Lane hogging has become epidemic

EdGasketTheSecond

Lane 1 often just ends up leaving the motorway on the M25 making at least lane 2 favourite if you dont want to rush or get shot off to some god-forsaken location where you dont want to be. Also the most dangerous manoever on a motorway is changing lanes so I can understand why people don't do it more than necessary.

Marvel1

2 lane motorway, night time, quiet, no-one in left lane, up ahead a car in the right, overtaking no-one, I'm approaching them and end up undertaking them!

forgotmyname

Covered over 1000 miles in the last 10 days and seem some shocking driving.

Guy with the trailer doing about 75/80 who either forgot it was there or thought that once his car had passed me it was safe to cut across me.

Woman in a Golf who was in the middle lane behind a truck so doing around 56mph, I was some distance back and then as i closed the gap i moved to the outside lane to overtake and then she pulls out with me less than 2 car lengths away.

Small white van in slow moving traffic moved to the outside lane because it started moving before we did, but that only moved a few car lengths and my lane started to move so he pulls in front of me. No issues on space or speed but why bother for 20ft of space? He moved back to the outer lane shortly after and a few minutes further up i pass him again.
Pointless lane changes.

Bit like the person that blocked the access to the petrol station rather than choosing one line and getting there when they get there.

If a cars in the middle lane of an empty motorway i just pass on the inside. My lanes moving faster not undertaking, not changing lanes.

Supersonos

forgotmyname wrote: »

If a cars in the middle lane of an empty motorway i just pass on the inside. My lanes moving faster not undertaking, not changing lanes.

But I'm guessing that if a police officer saw you do that, you'd be the one in the wrong rather than the lane hogger.

I once "undertook" a police car who was overtaking nothing in the middle lane. I was genuinely nervous about it, but decided to own my actions and prepared myself for some blue lights.

Nothing.

Tom99

mchale wrote: »

Sorry Tom but lane 1 is the driving lane , the other lanes are for overtaking.

That's what the highway code might say but on the west side on M25 that is just not practical, its mostly 4 lanes with a junction every couple of miles so even the lorries travel in lane 2 to avoid having to move in and out.
The highway code also says only flash your lights to let other road users know you are there. Try doing that to someone about to put out of a side turning in front of you and see what happens.

Sea_Shell

We nearly came unstuck getting from the M1 to the M6 once. We knew our junction was coming up, but it had been busy for miles and all the lorries in lane 1 were nose to tail. It was a hairy few moments actually trying to get across to lane 1 and we nearly missed our exit. It was like a rolling road-block physically stopping us taking our exit.

The lorries weren't leaving 2 chevrons worth of distance, that's for sure!! It was like they were almost towing each other. How do they even do that...stare at the back end of the lorry in front for mile after mile after mile...surely that's got to be bad for staying alert.

facade

Tom99 wrote: »

The highway code also says only flash your lights to let other road users know you are there. Try doing that to someone about to put out of a side turning in front of you and see what happens.

Try doing it to let oncoming road users know that you are there, because you feel that they are about to drift across into your lane, when co-incidentally you have just passed a speed trap and see what happens.


How they ever make that stick when you have a cast iron defence enshrined in the Highway Code I don't know...

photome

Tom99 wrote: »

With 4 lanes, lane 1 is usually the turn off lane and you will get stuck behind a lorry and have to slow down.

I despair,


lane hoggers are usually totally oblivious to anyone around them

Car_54

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Lane 1 often just ends up leaving the motorway on the M25 making at least lane 2 favourite if you dont want to rush or get shot off to some god-forsaken location where you dont want to be. Also the most dangerous manoever on a motorway is changing lanes so I can understand why people don't do it more than necessary.

There are invariably signs warning you at least a mile before it "just ends up leaving the motorway".

NBLondon

Agreed - but there are a few places where the gap between instances of Lane 1 becoming a filter lane is less than a mile (I'm thinking of the A2 London-bound) so staying in Lane 2 makes sense when busy.

However, there are plenty of people who join a 3 lane dual carriageway, head straight to Lane 2 and stay there - whatever is (or isn't) in Lane 1. Like others have said above, it's possible to be cruising in an empty Lane 1 at 69 mph and find yourself overhauling a dingbat in Lane 2 at 63 mph. I usually continue past (but with extra care and foot ready to brake). I'd be happy to defend that to police or courts that I wasn't "undertaking" I was maintaining a safe and legal speed in the leftmost available lane.

In fact, it seems that that's safer than overtaking in the normal manner - as forgotmyname describes, there are also those drivers who like to travel at 62 and when they get too close to the lorry in front (at 56) will decide to lurch into the next lane irrespective of whether there is anyone already overtaking...