To wonder why people don't understand how motorways work?!

[ComftyCushion]

I travel on the motorway every day. The number of people who don't know how to drive on motorways astounds me.

My main gripes are;

1. Lane hoggers. People in middle or outside lane driving at the same speed as the cars in the left lane. If you're not actively overtaking, or if there is space in the lane to your left... move the fuck over. On a 4 lane motorway there have been several times in the past week where I've had to move over 3 lanes and back to overtake some pillock bimbling along in the middle lane.

1. Slamming on brakes at average speed cameras. It's damn right dangerous. You won't get a ticket for going through the camera if you're going over 70. The cameras are paired up randomly, the speeding ticket is done based on how long it takes you to travel between the two cameras. They may not even be consecutive cameras that are paired. Suddenly slamming on brakes on a fast motorway is ridiculous and dangerous.

That's my rant. Is it unreasonable to expect people to understand motorways before they drive on them?!

People who seem to think the rules don't apply to them and speed through roadworks when there are average speed cameras.

My pet hate is people who drive on the road shoulder in a traffic jam to beat the queues.

People who get into the outside lane at the beginning of their journey and don't leave it until the end of their journey XH used to do this all the time and it drove me nuts.

There's a certain section of the M25 that goes uphill and round a slight bend and on numerous occasions there have been four lorries driving abreast and slooooooowwwwlllly up that damn hill, casuing tailbacks.

And finally, people (like my mother, who thankfully doesn't drive any more)who won't pull out into a clear middle lane to allow people to join from the slip roads.

@MockneyReject undertaking is not allowed and could be the offence dangerous driving... but you are right that if you can undertake the car in front then that car is in the wrong lane. In theory they should move over. But most are dickheads and don't.

Inthemuckheap if they are reading the thread, they won't understand any of the frustrating issues being discussed! I think the majority aren't aware of their bad driving as they don't know how to drive correctly on the motorway in the first place, rather than they know perfectly well and are fully capable of driving perfectly well but are just arses.

The majority IMO are completely ignorant of the problems they cause.

If I see someone coming down the slip road to join, I move over then move back
Only works if the right lane is empty. If it’s full of traffic you can’t move over so you have to slow down. If I’m doing 70 in the right lane then technically nobody will be able to overtake me legally anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

@Shodan drivers already on the motorway are under no obligation to change lanes to allow drivers on a slip road to join.

It is courteous, but the responsibility of joining the motorway safely is on the drivers using the slip road. It is not the responsibility of the drivers on the motorway to give way to them, even if the middle lane is clear.

If you're joining a motorway, never assume a driver in the inside lane will give way to you. They have a better view of the middle lane and may have seen something you have not.

ponoka ime it isn’t new drivers that are the problem. I suppose it’s possible that there are hordes of people that came late to driving and don’t have p plates, but I find that unlikely.

I can think of a handful of occasions I’ve witnessed wanky mway driving from young, inexperienced drivers. But they are eclipsed by the wanky driving of people old enough that it’s reasonable to assume the majority have been driving a long time.

Everyone on this, and similar, threads agrees about wanker drivers so who are these wanker drivers? Nobody ever admits to being one

That’s because most posters on this thread are women. And most wanker drivers are men.

Not that I’m generalising

trainspotting on the whole, I agree with you. Tests are so much more stringent now than they were 20 odd years ago and definitely more stringent than 50 years ago.

olga I’m not sure tbh. If you take the retirement age generation, it’s more common that the man will be driving with his wife as passenger, so it stands to reason the older shit drivers are more likely to be male.

Middle and younger generation I’d say it’s more evenly split.

Lorries overtaking going up a hill so they take ten mins to overtake...

It's people who don't understand motorways that make me terrified to drive on them. M25 is a pet hate. Much prefer the paragraph in France. Indicator on and jeep going!

Ffs.

Paeage

Keep going

If I’m doing 70 in the right lane then technically nobody will be able to overtake me legally anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

The ‘right lane’ is the one furthest to the left, unless you are overtaking.

@Lockheart Your answer is A.

Undertaking is not illegal contrary to popular belief. Highway code says:
Rule 268 of the Highway Code states – do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.

So, as long as you’re not weaving in and out (can count as dangerous driving) and exercise caution, you can undertake.
Link: www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q891.htm

My top picks are:

1. Not using the slip road correctly
2. Middle lane hoggers
3. “Weavers” in congestion, they make it worse!

Agree with most of the above.
One thing I will say though, I much prefer driving on motorways compared to normal roads. I find it so much easier.

Thank god @PlayingInTheShadows because that's what I would do I figured it was safer than changing lanes and adding to the hazard or slowing down and causing a hazard all by myself.

Me too @Treesandgreenstuff - I love motorway driving, but city driving fills me with dread. Funnily enough I was chatting to a black cab driver who said he hates motorways but loves city driving, so I suppose it really is just what you're used to.

Because they're not included in driving lessons!

I have noticed recently that a lot of youngish females driving on the Motorway in low powered cars who think this is Formula 1. They jump many lanes in one go. One aimed to join my lane without considering that there was a whole line of traffic. She soon gave that up as an idea when she saw the line of lorries behind me. I assume that they are dashing through the day to get to work or pick up the DC or something but some antics are dangerous. They put their make up one when the motorway slows or stops and they blatantly drive with their phones at their ears. They ought to get hands free at the very least.
I am probably considered an older driver now but I never use my phone while driving, I would never try to put my make up on in the car and I don't barge from one lane to another trying to gain a few feet.

Oh and people who you go to move past who then speed up. Wankers

These are the same people that see you crossing a busy suburban main road with no nearby crossings after waiting 3 minutes for a decent gap in the traffic and then accelerate and honk their horns. Wankers.

Lorries or vans in lane 3! Wtf? Get back into lane 1 you snails, trying to overtake doing 1 mph faster than the vehicle in front.

Tailgaters - Fuck right off, sit on my bumper when I am overtaking and I will become your cruise control and ensure that the next few hundred metres are ones where you cannot be done for speeding and flashing your lights makes me give even less fucks, flash and rev away to your hearts content, it doesn't magically imbue my car with your cars engine. Be patient, stay back and I will move over very quickly and you can get on with being the king of lane 3 because obviously your meeting in Milton Keynes is far more important than my safety. Oh and the speed limit is 70 mph, I didn't make the law and your car does not have a stopping distance of 1 metre at 70 mph simply because you think it should, you have to also factor in your reaction time, which given your behaviour is probably weeks

the zip merging rule is relatively new and I have been driving 35 years and only discovered it quite recently. I have been enjoying putting it into practice but it does bring out the road rage and people actively pull out to block both lanes. Madness.