To think lane hogging is inconsiderate on motorway?

[MangoMonster]

why do people hog the middle lane or even worse the third lane on a four lane carriageway? If you're scared to change lanes, stay in the slow lane? Sorry but it does wind me up, especially on a long drive. One of the fee small annoyances that get to me :(

Well. let's enforce all the rules for everyone. No one lane hogs and no one drives over the speed limit at all.
I use the middle lane a lot, and custard cake sums up why perfectly.

'The slow lane is always full of slightly puzzled looking European lorry drivers who panic near slip roads and drive very close to each other, snaky caravans and company vans that are limited to about 60MPH.

The middle lanes are a battle ground of people doing the speed limit (they don't want to get squashed between two lorries or forced to drive at 55MPH in the slow lane but are detested in the middle lane for going to slow despite driving on the absolute legal limit) and people who want to go faster than 70 but less than 100MPH.

The fast lane is full of complete tossers doing over 100MPH (obviously not aware that lots of the M25 has average speed cameras that can track your progress over a whole long stecth if road not just through one yellow box) and rage filled drivers who want to do 80MPH in themiddle lane but are prevented from doing so and are desperate to get past the 70MPH-middle-lane-spoil-sports whilst trying to avoid getting rear ended by the 120MPH tossers!'

I've never had one of you speeders drive up my bum flashing, and I use the left lane when it's not too much bother swapping in and out all the time for slow traffic and slip roads. I very rarely use the fast lane. Yes, I know it's an overtaking lane, but in reality it's all you idiots over the speed limit that use it most of the time.
So is that settles? No second lane hoggers and no one over the legal speed limit?
Suits me, I may then use the fast lane more often if it is used for its correct purpose.

To much bother swapping lanes??!! It is hardly a hard job to change lanes appropriatly!

Re drivers flashing/driving up your rear end - I certainly wouldn't continue lane hogging just to p them off! How dangerous is that? Just because someone else is driving irresponsibly, doesn't mean we have to do the same by stopping them! God knows who is in that car, and what they are capable of...we have all learned from a very young age that 2 wrongs do not make a right!

Depends where you are driving, and how full the second lane is. Sometimes it's more like a slalom run than a drive, with weaving in and out of the lorries and caravans and watching the prats hurling themselves onto the motorway at 70mph convinced that somehow there will be a space opening up for them.
For some sections, it's just safer to stay in the middle lane.
What about everyone sticking to the speed limit?

I get the situation Mango is talking about, I drive on the motorway everyday and see this kind of thing often, it becomes especially dangerous when the people doing it don't realise that they're a mile of a junction where the motorway splits back down to 2 lanes from 3 and they're now in a lane that will take them past their turnoff and for the last mile of my m/way journey there will be cars swinging in suddenly to catch the turning.

Interesting you started the thread on a Saturday, I find there is a marked difference in the 'quality' of driving on the motorways Mon-Fri versus the weekend. During the week the majority of people on the motorways are those who use them daily to/from work, come the weekend (and especially bank holidays) you get people who drive on them maybe 3 times a year and I find I'm much more concerned about other drivers putting me at risk than during the week.

For those saying motorway driving should be a mandatory part of the driving test, it's just not practical - do you know how much of the UK isn't covered by motorways?.

People should generally be more aware of how to drive and what they personally can do to contribute to road safety. Following a minor accident last year (not my fault) and a colleague being killed on a busy road, I'm about to go out for a couple of hours with a driving instructor next month just to 'refresh' my driving skills - partly because I'm aware I'm about to start losing confidence (my own view is nervous drivers are some of the most potentially lethal people on the roads) and because even though I've been driving for 20 years and had no tickets or my fault accidents in that time I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm a brilliant driver.

Bloodymofo I really think some people don't use their mirrors so he probably was clueless as to what everyone had to do to get past him. It's lazy incompetent driving.

Bluddy sorry for my typo in your username.

Can I also say that I love motorway driving?
Because round here, it's the speedfreaks on the A and B roads that cause more accidents than anything else. Because when a fool is hurtling past you or towards you at 80, there is often nowhere for you to go other than a ditch or a head-on crash.
Yes, we also have a lot of tractors and horseboxes and caravans, but at least on a motorway the fast and furious can hurtle past in the fast lane snarling rather than overtaking on a single carriageway. And meeting you in the opposite lane.

Seems like 99% are with you on this Mango (me included) so for the odd few who have disagreed, maybe you ought to rectify your driving and perhaps retake your tests.
If you did this lane hogging on your tests you'd fail with flying colours!

But if all those in agreement are on here, where are all the deviants?
Oh yeah they're out pissing sensible drivers off by sitting in the middle lane!

agree Acekicker, my BIL is a driving instructor and he completely agrees that it's nervous drivers who in general make the most dangerous mistakes, like not looking or reacting inappropriately to a situation.

downbytheriverside agree, motorway is much safer than those country lanes with nutters going 80. That really can be intimidatig when someone is flashing you, driving up your arse, you can't see what's round the bend and you can't pull over to let them past, very stressful and they will probably kill themselves and someone else one day, sadly.

So is that settles? No second lane hoggers and no one over the legal speed limit?

The thing is, the lane rules are very much in place for reasons of safety whilst motorway speed limits are purely arbitrary; No one can possibly believe that 70mph = safe, 72 mph = dangerous.

I don't have any points and I don't speed much but I don't see why so many posters are comparing people ignoring the lane discipline rules with those doing 80mph rather than 70mph. It's like they're saying, 'well I'm not coming out of the middle lane until everyone else does less than 70mph', in some sort of an immature strop.

It doesn't suddenly go from being safe to being unsafe when you exceed 70mph. Doing 90mph on a deserted motorway at 5am on a summer's Sunday morning is inherently safer than doing 70mph in the rush hour on a winter's evening but the former could see you prosecuted.

Oops - apologies, just realised the map I linked to is English motorways only not UK ones, sorry to the Scottish, Welsh, NIreland MNetters [hblush]

Mango glad a driving instructor thinks the same, I got in the car the other week and began mentally replanning my route to avoid the road where the colleague was killed and I realised that was a sign I was on the brink of losing my driving nerves a bit, hence the refresher lesson in a couple of weeks.

Country lanes are definitely lethal too - that was where I got 'clipped' last year (losing a wingmirror), the road is just wide enough for eg two transit vans to pass at say 30mph, I saw a big saloon car bearing down on me in the distance - he was edging out trying to overtake the car in front (not enough clear space to do so) and then edging back in and so on... he didn't edge back in quite far enough and clipped me (even though I'd tried to anticipate and had the muddy hedgerow scratches all down the left hand side of my car to prove it).

Interestingly I'm still happiest on the motorways, it's the lanes and the 'A' road stretch which goes on for about 10 miles with very few overtaking spots which is psyching me out a bit (where the colleague was killed). It's safe enough to do 60 on with good visbility/road conditions, however you can't overtake a lorry doing 50 safely but the prick sat on your bumper flashing their lights always wants you to have a go...[hangry]

Shelly, I don't think people should pick and choose what laws they think they cam break and which ones should be enforced.

DownbytheRiverside I agree!

I'm pointing out that some who have taken it upon themselves to police the speed of motorway traffic by driving in the middle lane are often causing more danger than the speeders.

Acekicker, that's the thing, a nervous driver might feel under pressure to try... In those situations you really have to hold your nerve and ignore them, I tend to pull over and let them overtake me when it's safe to do so.

Agree with Shelley, it's down to commonsense and some 'drivers' just think that they have a role in traffic enforcement, so arrogant.

Of course the speed limits are arbitary - they can be changed at any time during active traffic management or legislation or weather conditions. Lane rules are sacrosanct and only the stupid defy them.

I think motorways are much safer than country roads and 'A' roads. The number of cars I see who decide to overtake a slow-moving vehicle when they can't see what's around a bend is quite frightening. Motorways have much higher visibility and are designed to be safe.

Speed limits can change, but they never exceed 70mph legally.

I agree Shelley

I don't speed any more but comparing the two is daft!

Not read whole lot

If you lived in the 1950s driving on the motorway strictly according to the rules would be sensible and possible. As bibbity pointed out upthread.

Try driving on the M25 in heavy traffic like that and you will create more problems than you solve.

Incidentally did people know that different motorways have different "personalities" with people driving on the in very different ways? Speed, lane usage, stopping distance and things all vary on average depending what road you are on. Interesting, eh

'Incidentally did people know that different motorways have different "personalities" with people driving on the in very different ways? Speed, lane usage, stopping distance and things all vary on average depending what road you are on.'

Oh God yes!
I hate the M62 with a vengeance. Narrow lanes, psychotic drivers with aggression levels beyond belief and many decrepit cars with broken lights and poor brakes.