To think driving standards are abysmal?

[Pihrd]

On the motorway, two lorries in front of me so I begin to overtake. I’m not keen on overtaking in my little car, but have to when stuck behind lorries. Just as I was about to overtake, one lorry suddenly pulls out in front of me, causing me to break hard then wait for ages as it edges pass the other lorry at about 1mph faster. This happens numerous times a month. WHY do lorries wait till you’re just about to overtake then suddenly pull out?

And why do driver tailgate you on the motorway? If I have to break for any reason, we’re both fucked. What is wrong with people?

Motorway driving standards are awful - so many middle lane hoggers who aren't even going quickly and there is plenty of room in the left hand lane. People undertaking or weaving in and out dramatically.

I quite enjoy motorway driving but on a busier motorway it sometimes feels perilous.

I.agree OP. It not pleasant. Unfortunately some people do not have a clue how to behave on the roads.

There was another lane you could use

Was there? How do you know that then?

How to make yourself look stupid 😅

Lorries pull out to overtake when they catch up to the one in front, rather than deliberately trying to block your progress. They shouldn’t just pull out in front of you but you can anticipate their manoeuvres if you observe and remember they hate losing momentum unnecessarily.

Yes the tailgating at speed is insane, they are bullies who love risk taking

M23 always, and I mean always, has an empty 1st and 2nd lanes, people middle-lane-hogging the 3rd lane at 50/60 mph and only the far right for the few drivers who actually know how to drive to use.

It's worse than the M25.
Although it does get better after Gatwick.

I never understand why lorries pull out to overtake another lorry when they clearly have a speed limiter on which means they can only go about 2mph faster than the vehicle they're trying to overtake. Totally pointless exercise IMO.

I couldn’t agree more, OP. Much, much worse than it used to be on the roads, especially the motorways.

Were you not aware that motorways could have different numbers of lanes?

The closest one to me is mostly just 2.

I'm surprised at a lorry doing this because I generally observe them driving quite professionally (as they should), but yeah....the fucking tailgating in general. Especially the other day when I had a long drive in absolutely pissing rain with waist high spray, massive areas of standing water etc .

Yup....I'm driving slightly under the speed limit, in accordance with the actual road conditions .. 🙄

Lorries overtake other lorries like they do due to the amount of time that it would take to regain the speed that they would lose by slowing down.

As to why he pulled out. he probably didn't see you.

Yes I totally agree. I commuted between West Yorkshire, Sheffield and Nottingham for two years. The standard of driving on the M1 and M62 really is diabolical, poor lane discipline/ middle lane hoggers everywhere, people on their phones, last minute lane changes, dawdlers who then decide to speed up as soon as you overtake them. Driving tests should include a mandatory motorway element to sort the wheat from the chaff!

The fact that driving lessons/tests don’t include motorway driving is insane. There would be so much more capacity on the motorways if people drove more considerately. Personally I find people going below 55 in normal traffic and middle lane hoggers the more alarming ones, but also those nobs who try and undertake you because you leave a reasonable distance to the car in front while overtaking. Scary at times.

All the middle lane drivers on the motorway going at 50mph.

Oh and people on their mobile phones, everywhere.

Including lorry drivers which is just so dangerous.

It's a nightmare. I commute on the M1 every day and my personal favourite is when you can't get back to the left-hand lane as your exit approaches as the 2 middle lanes are occupied by cars driving alongside the one to the left of them, forming a moving road-block.

In my experience this only happens when the car driver is too slow / late at deciding to overtake, which given you have already commented OP that you dislike overtaking my guess would be your reluctance is why it happens to you and particularly if this wasn't a one off. It's far more likely to be your driving at fault than the lorry drivers, who drive for a living.

I am convinced 75% of drivers think the yellow box is simply decorative. The amount of idiots who just drive into them and then cause the traffic to back up is unbelievable. I also don't understand how lacking in basic common sense so many are. Drivers continually drive over the white line at a set of lights only to sit right behind another car. Then the crossing light turns green and they are blocking the road and making it unsafe for pedestrians to cross. It's usually long vehicles like lorries and buses as well!

When I was learning to drive my granny told me "assume every other person on the road is an idiot." She was right.

One of the things I think they should teach about motorway driving is:
If there are 2 lorries close together, the back one is about to pull out to overtake.

I can predict this with some certainty these days!

I live not far from the M62 (West Yorkshire) and avoid using it as far as possible. Some of the manoeuvres you see on there from car drivers beggar belief.

This makes no sense whatsoever. I was in the outside lane, obviously, about to overtake, by which I mean draw level to the lorry, and have to slam on the breaks, on a motorway, because the lorry pulls out in front of me. Again, I’m in the outside lane.

It's very regional. I moved from one end of the country to another and the difference in driving standards is huge.

I really wish we had public campaigns about driving like the ones we had decades ago that completely changed societal opinions on drink driving, smoking, wearing a seat belt. So many people genuinely think it isn't a problem to exclusively use the middle lane and don't understand safe stopping distances.

Both of those happened to me today on the motorway OP.

I don’t mind middle lane driving at 70 - it’s often safer than moving in and out if you’re on a very busy motorway. All the ones I drive on are always v v busy four laners, and the left two lanes are occupied bumper to bumper by lorries and vans going 55-60 and constantly pulling out to overtake each other over and over again in the manoeuvre the OP describes. First one does it, and then second lane slows down from 70 to 60. Then when that lorry has overtaken and gone back in (at glacial speed), the cars speed up and then have to brake suddenly again as the other one pulls out to go have round the first one. If you want to actually drive in a safe way without constantly moving in and out and slowing down to 55/60, you have to get out in lane 3.

Then in lane 4, the Audis, Teslas and BMW SUVs are going at 80, tailgating and flashing anyone driving below that to get over. Try to overtake anyone, and within moments there will be an Audi full of blokes right up behind your bumper flashing their lights at you and pushing their car right up behind your backside — even if they can see there is no safe gap for you to pull over into.

That’s why so many people drive in lane 3. It’s the only one where you can drive safely at a constant speed, especially in a normal car, rather than risk being sandwiched like a pancake in the blind spot between warring lorries; or crashed into by some middle-aged wannabe-boy-racer in his penis-extension SUV with its mean-looking LED headlights.

Then don’t get me started on the lane drifters and weavers who think signalling is optional — especially the ones who go two lanes in one go, and then drift back again without signalling once.