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.

These are the only three instances where it is “allowed”

illegal? No
within the rules of the highest code? No
would you fail if you had selected one of the other options (it’s multiple choice. How long ago did you take your test out of interest?) Yes

Fewer than one in three (27%) people got this one right, making it the most commonly-failed question. This may be due to the fact that, as soon as we hear the word “undertaking”, most of us immediately assume this isn’t allowed, in any circumstance.

the op certainly never assumed this!

Whatever year I say I took a test I’m sure you’ll find a reason to say it’s the worst possible time 😁
for entertainment :
car-2001
minibus bus-2006 with work
motorbike- 2018
Tell me how this makes me the worst driver in the road and entirely wrong

If you undertake inappropriately, you could receive a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for careless driving or driving without due care and attention. This could possibly result in 3 points on your license and a £100 fine if it is a minor offence, further sanctions could be imposed depending on the extent of the offence.

One for hyperbole aren’t you

has anyone called you the “worst driver in the road”?

I really can’t help but feel a great deal of sympathy for your dad!

I am guessing he’s still making his way home after you turfed him out roadside 😂

Lol, someone has tried this a few posts up. Re-used insult is answered on the previous page

I would have read the road ahead to enable more time to be in the correct lane and overtake legally. Undertaking is something which happens when not paying enough attention to what’s happening ahead

No you don't undertake. Against the highway code. I'm with your dad.

Why is it an insult to feel sympathy for your father

Oh faux not understanding? Because it implies I’m going on at him rudely. Because it’s based on a scenario in your head.

He’s a laugh. We fell into joking about orbiting the car via lanes 3 and 1 to see if they’d notice. Then made a joke about who was right getting out the car. Because Aibu (fortunately isn’t like life)

It it's done correctly then yes, it is safe.

Weaving implies in and out without paying attention so why would you do that?

Do you never overtake when driving? And if so, do you refer to that as weaving or do you actually do it properly and safely?

The point is, despite you being reluctant to accept the rules of the highway code and the law, that what the OP did was fine, however if there was an accident because she undertook, then she would be at fault because she slowed down to undertake as opposed to overtaking properly.

Why are you struggling to understand that?

If the MLH was doing 50 wouldn’t the OP have had to slow right down, from 70 to 40, to get in behind them before moving to the right hand lane to overtake? Causing a hazard to any traffic coming up behind her?

No one called the worst driver.

Just pointed out that you undertook, and it it had caused an accident, it would have been your fault.

Also, if you were on the left hand lane and the car in the middle was doing 50 miles an hour, you should have seen him in enough time to overtake properly as opposed to slowing down to match his speed to undertake.

I don't believe the middle and outside lane were that busy you couldn't get across yet the left lane was empty that you could drop 20 miles an hour to undertake someone without it impacting anyone else.

Except she slowed down to match their speed before undertaking, which also would have impacted traffic behind her.

It all boils down to the OP convinced she didnt undertake because she slowed down and that overtaking is dangerous.

What she should have done was continue as she was, as opposed to slowing down and insisting the middle and outside lanes were too busy for her to be able to overtake.

Either way, if he had decided to pull over into the left whilst she was in his blindspot undertaking, she would have been at fault but insists she wouldn't be

It isn't illegal but safe is a different matter.

M1 near Wakefield, late evening on a Sunday so almost empty. It's four lanes and no hard shoulder. We are doing 65mph in lane one, catching a car in lane three doing around 50mph. We, in turn, are being caught up by a traffic police patrol in lane two. We 'undertake' the car in lane three and a minute later the police do so in their lane. The car in lane three does nothing and was still sat in lane three when last viewed in the rear view mirror. At the very least the police should have had a word for that drivers own safety but they just carried on. They had 'undertaken' just the same as us.

There needs to be much more of an effort to discourage middle lane morons but in the meantime passing to the nearside is legal but should be done with a lot of caution.

Like Sergeant Esterhaus said in Hill Street Blues: 'Lets be careful out there'

Sure you did OP

and then started a rather frenzied mumsnet thread about your argument with him

Were they police or were they Traffic Officers? Traffic officers aren't police and have no authority to stop a car that is driving in an illegal manner.

And given your hyperbole about the “worst driver in the road” I’m inclined to have a question mark over your interpretation of events!

This is the point I bow out and leave the two posters who are imagining things, about arguing with my dad etc, to argue together.

’ I don’t believe the middle and outside lane were that busy’

Then it’s an utterly pointless thing to do, continuing any form of discussion about the limited scenarios you can believe in or imagine. You have a clear idea in your head if things that cannot be discussed. 🤷‍♀️

(for the sensible. The road was moderately busy with all three lanes going into one lane as they rapidly approached a slow moving car so the ‘fast lane’ was suddenly bumper to bumper with cars in the rear view approaching it above the speed limit. It was a sudden pinch point in traffic conditions with mutiple cars manoeuvring at once. As is typical, the left lane was nearly empty in these conditions)

The thread is frenzied. Heads up- I’m leaving it for that reason!

This is the point I bow out

but not before another long post

oh and a second post! 😂

I'm with you @AmazonAmazine - you did the right thing and that's also the legal thing. Some posters just want to fight. Crazy!

If your not confident to go 3rd Lane you shouldn’t be on the motorway

I drive a works van Limited to 70mph get in third lane no problem clear indication wait for a gap or some flashes u out

Quite. I have to frequently drive a motorway that is regularly at a standstill because of accidents and I always wonder, how the fuck can so many people crash on a long, wide, straight road with all vehicles going in the same direction? Apparently it's because more than half the road users just make up random "laws" in their head to follow.

I mean we've got half this thread stating that every time a 44 tonne HGV travelling at 60mph in the inside lane encounters a vehicle moving at below 60mph in the middle/outside lane it MUST slow to below 60mph, pull into the middle lane, then into then into the outside lane, slowly accelerate back to 60mph to pass the slower vehicle, and then pull back across two lanes to the inside lane again.

Can you imagine the chaos on the road if every single LGV/HGV tried to do that every single time the encountered a middle lane hogger?