Motorway Madness

rock-on_2

No I'm not stressed, can't be bothered with that

No I wasn't in the wrong lane I was in the inside lane watching these idiot 40+ boy racesrs in front of me, through the roadworks criss crossing the lanes ahead in heavy traffic to try getting in front. They were accidents looking for somewhere to happen

Yes its safer not to keep changing lanes, just try telling the 40+ boy racers I was watching ahead of me in the road works (see above).

No, the car park was at a services though I wouldn't put it past this one using the motorway to park for her picnic. She still didn't look anyway. completely oblivious to other vehicles, wonder if she'd have noticed a large truck? doubt it

Yes white van man, a real one, was doing just over 50 in the middle lane on a clear motorway. I couldn't believe it either but there he was in the middle lane it's not something you forget

No I didn't say I was being undertaken, read it again and read these comments. I was watching what was ahead not joining in - other than blasting my horn at the old bat in the middle lane when there wasn't much traffic about. Last time I did that was when some dimbat on its mobile phone pulled out of the inside lane to middle lane in front of me. Blasted the horn, frightened him sh**less, phone shot up in the air no idea where it landed. Well worth doing, may make him think twice about rabbiting on the phone when he's driving

Yes undertaking is for the most part illegal even on a quiet motorway just to get past the old bat in the middle lane

Pollycat

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

What's the big deal about undertaking anyway? I don't do it that often but I don't crying when I see someone else do it.

Because it's against the law!

Highway code #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.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

They allow it on the Autobahn and you can go hurtling along on there.

But we don't have Autobahns here in the UK.
We have motorways and - again - it's against the law.

aileth

When there's a quiet motorway and someone is sat in the middle lane when the inside is totally clear, my OH makes a point of crossing all three lanes and then back across all three in front of them. You'd be surprised how many are in fairy la-la land and when someone does this to them they snap out of it.

Jamie_Carter

rock-on wrote: »

Finally I have to say something after today's motorway episodes. No way am I anything like a perfect driver but these clowns just make my blood boil. The sooner it's an offence to hog the middle lane, intimidate and drive aggressively or tailgate, the better

It is already an offence. They are just changing the penalties.

Jamie_Carter

comeandgo wrote: »

If someone can undertake you, you are in the wrong lane.

Not if you are stuck behind someone doing 50mph in the outside lane, waiting for them to pull over into an empty lane to their left.

Jamie_Carter

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

What's the big deal about undertaking anyway? I don't do it that often but I don't crying when I see someone else do it. They allow it on the Autobahn and you can go hurtling along on there.

One of the reasons that our motorways are the safest roads in the world is because we only allow overtaking on the outside. It means that we don't have people passing us on both sides, and makes changing lanes safer, because we only have one blind spot to contend with instead of two.

Idiophreak

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

What's the big deal about undertaking anyway? I don't do it that often but I don't crying when I see someone else do it.

Mainly, I find it's dangerous.

You've got a lorry in lane 1 doing 55.
A lorry in lane 2 doing 56
Mr MPV doing his 60mph on cruise in lane 3

...and a queue of about 30 cars behind MPV waiting to pass them all.

Then you have Mr BMW decide to leave the back of the queue, undertake everyone in it and cut in again at the front.

What happens? All 30 cars in the queue instantly quarter their stopping distances in an attempt to stop him cutting in in front of them.

It's just needless and stupid - a little patience goes a long way.

antrobus

comeandgo wrote: »

If someone can undertake you, you are in the wrong lane.

Not a totally inaccurate point of view.

The CPS cite 'overtaking on the inside' as an example of Driving without due care and attention, whilst they cite 'unnecessarily remaining in an overtaking lane' as an example of Driving without reasonable consideration. (The penalty for both offences is exactly the same, by the way.)

Hence if by undertaking someone you are committing an offence then, by definition, the person you are undertaking is also very likely committing an offence.

Jamie_Carter

antrobus wrote: »

Not a totally inaccurate point of view.

The CPS cite 'overtaking on the inside' as an example of Driving without due care and attention, whilst they cite 'unnecessarily remaining in an overtaking lane' as an example of Driving without reasonable consideration. (The penalty for both offences is exactly the same, by the way.)

Hence if by undertaking someone you are committing an offence then, by definition, the person you are undertaking is also very likely committing an offence.

Which is exactly why the new penalties are being brought in for both.

balmk

I think that it would be really helpful if the government ran a campaign along with the changes in penalities as I'm sure that some people genuinely believe that you use the central lane for "cruising", i.e. I don't need to come off for another 5 junctions so I'll just sit in this lane.