Middle lane - how did you know?

[Graasspp]

Who taught you to stay left unless overtaking on the motorway?

How did all these utter counts not learn this?

For me it was my dad who told me.

Aibu to wonder how this ignorance prevails daily?

Bloody hell in 10 mins I can join the motorway, go a few junctions, join another one then leave the motorway altogether!

At 70mph, you cover 12 miles in 10 mins

I think everyone know what they’re supposed to do, but don’t bother when it comes to it.

my favourite from the last week was some lady tootling along at 60 in the middle lane while she was being overtaken and undertaken on both sides.

special shout out to people travelling in the left hand lane who decide the time to overtake is when you’re just about to go past (about 10-20 mph faster). These utter knobs do my head in more than the lane hoggers.

Being on a long car journey is no excuse for poor lazy driving.

Well first of all, it’s in the Highway Code so everyone with a driving license knew it at some point.

Secondly… It isn’t arrogance / ignorance, it’s choice. The left lane is full of lorries, many from other countries where harassing women is standard. If you’re a woman driving alone in the left lane it is very easy to end up with a lorry in front and another behind you. Sounds ok? It is, until their mate in lorry number three moves to the middle lane and boxes you in to intimidate you for a bit of misogynistic fun. My friend even have some lorries force her off the motorway.

Even if all the other drivers are lovely (ha!) if the motorway is constantly bending, as there all are near me, then often you go round a blind bend to find a stream of fast traffic joining the motorway from the left but you can’t move quickly to the right because that’s already full of drivers. It’s stressful and scary. Far better to leave the left lane empty except for lorries and for normal cars to sit in the middle lane.

Plus, you get more weirdos in the slow (or fast) lane. A guy in front of me in the slow lane today was driving at 38mph in a 70 zone.

Disagree with me? 🤷‍♀️😂🤷‍♀️

I can’t believe people actually get upset enough to write a thread about this???

Mumsnet is full of ngry drivers moaning about having their journeys impeded by middle lane hoggers, cyclists etc. Why not just leave earlier?

*angry

I passed my test 30 years ago and never had a motorway lesson. I was offered them once I passed but I didn’t take it up then.

Sorry if that upsets you. Don't mean to, am just on a long car journey.

You seem to base your driving methods on all kinds of random things, like how you feel about the road, the age of the passengers in your car, the length of your journey, how annoying you find other motorists etc . All of those things are totally and utterly irrelevant to how you should drive. And no, bringing Brexit and Tories into it to try and make road rules sound trivial didn't work.

I don't believe @Flyhigher is being genuine. It's illegal to middle lane hog for a start. If you are genuine then your behaviour is so dangerous! Zoning out, calling people for a chat, middle lane hogging because you can't be assed to switch lanes every 10 minutes (which can be 6-7 miles so hardly a big deal) are all dangerous actions but carry on being cocky about it why don't you

The speed limit is posted and taught in the Highway Code too, but if you stick to it you get accused of obstructing the flow of traffic.

You're meant to drop speed for hazards too and absolutely nobody does.

So there's quite a lot of rule ignorers.

I hate driving on the motorway as I constantly get flashed by arsehole drivers for driving at the speed limit in the middle lane when the left lane is busy. I'd understand if the left one was empty or had huge gaps. But it always when it's busy and you'd have to have a death wish to pull into it.

Mumsnet is full of ngry drivers moaning about having their journeys impeded by middle lane hoggers, cyclists etc. Why not just leave earlier?

It's got very little to do with being delayed. It's about the fact that the Highway Code is designed to make driving safe and predictable. 'Why should I follow the rules? Everyone else should just adapt their driving / journey times to suit me!' is a ridiculous attitude. Just follow the rules. It's not hard.

I am also this idiot.
Who drives at 70 mph in the middle lane.
Which is the speed limit.
And doesnt want to keep switching lanes to avoid joining traffic.

I agree people just drifting along for ages when they could pull over for quite some time is annoying, but I just go around them in the outer lane.

Very annoying are people who feel the need to let middle lane hoggers know they are better than them, undertaking (which is dangerous), coming too close, flashing their lights. All these things are also against the Highway Code so I'm not sure why they then feel superior, just go around them and sigh heavily!

Are you some kind of troll/parody account?

Can someone explain how staying in the middle lane causes accidents?

I do also agree that going in the far left lane is getting harder and harder anyway, due to the sheer amount of traffic, especially lorries, and also a busy complex joining system, sometimes which flows into that left lane, and sometimes has its own lane (making four) and then that peters out. It can feel like weaving in and out a lot and it is stressful to suddenly have to pull out from the left lane when a joining road appears and there's nowhere to pull to as that far right lane is blocked.

I think with new systems like Smart Motorways, getting people to stay in lane will mostly replace the left lane system, because in a too busy system, it's more efficient to have everyone doing 60 and not lane swapping than some people doing 80 and some 55 and causing hold ups through lane manoeuvering, and that's why those roads like the M25 are mostly still moving and not at a complete standstill constantly.

flashing their lights.

That’s actually one of the only legitimate uses of flashed headlights.

One thing I have noticed recently is that everyone seems to have forgotten how to use slip roads to join motorways. Instead of using the slip to reach and appropriate speed and find a gap to join, people just seem to barge on. Of course I will move over to let people join if there is a gap in lane 2 but on busy motorways there often isn't and I end up having to brake because some numpty has pulled in front of my car. I don't remember this happened pre-Covid. Maybe this is putting people off sitting in lane 1. 🤷‍♀️

I also have "fast cars" but i am not a middle lane loiterer. I am the person who zips around you and back in to the left lane. Because that's where you should be. One day you'll be caught and your excuses will mean nothing.

I spend a lot of time on the M4, either drive correctly on the motorway or stay off.

First poster got it's spot on. They're just dicks

Hopefully you'll also get caught one day too.

Yes we hate you.
Those "aggressive" guys are showing you the correct way to drive by moving to the left. They're hoping you might follow their example and actually drive according to the Highway Code.

Zoning out and relaxing? Fuck me, a motorway isn't a spa day. Wake up and move left fgs.

First cunts, and now dicks, what lovely calm temperaments for driving you all have!