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Original poster

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

419 replies

hell091727 · 07/05/2023 20:32

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!

OP posts:
Midnightpony · 07/05/2023 21:34

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 07/05/2023 20:57

We've got a stretch of road that has recently turned into 3 lanes and the majority of cars seem to think the inside lane is for joining or leaving the road, middle for driving and outside for over taking.

I know this is not the case but it does seem more sensible!

johsq20 · 07/05/2023 21:35

I have no need to drive on motorways but I would say it's because they don't want to be stuck behind lorries/slow moving traffic and aren't confident in changing lanes, so staying in the middle is easiest for them. Can drive up to 70 and not have to change lanes till they leave.

frankgu · 07/05/2023 21:35

I've driven before on the inside lane that was moving faster as it was clearer than the outside lane. It stresses me out as undertaking is so dangerous but not sure what to do

Twillow · 07/05/2023 21:36

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:30

I’m not a Moron and I’m not winding anyone up purposefully. I’m just being honest. Can someone tell me why driving in the middle lane is dangerous?

Because people who are in the inside lane but going faster than you (however empty the motorway is) have to cross 2 lanes to overtake you, or break the law by passing you on the inside. If there is traffic going faster than you in the middle lane you should move across to the inside lane. If you notice people crossing from the inside lane to go around you and then back into the inside lane, you are in the wrong lane!

rewilded · 07/05/2023 21:37

I’m not a Moron and I’m not winding anyone up purposefully. I’m just being honest. Can someone tell me why driving in the middle lane is dangerous?

It slows the whole motorway down and means people undertake because inevitably you will be driving at below 70 at times and also lorries will undertake you at times. It means people cannot get back into lane from the outside lane too.

It just makes everything far more dangerous!

Suddenlysummer · 07/05/2023 21:37

I agree with you! I once commiserated with a fellow guest at a wedding in Brighton, because he was driving straight back to Derbyshire. He said "Oh it's ok, I take it easy. just get in the middle lane and drive at 50mph all the way".

TimeforaGandT · 07/05/2023 21:38

@Burnamer - because all those of us driving in the correct lane have to pull across two lanes to pass you and then back again

Myusername4321 · 07/05/2023 21:39

There is a 3 lane A road near me which has some awful short slip roads. I once saw a lorry smash into a car because it couldn't get over into the middle lane in time the lorry just went over anyway - not to mention plenty of other near misses. For that reason on that bit of road I do stay in the middle but I don't go slow and if I need to over take I do so, then I go back In the first lane etc when that bit of road it over. I know I shouldn't but I hate those short slip roads, especially after seeing that.

thenightsky · 07/05/2023 21:39

This is why I actually enjoyed driving in America... you can overtake on either side.

ExhaustedPigwidgeon · 07/05/2023 21:41

Inyournightgarden · 07/05/2023 21:19

It is a specific offence that carries a £100 fine and 3 points, but as cameras don’t detect it it’s rare people are prosecuted. my neighbour owns a funeral directors company, he is adamant he buries more people due to lane hoggers than he does due to speeders. His words not mine.

I drive a lot and when I see it I do blow my horn/flash my lights and gesture to them, most are oblivious but some move over.

i drive on the continent a lot, the only cars I see doing it in France/Spain have British plates, the Spanish and French don’t do it, ever, without exception.

Your aggressive driving is just as dangerous as middle lane hogs.

your neighbour is burying people like you too

EmmatheStageRat · 07/05/2023 21:42

Jesus, so many pathetic drivers on here. Motorway driving should very definitely be part of the UK driving test.

Merrilydancing · 07/05/2023 21:42

We have a two lane motorway with 70mph speed limit and there are so many that sit on the outside doing 60 when it is quite free flowing causing so many to undertake but yet they still sit there happily holding everyone back.

They deserve to instantly lose their license.

BarryShitpea · 07/05/2023 21:42

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:30

I’m not a Moron and I’m not winding anyone up purposefully. I’m just being honest. Can someone tell me why driving in the middle lane is dangerous?

But you are a moron or a middle lane moron as I they're known here, it's not difficult to drive properly. Middle lane driving causes congestion, those in the inside lane have make two manoeuvres to overtake you, and stops them continuing at the same speed as they have switch to your lane then the outside one. It causes accidents and causes traffic to back up, all of which you might be unaware of from your selfish blinkered position ambling along. I also don't understand why you'd knowingly admit you're a shit driver Confused although I suspect that you're being goady.

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:43

But that only makes sense if the slow lane is actually faster than the middle lane - which it generally isn’t. If it was, I’d be in it!

FiveShelties · 07/05/2023 21:43

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:19

@FiveShelties I think because the rule seems daft and my way seems more sensible.

How can it be more sensible to have people under and over taking you?

Although I do have the same view on speeding but the penalty for driving at my 'sensible' speed are too high for me to do it.😁

Crikeyisthatthetime · 07/05/2023 21:44

Smart motorways and the m25 are bloody terrifying when they are busy. I avoid the inside lane on them because it feels like a far too dangerous place to be. What with lorries thundering up the slip roads, the lane itself disappearing and reappearing, and the chances of a car being broken down in the live lane, I no longer use them except to get on and off.
When the inside line behaves itself, I use it. Unless it's chock full of lorries and I am in danger of being boxed in. The rules were devised at a time when there was far less traffic on the roads. They really don't work as well in today's conditions. Although that doesn't explain the lone Mazda in the middle lane when the inner and outer lanes are completely empty.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 07/05/2023 21:45

Myusername4321 · 07/05/2023 21:39

There is a 3 lane A road near me which has some awful short slip roads. I once saw a lorry smash into a car because it couldn't get over into the middle lane in time the lorry just went over anyway - not to mention plenty of other near misses. For that reason on that bit of road I do stay in the middle but I don't go slow and if I need to over take I do so, then I go back In the first lane etc when that bit of road it over. I know I shouldn't but I hate those short slip roads, especially after seeing that.

Surely moving over when you are coming to either a very short or busy slip road is just sensible. Responding to the situation on each slip road you come to is different from sitting in the middle lane forever because you don’t want to have to switch lanes when you come to one.

TheaBrandt · 07/05/2023 21:45

I am always curious as to who the lane joggers are - I have a peer in as I’m forced out into the fast lane to overtake. It’s all sorts of people men / women / young / old.

colddrytoast · 07/05/2023 21:46

The reason it's dangerous is because there is something literally in the middle of the road

tailinthejam · 07/05/2023 21:46

MathiasBroucek · 07/05/2023 20:55

I was on the M25 today. Inside Lane empty with numpties doing 55 in lane 2. Grrrr!

To be fair, much of the M25 has lane 1 as a feeder for the next exit.

When it comes to so-called smart motorways, I'm of the opinion that lane 1 (what would normally be the hard shoulder) is not a good place to be. Not bearing in mind what the M1 can be like on a good day, never mind a bad one.

OnSusansFloor · 07/05/2023 21:49

@Burnamer I'll join you in the middle lane 🫣
I don't make a habit of it or do it deliberately, but it's not uncommon for me to move into the middle lane in order to overtake, and then get distracted or zone out and stay there until someone behind me has to move across to overtake me - but then I do move back into the inside lane. I'm usually driving at 75-80 though.
I know it's dangerous to be driving "zoned out", especially at those speeds, but I'll suddenly catch myself lost in thought and have to consciously snap my attention back to the road. I don't know how to pre-empt the zone outs. It was worse when I worked shifts - driving home after a 14-hour night shift I would sometimes pull into the drive with no recollection of the journey home at all. It was terrifying.

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:51

@BarryShitpea I’m not being goofy and I don’t think it is shit driving. I think maybe the rule made sense when roads were much quieter but there are too many cars now for only one lane to be the standard lane in use. As I’m likely to be in the faster 50% of drivers I’ll be in the middle lane and use the fast lane for overtaken.
its a sensible way to drive.

Pringleface · 07/05/2023 21:51

Crikeyisthatthetime · 07/05/2023 21:44

Smart motorways and the m25 are bloody terrifying when they are busy. I avoid the inside lane on them because it feels like a far too dangerous place to be. What with lorries thundering up the slip roads, the lane itself disappearing and reappearing, and the chances of a car being broken down in the live lane, I no longer use them except to get on and off.
When the inside line behaves itself, I use it. Unless it's chock full of lorries and I am in danger of being boxed in. The rules were devised at a time when there was far less traffic on the roads. They really don't work as well in today's conditions. Although that doesn't explain the lone Mazda in the middle lane when the inner and outer lanes are completely empty.

This is exactly the problem though. People who are inexperienced, people who are lazy, people who incorrectly think they’re safer in the middle lane.

The Highway Code isn’t hard to understand and if you look ahead while driving, it’s not hard to work out when to move lanes.

Are you going to continue driving like this for the rest of your life?

Pringleface · 07/05/2023 21:52

OnSusansFloor · 07/05/2023 21:49

@Burnamer I'll join you in the middle lane 🫣
I don't make a habit of it or do it deliberately, but it's not uncommon for me to move into the middle lane in order to overtake, and then get distracted or zone out and stay there until someone behind me has to move across to overtake me - but then I do move back into the inside lane. I'm usually driving at 75-80 though.
I know it's dangerous to be driving "zoned out", especially at those speeds, but I'll suddenly catch myself lost in thought and have to consciously snap my attention back to the road. I don't know how to pre-empt the zone outs. It was worse when I worked shifts - driving home after a 14-hour night shift I would sometimes pull into the drive with no recollection of the journey home at all. It was terrifying.

You are trolling or you’re an idiot who shouldn’t be driving.

DifferenceEngines · 07/05/2023 21:52

It sounds a little daft, to be honest, all that moving back and forth. Where I am (not UK), it is expected that you keep the right most lane free for overtaking, but if it's a multi - lane freeway, you are expected to spread out a bit. The left most lane is for getting on and off.