To flash at middle lane huggers?

[WhatMummyMakesSheEats]

it really angers me how many people don’t know how to drive on the motorway. Especially the M25.

Why are there so many people who just sit in the middle lane and don’t move over? I don’t want to undertake people. So if I’m being made to slow down by a middle lane hogger I’ll flash at them to move over. More often than not they will move to the outside lane, so they obviously know where they should be?!

I do want to add that I also hate people who weave and undertake but I think they are just aggressive drivers and also if no one hogged the middle lane they wouldn’t be able to!

A driver in the middle lane is not an obstruction so congratulations you’re breaking the Highway Code just as much as them. Honestly! Distracting other drivers is not on.

Blaming somone else for dangerous driving?

I also hate people who weave and undertake but I think they are just aggressive drivers

Do you not class flashing your lights at other drivers aggressive?

I’ve had the misfortune to do over 500 miles on the motorway this weekend. I did not see any cases where both the 3rd & 4th lanes were occupied by drivers doing 50/60, as some PP have suggested. (Apart from in very heavy traffic of course.)

I did however encounter one very risky undertaking incident when someone undertook at speed as I was merging in to the motorway from the left (if that makes sense).

I am really at a loss as to how people undertaking ever justify this to themselves. I overtake; or if I can’t, I just wait till I can. The response to poor driving, irritating driving, nervous driving, should not be dangerous driving.

And you're the perfect driver? Such arrogance is dangerous

I undertake to try and annoy them.

Woah what a leap you’ve made from flashing lights being THAT aggressive. Passive aggressive perhaps! I feel like you are projecting something here.

My children certainly won’t be raised to be middle lane hoggers that’s for sure!

p.s not a male

I hadn’t until this post no!

I totally defend you for what it is worth @WhatMummyMakesSheEats

There are some seriously committed apologist for middle lane driving on this thread.

I do about 20,000 miles a year mainly on motorways and my god it’s rife.

lane 3 is now the new lane 2. I have seen so many drivers come in at a junction and barge their way nervously to lane 3.. where they just sit for junction after junction. Nose pressed to the windscreen, never once moving over.

Don’t let anyone gaslight you - this is a major problem.

Why do we have “smart” motorways now? It is precisely because British drivers love to go and find “their” space on the motorway and then defend it with their speed, rather than just drive to the rules of the road.

I don't really get the hogging thing, unless someone really is driving for miles with an empty inside lane next to them. Which is unusual, as UK motorways are so busy!

This is literally what people do yes. I sometimes drive anytime from 11pm to 4am. And the road is totally empty for miles except for people in the middle lane (or lane 3 on a 4 lane). It’s not just those times either. Any quieter motorway has this constantly.

It’s very aggressive and very dangerous (which you now know)

Just undertake them every time. Bonus points when you look over, and the anxious twat looks like they’re going to shit themselves.

If you’re too nervy to drive at the speed limit, but also too nervy to sit behind HGV’s just fuck off the motorway.

I see it all the time! I drive back into London through Kingston. Literally everyone in middle or fast lane and an empty slow lane for miles and miles

Sorry but how is flashing to ask someone to move over the same level of dangerous as undertaking? People flash to let people pull into a lane in front of them and Lorries flash to let other lorries know that they have cleared and can pull in, is that causing all these accidents too? I put in my OP I actively don’t want to undertake. I am quite scared of people undertaking as it obviously causes accidents. One of the main reasons I hate middle lane hoggers because they leave people either with no choice to undertake or the leave space for the AHs who weave in and out at speed.

Not always possible to overtake when the outside lane is also going at the same, often slowish, speed. So then you get lanes 2 and 3 tootling along and lane 1 empty.

I see now that people see it as aggressive but I don’t buy it being THAT dangerous. People flash for all kinds of friendly reasons too

I see now that people see it as aggressive but I don’t buy it being THAT dangerous. People flash for all kinds of friendly reasons too

Drives me mad too. Middle lane hoggers are incompetent drivers although I wouldn't undertake them. I prefer to overtake then move two lanes back to the inner lane as you're supposed to.
I honestly think driving standards have really deteriorated over recent years. I'm not sure of it's due to incompetence in general or a sense of entitlement but I also wonder if it's because modern cars take over a lot of the driving these days. Who knows.
Other things that piss me off:

People that don't indicate, particularly on roundabouts. It's actually really rare that anyone does so anymore and I wonder why? It's not hard to flip a stalk that's conveniently placed right next to the steering wheel. See also, people that haven't figured out that when they're exiting a roundabout they are turning left, not right.

People who park over two parking bays particularly when there are few free bays. Selfish arseholes.

People who have no appreciation of the width of their vehicle and insist on travelling in the middle of single lane roads. SUV drivers are the worst for this.

People who don't move over to allow vehicles to merge off slip roads when it's safe to do so.

People who either have to have their foot firmly on either the break or the accelerator and can't match their speed to other vehicles and/or just take their foot off the accelerator to slow down.

People who ride their brakes down hills and can't use engine breaking.

People who dangerously overtake cyclists, often on bends,

Probably some I've missed. Sorry to derail. Has to get it off my chest!

You’re on a motorway driving at 70mph, flashing can cause a distraction which can be dangerous. Yes people may also flash for ‘friendly’ reasons that doesn’t mean it’s not distracting

This annoys the shit out of me. Why are people in the middle lane doing 50mph? Everyone saying it’s dangerous to flash them but it’s dangerous to make vehicles that are doing the speed limit slow down as well. If you are not confident driving on a motorway do everyone a favour and stay off them before you cause an accident.

If there was sufficient police presence to deter middle lane hoggers they wouldn’t need police to stop the undertakers as there wouldn’t be any.

Flashing other drivers is distracting and dangerous !
Why do you do it if you’re not in a rush ?
Take a deep breath and slow down yourself or overtake them. It’s what the outside lane is for !

Why do you think undertaking is the only other option ?

I thought my post saying that I was forced to slow down made it clear I meant when someone else is overtaking me so I can’t move into the next lane. I can’t edit the post but did clarify in a later post. If I flash to say move over because I can’t go past them, and they do move over, then the flow of traffic continues beautifully as designed with no one needing to brake.

It drives me potty. You pass them and they’re staring dead ahead, hands clamped to the wheel. I would have thought if they’re so shit at driving they’d feel safer in lane 1.

I can’t agree with you on flashing them though, the last thing you want is a shit driver doing something even more shit.

It’s a big deal because you have to overtake, like, every three minutes. If you drove in the inside lane you would know this. It’s full of HGVs and means weaving in and out, all of the time. Whereas in the middle lane you can drive constantly at a steady 65-70mph.