To think this driving manoeuvre was both safe and legal?

[AmazonAmazine]

Arguing with my dad who was the passenger!

3 lane motorway. I was in the left lane, cruising around 70 as no one in front. Came up to a car in the centre lane doing around 50mph. The right lane was running fast, I’d guess over 70.

I assessed the safest thing to do was carry on being very vigilant and slow a little bit and steadily pass the slow car in my lane at around 60. The alternative was get behind it then attempt to accelerate into the fast flowing right lane, accelerating in between higher powered cars from a much lower speed. I’d been forced to slow a bit on approach already, there was no obvious gap in the right lane which everyone as crowding into on approach from the centre lane. The middle car clearly wasn’t shifting, the left lane ahead of me was very clear. The road wasn’t otherwise particularly busy, the right lane was just busy because of this car.

I was very aware, ultimately had a hard shoulder for emergency and I was watching the car well for any sign of switching lane.

iabu- you should have crossed back and forth over two lanes, as it’s always the passing lane
Ianbu- this was the safest way of dealing with the hazard.

Yep he’s right, but I’d have probably done that too. But yes as everyone says you’re meant to overtake on the right side

I genuinely think the people who are talking about how dangerous is it to overtake are trying to justify their nervousness. It's really not that hard to change lanes, you don't need to 'weave' or 'nip between cars'. Just wait until there's a safe space.

Unless you're in a traffic jam crawling (not 70 like the OP said), you shouldn't be overtaking on the left (or passing as some have said). It doesn't matter if you don't need to change lanes. It's really dangerous and drivers won't be expecting you there. A middle lane hogger already suggests they're terrible drivers so why take the risk?

@newtowelsplease read this quote from the Highway Code. 'Should not overtake on the left or move to a lane on the left to overtake'.

It says should not must though.

No one has said what vehicles that are not allowed in the 3rd lane should do, the ones that can't overtake.

As pointed out earlier, It's quite clear in the Highway Code, rule 268

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/introduction
Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence. See an explanation of the abbreviations.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/motorways-253-to-273

Rule 268
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 I read this as it's not technically illegal to overtake on the left, but it is a breach of the Highway Code.

Breaking the HWC because someone else has doesn't make the roads safer.

There are lots of things on the Highway Code that say 'should' and not 'must'. You'll fail if you ignore this on your test and likely to be blamed in an accident.

I don't know what HGV drivers are supposed to do. The OP wasn't in a lorry so I was responding about her situation. My guess would be that they're expected not to overtake the idiot in the middle lane but most would. Luckily the OP was in a car so allowed in all three lanes.

Your dad was right.

If it wasn't in your lane, why would you do anything differently?

Read the posts with quotes from the Highway Code. It doesn't matter if you need to change lanes or not, it's undertaking and you shouldn't do it.

The middle lane hogger was a wanker but I wouldn't consider doing what you did. You should have moved over lane's gradually and waited to get across when it was safe to do so. The only 0ther alternative wasn't pulling out at 50mph in front of cars travelling at 70-80mph.

And your comment that they might have pulled over without looking at the right hand lane is obtuse. They wouldn't be expecting a car to be undertaking on their left and there would have been more chance of them checking their right.

I personally think you were wrong.

They should bring back the electric chair for middle lane drivers. Your dad was right. You can then indicate left and cut back over 2 lanes in front of them to return to your original lane, thereby alerting them to their folly. Or not, because the worst of them wouldn’t even notice that.

I would pull out to the right lane, hoping they would move, if after a while they didn't I'd give a little flash of my lights. In over 35 years of driving I have never had anyone stay in the righthand lane after a polite flash of the lights to move over.

What interests me in all these motorway discussions is that no one is calling out the drivers in the outside lane who are breaking the 70mph speed limit on a regular basis.

Yes it is. Passing someone counts as overtaking (or undertaking), even if you don't change lanes

No. Illegal, unless in slow moving traffic.

*Rule 268Do 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.

found it, above.*

What you described wasn't a "conjested" motorway though. "Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing"

It sounds like there were just other cars on the motorway.

You’re not supposed to overtake on the left. However if you’re in the left lane and traffic in the lane to your right is moving slower than you, you are allowed to remain in your lane without slowing down. This is essentially what happened.

That's why you slow down and make it a gradual manoeuvre as OP did. If you've been driving parallel to the car for a time and then slowly edge in front it's highly unlikely the car won't see you, and the chances are you have time to slow further if it does make a move to the left.

Its not undertaking unless you pull in front of it once you’ve passed. Perfectly fine and I would do the same.

I wouldn't have done it, but I understand your frustration, OP.

Anyone doing 50 in the middle lane for no good reason (eg, overtaking) is probably an idiot and I therefore wouldn't trust them not to move into the inside lane without having a proper look.

I'd have got in behind them and waited for a gap in the outside lane to overtake.

It IS illegal to undertake, rule 167 highway code, only if absolutely necessary ie where ALL traffic has slowed to a,similar speed( roadworks/ jams etc).
The main person in the wrong here is the middle lane hogger, unfortunately there are many of these these days.

You have quite the imagination.
No it was pretty good natured, Aibu isn’t real life and my dad wouldn’t repeat himself over and over in faux outrage and silly phrases of faux shock. We had a brief and normal adult conversation. We didn’t reenact Aibu funnily enough.
We left it as we look it up.

It’s a “Rule” though

Dozens of long posts on this thread would indicate otherwise! 😂

And it was you who used the word “arguing”

Arguing with my dad. Rather than “chatting”!