Motorway - Middle Lane Hoggers. What to do?

[WelshGas]

2 Laned Motorways, of which there are many hundreds of miles on the Continent, are fine. Everyone keeps to the inside lane except when overtaking and they also tend to complete the manoeuvre quickly, as on the derestricted Autobahn. But once you add a third lane it seems that virtually no one then uses the inner lane and when they overtake a slower vehicle, in the middle lane, they creep past at a relative speed of 1 km/hr.
Today I clocked a 5 mile/8 km stretch of inner lane with no one in it.
We have the same problem in the U.K., if not more so as the majority of Motorways are 3 laned.
What to do? Travel in the Inner lane and undertake? Or travel in the inner lane then cross to the outer to overtake and then back across all the lanes to the inner lane again.

Personally I favour the American System. Under or Overtake as the case may be, similar to what happens on Smart Motorways where you are exhorted to stay in your lane unless exiting the Motorway.

Any thoughts?

 

[jts46]

@WelshGas I agree with you either under or overtake as the case may be, it drives me mad, police should police this more often.

 

[WelshGas]

@WelshGas I agree with you either under or overtake as the case may be, it drives me mad, police should police this more often.

When did you last see a Traffic car, unless attending an “ Incident “ as they say.

 

[jts46]

When did you last see a Traffic car, unless attending an “ Incident “ as they say.

Sorry i thought about that as i was posting. I do undertake if needed to

 

[Hotel California]

Just recent law had changed in Belgium .
The fine for not heading back to the inner right lane after overtaking is less than
The fine for one who is/stays in the right inner lane when (wrong) overtaking a slower verhicle on the right side , whitch is driving in the middle lane and not driving to the right....
Always thesame , some drivers never drive on the inner side when on 3 lanes .
If there's no traffic at all ok , but when faster cars approch in the mirror you need to drive to the rigtht or left in the UK

 

[pjm-84]

It depends but I will undertake if its safe to do so as I'm typically in the inside lane already.

Agree, lane discipline is poor in this country.

 

[ArunAlec]

I think one of the reasons people tend to maintain their position in the middle lane when driving on a busy motorway is they know that if they do drop back into the inside lane they will find it difficult to get back out.
In general I think we tend to drive far too close and have an aggressive attitude to letting cars move into “our lane”.

 

[motacyclist]

AFAIK if the traffic lanes are moving at different speeds you are allowed to undertake. On a two lane I might be tempted to slide slowly past on the inside; I think what the law is attempting to do is stop people weaving between lanes willy nilly.

My pet hate is drivers who make no attempt to match the speed of the traffic when joining from a slip road. In this country it seems to be a god given right that the driver joining the main flow expects to just pull out irrespective of whether the existing traffic can pull into the second lane to let them in, and many of them do just this without speeding up to merge in with the flow.

Then there are the ones you pull over to the right to let them in, then they accelerate into the position you’ve just vacated leaving you stuck out in the outside lane with impatient traffic approaching behind.

Don’t even mention lorry drivers who pull out to overtake the vehicle in front then creep past ½ mph faster and take ages to get past! Or the drivers who overtake then slow down .....

 

[WelshGas]

AFAIK if the traffic lanes are moving at different speeds you are allowed to undertake. On a two lane I might be tempted to slide slowly past on the inside; I think what the law is attempting to do is stop people weaving between lanes willy nilly.

My pet hate is drivers who make no attempt to match the speed of the traffic when joining from a slip road. In the country it seems to be a god given right that the driver joining the main flow expects to just pull out irrespective of whether the existing traffic can pull into the second lane to let them in, and many of them do just this without speeding up to merge in with the flow.

Then there are the ones you pull over to the right to let them in, then they accelerate into the position you’ve just vacated leaving you stuck out in the outside lane with impatient traffic approaching behind.

Don’t even mention lorry drivers who pull out to overtake the vehicle in front then creep past ½ mph faster and take ages to get past! Or the drivers who overtake then slow down .....

Or the ones who speed up as you overtake them. On occasions, I admit, I just keep pace with them until they are forced to give up. Naughty, I know, but nice.

 

[westfalia]

Gotta send that text message innit.

The driving standard in the UK can be a bit iffy sometimes.
Is there no rule about letting emergency vehicles through over there?
I was on the m25 the other week watching an ambulance trying to make his way
through the gridlock.
It was painful to see, cars not knowing what to door or where to move, the meat wagon
had moved about half a mile in 20mins and then cars were trying to follow it

On the continent people tend to know how it works

 

[tuono001]

What really gets me is people who hog the middle lane when there is no other traffic about. Caught up with one driver in the middle lane, no one else particularly nearby, who pulled into the inside lane when they saw me. Once I passed they moved back into the middle lane! even though no other vehicle nearby. They must have been doing 60/65 as I wasn't going particularly fast.
I'll undertake depending on what traffic is like at the time.

 

[Rich20]

AFAIK if the traffic lanes are moving at different speeds you are allowed to undertake. On a two lane I might be tempted to slide slowly past on the inside; I think what the law is attempting to do is stop people weaving between lanes willy nilly.

My pet hate is drivers who make no attempt to match the speed of the traffic when joining from a slip road. In this country it seems to be a god given right that the driver joining the main flow expects to just pull out irrespective of whether the existing traffic can pull into the second lane to let them in, and many of them do just this without speeding up to merge in with the flow.

Then there are the ones you pull over to the right to let them in, then they accelerate into the position you’ve just vacated leaving you stuck out in the outside lane with impatient traffic approaching behind.

Don’t even mention lorry drivers who pull out to overtake the vehicle in front then creep past ½ mph faster and take ages to get past! Or the drivers who overtake then slow down .....

I respect the points you are making but please don’t knock truck drivers. Trucks are speed limited to 56mph as a rule and I agree this makes it difficult to overtake so you rely on the truck you are overtaking to lose a bit of speed on a hill as they may be heavier than you or have slightly less power. It is amazing how much time you can lose by sitting behind a slower wagon when you have to be somewhere at a set time. On some occasions the load can be rejected if you are late which is a massive ball ache. Believe me it is frustrating trying to overtake with the added concentration needed to maintain a straight line while being affected by the effects of air movement between the vehicles as well as calculating when it is safe to pull back in as some drivers do not flash you when you are clear. Overtaking downhill is equally difficult because your tachograph will show an over speed warning if you exceed 56mph for more than a minute which can be held against you if you are stopped by DVSA (VOSA) or the police.

 

[Louis II]

Undertake.
In my opinion if you can undertake without breaking the the speed limit the the undertaken not the undertaker should be prosecuted.

 

[BerndRos]

On the basis that a middle lane hogger is clearly not paying due care and attention to either their surroundings or other road users, undertaking them is potentially suicidal, as they may switch to the inside lane at any moment. They are idiots so why put your life in their hands. I passed my test in 1972 and can say that I have never once undertaken another vehicle in the way we are discussing here. It creates a ‘wild west’ situation. If caught it should in my view carry an instant ban for a period.

Exceptions are of course a slow moving congested multi carriageway, designated lanes etc.

 

[motacyclist]

Believe me it is frustrating trying to overtake with the added concentration needed to maintain a straight line while being affected by the effects of air movement between the vehicles as well as calculating when it is safe to pull back in as some drivers do not flash you when you are clear.

That doesn't really sound like a safe manoeuvre to commit to. Must remember to stay well clear!

 

[WelshGas]

On the basis that a middle lane hogger is clearly not paying due care and attention to either their surroundings or other road users, undertaking them is potentially suicidal, as they may switch to the inside lane at any moment. They are idiots so why put your life in their hands. I passed my test in 1972 and can say that I have never once undertaken another vehicle in the way we are discussing here. It creates a ‘wild west’ situation. If caught it should in my view carry an instant ban for a period.

Exceptions are of course a slow moving congested multi carriageway, designated lanes etc.

Ever driven in the States? It’s the norm there. Mind you their lane system is slightly different in that the Inner Lane is the Off Lane at a junction or the On Lane. There is no traffic joining a Lane as such.

 

[Joker 1299]

2 Laned Motorways, of which there are many hundreds of miles on the Continent, are fine. Everyone keeps to the inside lane except when overtaking and they also tend to complete the manoeuvre quickly, as on the derestricted Autobahn. But once you add a third lane it seems that virtually no one then uses the inner lane and when they overtake a slower vehicle, in the middle lane, they creep past at a relative speed of 1 km/hr.
Today I clocked a 5 mile/8 km stretch of inner lane with no one in it.
We have the same problem in the U.K., if not more so as the majority of Motorways are 3 laned.
What to do? Travel in the Inner lane and undertake? Or travel in the inner lane then cross to the outer to overtake and then back across all the lanes to the inner lane again.

Personally I favour the American System. Under or Overtake as the case may be, similar to what happens on Smart Motorways where you are exhorted to stay in your lane unless exiting the Motorway.

Any thoughts?

??

Look familiar?

 

[WelshGas]

??

Look familiar?

Yes. Have to use the Middle and outer lanes to get to the Tag Gateway as the car one is on the Outside Lane. There is a sign just as you come off the Bridge detailing where the Toll Gates are for Cash, Card and Tag.
All gone now.

 

[Joker 1299]

Yes. Have to use the Middle and outer lanes to get to the Tag Gateway as the car one is on the Outside Lane. There is a sign just as you come off the Bridge detailing where the Toll Gates are for Cash, Card and Tag.
All gone now.

And after the toll bar?

 

[WelshGas]

And after the toll bar?

After the Toll bar, in quick succession the M48, the Original Motorway across the Original 7 Bridge joins on the Left. 2 lanes join the Inner M48 makes up the Inner M4 lane while the 2 nd M48 Lane joins what becomes the M4 middle Lane, then within a short distance the Inner M4 Lane then turns off for the Magor Services and the M4 is reduced to 2 lanes as it passes the Services re-acquiring it’s 3rd Lane past the services as the On Lane from the Services Junction becomes the Inner Lane.
There is another Junction closer to Newport where the Inner Lane goes off and the M4 is reduced to 2 lanes for the Brynglas Tunnels.
There is no speed restriction at the M4 / M48 junction so it is safest to stay in the Outer lane leaving the Toll Plaza until after that junction, and most regulars do.

 

[Joker 1299]

After the Toll bar, in quick succession the M48, the Original Motorway across the Original 7 Bridge joins on the Left. 2 lanes join the Inner M48 makes up the Inner M4 lane while the 2 nd M48 Lane joins what becomes the M4 middle Lane, then within a short distance the Inner M4 Lane then turns off for the Magor Services and the M4 is reduced to 2 lanes as it passes the Services re-acquiring it’s 3rd Lane past the services as the On Lane from the Services Junction becomes the Inner Lane.
There is another Junction closer to Newport where the Inner Lane goes off and the M4 is reduced to 2 lanes for the Brynglas Tunnels.
There is no speed restriction at the M4 / M48 junction so it is safest to stay in the Outer lane leaving the Toll Plaza until after that junction, and most regulars do.

...m’ Lud,

 

[Ocean Spirit]

I respect the points you are making but please don’t knock truck drivers. Trucks are speed limited to 56mph as a rule and I agree this makes it difficult to overtake so you rely on the truck you are overtaking to lose a bit of speed on a hill as they may be heavier than you or have slightly less power. It is amazing how much time you can lose by sitting behind a slower wagon when you have to be somewhere at a set time. On some occasions the load can be rejected if you are late which is a massive ball ache. Believe me it is frustrating trying to overtake with the added concentration needed to maintain a straight line while being affected by the effects of air movement between the vehicles as well as calculating when it is safe to pull back in as some drivers do not flash you when you are clear. Overtaking downhill is equally difficult because your tachograph will show an over speed warning if you exceed 56mph for more than a minute which can be held against you if you are stopped by DVSA (VOSA) or the police.

Sorry Rich...
My frustrations are deeper than that. It's people thing regarding respect and driving standards.
I appreciate the speed restriction they have and when a lorry in front of me switches to the faster lane and crawls by another lorry I get it........just so long as I am not forced to brake immediately.
If I can roll off the accelerator and maybe just dab the brake to scub rolling speed all is good but sadly that is rarely the case. The usual event I witness is that a lorry is sat on the bumper of the one in front and there is barely enough room for it to squeeze out without forcing the fast lane traffic to slow but 15 to 20 mph in a few seconds. That is unquestionably the norm by a long way on the M3 and M27 areas and miles beyond where they interface. Even at 6 a.m when there are plenty of gaps in traffic to provide plenty of chances to do the former.
For these drivers I don't care how much time they can lose by staying behind a slower wagon as I'm sure they've stuffed up time ( or worse) for many many others...
@ArunAlec you have it ..... People travel too close together. The moment you give yourself braking space 2 cars swallow it up.
For this reason I love the chevrons painted on the road where you have to stay 2 apart and when traffic is flowing I'd love to see it enforced in someway.

 

[sidepod]

It’s a fact , driving standards in the uk are appalling, people’s go-to attitude is anger and confrontational, 90% of people in cars are morons and truck drivers who overtake with a 0.1mph speed delta should be banned along with the truck they’re overtaking (because the tw*t driving that truck refuses to lift for 5 seconds). Aaaaannnnndd breath.......

 

[ArunAlec]

It’s a fact , driving standards in the uk are appalling, people’s go-to attitude is anger and confrontational, 90% of people in cars are morons and truck drivers who overtake with a 0.1mph speed delta should be banned along with the truck they’re overtaking (because the tw*t driving that truck refuses to lift for 5 seconds). Aaaaannnnndd breath.......

Notice no mention of motorcyclists?
Agree we are all too angry and aggressive.

 

[larrylamb]

For this reason I love the chevrons painted on the road where you have to stay 2 apart and when traffic is flowing I'd love to see it enforced in someway.

Not always easy to do though, I nearly blew my Mini up trying to keep up with a Porsche on the M56.