Middle Lane Hogging - North/South divide..

neilmcl

Again, common sense applies.

almillar

Joe Horner - thanks for doing the maths. I still maintain that 15 seconds can be a long time, but I accept that in the situation I described, it would require 30 odd seconds.
Not to get into too much of an argument, but I would rewind a bit to when you would have pulled out - were you causing someone behind to change speed or course? In heavy traffic of course, you could have been out long before I was on the scene.

You are all middle lane hoggers.

I'm not!

Tilt

Yesterday (Sunday) I was travelling south at around 60mph on the A3 near Guildford (3 lane stretch) where there's a large car boot sale. Some moron in a black Nissan pick up exited the car boot sale so I pulled into the middle lane to allow him to do so. Before he had picked up speed in lane 1, he pulled out into the middle lane (which was empty in front of him) right in front of me and just sat there at around 35 to 40 mph causing me to undertake him (as there was traffic overtaking me in lane 3) after flashing my headlights rapidly at him.

Checked my mirror and the idiot was still in the middle lane getting loads of flashes from other drivers!

dannyrst

Tilt wrote: »

Yesterday (Sunday) I was travelling south at around 60mph on the A3 near Guildford (3 lane stretch) where there's a large car boot sale. Some moron in a black Nissan pick up exited the car boot sale so I pulled into the middle lane to allow him to do so. Before he had picked up speed in lane 1, he pulled out into the middle lane (which was empty in front of him) right in front of me and just sat there at around 35 to 40 mph causing me to undertake him (as there was traffic overtaking me in lane 3) after flashing my headlights rapidly at him.

Checked my mirror and the idiot was still in the middle lane getting loads of flashes from other drivers!

He probably know that in 20-30 miles the left lane was for exit only so needed to make sure he didn't get stuck in the left lane! :rotfl:

Joe_Horner

almillar wrote: »

Joe Horner - thanks for doing the maths. I still maintain that 15 seconds can be a long time,

Absolutely agree that, in the real world, 15 seconds should (normally) be enough of a gap to use if everyone's playing nicely. But my point was that you can't actually criticise someone for wanting more than that if you're using the HC to do so, because the HC guidelines say that's what'll be needed in that situation

Personally, if I'm in the mood to bimble along at 60 - 70 passing lorries and someone comes up behind me, hangs back and waits, I'll speed up (maybe not as much as they'd like but the limit will become advisory) until a suitable gap arrives then slow once I'm in it. On the other hand, if they come up within 6 feet of my bumper and start flashing lights etc then I might speed up to the limit but that's all they'll get.

Incidentally, another bit of maths trivia regarding 2 second gaps:

The UK eyesight standard for driving is 6/12 on the Snellen scale (or 10/20 in old money), which means you can make out any given detail at half the distance that someone with "average" vision can. It also equates to reading a number plate (new style) at 20m.

That means that someone with "20/20" vision (in old money cos everyone understands that phrase) should be able to read a number plate at 40m. 40m is a 2 second gap at a speed of 45mph.

Which means, in very simple and easy to remember terms, if you have good eyesight, you're doing more than 45mph, and you can read the number of the car ahead then you're too damn close!

regprentice

One prosecution in two years and according to this article approx three on the spot fines issued on average per police force in the first month the act came in.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10761348/Penalty-rates-low-for-tailgaters-and-middle-lane-hogs.html

Much like the ban on using mobiles behind the wheel its largely ignored by both drivers and the police.

Read an article in the paper recently that stated that my local authority area (west lothian) only had one police car on the roads on a saturday afternoon.

Quite literally you have as much chance of winning a decent amount on the lottery as being stopped for being a 'middle lane moron'.

Joe_Horner

regprentice wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10761348/Penalty-rates-low-for-tailgaters-and-middle-lane-hogs.html

Quite literally you have as much chance of winning a decent amount on the lottery as being stopped for being a 'middle lane moron'.

It's a little worrying about driving attitudes how everyone seems to associate the introduction of these fixed penalties with catching MLMs and ignores the fact that they were also intended to be used against tailgaters.

Given that I certainly see far more tailgating than lane hogging out there I guess it's not too surprising though - no-one ever sees a problem with their own failings!

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

I think sometimes the point of having an actual offence is not that it is used, but that the message can be got across that it should not be done. It seems though that even with explicit offences implemented for political reasons, drivers seem to have a strange misbelief in their own driving. The psychology of being in the driver's seat is peculiar and it seems to lead to excessive selfishness, delusions of skill and invulnerability and immunity from the law of the land, and a loss of temper control (all things I can recognise in myself over the years).

Typically where it is more likely to come into play is where there is an accident, especially for tailgating, though driving without due care seems a better fit. I doubt there have been that many prosecutions for seatbelts over the years, it needs a solid publicity campaign to change hearts and minds, not legislation that people who are not interested in will simply dismiss or argue is inappropriate (as in, it's not worth pulling in because of X ahead, or if I back off someone will pull in front of me).

jase1

regprentice wrote: »

Much like the ban on using mobiles behind the wheel its largely ignored by both drivers and the police.

In the grand scheme of things I'd far rather the guy in front of me was trundling in the middle lane than driving whilst holding a phone...

dktreesea

robbies_gal wrote: »

5am down the a13 guaranteed middle lane hoggers they wont budge-hardly any vehicles even on the road but they belive theyre doig the right thing

Yes, because they are not impeding anyone coming onto or off the road (hence not in the left lane) and they are not stopping anyone, on a three lane road, overtaking them on the right. I try to drive like that, in a middle lane, on the M25. I prefer to stay out of the way of trucks and people coming onto and off the motorway.


If it's just a two lane carriageway, then I agree with you. There's no need to drive in the outermost lane. But on a three lane carriageway, i can see why people would be in the middle lane.