Is everyone allergic to the inside lane??

[mapleleaf23]

Honestly I’m noticing it so much more and it actually infuriates me. Whenever I’m driving on A roads or motorways with 3 lanes, everyone just cruises in the middle lane even though they’re going super slow.
No one uses the inside lanes properly or use the overtaking lanes to actually overtake. Even 2 lane roads, the amount of people I have to undertake because they’re going 10mph below the limit and still in the right lane…

It actually infuriates me. Do they not teach this on tests anymore??

The folk singer Harvey Andrews wrote a song about it.

🤦‍♀️

You can often make excellent progress in lane 1 if you travel during the hours of darkness, as the middle lanes will all be Prius drivers doing 54mph, however I can see why when it’s busy with morons during the day that otherwise good drivers kind of get stuck in ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ and then it becomes an infinite loop. I set cruise at 70 the other day on the M25 and sat in lane 1, undertaking a constant stream of cars, but none of them had left a gap big enough to safely pull out in without causing the one behind to brake, so when I reached a lorry and had to back it off, half the cars in the middle lane sailed on by and I then had to pull out eventually, but accelerating 56 back up to 70. This was as an experiment, but it didn’t gain me anywhere vs joining the middle lane morons at 64 because of not being able to pull safely back out, and I was in a reasonably powerful car. I absolutely could have pulled a dick move pull out that some drivers do and spanked it in my big car straight across to lane 3 but that wasn’t what I was trying to do, if you were in a little 1.2 fiesta you’d be stuck behind the lorry and actively making less progress than sitting in the middle lane. People will take the easiest and most efficient route.

The roads are too busy and the morons too frequent to make it easy for people to do the right thing sometimes, and round and round it goes.

It’s a massive bugbear of mine as well OP so I feel you!

Middle lane hogging is really irritating, glad they made it an offense. But:

the amount of people I have to undertake because they’re going 10mph below the limit and still in the right lane…

Undertaking is still illegal even if someone is middle lane hogging.

I do find the M25 is a special exception. The left lane filters off constantly, you have to leave it or you’re off at the junction. The next lane is a wall of lorries, lorries not observing any stopping distance. Like parallel parking at 60 to get between them. Everyone else in lane 3, except BMW drivers in the 4th.
Its just not even designed for lane discipline. Particularly fun when your exit filters to the right.

It isn't illegal.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/undertaking/

The Highway Code advises drivers not to undertake – although it is not a punishable offence in itself.
It states: “Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake.”
The Code though, advises that it’s OK for a car to undertake in slow-moving traffic, if its lane is moving faster than a lane on the right.
In these circumstances it’s deemed safer to undertake than to weave in and out of the traffic.

How do you figure you should never brake on a motorway ?! What do you do when you're driving in the inside lane and come up behind a lorry and the next lane is full of middle lane hoggers so you can't pull out ? Plough into the back of it ?

You can pass them if your Lane is moving faster. But if you are behind them then yes you would need to go to the outside lane.

If you’re driving alertly you’ll have your eyes on the road ahead, not staring transfixed at the vehicle in front of you. OF COURSE sometimes other people’s shit driving makes you need to brake, but have you never been behind a twat who keeps braking unnecessarily when all they have to do is increase the distance between them and whatever’s in front of them? I drive as though I have no brakes, maybe you should too.

Wouldn't work in the U.K.- too many selfish dickheads I'm afraid.

We were discussing this last month at work and a lot of people said they drive in the middle lane out of fear. Fear of hitting a stationery vehicle on the inside lane of a smart motorway and fear of being hit by a maniac in the outside lane of any road. They see the middle lane as the safest option.

Ok, I'll take the bait. In your opinion, what is safer - two lorries side by side taking up two lanes on the hill or two lorries, one behind the other, except the back one is perhaps only travelling at 40 and trying to gain speed?

Lorries aren't deliberately trying to infuriate you! (Generally) they are trying to drive safely and consistently. A laden lorry that weighs 60t cannot just accelerate up a hill. If said lorry approached the hill and noticed that the lorry in front is going slower they will overtake to keep their momentum and keep everything flowing.

A laden lorry can't just slam it's brakes on, although a hell of a lot of car drivers seem to think they can. The stopping distance is significantly longer than a car. Equally it takes significantly longer to get going. Not only this but a driver with a secure yet still "if things go wrong this is a massive problem" load is always going to avoid having to stamp on their brakes! You'll often see forktrucks on the back of flat bed lorries, these forktrucks often weigh 10ton plus. If you had that behind you you would also drive carefully and at consistent speed. No matter how well it is secure, how well it is strapped down if you slam the brakes that can be dangerous if not deadly

This isn't just directed to you OP but in general the dangerous ignorance people have in relation to safe driving around a lorry astounds me; driving in their blind spots, cutting into their braking gaps, generally cutting them up. People have absolutely no idea how do dangerous it is!

Rant over

@Wine4whine I'm honestly not trying to argue here ( I do know all about lorry weights etc, I had it drummed in to me ) what I don't understand is the struggle ( and miles) it takes to overtake, when they could just stay behind ( and I assume get dragged up). They cut in and then are just in front of the one they've overtaken. Why do that?

(Really not being goady... promise)

If course they are parallel they are over taking but it takes longer.

How do you increase the distance between yourself and the vehicle in front without slowing down ?

I was taught never to slow down without braking on any road, because your brake lights going on is how you alert the driver behind you to the fact you are slowing.

Worse when you're behind a van that suddenly swerves and you are faced with a stationary vehicle they are death traps.

My car is automatic so I need to use my brakes to slow down. I was also confused by the idea that you should never use brakes on the motorway

It doesn't take miles but to break and stay behind a slower lorry adds hours onto their journey and wastes fuel getting back up to speed....just use the fast lane.

Er… take your foot off the gas when things are slowing down in front of you?

I drive at around 60mph on motorways because it’s the most economical speed for my car, and rarely have to overtake anything because of it. When I do have to overtake I wait until there’s a gap, then accelerate to go by, before returning to the inside lane. I’m very happy following a big lorry or coach, they’re excellent drivers, never brake unnecessarily, and block a lot of the wind resistance, making my drive practically cost-free.

Sorry, above post is for @PollyannaWhittier .

As I said, my driving instructor (5 years ago, so not out of date) taught me you should never do that because if you don't put your foot on the brake, your brake lights don't go on, so you're not letting the car behind you know that you are slowing down. It's akin to not using your indicators before you turn or change lanes.

I live in an EU country where it is illegal to hog the middle or fast lane - you’re allowed to go into those lanes only if you are overtaking.
I have to completely agree with you OP. Whenever we come back to the UK it drives me CRAZY seeing these people just sitting in the middle, and even fast lane (!) with nobody else on the inside lane(s).
Think I spend most of my time driving on UK motorways cursing tbh!
Personally I think the UK should adopt the same rule we have here because it works brilliantly. Yes we get the odd idiot sitting in the middle lane, but mostly it’s great. I just don’t understand what these lane-hoggers think they’re doing, or what they’re trying to achieve? Unless it’s purely to p*ss off other motorists 🤷🏻‍♀️

When towing anything, the advice is to “drive as if you have no brakes” and it means driving at a speed and in a gear commensurate with the road, weather and traffic conditions. Braking affects fuel consumption too, with all the having to accelerate out of it. As long as you keep a safe distance from the car in front, it is unnecessary to brake every time they do.

Not braking is a hobby of mine, I used to drive 30,000 miles a year to/from/for work, and often got all the way home having only had to brake a couple of times despite the miles and miles of bendy, hilly, single-track lanes. It amusingly passed the 15-20 hours a week I spent in the car.

I'm always on the M25 and I don't get the argument of people staying in middle lanes because of left lane filtering off. Its not every junction and there's plenty of miles between them to move over within reasonable time. It's just pure laziness.