Middle Lane Hogging - North/South divide..

Retrogamer

dktreesea wrote: »

I was in the first lane, behind a truck going around 65mph or so. I pulled out and overtook him, at 70mph. Well, the number of people screaming up behind me, flashing me during the time it took me to overtake! Around 7 cars, all doing, I would guess, near to 80mph. One must have been doing a fair bit more, because he streaked away from all of them who were streaking away from me.

Why didn't they just move to lane 3 and pass you?
Perhaps you pulled out in front of them and that's why they were flashing?

Sounds a bit strange.

theatretony

dktreesea wrote: »

I was in the first lane, behind a truck going around 65mph or so. I pulled out and overtook him, at 70mph. Well, the number of people screaming up behind me, flashing me during the time it took me to overtake! Around 7 cars, all doing, I would guess, near to 80mph. One must have been doing a fair bit more, because he streaked away from all of them who were streaking away from me.

In that situation - I would move over to lane 2 and match my speed with the other vehicles in lane two, move back to lane one and then slow my speed back down.

Remember, if you cause another vehicle to take evasive action in a driving test it would be a fail.

Just remembered another MLH place which is the M62 going over the pennines towards Leeds where it becomes a 4 laner, too many to count there!!

bazster

Retrogamer wrote: »

Why didn't they just move to lane 3 and pass you?

Duh! Because they were members of the Centre Lane Owners' Club, obviously! They are no more likely to venture into the outside lane than they are the inside lane.

bazster

theatretony wrote: »

In that situation - I would move over to lane 2 and match my speed with the other vehicles in lane two, move back to lane one and then slow my speed back down.

The other vehicles in lane 2 were speeding, so you are basically offering dktreesea the choice between staying stuck behind a truck in Lane 1 or breaking the speed limit in Lane 2.

If the speeding drivers didn't like having someone sticking to the speed limit in "their" lane there was always lane 3 where they could've continued their lawbreaking, if only they weren't so fixated on never leaving "their" lane.

bouicca21

Further to what Iolanthe said, I have real trouble not being a middle lane user on the stretch of A2 between the Blackwall tunnel and Kent. The left lane regularly turns into a local traffic lane, so in theory one should be weaving in and out of the middle lane. In practice this is very difficult to do when the road is busy because the middle lane is chocka. So that's where I tend to stay. Does this make me a middle lane hogger even if I drive at the speed limit (50 on that section) and there is a third lane for overtaking?

Joe_Horner

bouicca21 wrote: »

Further to what Iolanthe said, I have real trouble not being a middle lane user on the stretch of A2 between the Blackwall tunnel and Kent. The left lane regularly turns into a local traffic lane, so in theory one should be weaving in and out of the middle lane. In practice this is very difficult to do when the road is busy because the middle lane is chocka. So that's where I tend to stay. Does this make me a middle lane hogger even if I drive at the speed limit (50 on that section) and there is a third lane for overtaking?

No, although a lot of people will think that it does.

Years ago the HC used to have another rule (which seems to have been quietly dropped at some point, presumably to avoid confusion) that advised against unnecessary lane changes which, from your description, is what your'e doing. Every lane change has the potential to (a) increase risk compared to driving in a straight line (b) disrupt other drivers who may need to adjust speed or gaps as a result and (c) confuse other drivers who may not be paying full attention (not your fault but that'll be no comfort when one of them hits you!).

Which is why weaving in and out of the left lane at every borderline opportunity to "move left" is bloody stupid driving and demonstrates lack of awareness - especially when, as is often the case, the outer lanes are clear of other traffic to the horizon so you're not inconveniencing anyone by staying there!

Unfortunately, a lot of people read "move left" and that becomes their One True Rule for driving which they follow like a religion without any further thought or assessment of the circumstances. Those people will tell you that what you do is lane hogging, but what those people believe is irrelevant because they're bad drivers

tanith

My take on middle lane hogging has always been that those that do it are either too bloody lazy or scared of driving between lorries, as others have said sitting back relaxing and feeling safe and snug in your middle lane is a danger in itself as you are not alert or even aware of what is going on around you... sorry but on a motorway you need your wits about you at all times and watching ahead and what the other road users around are doing makes you a good driver not hogging the middle lane..

movilogo

Around London/M1/M25, lane 1 is always full of lorries. Even more frustrating is when a lorry tries to overtake another one in lane 2! It often takes ages and a 3-lane motorway effectively becomes 1-lane. :mad:

Because of so many lorries, it many people just "hog" lane 2 - otherwise it would be too much weaving between lane 1 & 2.

lane 1 = lorries
lane 2 = sane drivers
lane 3 = maniacs

simple

When there are no lorries, many drivers still continue to use lane 2, leaving lane 1 empty.

Then I simply undertake them in lane 1. The highway code has not been updated for long time. Undertaking should be made legal now .

Joe_Horner

tanith wrote: »

... sorry but on a motorway you need your wits about you at all times and watching ahead and what the other road users around are doing makes you a good driver not hogging the middle lane..

Fair point but, equally, moving into someone's safety gap only to come out again maybe 15 seconds later, when there's no-one within half a mile behind you in lane 2, also shows a lack of awareness and "having your wits about you". You should be aware of how fast you'll catch the next car, aware that the car in your mirror isn't going to catch / pass you in that time, and stay out to avoid the weaving.

That unthinking "left at any chance" happens far more around here than any "real" lane hogging and is more of a danger because the people who do it invariably cut in too close, then stay in lane 1 too close to the next car before swerving out again. That's not being aware!

Joe_Horner

movilogo wrote: »

[...]The highway code has not been updated for long time. Undertaking should be made legal now .

There's a problem with that. By just about everyone on here's opinion, the MLM is driving in a sort of coma, not aware of his surroundings. That's exactly the sort of driver you don't want to be coming up the left side of, where he won't expect you, when he does decide to move over.

It's all well and good to say that it'd be his responsibility to check the lane's clear, but he's shown he's not paying attention by hogging the middle in the first place and "it was his fault" will be little comfort when you're hanging upside-down in a smoking wreck on the shoulder!