Motorway - Middle Lane Hoggers. What to do?

[Stiglap]

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.

Latest version of the Highway Code

259.Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should
Give priority to traffic already on the motorway
Check the traffic flow on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic on the left hand lane
Not cross solid white line that separate lanes or use the hard shoulder
Stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway
Remain in the left hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of the traffic before considering overtaking.

See also 264 Lane Discipline which is enforced by Road Traffic Regulations.

It’s all there for people who can be bothered to read it!

An on line test of the Highway Code etc. should be compulsory for all drivers every few years !

 

[Rich20]

And your old mans journey is more important than the 20 drivers he’s holding up because..........?

Me: Hi Gov, you know that £150000 load of fresh produce I was due to get to the distribution centre?
Boss man: Yes.
Me: Well I missed my delivery slot and they have rejected the load and wouldn’t tip me.
Boss man: How the hell did you miss your delivery window?
Me: Well, this chap called Sidepod suggested I slow down if I am being overtaken by another truck so as cars behind are not held up.
Boss man: Who the **** is Sidepod?

 

[EddieEagle]

having survived driving trucks for my sins it soon became apparent that if you didn't push every yard of the way, not slow up or take any prisoners on that journey then making an honest living, legally and in a timely manner means my journey is as valid as anyones
missing a delivery slot or tip was often the difference in getting past that last truck going 0.000001 mph slower

sad but true ....

 

[EddieEagle]

now this could make the middle lane more interesting

 

[AlanC]

I think much of this debate stems from the designation of the lanes on motorways.

Back in the 60's when the motorway system was initially started, we were told there were 3 lanes, the slow lane was on the left, the fast lane was the middle one and the overtaking lane was the right lane or outside lane.

Since then this has changed, many years ago admittedly, to lanes 1,2, and 3. None are designated by speed, only that you should always keep to the left. Many of my age will still be driving according to this older designation, due to a lack of up-to-date knowledge and agility, as indicated in the research Matt posted.

Personally, I try to drive safely all of the time, keeping to the left whenever possible and also using my indicators for every manoeuvre. Changing lanes is not unsafe, provided you do it correctly with due regard to your mirrors, the traffic around you and the road conditions at the time.

Alan

 

[sidepod]

Me: Hi Gov, you know that £150000 load of fresh produce I was due to get to the distribution centre?
Boss man: Yes.
Me: Well I missed my delivery slot and they have rejected the load and wouldn’t tip me.
Boss man: How the hell did you miss your delivery window?
Me: Well, this chap called Sidepod suggested I slow down if I am being overtaken by another truck so as cars behind are not held up.
Boss man: Who the **** is Sidepod?

Brilliant. And the reason you ended up driving trucks is your intelligence level doesn’t allow you to distinguish between lifting your foot for 5 seconds and , as you say, “ slowing down”.
Extrapolate over a journey and its invisible.

If your timings are that close then something is wrong.

I wasn’t aware you owned the roads and are allowed to behave like a selfish t*@t.

 

[Hannick]

I once met someone at a party who was a motorway policeman so I couldn’t resist talking to him about this very question.
It’s the lesser of two sins he said. Undertaking is wrong, but if someone middle lane hogging causes someone to have to undertake (many reasons why sometimes this would, in some circumstances, be the safest option) he has two choices - to stop and reprimand the undertaker, or to stop and reprimand the middle lane hogger. He’d stop the middle lane hogger and tell them they caused someone to have to undertake due to their driving behaviour.
He also felt it to be quite acceptable behaviour if you come up behind a middle lane hogger to use your headlights to flash them.
I now do that occasionally as usually the hogger has no spacial awareness of what’s around them anyway. As mentioned above, surprising how often they then pull back into the middle lane if they moved into lane one.

 

[Rich20]

Brilliant. And the reason you ended up driving trucks is your intelligence level doesn’t allow you to distinguish between lifting your foot for 5 seconds and , as you say, “ slowing down”.
Extrapolate over a journey and its invisible.

If your timings are that close then something is wrong.

I wasn’t aware you owned the roads and are allowed to behave like a selfish t*@t.

I’m out.

 

[Lightning]

Brilliant. And the reason you ended up driving trucks is your intelligence level doesn’t allow you to distinguish between lifting your foot for 5 seconds and , as you say, “ slowing down”.
Extrapolate over a journey and its invisible.

If your timings are that close then something is wrong.

I wasn’t aware you owned the roads and are allowed to behave like a selfish t*@t.

Wow. With your massive intelligence you still think it’s ok to speak to people like that?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BikerGran]

I think I'll leave this discussion as I prefer not to take part in a slanging match.

 

[Doorbundle]

CLOG - Centre Lane Owners Group. It is their right. Their Entitlement. How very dare you.

 

[TripleBee]

I do not undertake. I just keep my lane.
I may have passed a couple of dozens of middle lane hoggers. If there is no car in front of me, I have no reason to go to the middle or third lane, so I keep pace. If I go to the middle lane to pass a car/truck on the inner lane, I return to the inner lane back as soon as there is no one else I need to pass anymore.
Just try to look at your odo counter how long it takes for you to catch up with a truck, doing 90 km/h, while you are doing 100 km/h. If a truck is about 300 meters away from you, you might just drive 1 or 2 km before you really catch them up to overtake them.
That is 2 km you don't hog the middle lane and irritate the middle lane hoggers.
If everyone would take the inner lane when possible, the motorways just look emptier. Or the other way around. If everyone just spread over the 3 lanes, it looks like there is more traffic, and people's behaviour accords to that. They drive more aggressive.

 

[Joker 1299]

Brilliant. And the reason you ended up driving trucks is your intelligence level doesn’t allow you to distinguish between lifting your foot for 5 seconds and , as you say, “ slowing down”.
Extrapolate over a journey and its invisible.

If your timings are that close then something is wrong.

I wasn’t aware you owned the roads and are allowed to behave like a selfish t*@t.

Do you apply that same logic to everyone who drives for a living? Like Lewis Hamilton? Or Kevin Schwantz, maybe?

 

[MattBW]

I have been a passenger in a MLH driver’s vehicle and their philosophy was, “I’m driving at the speed limit so I’m entitled to be here; anyone who wants to break the speed limit can overtake me in the outside lane”. Of course, the person coming up behind them is probably also driving at what their vehicle tells them is the speed limit (ish) ... before you know it, there’s a queue of people in the middle-lane (many drivers, in the UK at least, seem averse to using the outside lane to overtake - why is that?).

I have heard folks say that once or twice and it always just feels like an excuse to me, if they wanted to uphold the rules so honorably surely they wouldn't do it by ignoring another rule

You are right, speedos and gearing can make vehicles set at exactly 70mph be several mph out. I know my van actually is 70mph at 72mph for example.

 

[WelshGas]

I do not undertake. I just keep my lane.
I may have passed a couple of dozens of middle lane hoggers. If there is no car in front of me, I have no reason to go to the middle or third lane, so I keep pace. If I go to the middle lane to pass a car/truck on the inner lane, I return to the inner lane back as soon as there is no one else I need to pass anymore.
Just try to look at your odo counter how long it takes for you to catch up with a truck, doing 90 km/h, while you are doing 100 km/h. If a truck is about 300 meters away from you, you might just drive 1 or 2 km before you really catch them up to overtake them.
That is 2 km you don't hog the middle lane and irritate the middle lane hoggers.
If everyone would take the inner lane when possible, the motorways just look emptier. Or the other way around. If everyone just spread over the 3 lanes, it looks like there is more traffic, and people's behaviour accords to that. They drive more aggressive.

Drivers are much better on the Continent in keeping to the nearside lane unless overtaking. I think that is because of the preponderance of 2 lane Motorways/Autobahns and the higher speed limits, compared to the UK.

 

[TripleBee]

Drivers are much better on the Continent in keeping to the nearside lane unless overtaking. I think that is because of the preponderance of 2 lane Motorways/Autobahns and the higher speed limits, compared to the UK.

I am not so sure about continental drivers. Here in Belgium, when I drive the motorway, you don't want to know how much cars I have to pass on the wrong side, or keep fixed at that middle lane. It even happens that you see one merging in, and directly go to the middle lane, even with no traffic on the inner lane, and then keep on hogging there forever. They even don't go to the outer lane, but slow down to the speed of the one before them, also hogging the middle lane, until that one moves from that lane, and then they speed up again to their speed (often much slower than the maximum speed).

Very annoying.

If the cops would stop me for "undertaking", I would have a big discussion for stopping the reaction, and not stopping the cause of the reaction. Without middle lane hoggers, there would be no one undertaking.
I don't undertake, I just keep my lane and my speed. Anyone on the middle lane at lower speed than my lower than max speed is wrong, not me.

 

[Amarillo]

Drivers are much better on the Continent in keeping to the nearside lane unless overtaking. I think that is because of the preponderance of 2 lane Motorways/Autobahns and the higher speed limits, compared to the UK.

If you compare two lane motorways/dual carriageways in Britain and the rest of the the EU you will find similar driving habits. In France on three lane motorways you will see trucks habitually in lane 1, using lane 2 to overtake, and cars habitually in lane 2 using lane 3 to overtake. Far worse than Britain.

In France, if you happen to be in the outside lane overtaking with a faster driver behind, also in the outside lane, the car behind will often indicate as if about to turn left. Most disconcerting as a left turn on an autoroute is either non-existent or very rare.

 

[GrannyJen]

Somebody posted this earlier (thank you @willwander )

"
"Agree, so much anger, aggression and frustration on our roads.

Just chill and everything is groovy"

It would be a good idea to apply the "just chill" to this thread as well

Oh, @EddieEagle yes, my comments earlier were a wind up, before I earn the wrath of all

Sometimes I do get wound up, but quite honestly at my age I have to worry about my blood pressure and getting an attack of the vapours at other people's driving really gets me nowhere when all I want to do is get there.

 

[motacyclist]

Middle lane voted 'best lane'

THE middle lane has been voted British Motorway Lane of the Year.

www.thedailymash.co.uk

 

[ArunAlec]

You must have better drivers than my neck of the woods.
Try coming past Rownhams on the M27. The lane speeds could easily be mistaken for peak signals on a graphic equaliser visualisation. Its pot luck across 5 lanes before the M3 / M27 split.
People swap from lane 1 to lane 3, 4 or 5 and even lane 5 to lane 1 or 2 at the last minute in a bid to get on the right motorway and avoid lane hoggers. So with so many lanes there are more than just middle lane hoggers at 50mph in any lane.
Quite horrific on a daily commute and i'm used to it. I dread to think what its like if you just get caught unaware.

Showing my age .... when the M27 opened around Fareham we used to use it as a quiet bit of road to “play”, seeing what 0 to 60 a Mini Cooper would do.
One of the problems at the Rownhams junction is that if you don’t get into lane in good time you would struggle to get across from lane 1 to 3 for the east. Pity you doing on a daily basis.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Showing my age .... when the M27 opened around Fareham we used to use it as a quiet bit of road to “play”, seeing what 0 to 60 a Mini Cooper would do.
One of the problems at the Rownhams junction is that if you don’t get into lane in good time you would struggle to get across from lane 1 to 3 for the east. Pity you doing on a daily basis.

I remember those days too!
But you'd think I would have known its 4 lanes not 5 as I incorrectly said earlier as I do it daily but there you go.... I blame it on the fact that there is hardly an inch of tarmac insight due to the volume of weaving traffic.