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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To overtake on motorway left hand lane?

522 replies

brasty · 31/10/2017 22:49

DP says I am. But I hate when you are on a busy motorway, and someone is sitting in the middle lane, and will not move to the left hand lane, even though it is empty. While at the same time the right hand lane is packed with cars, making it hard to pull out into the right hand lane and still leave decent distances. So I have occasionally just overtaken the middle lane hogger in the left hand lane. I know the Highway Code says you should not, but sometimes it seems the safest option.

OP posts:
RaeCJ82 · 01/11/2017 21:01

Dilly, why are you confused? Overtake on the right, not on the left, unless you are in congestion and it just so happens that the lane you’re in is going faster than the lane on your right.
When you’ve overtaken the cars that you need to, you then move left again.

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:03

That's what I thought until flower states her rant! I've posted a few times in this thread and I am driving the correct way. Flower has just confused the crap out of me.

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:04

So if I'm in a L1 at 65, road hog is in L2 at 55. I don't pass him in my current lane, I overtake him and then move back into the lane I had started in (L1). Exactly what I have been doing so not sure what flower is on about

RaeCJ82 · 01/11/2017 21:05

Ignore Flower - they’re wrong. 😊

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:06

THAnk you! I started questioning myself then. It's scary that someone can speak so eloquently but be so very wrong Confused

HamSandWitches · 01/11/2017 21:06

Yes dilly that's right

RaeCJ82 · 01/11/2017 21:06

Yes that’s what you’d do. Keep left unless you need to overtake and then go back left.

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:08

THank you lovely people. I started posting on this thread feeling confident I knew the answer and ended up totally confused!

RaeCJ82 · 01/11/2017 21:10

Fortunately for me my OH used to be a driving instructor for 9 years. If I need any help with stuff like that he always has the answer.

HamSandWitches · 01/11/2017 21:16

Hopefully the middle lane hogging will get better as it said on the radio a while ago learners will be able to go on the motorway. It is a bit scary someone can pass a test and go on a motorway having never been on one before. I know it took me a few goes before I felt comfortable

FlowerPot1234 · 01/11/2017 21:17

Doublechocolatetiffin
To me that seems fairly clear that you shouldn’t pass cars on the left

Passing a vehicle on the inside is permitted as you are maintaining your speed and since you are going faster than the lane to your right, your lane is thus moving at a faster speed than the lanes to your right.

Nowhere in the HC does it say you cannot pass vehicles on the left or inside/nearside. Nowhere has there ever been a prosecution for this. It is not an offence, nor does it constitute any violation of the HC. Rule 268 which you and others refer to is not a legal stipulation of any potential offence or illegality, it is advisory, it is not the law, it provides advice to be used with the individual's judgment of the circumstances. One reason that it is not law is to avoid prosecutions in ludicrous situations and every possible eventuality and condition of the road cannot be catered for. For example, driving at midnight with not another car on the road except you in Lane 1 driving at 70mph and another driver in Lane 3 driving at 60mph. According to Section 268, if it were the law, it would be an offence (and forbidden) to pass this driver on the inside. If it were the law and required, you would be expected to lower your speed and either stay in your lane behind him, or change lanes twice to sit behind him, hoping he eventually moves over. If he didn't, if this was the law, you'd be expected to curtail your entire journey and sit behind him for possibly hundreds of miles. Clearly, that's mad. So the point is made an advisory in the HC instead to allow for usual cases and your judgement of the circumstances.

The actual offence of undertaking was removed from the statute book in 1972 Road Traffic Act.

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:18

I only passed a few years back and it took a lot of evening practising to feel comfortable with motorway driving. I agree it's brilliant that learners can now go on the motorway.

RaeCJ82 · 01/11/2017 21:19

I think it’s good ham. At least the 1st time they go on a motorway will be with an instructor with dual controls. At the moment they can pass their test and go straight onto a motorway on their own!

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:20

I was helped a bit as I had a very busy A road near me which I had to go on a lot while learning, so motorway driving seemed a bit less daunting.

FlowerPot1234 · 01/11/2017 21:26

RaeCJ82
Oh god Flower you are so wrong!

You can keep saying that yet I am not wrong Rae. I have been trained to drive by the police and am an advanced driver, passing on the inside in the manner I describe is as advised by the police and advanced driving observers, and I drive according to the latest knowledge and recommendations of safe, defensive driving techniques. Simple as that.

ShowOfHands · 01/11/2017 21:30

"Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake."

That's the important bit. It makes the distinction between already being in one lane and moving into that lane. In either situation the HC is clear, do NOT overtake on the left. Calling it "passing on the inside" makes no difference; the HC differentiates between the two and warns against both. You should only do this in congestion or if the other person is turning right. A middle lane hogger is not congestion. Do not undertake OR change lane to undertake. This is the advice.

Of course you may feel yourself above the advice and choose to ignore it but that is a decision you are taking as an individual. That's a long way from it being "fine" to pass on the inside regardless. It might not be illegal either but when you have a choice whether to safely pass on the right or left, the advice is you do it on the right.

FlowerPot1234 · 01/11/2017 21:31

DillyDally15 Sorry, just seen your posts. I am not wrong, however much certain other loud posters wish that to be the case. You are permitted to pass on the inside in the situations you state. I would do so with caution in case the poor-driving middle lane road hog suddenly wakes up and moves over to where they should be, but no, you are not expected to put yourself at risk by executing 4-6 pointless lane changes to get round a driving offender when your own lane is clear and you pass on the inside safely and with due care.

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:32

But the HC says:

'Overtaking on the nearside (left) is legally acceptable if you are driving on a multi-lane carriageway in congested conditions, and the lane to the left is moving at a faster speed than lanes to the right. In these circumstances overtaking on the left is permissible although extra caution is needed for an awareness of other vehicles moving to the faster lane on the left.

It is also permissible to overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right. Overtaking on the left in these circumstances although permissible is subject to road markings and signs that may suggest otherwise.'

I'm aware this has been pasted a million times. Where does it say you can pass a middle lane hogger on the left when the roads aren't congested?

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:34

I'm just curious. To be honest judging by all the confusion on here and on other threads I think it's obvious that the HC needs to be updated in order to make it clearer!

DaddyBrookes · 01/11/2017 21:35

There is no offence of undertaking. If you cause an accident whilst passing on the left then you could be looking at careless or dangerous driving. If you move from lane 3 or 2 to an inside lane to pass a vehicle and then move back to your original lane then a police officer may well choose to pull you over. If you are in lane 1 doing 70 and some utter fuckwit is sitting in lane 2 doing less than 70 then you’re in the correct lane doing the correct speed so not your problem if the twat in Iane 2 doesn’t know how to use a motorway, however you should pass with care and be aware that the twat might lurch back into Iane 1 without indicating. If you have enough room to pass them on the left then they had enough room to have been in the proper lane to start with. Anyone who thinks you are being unreasonable is probably a middle lane twat themselves and they should hand in their licences and be sentenced to a year on the bus as punishment.

ShowOfHands · 01/11/2017 21:39

Where does it say you can pass a middle lane hogger on the left when the roads aren't congested?

It doesn't.

Jamiek80 · 01/11/2017 21:40

Fairly straightforward if you kept a reasonably constant speed no problem the driver you passed is in the wrong and breaking the law.

ilovegin112 · 01/11/2017 21:40

I once knew someone who was nearly killed( spent a couple of months in hospital) undertaking so I would suggest you don’t do it

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 21:41

Show exactly. So I don't understand what Flower is saying.

Migraleve · 01/11/2017 21:42

So I don't understand what Flower is saying.

Basically a load of shit Wink

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