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!

We’ve already established that some folk in this thread can’t tell the difference between overtaking and middle lane hogging.

you and Margot seem to be among them.

we’re talking about middle lane hogging. If you choose to include legal overtaking in that and then get offended that folk are critiquing a legal manoeuvre that’s up to you.

I’ve posted a video and several articles - I can’t really make the differences any clearer for you.

Margot isn't "hogging two lanes for 2km" if she's doing the speed limit along with all other traffic.

yes she is if the left lane is empty and she’s doing the speed limit and sitting in the middle for a minute to avoid having to change lanes again. It’s simple maths

The thoughts I am having about those people don't affect my driving.

But driving in a way that pisses other road users off is dangerous because some drivers will be less restrained.

Glad to hear you're super organised and perfect though, have a cookie.

It’s not super-organised Margot, it’s called being a competent driver.

But driving in a way that pisses other road users off is dangerous because some drivers will be less restrained.

So a tractor, horse box, cyclist etc are driving dangerously, just because other people will get frustrated? Or driving safely for the conditions when others THINK that they could drive faster (which they often find they can’t on e they are the lead car)?

I'm talking about Mrs Always Leaves With Half An Hour To Spare So She Can Dawdle Sit Serenely Behind Dawdlers And Never Get Annoyed.

I didn't mention any of those things.

Again, planning time for your journey and not getting steamed up at other drivers while you sit there hogging the middle lane and endangering others = competent driver. The polar opposite opposite of you apparently.

TBH I’m more bothered by the many people who drive far too close! to the car in front. I don’t want you right up my arse - get back!!

Great film. Anyone defending their middle lane stance please watch. Up to one third of motorways being unused due to middle lane hogging 🙁😭

There is no middle lane in this scenario because if you could actually read you'd see I gave the example of someone driving below the speed limit on a single carriageway road and annoying the people behind them.

Yes, those people should stay calm. In reality, some of them won't, and will try to overtake you.

The closest I ever came to being in an accident was when I was sitting behind a Sunday driver doing 40 in a 60 and the car behind me tried to overtake us both and then realise they didn't have enough space. Both of them were dangerous twats who shouldn't have been driving. I was the one who nearly got killed though.

If you are on this thread admitting you feel scared or not confident with lorries on the motorway or being on the motorway...please do everyone else a favour and dont drive on it. You are dangerous! Or get some lessons to build your confidence.

Cos your lack of confidence can cause accidents.

Who has said that?

A great example of why your inability to overtake is dangerous as you create a tailback and mean others have to spend longer overtaking, making the manoeuvre more dangerous for others.

just like your middle lane hogging forces others to change more lanes and creates more dangerous driving conditions for everyone

but you obviously can’t see that. Or don’t care

you remind me of that quote “It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt”. (You can substitute typing for speaking)

I think changing lanes every minute is unnecessary if there's no-one coming up fast behind you.

I'm not forcing anyone to change lanes if I am driving at the correct speed.

You're basically saying that by refusing to change lanes unnecessarily myself, I'm causing completely imaginary people to change lanes, which is more dangerous apparently.

No idea what you mean by ‘correct speed’ or why you think other road users are ‘imaginary’
🤷‍♀️

Quite a few posters, you have the ability to go read all posts im not here to do it for you.

Ok, let me spell it out for you.

The vehicles in the left hand lane are doing 60.

I'm in the middle lane doing 70.

You think I should be constantly moving between the left and middle lane to avoid a hypothetical person coming up behind me doing 80 having to change lanes unnecessarily.

Make it make sense.

Sirzy · Today 08:49
It never fails to amaze me the lengths people will go to in order to defend poor lane discipline. It really shouldn’t be complicated”

Quite

No.

and literally no one has suggested that.

again you seem unable to differentiate between overtaking and middle lane hogging.

I suggest you look at the resources I posted earlier. its honestly not a difficult concept - I’m sure you can figure it out if you try hard 😊

We were trying to pass a car in the middle lane the other day. Had moved back into the middle line then went to back to slow lane and a car came bombing up the slow lane, we were doing 70 so it must have been doing close to 100 the way it appeared then vanished off into the distance. Scared the crap out of me.

Stop calling it a slow lane.

Yes this. And also people doing nothing above 55 in the 'slow' lane. I drive by so many waiting for a nice long gap to get into that I probably appear to be hogging

No, nobody has said that. While there are vehicles driving to your left who are doing 60, you are overtaking at 70 and are using the middle lane correctly.

Once there are no vehicles to your left, or once the inside lane is doing the same speed as you, you are no longer overtaking and should move back into the inside lane using the usual rules of a safe manoeuvre.

If you can already foresee the immediate need to move straight back out again, then you don’t move back in. If there is a theoretical, but not actual, need to move back out in the future, you move in until that need materialises, rather than staying out ‘just in case’.

Okay everyone please explain this scenario.

Everyone in the left lane is doing 60. Consistently. Every single car. There are occasional gaps but the people in front are also doing 60.

Everyone in the middle is doing 70. You are in the middle also doing 70. If you move into one of the occasional gaps, you will have to slow to 60 and you know you will shortly have to merge back into traffic doing 70.

The dispute seems to be, how long a gap is reasonable to justify going back into the left lane? Some people have proposed 20 seconds. Someone has said 1 minute is too long.

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We all agree that people doing less than 70 in the middle lane (under normal conditions) are scum of the earth, etc, so let's not bring that up.