To have called DH out for hogging the middle lane

[Buildaaargh]

DH habitually sits in the middle lane when motorway driving and I find it deeply annoying. He says he doesn’t like being on the inside lane as it limits his options but I find it really inconsiderate. This weekend we did a long drive and I pointed out a couple of times when he was doing it.

He said he doesn’t criticise my driving (not entirely accurate) and I shouldn’t criticise his. I get that it’s annoying to have someone pick up on how you’re doing something, but I find it deeply selfish.

YABU - none of your business how he chooses to drive
YANBU - totally fair enough to say something

I’m not a hugely confident driver. I like to go at the speed limit on the motorway but would never sit in the middle lane just doing that, even if it’s an easier drive for me. I like to make sure there’s a nice big gap before I pull out and overtake and sometimes that means getting stuck behind a lorry / caravan / Sunday driver. I’d rather be stuck for a little bit though than have the shame of sitting in the middle lane.

There’s only 20% of people here saying you are unreasonable, but in my experience it’s way more than 20% of drivers sitting in the middle lane when they shouldn’t be!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-68028078.amp

Are you a back seat driver generally? What about in wider life?

If it’s this one issue that you have managed to make your relationship a bit worse for then, maybe you can ride it out. That’s up to you.
But in my experience, back seat driving applies to all areas of life, and the know-it-all is oblivious to how widely and frequently they comment negatively about the other.

It's not dangerous. I think you need to read the RTA...

I think it depends on the conditions. If it's very busy it can be safer than continually changing lane between lorries and lots of cars. Sitting in the fast lane is a complete no though.

UADBU.

Personally, I find people who complain about middle lane "hogging" the most annoying people in the world.

Especially as they never suggest a practicable alternative...

I just keep looking in passenger wing mirror and my husband gets thr hint now. Even with the big signs saying stay left unless overtaking I find motorways really frustrating with middle lane hogger, along with those who join the motorway doing 40/50, slip road should be used to get up to full speed.

Middle-lane-driving is like walking your dog on hot days: something people with no original thought moan about on social media because they know everyone is going to agree with them.

Here’s an original thought: driving in one lane at a speed appropriate for the situation is safer than weaving in and out.

Depends id say

If motorway largely empty move over.

If it is moderately busy and you are in lane ,2 making ground on traffic ahead on lane 1 continue in lane 2. For instance if there is a lorry ahead which you are gaining on but still have space to move left for a few minutes you might find yourself penned In and braking if you move over and a car behind you doesn't let you back out.

We all see plenty of bad driving on motorways and I guess it depends on whether you see it as your job to try and fix it....

This. All day long.

Sitting in the middle lane, doing less than 70 mph (assuming that 70 can be done, given the conditions), then yes, that's a problem, but I live in a major city and use the M6 & M5 a lot, and in more than 20 years of driving I can assure you it's a very rare event round here to be able to do the speed limit in lane one, due to all the other traffic who can't or won't do 70. I almost never drive in lane one, and even if it's clear enough to drive in it at 70 mph, I will always move across to the middle where there's a junction ahead, in case anyone is about to join.

The highway code does not always accurately reflect the reality of the modern-day motorways, and I would welcome a change which said that lane two was the lane to drive in, so that those who are doing less than 70 can stick to lane one.

I've not been driving the longest but I've yet to be bothered by people in the middle lane. It's the guys in German cars that drive right behind you or undertake right before a merge point. Like their unnecessary sense of urgency is supposed to take priority over everyone else's safety on the road.

Eh?
the alternative is you move back into the left lane and drive in that lane, until you need to overtake again.

Yes! Like if the slow lane, as it were, is full of people driving at 45-60mph are they saying you should bounce around them indefinitely? How is that safer than driving in one straight line past them at 70mph? Obviously if the slow lane then becomes empty, move over. And obviously don’t drive slowly down the middle lane, move into the slower lane. I literally don’t understand how one can “hog” the middle lane unless driving as slow as the slow lane?? And if her husband was continuously going faster than the slow lane then he wasn’t hogging, he was overtaking and surely realised it’s dangerous and laborious to keep going round a car, pulling into the slow lane behind a car going slower than you, then coming out again, speeding up, going into a gap on slow lane, only to be slowed immediately by a lorry, and so on.

It would be interesting to know which regions posters are in who complain about middle lane “hogging”. I live in the West Midlands so travel a lot on the M5 and 6. We can’t even build on speed on a slip road, it’s a crawl! Lanes 1 and 2 are often way less than the speed limit so I guess you could say we are “lane 3 hoggers”! I would love to travel on a motorway where it’s possible to move in and out.

Edit: lane 3 out of 4. Travel on smart motorways which I hate but that’s another thread!

Of course if you are going past traffic in the left-hand lane then you're not middle-lane hogging, but I don't think that's what's happening for the OP.

I drive on a four lane stretch of the M1 every day for work and the amount of people who sit in lane 3 doing around 67 with nothing to the left of them is ridiculous. It's also not unusual to have 3 lanes of cars driving alongside each other, or even 4 sometimes. Why?? Sometimes, when I finally get past I can see it behind me in the mirror - an empty stretch behind me followed by a moving road-block.

And then there are the ones who suddenly come alive when they notice you trying to get past and suddenly speed up. I do think a lot of people drive on, pick a lane, whack the cruise control on and switch off. Dangerous.

I have never really understood this rule as it seems to be for people who want to break the speed limit. From my experience, inside lane tends to be 60-70mph. The middle lane tends to go at 70mph and outside lane tends to be 80mph+. Accidents are cause by people driving too close, changing lanes frequently and speeding. Obviously, if your DH is going under the speed limit in the middle lane then that is an issue because it causes aggression and bad driving in others. I still think the aggressive, speeding drivers are at fault though and I never resent anyone going at the speed limit in any lane.

I've no issue people remaining in lane 2 if you can see they'll need to overtake more traffic in lane 1 in a minute or so.
The issue is middle lane hoggers with nothing in lane 1. They're just steadfastly sitting in lane 2 because they can.

I take the French approach and flash them to give them the hint to move over..but usually they're oblivious, and that's the worry. Absolutely oblivious to what's going on around them, even if others have given up and under cut them in lane 1.

Flashing drivers to move over is widely considered to be poor driving too.

You’re right OP but nobody likes having their driving criticised.

I once had a nightmare 2-hour drive up the motorway (and 2 hours back) with a work colleague (we were going to a work-related event). She was an otherwise intelligent person, PhD qualified, responsible job etc... She stuck steadfastly to the middle lane because she was "scared of the sides". It was horribly dangerous, but I just had to grin and bear it. 😬

@AmateurDad
In that link provided above by CantStopMoving the police call it careless driving and will pull people over.

He can get pulled up by police. Its a driving offence and can be fined with points. Bad driving.

This is not a matter of opinion. You are right, he is wrong. Tho would drive me nuts.

Omg 🤯

Your understanding (or misunderstanding) of how lanes on motorways work is incredible. It’s got nothing to do with how fast you are driving. 🤯