to wonder why other drivers think they can bully you?!

[guiltynetter]

i need a rant!

Driving home down a major motorway a few weeks ago, there are temporary speed cameras and a 50mph speed limit all the way down it. it’s been like this for quite a long time, so it’s not a new thing. A car behind me was driving right up to my bumper and intermittently flashing me, presumably telling me to speed up (even though i was driving at probably just over 50) i ignored but felt really angry and just thought...what a dick head.

Driving down the same motorway tonight (my friend driving this time) exact same situation! a lorry this time, driving along flashing us, when we ignored him he eventually undertook in the slow lane.

I just don’t understand, how you can have the nerve to flash another driver when they’re going the speed limit, and also, to be arrogant enough to think that the other driver is going to think ‘oh no, somebody is flashing me, i better speed up!’

Am i missing something here? Do you not need to stick to the speed limits on motorways with temporary speed limits?!

Normally at the 50 mph speed limit zones there are big signs telling you to stay in lane. So a bit different to normal motorway driving when you should keep left

It doesn't matter if you're at the speed limit, it doesn't matter if they're speeding. You're in the wrong lane.

No accidents are not caused by middle lane hoggers, they are caused by people who get frustrated with middle lane hoggers who then do stupid things like tailgate and undertake.

Because if I am cruising at 51mph in the inside lane, where I should be, I'll come to you dawdling in the middle lane, and have to drop back when you don't move over, go into the outside lane, then all the way back across into the inside lane where I should be.

It's obviously wrong to tailgate, but why don't you just make sure you are following the rules of the road, by driving in the correct lane at the right speed, and let other drivers who are (wrongly) speeding overtake you safely in a way that doesn't affect you at all?

But it’s not up to you to police other people! If they want to go 55 then that’s up to them. Unless you are overtaking, you should be in the furthest lane to the left! It’s not rocket science! What are instructors teaching people these days!

M1? We always encounter dickheads on that road

The inside lane is the driving lane all others are overtaking lanes only. Sadly no one seems to take any notice of this at all. Technically if your not overtaking and movin* back in to lane 1 your lane hogging which is an offence. Drives me bloody nuts on motorways when I’m in lane one driving at 70mph and end up undertaking middle lane hogs who think your somehow an asshole when using lanes correctly. As for not moving over if someone’s behind you....that’s as silly and dangerous as tailgating

applesauce because the speed limit is 50? so why shouldn’t everybody be doing 50? i really can’t get my head round this!

But if the speed limit is normally 70, then the same would apply by your logic! People break speeds limits no matter what they are - it's not your place to enforce a 50mph speed limit any more than it is to enforce a 70mph one. Why does the limit being lower make it so confusing?

IMHO 50 mph limts are fucking dangerous.

All trucks are limited to 90KPH - or roughly 56 Mph due to EU law. MOst of them like to crank it up to the limiter (usually on cruise) and sit there, and woe betide anyone who gets in their way. In the 50 mph zones, they are still travelling below the speed at which they will get a fine, so they belt on through.

Meanwhile everyone else is trying to do 50.

If you car has cruise control, try this experiment - set the cruise for 50 on your speedo - you will likely find -

a) All trucks are going consistently faster (if they can)
b) lots of the cars and vans around you are speeding up and slowing down as they try to keep at 50

You should move left if it safe to do. It is not your duty to enforce the speed limit.

Would you drive in the right hand lane at 70 even if there was room to move left?

I agree with you OP, and angrysaurus too. Usually you have to keep in lane, and everyone should be travelling at the same speed, according to their speedo.
I’m not going to speed up just because some twat has an inaccurate speedometer

YABU. As PP have said, if the lane to the left of you and your friend was clear, you should have been driving in it.

In my head, a 4 lane motorway stretch goes like this.

1. Lorries and pensioners
2. People who can achieve the speed limit but unaccountably choose not to
3. ThOse like me who are comfortable with 70-77
4. Wankers

I have to say I've slowed down massively since being pulled over by an unmarked car doing 103 on the m1. Being read my rights under law was a bit of a watershed moment.

when we ignored him he eventually undertook in the slow lane

Yep, another vote for: they were flashing to ask you to move over because you were in the wrong lane.

On very rare occasions I've had arseholes do this when I was overtaking and there was not space to move in- I honestly don't know what they expected; but if you get this a lot, then the problem seems to be yours.

but if the speed limit is 50, then every lane should be doing 50?

Not your job to police this, and certainly not by blocking a lane.

i’m not a lane hogger What you describe doing is the literal meaning of this term.

Normally at the 50 mph speed limit zones there are big signs telling you to stay in lane.

I've only seen this where separate sections are coned off as part of the roadworks and going to divide. It would be odd for a 4 lane section to have stretch with no overtaking at all unless there was a good reason.

Temporary reduction in speed limits are not enforceable and therefore people speed.

Yes they should stick to 50, but you shouldn't be sitting in a lane when the near side lane is available for people to undertake you

There are usually reminders on the overhead signs saying keep left unless over taking because so many people cause obstruction and slow the motorways doing exactly that

toothy but what about when it says keeep in lane?

I agree that the driver who came up on your tail and was flashing you was a driving dangerously and was a bit of an arse.

I'm less sure about the lorry one. Things are somewhat different in roadwork situations because you often aren't supposed to change lanes. And when a motorway is going to split, at some point you need to be in the right lane for when it does. So if you were either not supposed to change lane OR you had already been directed to change into the correct lane for the motorway split, then there was no problem with you staying where you were. But I can't see you being instructed not to change lane if the motorway was going to split, and if you had already been directed into the correct lane for the split, then he wasn't really undertaking you (though if he then pulled in to your lane again ahead of you that's a bit different).

As other posters have said, you don't know if your speedometer is accurate, that's one of the reasons for still keeping to lane discipline even when you're driving at the speed limit. From what you post, even if you weren't lane hoggin in these two incidents, it certainly sounds like you are unable to recognise when you are lane hogging.

Like this..

Yeah, YABU. Move over like you’re supposed to. Middle lane drivers in roadworks are a PITA.

Temporary reduction in speed limits are not enforceable and therefore people speed.

Depends - the "advisory" max speeds on some matrix sign aren't - but anything in a red circle (big roadworks with average speed cameras, smart motorways with variable limits) are.

People appear to speed even in these because lots of people know they can get away even in average speed zones with at least and indicated 55 mph as almost all car speedos are optimistic.

applesauce1 but if op is doing just above 50mph like she said then you won't catch up with her, that's how speed works. You are both doing the same speed so you wont catch up with her. If she is doing 1mph slower than you then you really don't catch up that quickly, it will take you a good while and if you do you will just have to slow down by 1 mph.

I don't middle lane hog btw, but I get annoyed on mn when middle lane hogging is seem as the ultimate crime when there are much more dangerous ways of driving. Btw the most important parts of the highway code (mn drivers favourite ever book) when it comes to roadworks are you must not exceed the speed limit and you must keep a safe distance, it also says get in lane prior to roadworks and avoid changing lanes to jump queues as this can cause accidents.

What HanutaQueen says.

Sometimes the left hand lane you need is actually the third lane on the motorway if you are going straight on and not peeling off at a junction.

I frequently undertake on these as drivers in the third lane going on could be going less than the speed limit. I consider them separate parts of the same road if that makes sense. Not sure if it is allowed there or not I need to go check now.

Please take a course about motorway driving. Drive in left hand lane unless overtaking.
Cameras will police those driving too fast within roadworks. Put yourself on the left.

thedish thank you, that has confirmed my take on this

Also if it's not up to op to police people's speed it's also not up to the lorry to police ops middle lane hogging, although it sounds like she wasn't as the left lane was going off?