Was I U to do this?

[FloofyBird]

I was on the dual carriageway pootling up the inside lane at 70. I pulled out to overtake a lorry, then pulled back in again once I'd safely passed. The carriageway seemed busy, but once I was in the outside lane and could see past the lorry it wasn't actually that busy, it was just that the outside lane was snarled up with lots of cars whilst the inside lane was virtually empty. Once I pulled back in I proceeded to drive at 70 in the inside lane and 'undertook' a good half dozen/8 cars just sat in the outside lane for no real reason. The next vehicle to overtake was quite a way ahead and by the time I caught up with them I had plenty of room to pull out and overtake as the outside lane hoggers were miles behind me (not literally but a fair way behind).

I mean it's probably unfair to call them all lane hoggers, it was probably just the person at the front in the outside lane for no reason, driving slowly and then everyone gets stuck behind them.

My friend says I was reckless and it was undertaking, I say it's not if the outside lane is moving slower than the inside lane as I didn't pull out into the outside lane as soon as I'd passed/undertook them and stayed on the inside lane until there was a vehicle in the inside lane I wanted to overtake. But maybe I'm fooling myself because I've just got fed up of lane hoggers causing unnecessary tailbacks and didn't have the patience for it today?!

That sounds perfectly fine to me

Seems fine to me. If your lane is clear then you can just drive at the speed limit as far as I’m aware.

Technically you aren’t supposed to undertake unless you are in queuing traffic. You could have been stopped if traffic police had seen you, but I do understand your frustration!

Their lane was going slower than yours so not an issue.

it’s only an issue if you deliberately move into the near side lane to undertake.

You were undertaking and that's dangerous, as you well know. The other cars weren't "sat in the outside lane for no real reason", they were observing the laws of the road behind a single lane hogger. There aren't three lanes all at whatever speed you fancy. At any time one of those cars could have pulled into the inside lane with a chance then of a collision with you. The lane hogger is also acting dangerously but if everyone did what you did it would be absolute chaos.

I thought it was unless there was queueing traffic - which there was in the other lane. I didn’t think you were supposed to create queuing traffic in your lane too?

They weren’t observing the rules of the road, the rules are to stay left unless overtaking. Why weren’t they staying left?

Here is what Yorkshire Police say about it:

ON MOTORWAYS
Rule 268 of the Highway Code states – do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
OFFENCE
Overtaking on the left is lawful if done in accordance with the above guidance. However, whilst there is no specific offence of overtaking on the left, if a driver undertook another vehicle, other than in the circumstances described above e.g. in the case of someone hogging lane 2 on a motorway, they may be prosecuted for careless driving.

Technically you can be charged for careless driving but they would have to charge the lane hogger first.

Surely every time you’re undertaking, the inside lane (you) is moving faster than the outside lane (them) though?

The rule as far as I’m aware is that if you’re in a traffic jam and your lane is moving up a bit and the other lane isn’t then you’re fine, but if traffic is moving freely albeit not at 70mph you must not undertake.

So, you’re in the wrong technically but it’s a non event and I’m surprised it even made it to a discussion with a friend!

What should the OP do then if she's in the inside lane and catches up to the front lane hogger in the outside lane? Slow down to match their speed?

The point has been missed, by the time she's reached them, she's undertaken 8 cars which is the issue. There are 7 cars behind the hogger that understood the assignment.

I get it, it's frustrating, the hogger was out of order but surely we all understand that undertaking is also dangerous?

Yeah, both lanes need to be queued. Then you’re allowed to slip ahead on the inside/undertake. Otherwise, you have to pull out to overtake. Tricky in the situation described and very frustrating.

You don't have to nip in and out after every car though, they're obviously waiting in the queue to overtake but the hogger is holding them back. It's safer to do what they did as the hogger needs space to move to the correct lane, driving alongside them would help no one.

You say you were pootling at 70 in the inside lane but you haven't said what the speed limit was

As annoying as it is, OP, you know you're in the wrong if you've ever read the rules of the road. Yes the lane hogger was a twat, they're infuriating and habitual slow drivers in the fast lane should have their licences revoked IMO, but the cars behind were just queueing to get past them and you did what you did to jump the queue. There's no moral high ground for you here. And you could have caused an accident because people weren't necessarily expecting it or looking in your direction and could have pulled left at any time.

Additionally, people undertaking actually prevent the slower people in the fast lane from being able to pull back in and get out of everyone's way so on that point YABU too.

The other cars were in the wrong lane but that doesn’t make it okay to undertake them. YWBU.

There is also something called self preservation. If you are undertaking slow moving traffic at 70 mph you are greatly increasing the risk of being involved in a serious accident.

Regardless of law or fault, you don't want to be going home in a box.

I would say you were not undertaking, your lane was merely travelling at a greater speed than theirs.

Middle -lane hoggers are a pain in the arse. You have to move from the first to the third lane to overtake them properly, then back to the first lane. Increases the chances of things going wrong.

The outside lane was going slower so in this case it’s ok to undertake.

If your lane is moving faster that’s not undertaking. The fault lies with the other drivers.

The traffic was (incorrectly) moving in lanes, so what you dd was entirely acceptable, legal and correct.

If there had been an accident due to one of the drivers in the outside lane moving back into the inside lane and you were undertaking them, you would be at fault.

Op it’s slow lane, middle lane and fast lane. I don’t know what you’re on about describing it as you’re

Undertaking is when you are in lane 2 (or higher), move into lane 1 to pass a slower vehicle and then return to lane 2 in front of them after the manoeuvre.
You were just cruising in lane 1 within the speed limit.

The other vehicle(s) should have returned to lane1 .

It is undertaking. It doesn’t matter what you were doing before or after or why, you should not be passing a vehicle on your right UNLESS it’s slow-moving, queuing traffic or you’re in a filter lane.