Page 9 | If you drive in the middle lane, hogging it, when there is absolutely no need to - why?

hell091727 · 2023-05-07T19:32:34+00:00

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!

CBAanymoreTBH · 08/05/2023 08:33

Cornishclio · 08/05/2023 08:16

I will drive in the middle lane at 70mph if the motorway is busy and the inside lane is full of HGV drivers or slow drivers doing less than the speed limit. I also move over to the middle lane to allow people to join the motorway at junctions.

The only time I move over to the inside lane is if I plan to leave at the next junction or the motorway is quiet and I don't need to keep overtaking slow drivers driving under the limit. Most motorways I drive on are not quiet so I admit I tend to drive mostly in the middle or overtaking lane but I am not a slow driver. Chopping and changing lanes on a busy motorway is more dangerous than hogging the middle lane and usually the people who don't like it are the ones driving at 80-90mph and they are the ones breaking the law and driving dangerously.

Isn't chopping & changing lanes the whole point of motorway driving?

TheaBrandt · 08/05/2023 08:36

That’s why I said “if the left lane is clear” 🙄. Which it invariably is - so go in it then when you overtake go in the middle lane then go back in the slow lane. Maddening how many shit drivers there are.

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:37

purpledaisy60 · 07/05/2023 21:06

I thought the middle lane was for people who want to drive 70-80mph 🤷‍♀️ slow lane for 60-70mph and the fast lane for anything over 80! Whoops 😬 well that's what most people seem to do these days anyway.

Then you should probably educate yourself as you’re incorrect.

out iof interest why did you think that @purpledaisy60 ? Have you never read the Highway Code?

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:41

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:19

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

So because you’re selfish and oblivious to the fact you’re obstructing the flow of traffic then?

As long as you aren’t inconvenienced then stuff everyone else because you’ve decided you know better than everyone else? how lovely

greyhairnomore · 08/05/2023 08:44

ClingingOnNow · 07/05/2023 20:58

I agree but you won't get anyone on here who actually admits to doing it.

Because I suppose they don't think they're doing anything wrong.

WeWereInParis · 08/05/2023 08:44

TheaBrandt · 08/05/2023 08:36

That’s why I said “if the left lane is clear” 🙄. Which it invariably is - so go in it then when you overtake go in the middle lane then go back in the slow lane. Maddening how many shit drivers there are.

The left lane is not invariably clear. Where I am and the times I drive, it is invariably not clear tbh.

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:46

Burnamer · 07/05/2023 21:58

@Oneborneverydecade I’m generally in the middle lane and staying there, as a conscious decision, because it’s faster. Does that not count? Maybe I’m not the hooligan I’ve described myself to be?

why am I still moronic though?

Can you explain how it’s faster than driving the same speed in the left lane @Burnamer ?

are you a miracle of space-time in that you move differently at exactly the same speed depending on which lane you use?

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 08:47

CBAanymoreTBH · 08/05/2023 08:33

Isn't chopping & changing lanes the whole point of motorway driving?

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I thought the whole point of motorway driving was to get from A to B safely and quickly without clogging up smaller roads, not to see how many times you can perform a risky manoeuvre in one journey.

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 08:48

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:46

Can you explain how it’s faster than driving the same speed in the left lane @Burnamer ?

are you a miracle of space-time in that you move differently at exactly the same speed depending on which lane you use?

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If there are lorries and slow drivers in the left hand lane it won't be the same speed though, will it?

Sirzy · 08/05/2023 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

eurochick · 08/05/2023 08:50

@OdeToBarney where? Not on the stretches I drive on. There are signs for the junction but nothing to indicate a mile in advance that the inside lane will turn into the slip road rather than there being a separate slip road off the motorway. Most people realise when the dashed line changes and there is an overhead sign to indicate that the left hand lane has now become the A-whatever and then have to move over.

It works quite well as a system for people who are familiar with it, but it does take some by surprise.

greyhairnomore · 08/05/2023 08:50

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!

There's no such thing as fast and slow lane.

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:50

Middlelanehogger · 07/05/2023 22:12

I am proudly a middle lane hogger.

I'm not a bad driver or thoughtless or ignorant. It is a deliberate choice because it makes the most sense.

You're all saying middle lane hogging is bad because it causes undertaking. This is missing an important step - sitting in the middle lane while driving under the speed limit causes undertaking but that isn't implied!

It's ridiculous to expect everyone to stay in the inside lane on a 3-lane highway. I agree that keeping the rightmost lane relatively free is sensible but not all crowding up in one lane and popping in and out on principle.

The way highways actually generally work with 3 lanes is
Lane 1: generally cars going slower than speed limit for whatever reason. Lorries, older cars, less confident drivers, people merging in and out of slip lanes.
Lane 2: people driving more or less at the speed limit. You have a responsibility IMO to drive pretty much on the speed limit in this lane or at least as fast as general traffic if there are bad conditions forcing traffic speed slower.
Lane 3: overtaking lane for the occasional person going a bit slower, and/or containment zone for idiots going way over the limit

No undertaking results in this scenario...

If you want to avoid constantly crossing two lanes to overtake people and this is a real problem for you I have a wild idea... try driving in the middle lane ;)

This thread is compelling evidence for the Dunning Kruger effect - so much unconscious incompetence!

@Middlelanehogger could you explain why you feel more qualified to arbitrarily decide the rules of the road than the Highway Code?

what are your skills and expertise that mean you should be allowed to drive to your own set of rules no matter how dangerous or inconvenient it is for other drivers?

where do you draw the line?

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 08:51

All this thread is doing is convincing me that none of you actually have the foggiest idea why this method of driving is supposedly safer, other than BECAUSE IT SAYS SO IN THE HIGHWAY CODE YOU IDIOTS!

SoonToBeinSpotlight · 08/05/2023 08:52

Sunshineandflipflops · 07/05/2023 21:15

There’s no such thing as a ‘slow lane’. The inside lane is for everyone, unless you are overtaking, in which case you move to one of the outside lanes and then back in to the inside lane. It worried me that people don’t know this and I am sharing roads with them.

Yes that's the theory but it isn't the reality, and on a busy motorway it would be totally impossible, with the volume of cars.

On a busy motorway, what tends to happen, if you are driving at 70, is there is no point pulling into the left lane, because you would immediately have to pull out again, and/or you end up obstructing merging traffic or having or clogging up the traffics trying to exit - so effectively, you do end up with a slow, medium, and fast lane.

In fact it always amazes me when I see a fast moving car jutting across lanes, pulling into the left lane in order to pull out again three seconds later - aren't they looking ahead? Every time you shift lanes, you add complexity to an already complex system, thus increasing possibility of misjudgements. And I find these people often cut in on you too early after overtaking, or come up your arse when they get stuck behind you, eroding your safe stopping distance.

Totally agree you shouldn't be in the middle lane at 50 if the traffic is free flowing or the motorway empty though. But I'm pretty sure lane hoppers cause way more accidents than swim lane ones.

TheaBrandt · 08/05/2023 08:52

Learn to drive on motorways please.

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 08/05/2023 08:55

I manage to drive perfectly well in the left hand lane most of the time and then use the middle lane to overtake someone in front of me who is going below 70. Concentrate, stay alert to what's going on and you can come in and out safely as needs be.

But by the sounds of you middle lane joggers that's the problem b... you treat the middle lane as some sort of chill out zone

Genuinely fucking terrifying

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 08:55

meatballz · 07/05/2023 23:16

If I'm going to speed limit in the middle lane why is anyone overtaking me? They should be going the speed limit too.

I hate to break it to you, but you aren’t the traffic police and you don’t get to drive illegally on the basis of some misplaced arrogant attempt to control the driving of others

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 08/05/2023 08:56

And calling it the "slow lane"

Bloody hell please stick to A roads

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 08:57

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 08/05/2023 08:55

I manage to drive perfectly well in the left hand lane most of the time and then use the middle lane to overtake someone in front of me who is going below 70. Concentrate, stay alert to what's going on and you can come in and out safely as needs be.

But by the sounds of you middle lane joggers that's the problem b... you treat the middle lane as some sort of chill out zone

Genuinely fucking terrifying

No one should be chilling out in the middle lane. They should be driving faster than the people in the left hand lane.

kissthegirlshesnotbehindthedoor · 08/05/2023 08:59

I agree with you OP.

HOWEVER: if there are many articulated lorries in the left lane, why can't I stay in the middle lane and do the speed limit (and let's face it a bit more usually)? I don't want to keep weaving in and out of massive trucks. (You might've guessed I've had this exact discussion with my husband before!)

Anyway I usually do fast and middle.

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 09:00

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 08:51

All this thread is doing is convincing me that none of you actually have the foggiest idea why this method of driving is supposedly safer, other than BECAUSE IT SAYS SO IN THE HIGHWAY CODE YOU IDIOTS!

Are you struggling with comprehension?

it’s been explained several times

here’s an article https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22784983.amp

though I suspect that since you seem to think you have some kind of self-appointed expertise, you’ll ignore it anyway.

What's wrong with middle-lane hogging? - BBC News

People who “hog” the middle lane on the motorway could now be fined £100. But why is staying in the middle lane a bad thing?

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22784983.amp

tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz · 08/05/2023 09:03

Agree Margot but several posters have shared that they go into the "slow lane" and can zone out. Lordy

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 09:03

kissthegirlshesnotbehindthedoor · 08/05/2023 08:59

I agree with you OP.

HOWEVER: if there are many articulated lorries in the left lane, why can't I stay in the middle lane and do the speed limit (and let's face it a bit more usually)? I don't want to keep weaving in and out of massive trucks. (You might've guessed I've had this exact discussion with my husband before!)

Anyway I usually do fast and middle.

Theory, meet reality.

If the left hand lane is full of lorries and slow moving vehicles, which it nearly always is, I am not going to pull out to overtake each one and then pull in again every 20 seconds. The people diligently doing this, whilst no doubt smugly congratulating themselves for being the only one who has actually READ the Highway Code are far more of a hazard than the middle lane drivers.

MargotBamborough · 08/05/2023 09:07

FurAndFeathers · 08/05/2023 09:00

Are you struggling with comprehension?

it’s been explained several times

here’s an article https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22784983.amp

though I suspect that since you seem to think you have some kind of self-appointed expertise, you’ll ignore it anyway.

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That article starts with the assumption that the left hand lane is generally empty. Can we have one discussing this rule when applied to usual driving conditions?