"Hogging the middle lane"

Retrogamer

Car_54 wrote: »

He (or she) may well be a troll and/or an imbecile, but it's not illegal.

You may be prosecuted for careless driving or similar.
The lane is for overtaking, so if you're not overtaking there's no reason to use it.

dacouch

force_ten wrote: »

I think we should go american where passing either side is fair game, it would stop a lot of people getting stressed out about numpties being in the wrong lane

That's a great idea.

We should also issue all blue badge holders with an extra blue badge. The badge holders could then attach a blue badge in each side window so any under or overtakers could see their exemption and give them a knowing nod.

Poppie68

Now if I was a sensitive soul I would be offended by the bridge dweller as all his threads and posts seem to be aimed at taking the p*I*s*s out of disabled people by their very weak attempts at trolling.... instead of been offended I would like to say Karma is a b*I*t*c*h and you are undoubtedly on her list....

Now crawl along I'm sure mummy has bitty pumped and ready...

Joe_Horner

Agreed, Poppy. My partner is disabled (has been since her teens) and is entitled to a blue badge (she hasn't got one at the moment because between us we can manage without and she prefers not to claim special treatment if possible).

Everything from the username to the posting matter from this troll appears aimed at being offensive to disability. In any case, not really worth getting upset about.

It would be nice if others appreciated that aspect of its attempts and just stopped feeing it though

globalds

muckybutt

Car_54 wrote: »

but it's not illegal.

Really ? so the Police can fine and give you points for something that you say is legal to do ? MUPPET ! it has been an offence since July 2013

On the spot fixed penalties and points CAN and ARE issued for careless driving for middle lane hogging.

Richard53

My brother-in-law is a prime example of the breed. I have known him drive the whole of the M4 from London to Pont Abraham, in lane 2. Literally the whole length. He can't see why it's wrong, and he won't discuss it.

Aretnap

Retrogamer wrote: »

You may be prosecuted for careless driving or similar.
The lane is for overtaking, so if you're not overtaking there's no reason to use it.

Middle lane hogging is more likely to come under the umbrella of inconsiderate driving than careless driving - the same section of the Road Traffic Act but a slightly different offence.

Now, inconsiderate driving is only an offence if someone is actually inconvenienced by it - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/3ZA

Driving in the middle lane for no good reason at, say, 60mph is clearly likely to cause inconvenience to drivers who want to pass you at higher speed. However if you're doing it at 70mph it does raise the mildly interesting legal question of whether you can inconvenience people by preventing them from doing something which they're not allowed to do anyway.

(I don't know the answer BTW, just suggesting that the question is perhaps not as clear cut as some people would like to think).

bartelbe

Alright I'll bite.

I maybe the only driver in Britain who actually moves into the left hand lane. So I spend my whole time switching lanes, which is really fun.

What I have noticed is the drivers who get outraged by middle lane hoggers, those who steam past me at 80mph or more, are middle lane hoggers.

They never move into the left lane themselves. This is my problem with people who get outraged by the issue. They are not upset by people driving in the overtaking lane, but by people stopping them from using the overtaking lane as their own personal lane.

fred246

There are so many vehicles on motorways whose speed is limited to less that 70MPH. You have to have a quiet motorway to make it worth going into the inside line. How can people complain about middle lane hoggers? Just move to the right and overtake. By staying in the middle lane you are helping people who have to join the motorway. If you are doing 70MPH in the middle lane only emergency vehicles and criminals will be overtaking.