To think it's ok to want to travel at 70mph on the motorway...

[JacquesHarlow]

...or am I now completely unreasonable, and the Highway Code is irrelevant?

Hear me out if you will:

I have done a LOT of driving in the past two weeks. M1, A1, A23, M25, M40, M6, you name it.

I am middle aged, F, live in Surrey, for what any of that is worth. I am also it seems one of the stranger folk...in that when I join a motorway, I drive at 70mph on the dot. I also stay in the left lane until overtaking.

AIBU for doing this?

It seems so, judging by the habits of hundreds of road users I encountered, who come onto the motorway and automatically slide into lane 3 of 4, or lane 2 of 3. And sit there for absolutely ages, at around 60 mph.

I kid you not, 60mph.

It's maddening. I am driving at 70mph, in lane 1. It is clear in front of me.

Next to me is someone doing 60 mph. I know this because I am coming up on them quickly. I cannot however undertake them - this is against the Highway Code.

So I indicate, check it's clear, move out to lane 2 behind them. I then look to move to lane 3 to overtake.

Only I can't move over to lane 3, because there is someone doing 60 (or maybe less), right alongside them. Not overtaking, just cruising next to them in their own little lane.

So I indicate again, move out to lane 4. Where of course it takes me 30 seconds or so to overtake, at which point someone is barrelling down on me wanting to do 80mph in their private fast lane. (I'm fine with this, I assert my right to overtake legally etc).

So that's three lane changes to overtake two cars who due to their speed (and the highway code's rules) should be sitting in lane 1.

Why do people do this?

I notice that when I've brought this up years ago on here, or when I've spoken to folk in real life, people often say

"It's more dangerous to do all that 'weaving about' than stay in a lane"
"I'm not going to get trapped in a lorry sandwich"
"People join constantly on motorways and I don't want to have to move over"

OK, great.

So you're going to make me change three lanes, just because you want your own little personal bubble on the motorway, and are happy to be a rolling roadblock?

I think middle lane hoggers are not only selfish, but actually dangerous.

But AIBU?

I just come o here to say that I travel a lot on the M25, M20, M23, M1 & M3 and I would love to be able to drive at 70 !!

Not only is there so much traffic almost all motorways at the moment are being "upgraded" and are restricted to 50mph

So by those rules every hgv that’s limited to 56 mph and can’t go in the outside lane has to sit behind the middle lane hogger doing 50mph ?

Surely the safer choice in that scenario is to use the second option and to slow down a bit and pass them gradually in your same lane.

We travelled to London from Lancashire and back this weekend. So many do this. We actually witnessed police overtaking the middle lane hoggers and were infuriated they didn’t do anything.

@whatdoidonowffs of course then in that exact situation they have to stay behind or undertake- but the Highway Code states they shouldn't do it. It reality they will.

Luckily for us folk in cars we don't have limiters so can overtakes

I drive at 70 in Lane 1 (the inside lane)

But if I were to drive at 70 in lane 3 ( furtherest to the right) it is only a problem, or annoying to people who are exceeding the speed limit. It is not wrong to drive 70 in the fast lane. You may think that it is, but the UK legal system would disagree...

At this point I can only assume that you are a male German car owner who likes to exceed the maximum speed limit and then tell other drivers who drive within the speed limit that they are wrong to do so ?

The mind boggles at the entitlement of some drivers....

Yes, I really think they need to be giving fines for middle lane hogging. I do a lot of driving up and down the country and it seems to be particularly bad on the motorways around London/Hertfordshire and Bradford. There's also been times with men hogging a middle lane plodding along at 50mph and I take over doing 70, then they immediately speed up to overtake me and then slow back down to 50.

Surely it's the process of passing a car on the inside that is dangerous (and so illegal)?

It's not illegal though. It might be if the manoeuvre is carried out in a careless or dangerous fashion – such as weaving in and out of traffic, or accelerating excessively – but the actual act of passing someone on the left is not de facto illegal.

In @JacquesHarlow's scenario as described in the OP, I don't think there is anything whatsoever about it that is careless or dangerous.

You have not driven on M62 and M606. It is the slowest motorway in the country(Source: RAC and AA) but also the most dangerous motorway!

I find it insane that learners can't go on motorways. You're never actually TAUGHT lane discipline or safe motorway driving. You're taught to drive at 30/40mph. Pass your test pottering around housing estates and doing a 3 point turn then all of a sudden barrelling down a motorway at 70. Motorway driving should be part of the test.

@Borninabarn32 my son was taught to drive in a 70 on our local A roads.

A good instructor will take you on multi lane A roads, teaching how to change lanes. I learnt those skills on the A2

YANBU. People do this because they are inconsiderate, self-absorbed or maybe just bad drivers. 60mph might well be optimum fuel consumption but get in the inside lane! I agree that middle lane hoggers should be fined with 3 points on the licence; this would make them rethink their inconsiderate and dangerous driving. The lack of self-awareness and where they are in relation to other drivers makes them a liability on ALL roads.

I went on dual carriageway as a learner. Learners weren't allowed on motorways at all then, not even with an instructor and dual controls,, but the nearest one was about an hour away anyway. But you can go at 70mph on a dual carriage way, so it's not that different.

The blind spot in the left shouldn't be an issue if you are driving properly in the middle lane though should it?
You are actively overtaking the vehicles to the ieft of you ( so using your mirror) whilst looking ahead for the space on your left to pull in.

If a car is in your blind spot you should have been going faster or you should be in the spot that car is in already, as there's space. The car would never be in your blind spot long as they would overtake you or you would realise your error and speed up. If it's too busy in the middle lane to speed up, the other driver won't have room to undertake you anyway so there's no issue.

Not everyone does what they are supposed to do and moves into lane 2 in order to let traffic join from the slip road.

Crikey. 🤦🏽

This bit about "male German car owners who like to exceed the speed limit" is quite a generalisation and you risk having the mn police after you.
Like, you can write this, then this must also be correct???:

Nissan micras are driven at 20mph by little old ladies on their way to garden centre/bridge/church.

Peugeot are driven by old men who can't drive.

Persons of oriental heritage are the worst drivers in the world.

Teenagers are idiotic drivers.

Africans always drive in the middle lane and speed up and slow down erratically.

We could go on, the above are actually generalisations and it only actually applies to 80% of each category.

Learners have been able to go on motorways for the past six years. 🤦🏽

😂 chavs drive at a particular speed now 😳

If people left decent gaps with the car in front then it makes it easier for someone to join from slip road.
It horrified me to see people in the outside lane going very fast with less than a car length gap.
Btw I always thought the motorway speed limit was 79mph (70 + 10% then add on 2 for luck to allow for speedometer variations 🤔)

I drive a lot for my job and am up and down from the south coast to London a lot for family.

I've only ever seen this ire for Middle lane hoggers on MN. It's not ideal that there are people who drive at 60 in lane 2, but they are generally overtaken without hassle, given that lane 3 is available for this very purpose, and that maintaining a faster speed in lane 1 is acceptable.

Most motorways I use are choc full of lorries/caravans/horseboxes/tractors etc and slower drivers doing under sixty in the inside lane. Like fuck am I going to weave in and out of that hot mess continuously when I can drive at 70 in the middle lane, and use the outside lane to overtake any hoggers I come across.
This seems to be the way the majority of people drive - Ideally we'd all get up to 70 in lane 1 but as that is impossible, drivers create a two tier system.

Surely if everyone drove in the inside lane, any motorway would need only 2 lanes.

It's only "not wrong" to drive at 70 in the right hand lane if you're actively overtaking a slower vehicle. If you're pootling along at 70 and not actively overtaking, you shouldn't be in the OVERTAKING lane at all. It shouldn't concern you what speed other drives choose to drive at - you're not the police, it's not your job and dangerous for you to try to influence what other drivers wish to do.

At the end of the day, if someone can undertake you in the left hand lane, you should have been in that lane yourself! You should only be in any of the right hand lanes if you're actively overtaking. (Unless coming up to a junction and signage tells you to be in a different lane for going ahead).

Surely if everyone drove in the inside lane, any motorway would need only 2 lanes.

But if it's busy, a 3 lane motorways has capacity for a higher volume of vehicles than a 2 lane motorway. It depends on the purpose of the motorway, I suppose.

NRTFT, but we drive on smart motorways a lot. I do not want to drive in lane 1, previously the hard shoulder because I’ve found it can be quite hard, moving at speed to realise a vehicle ahead is stationary; and it can be difficult to move out into lane 2, when there a fair amount of traffic close together.

Smart motorways are not built and supervised as it was envisaged. IMO, they are downright dangerous if your car cuts out, some way before a refuge point!

Also, when we are in lane 2, we use interactive cruise control. If we have set it for 70, but the car decides to do 60 mph, as it’s the safe breaking distance from the car in front, what do you suggest we do:

1. override the car, drive 70 mph, but not at a safe distance from the car in front
2. leave the car to it, and maintain a safe breaking distance