Lane discipline.

Dave101t

i just continue on my journey in lane one, if i seem to undertake them, im not, as im not performing a maneuver, simply making my progress. done it past police and they dont stop me, or the lane hog, unfortunately.

Billy-no-Money

roddydogs wrote: »

If im doing 70, why should I move to the inside lane where I will soon need to overtake slower vehicles so will be continually changing lanes, dangerous/extra tyre wear. Theirs an overtaking lane if you want to break the law or overtake me.
Whats the problem?

"Doing 70" is a logical argument, unfortunately undermined by your assertion of 'extra tyre wear' - that's a new one on me!

Truth is doing 70 on a busy motorway isn't as easy as it should be (I have to, my wife's a driving instructor and it's her car I drive) - people who think they're doing 70 might be anywhere from 65 - 75, you catch up with somebody doing 69 and decide it would take too long to pass, then they catch up with somebody doing 68, then a 67-miler appears and before you know it you've got a little convoy in the middle lane doing 65, unable to pass because lane 3 is going much faster, reluctant to pull over because they actually want to do 70 and are therefore waiting for the car in front to pull over (which it won't). This cycle only gets broken when a truck pulls out and the timid stay behind it while the rest overtake.

Somewhere up at the front of this little convoy there will be a middle-lane hogger doing about 65, but the rest think they're not hogging the middle lane, just waiting for the car in front to get out of the way!

Meanwhile of course, you get the same kind of convoy travelling down lane 3, just 10 or 20 miles per hour faster.

The problem I see is people just following the car in front instead of thinking for themselves - a single person sat in the middle lane isn't a problem, but it creates a thrombosis behind because of reluctance to pass.

skivenov

fivetide wrote: »

Affectionately known as 'orbiting'.

I haven't done it personally but my friend's record is four orbits before the other driver got the message.

5t.

My record's 17.

It was at night though.

roddydogs wrote: »

If im doing 70, why should I move to the inside lane where I will soon need to overtake slower vehicles so will be continually changing lanes, dangerous/extra tyre wear. Theirs an overtaking lane if you want to break the law or overtake me.
Whats the problem?

If it's "soon" in terms of seconds, you shouldn't. If it's "at some point in the future" then use the driving lane, not an overtaking lane.

For those of us who do want to break the law (or who are working off an accurate speedo that has a different version of 70mph to yours). Why should you be reserving 2/3rds of the motorway for your own future use and relegating anyone who's not living in your little bubble to the rest of the motorway?

If you think changing lanes is a "dangerous" manoveur, I would really question if you should be on the road.

If you want to save fuel and tyre wear so badly, why not drop your speed to 56mph and sit in lane one?

bazster

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

Driving back from Cornwall. it struck me that on two-lane dual carriageways people overtake and then pull back to the nearside lane (in general). On motorways, people often hog the middle lane and even hang about in the outside lane for too long with faster traffic behind. Why the difference?

Simples: The Centre Lane Owners' Club avoids dual carriageways for its daily club runs, because they don't have a centre lane.

Mrs_Arcanum

Billy-no-Money wrote: »

"Doing 70" is a logical argument, unfortunately undermined by your assertion of 'extra tyre wear' - that's a new one on me!

Truth is doing 70 on a busy motorway isn't as easy as it should be (I have to, my wife's a driving instructor and it's her car I drive) - people who think they're doing 70 might be anywhere from 65 - 75, you catch up with somebody doing 69 and decide it would take too long to pass, then they catch up with somebody doing 68, then a 67-miler appears and before you know it you've got a little convoy in the middle lane doing 65, unable to pass because lane 3 is going much faster, reluctant to pull over because they actually want to do 70 and are therefore waiting for the car in front to pull over (which it won't). This cycle only gets broken when a truck pulls out and the timid stay behind it while the rest overtake.

Somewhere up at the front of this little convoy there will be a middle-lane hogger doing about 65, but the rest think they're not hogging the middle lane, just waiting for the car in front to get out of the way!

Meanwhile of course, you get the same kind of convoy travelling down lane 3, just 10 or 20 miles per hour faster.

The problem I see is people just following the car in front instead of thinking for themselves - a single person sat in the middle lane isn't a problem, but it creates a thrombosis behind because of reluctance to pass.

This is far nearer the reality of most middle lane driving.

As the motorways we tend to use most are the M42, M5 & M6, returning to the inside lane at every opportunity would soon result in being sandwiched between two wagons with no chance of moving to the middle lane, simply because of the sheer volume of traffic. Driving in the middle lane will usually be faster than the inside nose to tail lorries & still give the chance to overtake the nervy middle lane hogger (the ones who never ever move out of the middle except to leave the motorway).

Tobster86

roddydogs wrote: »

If im doing 70, why should I move to the inside lane where I will soon need to overtake slower vehicles so will be continually changing lanes, dangerous/extra tyre wear. Theirs an overtaking lane if you want to break the law or overtake me.
Whats the problem?

You should move into the inside lane so you're not driving carelessly and inconsiderately.

The middle lane is an overtaking lane, just like the third lane.

You've highlighted exactly what is wrong with UK road safety - people think that rigorously sticking to an arbitrary speed limit is more important that observation and lane discipline.

Middle lane hogging is lazy and selfish.

Dave_C_2

As always the definitive answer is the Highway Code:

Lane discipline
264
You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past. Slow-moving or speed-restricted vehicles should always remain in the left-hand lane of the carriageway unless overtaking. You MUST NOT drive on the hard shoulder except in an emergency or if directed to do so by the police, HA traffic officers in uniform or by signs.

and

268
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.

Anything else is driving without due care and attention. Punishable by death by firing squad.

OK I joked about the firing squad, but driving is a serious matter and lives are at risk. You may think that staying in the middle lane is doing no harm, but it may be the first link in a chain of events leading to a motorway pileup.

Dave

sillygoose

The middle lane hoggers defences falls down big style on the M6 Toll when tootling along in the inside lane I often come up on a MLH when ALL 3 lanes ahead are deserted.. what is going on in this ones head? It then leaves me the annoying choice of illegal undertaking or going 1-2-3-2-1 just to carry on my way.

I actually think some people think their £5.50 buys them exclusive use of the lane they are in for the trip, like in a bowling alley!

Crabman

jase1 wrote: »

Seems to me Crabman that you are being an apologist for people who wilfully ignore the concept of lane discipline.

And overtaking on both sides is not inherently dangerous. The onus should always be on the driver making the manoeuvre (in this case, changing lanes) to verify that there is nothing occupying that lane.

By stating that it's dangerous to overtake on both sides, what you are really saying is that it is acceptable for someone to move from one lane into another without looking -- for that is the only 'danger' of passing on the left.

Not at all. My policy is "keep left unless overtaking." It's simple and it works.

Unfortunately others come on with their own little philosophies & rules and inexplicably expect others on the road to adhere.

I'd like to see everyone keep left unless overtaking, yet the reality is that the BMW/Audi/Merc drivers will happily moan away about middle lane hogs whilst they carry on hogging the outside lane and keep one car length from the vehicle in front.

cleeside

Crabman wrote: »

How is this helpful? All you're doing is increasing the probability that you'll be involved in a collision. If they're hogging the middle lane, they clearly don't realise what they're doing wrong, so as far as they're concerned, you're just some oddball who is constantly speeding up and slowing down around them. They aren't likely to realise you're a self-appointed traffic cop.



No. This would be dangerous and is quite simply a poorly considered response to pacify those who have little patience and don't care what happens as long as they can get ahead and save precious seconds on their journey time.

The present system works well, we quite simply need more trained traffic police on the roads to enforce the existing laws.

I agree 100% with this. I get fairly annoyed by middle lane hoggers but now just ignore them and get on with my driving. I almost ploughed in to the back of a lorry (with my wife and two small daughters in the car) whilst trying to prove a stupid point to a middle lane hogger.

I still get annoyed by people who don't indicate when they turn left at roundabouts but limit my response to swearing quietly to myself.

Lots of ways to die on the roads, there is no point adding to them.