"Hogging the middle lane"

jlfrs

Strider590 wrote: »

The "my way code" versus highway code.....



V

When being overtaken, speed up, try to stop the other vehicle getting ahead. If approaching a merge point, try to make it appear as though the overtaking vehicle has cut you up, never mind the increasing gap behind you OR the increased engine noise OR the smoke from your tailpipe, nobody will notice this and will simple assume the other driver was in the wrong. Lean on the horn triumphantly as the other driver gets ahead anyway, tailgate the driver until the next two lane section and then give them abusive hand gestures before slowing down to the speed you were doing before being overtaken.

Out on the road it's 10% highway code and 90% "my way code".

Do you by any chance live near Reading Strider590?


Don't get me on the subject of overtaking, because then I'll be tempted to post about lorry drivers on the A34 from Oxford to Newbury......and they're not a protective, defensive bunch at all....

Strider590

jlfrs wrote: »

Do you by any chance live near Reading Strider590?


Don't get me on the subject of overtaking, because then I'll be tempted to post about lorry drivers on the A34 from Oxford to Newbury......and they're not a protective, defensive bunch at all....

I think unfortunately it's just a UK wide problem.

interstellaflyer

jlfrs wrote: »

Do you by any chance live near Reading Strider590?


Don't get me on the subject of overtaking, because then I'll be tempted to post about lorry drivers on the A34 from Oxford to Newbury......and they're not a protective, defensive bunch at all....

I use the Botley to Milton Interchange section daily and tend to stay in lane one, especially at the moment with the major roadworks at Milton, I find generally people use lane two needlessly, often there will be an empty lane one whilst people are queuing behind an overtaking HGV, this can often go on for 2 to 3 miles whilst I'm matching their speed in lane one. All these people desperate to overtake an HGV doing 60 then find they grind to a near halt a couple of mile on at Marcham, then crawl between there and Milton, the mentality that they must get past the trucks which can now legally do 60 on a dual carriageway is completely pointless and causes more problems than the trucks themselves.

Astronaughtwannabe

Joe_Horner wrote: »

No, the culprit in every single case is the person who decides, for any reason, to get too close to the car ahead no matter what that car is doing.

They have free will, they (and only they) are in control of their own car, if it's too close to the car ahead for any reason then that's their conscious decision, their responsibility, and - if things go wrong as a result, their fault.

You can't blame others for things you decide to do on the road in any circumstances If you decide to drive too close or, in some cases maybe, don't understand what a proper following distance is, then that's down to you, not the car ahead!

I'm with Joe on this one. Middle lane hoggers are a nuisance but you can always pass by on the right (or left if done carefully and they are a blatantly hogging the middle lane).

The real danger is as Joe says.. tailgating etc.

Police actually have much more important things to attend, alas the dictats have now earmarked this as 'important'.

Joe_Horner

almillar wrote: »

Tailgating is wrong, mmmkay.
Now, with that acknowledgement out of the way - do you all promise to have a look around you, and move to the left if necessary, when you get flashed by the car behind (at a safe distance)?
Or will you stubbornly stay in the way of the 'aggressive speeder' behind you?
I promise I'll move over.

Absolutely I'll move over as soon as (a) it's safe and (b) doing so won't cause me to have to immediately slow to avoid catching the next vehicle in the left lane before I'm likely to be able to get out again.

In case of (b) I'll still move over if it looks like there's no prospect of that changing in the near to middle distance and I've got a reasonable chance of getting out again (ie: the cars behind are leaving more than the obligatory 2 feet between each other)

The reason for that is that, while I should (and will) avoid causing others to change speed or direction needlessly, that same rule applies to the guy behind.

If, by trying to force me to change direction (with a lane change), he's also going to force me to change speed because he won't get past before I need to come out again, then he'll just have to be patient a little longer

Incidentally, I'll also happily stay in the outer lanes for extended periods if there's nothing behind me being inconvenienced. Few drivers worry me more on a motorway than the compulsive "move left" ones who weave in and out of a completely empty outside lane because they "keep left" on autopilot rather than realising that there's absolutely no reason at all to move over if the outside lane is clear to the horizon behind them. It suggests a dangerous lack of brain engagement, usually at multi-lepton speeds.

Hadrian

Your post annoys me as much as the MLH! Finaly, at long last, and NOT before time either, these cretins who deliberately stay in the middle lane forcing drivers to run the gauntlet of cars in the 'fast' lane are getting fined. Recently a man was fined £1000 for such behaviour and rightly so. There is no justification whatsoever to do such a dangerous thing, blue badge or no blue badge. If you are so frightened of using the 'fast' lane then keep off the motorway!! I could say more but in these days of political correctness I'd better not. :mad::mad::mad:

Hadrian

Disabled_Rights_For_Me wrote: »

I like driving in the middle lane and this is what is most comfortable for me. I am disabled. I don't go on the motorway that often but when I do I like to have a comfortable drive.

Now, if I am driving at the speed limit, then anyone taking over me is going over the speed limit and so there shouldn't be a problem.

I had an incident about a year ago, where a man followed me to the services. I needed the toilet and I wanted to go and eat the sandwiches that I had taken with me and have the drink that I had taken with me. What I do is go to the supermarkets and get my food and drinks from there as well as my household things as I REFUSE, absolutely REFUSE to use these services as they are sometimes priced more.

Anyway this man come over and said that I was stupid for "hogging the middle lane". I went straight to my blue badge, showed it to his face, told him I had a disability and that I would be calling the police due to discrimination.

I can tell you he backed off. So anyone out there who gets any bother and has a blue badge, just you make sure you use it. It can help in all kinds of situations.


He said that I had stayed in the middle lane for miles and miles. Well I did. Is there anything wrong with this?

What's your 'disability' that makes you think you can break the law with impunity?

almillar

Absolutely I'll move over as soon as (a) it's safe and (b) doing so won't cause me to have to immediately slow to avoid catching the next vehicle in the left lane before I'm likely to be able to get out again.

Then you're not a lane hog.
If everybody did this, there wouldn't be a problem.
No-one thinks they're a lane hog, it's only ever other people that hog lanes (or for that matter, tailgate!).

If, by trying to force me to change direction (with a lane change),

I'll disagree with this, slightly. The attitude should be that you're always in the left lane. Whilst you're not in the left lane, you're performing a manoeuvre, which you should complete quickly. Your change in this case should be the overtake you're performing. When it's over, get back ASAP. Obviously people shouldn't weave in and out, but the left lane is where you're meant to be. What's so wrong about moving back into the lane you're meant to be in?

Incidentally, I'll also happily stay in the outer lanes for extended periods if there's nothing behind me being inconvenienced.

You're inconveniencing no-one by doing this, as long as you're paying attention to your mirrors. You'll be in the minority!

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Chris Gilbert, instructor to the Great and Good, has a video where he is driving on a dual carriageway has completed an overtake and having checked his mirrors stays out in the right hand lane because there is nothing behind and there is a sweeping left hand bend so staying right extends his visibility.

So there are general rules and then applying common sense in the circumstances.

I will not move left if I can see an obstruction ahead and the cars behind are likely to arrive and potentially block me in (and I am going at the limit). On the other hand if there is a long gap, and cars will arrive well before I reach the lorry or whatever, I will move over. I guess the test on a 3 lane motorway for pulling into lane 1 is: will moving over allow other cars to move over and allow them to be passed? If me pulling over does not give time for other cars to pass before I need to pull out to avoid being obstructed then traffic flow has not been helped (except if I completely concede and chug along trapped behind the lorry).

If I am doing the limit, I feel no obligation to delay my journey to help faster moving traffic pass by.

Joe_Horner

almillar wrote: »

I'll disagree with this, slightly. The attitude should be that you're always in the left lane. Whilst you're not in the left lane, you're performing a manoeuvre, which you should complete quickly. Your change in this case should be the overtake you're performing. When it's over, get back ASAP. Obviously people shouldn't weave in and out, but the left lane is where you're meant to be. What's so wrong about moving back into the lane you're meant to be in?

Happy to agree with your disagreement, maybe I should have clarified slightly.

I have no problem moving back to the left (so changing direction by my post) if doing so won't also require me to change my speed because I'm closing on something ahead and the car waiting to pass is unlikely to get past before I reach it.

That's a very difficult judgement to quantify on a forum post because there are a LOT of factors involved, ALL of which (and more) I aim to be assessing at all times behind the wheel -

Is it one car behind, or several with no gaps?

Am I at / above the speed limit in the Pug or doing 60 in the Daf? I feel less compulsion to give way if I'm only holding up people who want to speed rather than people who want to get past at the limit. I'll still allow either past given the chance, but I won't be as inclined to get slowed down myself if it's just for someone else to speed.

How did the car behind approach? If he crept up slowly in his diseael Mondeo then he's less likely to get past quickly than if I saw him coming from the horizon at 3 figure speeds. Although, in that case, I'll have hopefully already found space to get out of his way before he reaches me...

How aggressive is he being? Someone who comes up very close and is immediately flashing / hassling will find I take a longer gap to pull in to simply because - from past experience - such drivers are far more likely to go for the fast undertake as soon as my back bumper clears the car I'm passing. Which means I have an extra check to do before moving over to be sure they're not now on my left with their foot down.

Is there a third lane and is it free? If there is then he can move to it rather than me having to slow every single time!

What did I have for breakfast that morning? Bacon makes me happy, All Bran puts me in an unhelpful mood.


Ok, one of the above isn't a real consideration, but hopefully you get the idea

No doubt I sometimes make misjudgements in the above, but I also show tolerance and patience when others are making similar judgements that affect me which is why MLMs tend not to upset me as much as tailgaters