"Hogging the middle lane"

Strider590

You see this idea of "i'm doing the speed limit YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!" is just plain wrong, it's not your job or my job to Police other drivers.

Better to let them pass, than to be in the middle of the carnage when they eventually run out of luck.

Half the people who try to do this self appointed road Policing, they don't even know the law and haven't read the highway code for over 20 years.
They're the idiots who think the national speed limit is 40mph and that overtaking is illegal and hatch markings should never be crossed, the one's that do far more dangerous things in their pursuit of "justice", than the person they're trying to p!ss off ever did.

Anyone who tries to Police other drivers, whether they're right or wrong, are a menace and should have their licence burned.... IMHO

dannyrst

Strider590 wrote: »

You see this idea of "i'm doing the speed limit YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!" is just plain wrong, it's not your job or my job to Police other drivers.

Better to let them pass, than to be in the middle of the carnage when they eventually run out of luck.

Half the people who try to do this self appointed road Policing, they don't even know the law and haven't read the highway code for over 20 years.
They're the idiots who think the national speed limit is 40mph and that overtaking is illegal and hatch markings should never be crossed, the one's that do far more dangerous things in their pursuit of "justice", than the person they're trying to p!ss off ever did.

Anyone who tries to Police other drivers, whether they're right or wrong, are a menace and should have their licence burned.... IMHO

This. Exactly this.

Cornucopia

There may well be a few extreme amateur "policemen" on the roads, but the experience of being a speeder "blocked" by other vehicles traveling at or below the speed limit will be quite common with or without them.

Strider590

Cornucopia wrote: »

There may well be a few extreme amateur "policemen" on the roads, but the experience of being a speeder "blocked" by other vehicles traveling at or below the speed limit will be quite common with or without them.

Well, sure.... You've got your 3 basic types of obstructive drivers, the plastic Policeman (mentioned above), the dithering oblivious idiot and finally the maniac driving a slower car than his/her ego. All get in the way for different reasons and all are a menace to society.

The plastic Policemen though, they usually have very little skill behind the wheel and will tend to do the most dangerous manoeuvres, as they genuinely believe that if an accident occurs, that they are in the right and the law will take their side.

Cornucopia

I'm not talking about deliberately obstructive drivers - just crowded roads.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Strider590 wrote: »

You see this idea of "i'm doing the speed limit YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!" is just plain wrong, it's not your job or my job to Police other drivers.

Better to let them pass, than to be in the middle of the carnage when they eventually run out of luck.

Half the people who try to do this self appointed road Policing, they don't even know the law and haven't read the highway code for over 20 years.
They're the idiots who think the national speed limit is 40mph and that overtaking is illegal and hatch markings should never be crossed, the one's that do far more dangerous things in their pursuit of "justice", than the person they're trying to p!ss off ever did.

Anyone who tries to Police other drivers, whether they're right or wrong, are a menace and should have their licence burned.... IMHO

That is not what either I or Joe described. Both of us are saying something similar, which is that we are under no obligation to leap out of the way for someone going faster than the limit (or even just faster than us) when we are ourselves being held up by slower traffic.

If I am doing 70 and I come across a lorry passing a lorry and there is someone in the outside lane doing 65, I don't think that they are obliged to get out of my way either as long as they are getting past.

If someone is sitting in the outside lane at 70 not passing another car doing 70 then they should back off and pull in, even if it means they are travelling at 69mph because then they are hindering other people without making any gains themselves.

It is not about policing the roads, but not accepting that someone driving at speed has the right to force other people to delay their journey when we are driving appropriately. It is perfectly legitimate to drive at 60mph on the motorway, plenty of people do and they are quite entitled to pass HGVs without the cars behind trying to force them to get out of the way. That doesn't mean they can leap out into the next lane without considering other traffic.

If there is heavy traffic in the outside lane and I come up on a 65mpher, I am happy enough to wait for a suitable gap - no point winding up other drivers and no significant time lost, but I am not going to dive out the way or drive over the limit if some Q7 or X5 comes looming in my rear view mirror.

I quite agree it is not for anyone to police roads, but that does not translate into being forced to give way to people who want to drive above the speed limit.

Joe_Horner

IanMSpencer wrote: »

That is not what either I or Joe described. Both of us are saying something similar, which is that we are under no obligation to leap out of the way for someone going faster than the limit (or even just faster than us) when we are ourselves being held up by slower traffic.
[...]
I quite agree it is not for anyone to police roads, but that does not translate into being forced to give way to people who want to drive above the speed limit.

Sadly, Ian, the "right" not to be delayed only applies to the fastest car on the road as far as many people are concerned. Everyone else should pull over, and be forced to a crawl between HGVs if needed, for their convenience.

If you don't do that, you're being inconsiderate. If they try to "encourage" you to do that, they're simply exerting their inalienable right to use the road as they see fit.

Rights and responsibilities only work one way for these drivers - they have a right and you have a responsibility to respect it. If you dare to suggest otherwise they come pre-armed with trite cliches about "policing the road" and similar Clarkesonesque logical disconnects .

almillar

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.

Absolutely. That's great driving, he's not getting in anyone's way and driving to the road conditions. This is completely different in action and attitude to the lane hogs we're talking about here.

IanMSpencer and Joe Horner both describe what can be generalised as 'overtaking more than one vehicle' and both say a similar thing, don't pull in if you're going to be held up letting people past, especially if you're driving at the speed limit.
I agree. But just remember there's no shame in slowing down or changing speed either way to help the traffic flow better. And of course the usual caveat, your speedo can't be counted on unless you have an up to date calibration certificate. Strider590 makes this point well, below.

Lots of questions Joe, some very specific, and we can only really deal in generals because we've only got the rules to go by, and after that we're left with judgement.
Bacon and eggs would be great for breakfast, thanks.

Most people on here seem to pass the attitude test (live and let live, let everyone get on with their own journey).

Treat it as if you have no more right to overtake on a dual carrraigeway or motorway, than you do on a single. And it's the same manouvre, it's just vastly safer, and you can still annoy people if you do it wrong.

Dr._Shoe

The highway code clearly states that you should drive on the left unless overtaking, turning right, there are signs directing you to do otherwise or you're being directed to do so by a uniformed police officer.

Hogging the middle lane does not count in any of these scenarios.

IMO it is acceptable to stay in the middle lane if you can see slow moving traffic up ahead but if it is moving at a decent speed then I would pull over until I catch up with it, moving out in good time so as not to disrupt faster traffic coming up behind me and so as to not impede my own progress.

If everyone drove like this then that'd cut congestion by more than a half.