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?!

& is look signal, manoeuvre - not lurch out without looking & signal if you remember to afterwards (I don't drive dh does but I have witnessed this to many times. They lurch so closely in front that my dh only narrowly avoids them- but you usually notice them making the sideway twitch in preparation but you have to be really observant. & the m25 is murder especially leading up to the Thames Crossing in the east.

the zip merging rule is relatively new and I have been driving 35 years and only discovered it quite recently

Is it?

It does annoy people - but I think it's great - unless you are one of those idiots who race to the end at high speed and force your way in.

If I'm driving at 70 miles an hour in the outside lane of a 2-lane motorway and going faster than all the traffic in the extremely busy left lane, that's because I am overtaking them.

No, I am not lane-hogging and no, I am not going to pull over and have to slow down to 55 and pull into a tight gap between two juggernauts just so you can get past me, and no, I am not going to speed up and break the law like you are. So you can fuck right off with your flashing lights and edging up to three feet from my back bumper. You are an arsehole (and a dangerous one at that).

I did pass plus which was invaluable.

I was told when overtaking, to pull back in when I can see the overtaken vehicle appearing in my rear view mirror. That means you've given it sufficient stopping distance.

The number of times I'm about to final check and indicate to pull in and there's someone in their BMW/ Audi/ Merc slicing in to the gap on the left and undertaking, but it's inevitably the type of driver who doesn't need stopping distances and relies on an invisible forcefield and telepathy (to make up for the lack of indicators) for their safety. It is very rarely I encounter other makes doing it which makes me think that I'm not wrong for having listened to my instructor, and the issue is their impatience.

Weavers drive me round the bend. Especially the type that think the stopping distance at 85mph is 20cm. They make the Harry Potter Knight Bus seem like tame driving.

The nearest motorway to me is 4 lanes. We therefore get the delight of the Lane 3 Hogger. So you're driving along happily at 70mph in an empty lane 1, and technically you should move across the empty lane 2, nearly empty lane 3 and into the empty lane 4 to overtake before moving all the way back to lane 1.

I'm sure a lot of people have a phobia of lane 1!

I hope that introducing motorway lessons before the test will cause a long term improvement in motorway driving... although the numbers of people on "smart motorways" that have never read the highway code or applied logic to understand that X is a closed lane is a slightly terrifying concept...

There seem to be constant roadworks and/or accidents in my neck of the woods recently, and I've been so shocked at how many people seem to have a complete lack of understanding about merging in turn/using the space correctly. So many tailbacks!

@MockneyReject and @PinkLacy
Actually, if the left hand lane is moving faster than the lane(s) to the right, you can continue in this lane and pass traffic on the left, as long as you are not speeding.

Merge in turn is great in principle but there seem to be an awful lot of drivers who just don't want to let anyone from behind them get in front of them.

I think a lot of the problems on our roads come down to selfishness.

I hardly ever need to do motorways but when I do, In my old banger, I pretty much stay in the left lane..I let the reps in their Audis whiz past me and I find the zigzagging, not indicating and tailgating I see in the outside lanes terrifying. I don't know how there aren't more accidents. Probably I'm deeply annoying someone though!

Lorries should be banned from overtaking

Moanaschicken - I was reading this thread and wondered about that, thank you for sharing.

Reason being this happened the other day. Driving on a 4 lane stretch of motorway, fairly heavy traffic but all lanes moving. I'm in Lane 1 a lorry was in Lane 2, the Lane 2 traffic was travelling slower than Lane 1. The lorry driver without looking started indicating just after he started moving into Lane 1 and forced me onto the hard shoulder - he literally drove me off the road. I wasn't even in his blind spot he just wasn't looking. His gestures led me to believe that I was in the wrong for undertaking him, yet I always thought I recalled being taught thst you can keep moving with the traffic in your lane (as long as you are within the speed limit of course). Therefore it is reassuring to know I wasn't undertaking. I am however extremely wary of passing lorries now after that close call!

People who indicate to move out without looking in their mirrors first, when I am just about to overtake them. I am not a mind reader and I don't know whether I will need to slam my brakes on because they are going to pull out without looking.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre is imprinted on my memory from when I took my driving test 38 years ago.

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

I never said that they were. But as you kindly pointed out, it is courteous. Courtesy on the roads goes a long way to making driving a smoother experience for everyone, don't you think?

Lorries should be banned from overtaking

I agree

Disagree on the lorries. Although it mildly irks me when two are causing a bottle neck, at least you know it’s speed, rather than competency that is the problem. Unlike when a huge artic has to overtake some idiot trundling along in a car.

Which brings me to another objection I forgot last night. People towing on the basis they have grandfather rights. But no fucking clue about either towing capacity or how to actually do it. ‘Ah, my car uses lots of fuel which is all I need to know, so of course I can drag this huge caravan behind me. My licence says I’m allowed so of course I know what I’m doing’

No prizes for guessing I got delayed on an otherwise flowing mway today because a shit for brains wanker had effectively blocked the first lane with his swinging caravan and unsuitable car. So all the usual slow lane traffic was overtaking in the second and third lane dodging Mr caravans inability to stay within the lines, and everyone else in the fourth lane.

Grandfather rights should either be abolished or given to everyone.

I did motorway lessons and it really helped eg learning the etiquette and what to watch out for. I drive on motorways/fast dual carriageways with no hard shoulder frequently and mainly at night and you would not believe some of the things that go on eg People reversing up the slip road. A lorry stopped dead in lane one just like that. Blatant drink drivers. I’ve had to phone 999 quite a bit!

I scan the road a lot and play games with myself as in trying to guess people’s moves - it’s quite fun

Sorry, what are grandfather rights?

Lane weavers, constantly moving from one lane to another in congested traffic, in the vain hope they can go a tiny bit faster.
Very late manouvres, slicing/forcing your way across 3 lanes to come off a slip road.
People who start blasting horns in very congested, standing traffic. Its frustrating, but repeatedly sounding your horn isn't going to make it go away.
People who speed down the outside lane at 85/90 and tailgate/flash anyone in their way, as if the road belongs solely to them.
I also think a lot of people think indicating means they have right of way.

People who get pissed off at you for stopping at the top of the slip road waiting for an opening. My local motorway is only two lanes and you really can’t bomb it down the slip road and hope for the best.

People who drive to close behind you.

People who fill their car with some much crap they can’t see where they’re going and cut people up.

Lorry drivers who are going maybe 3mph more max than the lorry in front deciding to over take. Especially on the afore mentioned motorway.

People who take cars that are too slow for a motorway on the motorway.

People who don’t read the road ahead and end up slamming on the breaks when the traffic slows.

People who come onto the motorway going to slowly when there is a huge gap behind you.

People who drive with fog lights one when it isn’t foggy (if you are that blind you shouldn’t be driving).

People with illegal bulbs.

@zxcvhjkl I saw a lorry doing that moving into the right lane last week. Near miss.

Oh yes slip roads - you are joining a 70mph road - do not do at 30mph - ditto leaving the bloody thing

and my car does not fly - it matters NOT what the speed limit is - if the car(s) in front of my are going slower I can't fly over them and neither can you - so stop driving up my arse

@BizzzzyBee that’s really dangerous though. There will always be a dickhead trying to speed on the outside lane. You need to be in the leftmost lane you can safely be in.

mrsf you’d need to google for the specific categories. But in brief pre 1997 passing your basic driving test gave you a broader range of vehicles you were allowed to drive. Not hgvs, and iirc there were/ or now are rules about a license/ certificate for driving passengers in anything like a coach.

The only specifics I remember are that I was allowed to tow horses in a trailer and drive a normal horse box, and only needed my hgv licence to drive anything I’d want to, but my best friend with a slightly later birthday had to pay for and pass separate tests.

Annoys me because dd (15) and dsd (18) can both drive them perfectly well on private land but will need to pay for licences to do so in public. But other older drivers are legally allowed to when they are incompetent.

I thought that MN was very pro the rights of people carrying out important business to get to where they are going as fast as possible?
Does that not include lorry drivers who are actually working,and over the course of a long journey may need to overtake another lorry slowly,because they need to do their job as fast as possible?

What annoys me is if I'm in the left lane of slip road (doing reasonable speed) and the car in the right lane of slip road joins the motorway before me, then speeds up so they're right next to me at the point where I need to join.

The utter tosspots (almost always men), who seem to be allergic to any other lane than the "fast" one and veer recklessly across all lanes of traffic, regardless of safety, immediately upon entering on the slip road.