying that everyone else should accommodate dangerous driving is not the safest way forward. Hogging the middle lane is terribly dangerous, it encourages unnecessary breaking from those approaching from behind when if the higher used the lh lane appropriately it would not be necessary, (especially if the lane hogger is slower than the majority of the traffic) it does result in undertaking and can narrow down how many lanes are in use. All make motorway driving more dangerous.

You can get lessons to drive on a motorway. People who can't drive appropriately should be forced to attend these.

How? Because it literally says that you shouldn't be using two out of the three lanes unless overtaking and should then immediately pull over to clog the left hand lane again.

@FurAndFeathers
If the left lane is full and you are moving faster than the left lane traffic, it’s a manoeuvre known as ‘overtaking’

All the people defending middle lane driving in this thread are simply explaining that in most real-life conditions, they genuinely ARE "overtaking" the left lane for the vast majority of their trip.

In return are told they are killing children.

To the PP doing 80 (!) in the left hand lane and being smug about her super-safe driving I don't know what to say.

Slow, middle, fast lanes aren't a rule from the sainted Highway Code but they're what actually happens in real life and people drive with the expectation that traffic to their right will be moving faster.

'how many times you can perform a risky manoeuvre in one journey.'
@MargotBamborough
By sitting in the middle lane you are causing other drivers to perform riskier manoeuvres than should be required. They have to cross 3 lanes out and back to overtake you. Whereas if you are in the left hand lane, they only have to move out one lane to overtake you.
I am flabbergasted at the number of posters on this thread who are still oblivious to why middle lane driving is both dangerous, and clogs up the motorway, even after it's been explained over and over on this thread.

Having a slow, medium and fast lane is what would actually allow the road to be used to its full capacity and ensure the smooth flow of traffic, and thankfully that is how most normal people actually drive.

and thus by the ‘magic’ of overtaking (a manoeuvre you have demonstrated several times on this thread that you’re unfamiliar with) it allows use of all 3 lanes for drivers driving appropriately, and a constant flow of traffic.

middle lane hogging essentially reduces 3 lanes to two

like I said - it’s clear you’re struggling with comprehension of basic legal driving and logic.

If they're driving faster than the people in the middle lane then they are going too fast for the left hand lane.

In case it's not clear, I'm not advocating for people pootling along at 50mph in the middle lane. They're driving slowly and should use the same lane as the lorries. But people who are driving faster than the lorries and constantly weaving in and out to overtake rather than staying in the same lane as the cars driving at roughly the same speed as them are not the paragons of safe driving that they seem to think they are.

This thread is so angry but basically boils down to people defining the word "overtaking" differently.

Honestly if you guys are confused between overtaking and middle lane hogging and are defending a legal and appropriate manoeuvre because you’re confusing it with hogging, then that’s on you 🤷‍♀️

it’s really not my fault you can’t tell the difference

Overtaking means you pull out, overtake, then pull in again.

Does it make more sense to do this every 20 seconds between each lorry than it does to just stay in the lane going faster than the lorries?

No. No, it does not.

Omg, I wish there was a way posters like @MargotBamborough could be identified on threads like these and made to go to a motorway driving course (explained very very very slowly) before they're allowed behind a wheel again.

I personally think overtaking is a manoeuvre, i.e. a specific action pulling out, overtaking, pulling back in rather than "driving steadily in the same lane for 20 miles just happening to be driving faster than people to my left" and so does every human I've ever met, but hey. Not sure it justified saying I struggle with basic comprehension and logic...

Exactly.

it’s quite scary that some people can’t see the difference!

This link has a helpful image and a video for those of you that are struggling with the difference

basically if you can pull left and do after passing a vehicle(s), that’s overtaking. If there’s space to pull left and you choose not to, you’re hogging two lanes

https://www.royalsom.co.uk/blog/middle-lane-hogging