Please tell me this pisses you off too?

[WaitrosePigeon]

I do a lot of motorway driving.
Can someone please enlighten me as to why people don't indicate when changing lanes? People just drift in and out of the lanes, cut in front of me etc.

I guess it's laziness but how is it hard to indicate? Surely it's just an ingrained thing you do without really thinking about it?

It's really starting to piss me off.

Tailgating, especially when I have the kids in the back enrages me. And twats who see a massive queue but drive right to the end and then push their way in make me unreasonably angry as well. Just generally rude drivers who don't indicate, pull out at stupid times and put my kids at risk with their stupidity all piss me right off.

I'm I the only one who thinks of it as the slow lane, the middle lane and the fast lane?
Which one is the inside lane - is that the same thing as the fast lane?

Inside lane is the 'slow' lane; outside lane in the 'fast' one. Middle is the middle.
Imagine that you always hog the pavement/hard shoulder, and work your way out. The first lane you drive on is in the inside, then however many middle lanes, and finally the outside lane for overtaking.

Interestingly, I've never heard them called lanes 1, 2 and 3 before this thread. I could guess work out which was which, but have never heard that before. I wonder if it's a regional thing?

Less than 10 seconds ahead, no. More than 10 seconds, yes. Anything else is lane hogging. I even count it in my head

Yup. It's only 5 rounds of "only a fool breaks the two second rule"

I had an interesting conversation with a senior traffic police officer once over whether - if I am driving in lane 1 at 70 mph on an otherwise clear motorway (late at night or whatever) and round a corner and in lane 2 there is someone pootling along at 55 mph (or whatever), is it strictly speaking "undertaking" if I continue my journey in the (otherwise empty) lane 1, passing them on the inside (this was before the "middle lane hogging" law came in). I am driving perfectly legally and in accordance with the Highway Code. They are not. Should I move to lane 2 and then lane 3 (and then back again to lane 1) to overtake, or should I just continue as I am. He agreed that it was silly to "overtake" in the traditional sense and that I should just continue driving at 70 in lane 1.

My peeves are:

Lack of indication (I was recently in Germany and was astounded to see Audis, BMWs and Mercedeseseseses with indicators)
People driving in the wrong lane and then cutting you up
People thinking that because the speed limit (A road, single lane each way, not single track) goes 50 - 40 - 30 - 40 - 50 (as you approach, pass through, and then leave a village) they can average it out and stick at 40 mph the whole way through.
People who treat me differently when I'm driving the big 4x4, the banger of an estate car or my new (little) city supermini. Far more people cut me up when I'm in the little car than when I'm in the 4x4.

So you honestly change back every single time when you have passed a lorry or a caravan and there are more less than a minute up ahead.

yes I do. it's safer and keeps traffic flowing better.

A touch of middle lane hogging doesn't bother me unless a person really is taking the piss. It's usually caused by something else, like slow drivers, closely spaced junctions where traffic is joining without meeting the speed to match gaps in traffic, etc. I'd rather people did that than weave, especially as so many people have no clue about stopping distances...just because you can get back into lane 1 doesn't mean you should.

And it takes a special kind of dick head to not indicate when driving. Bonus twat points if the reason you don't indicate us because your 'spare' hand is on the phone.

emwithme you're so right! Mercs, BMWs and Audis with indicators are a rarity here! And since we've got our new car people treat us differently than when we were driving an old banger which irritates me. New (ish) car, but still the same people in it!

Ooh x-post and bolding fail.

Ooh x-post and bolding fail.

Euphemia it doesn't matter if you know your lane is changing for yards. Then correct and most efficient in terms of keeping traffic moving way of merging lanes is for everyone to drive to the end of their lanes then merge in turn one by one. That is the correct way to do it. You're not supposed to move over until you reach the end of the lane.

Also, with regard to indication, you don't actually have to indicate if you're moving from a right-hand lane into a left lane as you're simply returning to the normal driving position.

The best middle lane hog I did was up the m6 between Preston and Scotland one Christmas Day evening, no other traffic and the inside lane being more recently tarmacced with that non draining stuff due to more Lorry wear was just a river of water, but the middle and fast lanes were safer to drive in as there was less standing water.

Haha I thought the same, sitting in one lane for 5 minutes! Just because there are other vehicles to manoeuvre round! I'm hoping this was a figure of speech. You should of course be constantly switching lanes responding to traffic as you encounter it, whilst indicating. Other cars should also a just speed and distance to accommodate lane change and sadly many people don't seem to know or do this. I think there should be a compulsory motorway module as part of the driving test.

Also, with regard to indication, you don't actually have to indicate if you're moving from a right-hand lane into a left lane as you're simply returning to the normal driving position.

Erm, yes. Yes you do. The only time you don't need to indicate back in is if you're driving on a single carriageway with one lane for each direction and using the lane for oncoming traffic to overtake.

YANBU OP, not AT ALL.

I'm not a mind-reader, I can't see the little wheels turning in your brain. You need to translate those thoughts to your indicators...

I hate lane hoggers the most. Especially the smug 70mph drivers who think that they shouldn't have to move because nobody should be going faster. Just MOVE! Look at your own highway code conduct and impact on other people.

It also really annoys me when people indicate on motorways BEFORE looking and knowing it's safe to change lanes though - it makes everyone nervous and then they do strange and unexpected things.

This is what I was taught TO do. Surely you indicate to make everyone know your intentions, have a look round to make sure it's safe, then change lanes? Otherwise you're general 'you', not personal 'you' an annoying fucker who thinks everyone can mindread and only starts to indicate once they're already halfway across two lanes. No, that is NOT good driving.

If you're meaning people who have their indicator on for ages before the consider it safe to move, I do kinda agree with you, because if you can see you're not going to be able to move across, there's no point indicating. The exception to that, would be if you get caught behind a lorry, and indicating in the hope a kind soul will let you out and overtake. Because, again, people don't know how to drive properly, and if they see a lorry in the distance everyone moves immediately to the middle lane clogging it up so people who are driving correctly in the inside lane are prevented from moving out.

And twats who see a massive queue but drive right to the end and then push their way in make me unreasonably angry as well.

Drivers SHOULD make full use of the slip road/lane-about-to-close before merging. People merging into a queue at the first opportunity increase the length of the tailback.

Anyone who hogs the middle lane because they're afraid to switch lanes needs to hand their driver's licence in. Same with ones who think it's too much effort to change lanes when a lorry is a minute or five minutes ahead

Becky Then correct and most efficient in terms of keeping traffic moving way of merging lanes is for everyone to drive to the end of their lanes then merge in turn one by one

This. People who think a merge point is actually some random point they have decided in their own heads, x hundred metres back from the ACTUAL merge point. What is wrong with them?

Why do they think we should all crowd into one lane at a completely arbitrary point of their choosing? I'll correctly use the open lane and then merge at the end, like how you are supposed to.

I agree that in real life, slow, medium and fast lanes sometimes exist. This is the case when all lanes are full. The gaps between cars may still be big enough for people to sometimes be able to change lanes when they want to, but it's a fact that anyone changing to a lane on their left, even temporarily, will be slowed down by doing so. If they are not keen on slowing down in order to facilitate the person on their back bumper speeding up, they will stay where they are. If they are travelling at the speed limit or (more likely) the speed of the car in front of them and they are not in the right-most lane, I think they're not being unreasonable.

Not indicating drives me mad, as does assuming that just because you are indicating it gives you the right to pull out into someone else path, who has to brake to avoid hitting you.
If I see someone indicating and trying to overtake, I take a second to check my mirrors and outside lane and pull over to allow them out, if I DON'T do that, it's because there's a car in the way and I can't do anything except slam my brakes on. Indicators are an indication that you would like to make a certain manoeuvre not Carte Blanche to do what you feel like!

I don't understand the whole inside lane, outside lane thing, (yes, I know which is which) surely the centre of the road should be the "inside" nearest the central reservation, by definition of the word "inside"

You can pass on the inside lane, if the traffic in your lane is flowing faster than the outside lane, eg. Traffic jam.

Lanehogging drives me nuts, as do tail gaiters. I really think that driving toto close to the car in front of you, is the most dangerous thing anyone does on a motorway. Or any other road.

as a pedestrian this fucks me right off too. It makes it so so hard to judge when to cross a road safely at a junction near us.

I can be stood waiting to cross and every car will turn left but only one will indicate that.

Pedestrians need to know the intent of drivers just as much as other drivers.

Really BluePancakes you weren't taught 'mirror, signal, maneuver'?

Lane hogging is so bloody dangerous; those people who stay put in the middle lane at the approach roads are the worst; how can lorries and other slow moving vehicles, change lanes to allow the approaching traffic??
Motorway driving should be included in the driving test.

There is only one " driving" lane, the other lanes are called overtaking lanes.

GruffaloMother I'm happy to be corrected re indication. I did an advanced driving course about eight years ago and that is what I was constantly told. I do always indicate on the motorway anywa because it's much safer to do so.

And as for BluePancakes. If you signal before looking then you just slow all the other traffic that's anticipating a manoeuvre from you that might never happen. You are the cause of traffic jams!

just switch lanes. it's not difficult and much safer

Nope - most motorway accidents will happen when changing lanes, If you want to stay safe, stay in lane.

What's folks views on people sticking at 70mph in whatever lane ? Clearly they can't be in anyones way (emergency vehicles excepted) because the speed limit is 70. Or is my logic faulty ?

When the managed motorway sections on the M6/M42 are operational, it becomes moot anyway, as you get a wall of traffic doing the lower limit. Even if you wanted to, you can't get past.

Personally, I'd rather do a steady 50, than 70-40-70-40