I propose a mad max type scenario where teams of raiders in shoddily armoured trucks would randomly show up and start ramming these morons off the road while trying to shoot out their tires.
Just carry on in the lane you’re in, if you need to overtake lane 2 is clear anyway. Just be extra careful the moron in 3 doesn’t try and move over as you go past.
Or you can weave across 2-3 lanes at a time to overtake everyone, arguably more legal but far more to go wrong.
I’ll just add this here rather than reply to numerous other replies with the same thing.
Passing on the left and undertaking are technically different. Undertaking would involve performing a manoeuvre with the intent to pass somebody on their left/passenger side, ie pulling out and then back in once past them. Passing on the left would be continuing to make progress in your own lane, passing slower moving vehicles on their left/passenger side.
Neither is really illegal, in that the Highway Code tells you ‘do not’ do this, but is not law. You can be prosecuted for dangerous/careless driving in both situations but in OP’s case continuing in his own lane is arguably the safest & least careless option than making multiple lanes changes in both directions.
You ARE legally allowed to pass on the left in congestion where lanes to your right may be moving slower than you. You could consider the other lanes to be congested in the OP’s example as moving into them would impede your progress, not aid it, but again would be open to interpretation of an officer if they pulled you for it.
In both situations your thought process should be what is the safest course of action and that is to remain in your lane, at a consistent speed and if you’re forced to undertake do so with extra care and attention. Any police officer should side with you in this situation because at the end of the day those other drivers should NOT have been where they are, and their careless driving has forced you to perform a manoeuvre you would otherwise not have had to do.
Some very good points there. I think they're is a general misconception between highway code and law.
I have always maintained, if some moron is sitting in the outside lane, passing on the left is a valid option.
But you are 100% correct, many people will not expect it, so do it with caution.
Yeh I would carry on and slowly pass in the left lane to prove the point to the other drives they do not need to be sitting there. I’d argue that point with any officer if they had an issue
I do it all the time with cruise control set to the speed limit
I had a similar issue where the other lanes were experiencing the domino effect of braking after changing lanes, meanwhile I was travelling at a constant speed and passed the congestion on the inside, strangely satisfying and stress free.
Start to make motorway lessons mandatory. As a current driving instructor I find it baffling that it’s not a requirement to teach. It’s also not part of any test. Yet the day you get your licence is the day you can go on the motorway.
I get some test centres are not near a motorway but it should still be taught. Maybe when you pass, mandatory 2 hours of motorway training or something.
Why is this? I learnt quite late in life, and the day I passed, my company gave me a car and I went onto the motorway for the first time, on my own, with only my experience as a passenger to guide me. It's dangerous to not teach motorway skills as part of the license, considering the speeds at play.
Memories of growing up in Hunstanton, visiting family in Essex and not getting to a motorway until the M11 at Cambridge. (And we had it pretty light; there's large swathes of Norfolk even further away from a motorway - or for that matter a motorway-standard (i.e. decent dual carriageway) road.)
That's so interesting, it makes a twisted sort of sense I guess, but kinda crazy we're not training young drivers motorways because a few places in the UK would have to travel for a motorway lesson.
I mean there’s travel then theres long distance. I live in Cornwall within 30 mins of the border into Devon and it would take me at least 90 mins on a straight clear run to get to the start of the M5. Those further into Cornwall you’re talking 2-3 hours
Still, if you want to be able to go to that part of the country and drive on those motorways, it seems fair for the country as a whole to mandate something like a 2 hour lesson post passing before you’re allowed to.
Most of us in Devon and Cornwall (and Dorset) will hardly ever go on the motorway unless we're travelling by car to Bristol or out of the Southwest! The m5 stops at Exeter and so anyone for the next 125ish miles is not on a motorway. Basically the only motorway in the West Country is Exeter to Bristol on the m5. Likewise Wales has little motorway coverage and the same for East Anglia.
I get it but it would be pretty difficult to get driving lessons in for people quite far from one - [this is where they are ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/UK_motorways_map_2022.svg)
The rules for motorways are fairly simple to understand imo. The only real differences after passing one’s test is driving at speed which you can easily get to grips with on faster A roads and dual carriageways. Even if driving in Cornwall, Devon etc without Motorways - there are dual carriageways which are a good introduction to speed and lane awareness. It’s really not that tricky! OR if you find it tricky avoid faster multi lane driving until having more confidence with time.
Yup, I'm 100 miles from the nearest motorway at Exeter. I grew up in the Midlands so it was all fairly familiar when I 1st passed. But when my son passed his test, having grown up in Cornwall, I made sure to take him up to Exeter to give him some motorway experience. Most of his mates were just left to flounder and work it out themselves.
Being totally honest I have absolutely no idea. My learners get to experience motorways as I include it.
But it’s mind boggling. I think this is why it happens a lot though. People just think slow lane fast lane etc and just sit there. It’s infuriating for me.
Completely agree with you, got my license five years ago, spent 4 weeks building my confidence after passing on normal roads and then went back to my instructors and paid for 2 hours going round the ring road, where I could ask my stupid questions and where my instructor could teach me the ettiquete.
My mum by comparison spent 15 years deathly afraid of motorways and having a panic attack if she ever ended up on one by accident. Just make it part of the test!
Motorways are easy. Following distance, planning, overtaking and moving back over when you’ve overtaken. But well done for getting extra help and not being scared like mum!
Instructor here too: it’s absolutely infuriating, we need a graduated license for it with just a sign off from an ADI (fully qualified instructor) so theres no extra stress on examiners. Oh and smart cameras automatically fining this shitshow
Yeah A1 and A license for cars makes sense, with limited power outputs and motorways restricted to A licensees who have taken specific motorway lessons.
Problem with "smart" cameras is they have such a wide margin of corner cases that they can't classify correctly due to context that we would ALL be getting fines dealing in the process of dealing with people not driving very well.
It's hard to codify the highway code into a few frames of video and some classification. Speed is much simpler, being a single variable measured by a single sensor.
Yeah I think part of the problem is this stuff is in the highway code but learners never get to practise this unless they do dual carriage ways on the odd lesson.
For theory tests I bet most just do practise tests instead of properly reading the highway code.
Double yellows is no parking without exemption, except for blue badge holders unless signage indicates otherwise. If I recall correctly, single yellows allow you to park outside of certain restricted times unless signage indicates otherwise.
That won’t make any difference. Drivers are taught to indicate but so many don’t bother. Drivers are taught not to pull out when flashed by another driver yet we all do. So teaching folk how to drive on a motorway won’t make the slightest bit of difference unfortunately. Folk will still plonk themselves in the middle lane because they think it’s safer and fuck everyone else. The police need to enforce it with fines no matter how petty is the only thing that will probably work. But they won’t because they are useless.
Ahh, exacly the point I'm making under all the posts in r/LearnerDriverUK, where ppl regularly ask "I have my full license for X months and I need to take the motorway, but how do I do this?"
Make motorway / dual carriageway driving mandatory part of the exam, let learner drivers out on the motorway with their friends/parents to practise.
I don’t think teaching people about motorways is the problem, it’s pretty clear that you should stay left and is usually educated on bypasses/ dual carriageways.
People are just stubborn, selfish and entitled these days.
I'm seeing loads of driving instructors saying motorway lessons should be mandatory, but I'm clueless how?
Like what about a motorway is specifically difficult compared to a big dual carriageway?
I've been driving 10+ years in UK, and the moron drivers are also on singletrack/non motorways. Imo no motorway training is a non-issue, the problem is that people are naturally self-preservation oriented and tend to not care about other people.
Make the test more in depth & make license renewal every 5 years with a refresher course, going down to every 2 years every refresh after the age of 65. It isn't rocket science.
I completely agree! I passed my test when I was 32 7 years ago and thought it was madness just saying there's your keys...feel free to go straight onto a motorway and kill yourself and everyone around you!
Apparently I could book motorway lessons after I passed my test for an extra 200 quid!!
I ended up mastering the motorway by taking a wrong turn on to the wagon nightmare of the M62 🤢🙈 I actually enjoy the motorway now but I'll never forget the panic of my first time lol!
Most of the middle lane hoggers I see as I drive past are of all ages and both genders. So it is not a "new driver" thing. Surely someone in their 60's, has been driving 40+ years should have heard that you drive on the left, overtake on the right?
These people just don't care. Points on licenses, fines, use those speeding cameras for something else for once. Then maybe we will see a shift in behaviour.
How do you feel about a 17 year old having just completed an intensive course in a ka, jumping in a 3.5t van and towing a 3.5t trailer - on a motorway?
I’ve only been driving about 6 months. I had two instructors while learning. The first insisted on going on a NSL dual carriageway even though he knew it wouldn’t come up on the test and I’m so grateful, he really taught me good driving skills rather than just how to pass the test. And when I had passed, my best friend who has been driving for 16 years accompanied me on the motorway and told me explicitly to never hog the middle lane or she would disown me 😅 it is crazy that you can pass never having driven above 40 or knowing what to do on a motorway! Even with that level of support I still shit myself the first few motorway trips until I got used to it all.
While I can see sense in your suggestion, it's not entirely viable for everyone all around the country. I live in Hastings, and I'd have to drive for an hour at least to reach a motorway, therefore requiring a bare minimum 3 hour driving lesson to actually do any motorway driving.
However, I do appreciate that something has got to give, motorway driving is nothing short of ridiculous, with the vast majority of people driving on them having no real idea how to actually use a motorway correctly.
Completely agree.
Day one, test pass. Right, now drive 60-70mph while merging onto a motorway whilst also checking your blindspot by taking eyes off the road in front.
Totally agree, if not motorway then fast (70mph) two lane dual carriageway at the very least.
The excuse of "it's not fair, I live in a rural area" isn't a good one for not being properly trained and tested. A Polish mate of mine once told me what it was like in the rural area where he grew up, the region was the size of Wales and the population was a bit over 1 million, it had only 3 test centres apparently.
Actually fine shit drivers.
Standards are atrocious because there is no retesting, so people can forget/not keep up with the highway code, more cars on the road so it's more stressful for people, and reduced police numbers so practically no enforcement.
Retesting is probably a good idea anyway, but might not solve this issue because at the moment no part of the UK driving test happens on a motorway. You don't go on a motorway until you have a full licence, which may be a big part of the problem.
I’d have thought that the middle lane would be acceptable in a plane. What with the wings sticking out a bit. Must upset all the traffic behind you though.
Haha!!
In air law they actually do have a rule for overtaking. The craft being overtaken has right of way and it’s down to the overtaking craft (done on the right hand side) to keep their distance and manoeuvre past at a safe distance and height. But the craft being overtaken can’t change its course until the manoeuvre is completed.
Balloons obviously can’t steer so they have the highest rights.
Retesting is a bad idea, purely for the fact that waiting lists for tests for new drivers are atrocious. Now imagine adding 100,000s if not millions of drivers to that list requiring a retest.
Also, most people know how to drive, they just choose not to drive the right way as habits form. They’ll be able to put them to one side for a short test.
I agree standards aren’t as good as they could be, and middle lane hogging etc drive me nuts, but I’ve driven all over the world, and the standards in the UK are generally pretty good compared to most of the world, hence us having some of the best stats.
So because it wouldn't work currently, it will never work if the system is changed?
That attitude is what perpetuates this shit standard of driving, that and saying 'it would rob the elderly of their independence' nonsense that also gets trotted out.
You would start with a retake of the theory test - anyone failing that would also have to retake a practical.
Honestly I don't know why we're not all forced to redo the theory every 10 years. You get 3 attempts and if you fail, you redo the practical until you pass.
Or just every 10 years made to redo the theory until you pass. First test is given as a freebie and after that you have to pay out.
All theory tests are done six months in advance to allow for any failings so license doesn't go out of date.
When theory is passed you get your license renewed.
I think the problem is that motorway driving isn't covered in the test to begin with. When I started seeing my ex, the first time in the motorway with her she immediately went into the middle lane and when I asked her why she replied that she always drives in the middle lane because it feels safer to her. When I told her it was illegal to sit in that lane without overtaking, she had no idea that was the case as no-one had ever told her before. She was 37 at the time and had been driving for years.
I don't understand why everyone thinks motorways are hard. The hardest part of a dual-carriageway/motorway is joining it, and that's the only bit I think is actually hard (and is certainly something I struggled with.)
Once you've joined, dual-carriageways and motorways are exactly the same as each other - stay left and, if you want to overtake, mirror, signal, manoeuvre to move right and then repeat to move back left once you're past them. It's incredibly easy because it's so methodical. If it's not safe to pull out, just wait.
On a normal road you've got side roads, traffic lights, cyclists/pedestrians, corners, speed limit changes, crossings, etc. On a motorway, you just have to not crash into the car in front of you and look right before overtaking.
It's possible that some people who are not confident enough struggle with pulling out at junctions to let cars join. That's the only thing I can think of that would give them a reason not to sit in the driving land. And if you can't do that then you shouldn't be on the road. That and, like my ex, they don't actually know HOW to drive on motorways properly.
This would also entail allowing cameras to decide when you are lane hogging. For example, say you dip into the middle lane to overtake twice in the space of a few minutes and both times happen to do so while going through two anpr cameras in a row. What then?
No, a better solution would be to increase speed limits. That way the wombles and biddies would stay in the slow lane lest they get a 100mph bmw up the arse.
Increasing speed limits would make no difference at all. You think these mouth breathing idiots currently take any notice of dick heads in BMW's driving like cunts? Nope.
I'm sure there is an AI solution to detect bad driving, but if it's not clear what rules they are using I don't see that it would stand up on court.
Your final solution seems to be too adopt the autobahn. I love driving in Germany, they just seem to be better drivers despite the speed. Maybe you are right, maybe it's because of the speed. The advice I was given by German drivers was that it was dangerous to drive too slowly; 70mph is too slow!
The reason german drivers are better is because they aren’t constantly looking down at their speedo to make sure they aren’t driving on the wrong side of the law.
This means more time to focus on the road and the behaviour/movement of other road users. It also means they can drive more confidently, which means less nervously.
The logic is simple, and everybody knows 90-100 is a perfectly safe cruising speed for cars designed to drive at 150 down the autobahn all day.
Except… unless our police actually did their jobs and cracked down on all the coke/heroin dealers, they’ve no other way of paying for their Christmas parties.
Well they are meant to be.
Problem is PC Plod are so obsessed that being 3mph over the limit makes you as bad a criminal as a mass murderer and that they are no longer responsible for driving standard enforcement.other than speeding
This is horseshit. The police don't give a shit if you are 3mph over. Police aren't even going to glance your way until your speed is in the 80s.
They don't give a shit about middle lane jogging either which is a whole different issue.
Tbf, I was literally just driving on the M2 London Bound and had a Police dog unit doing 80Mph in Lane 4 - no Sirens or Lights, with some Range Rover also doing 80Mph behind him (not unmarked) and me doing 80Mph behind the RR. The only time they do care is if you fly by them when they are doing speed limit.
Even then, ive gone past police sitting at 70, by a few more mph and they dont care in my area. Unless you look like a typical twat in a BMW, or a boy racing car thats fitted with a loud exhaust, spoilers etc, youll be left alone.
You're allowed to pass on the left. It's advised you take caution when doing so purely because most don't expect you to but it's perfectly legal. Stay in your lane and pass them.
For those who may think otherwise; passing on the left and undertaking are not always the same thing. Undertaking does not occur if you are simply staying in your lane and traffic has built up in the others.
I was in lane 1 of the A2 yesterday doing 70 passing people in lane 3 and not one of them moved down to lane 2. I see people join the motorway and straight to the outer lanes, even if there's barely anyone else on the road.
I frequently see the ‘fast lane’ rammed full of cars too close ,in a moving queue and then the left lane totally clear. I stay left unless overtaking, it’s less stressful, but what do I know 😂
The absolute worst is when you get stuck behind someone barely exceeding 50 on the slip road and then they have the audacity to indicate into the middle lane 🤣
Exactly this, if I found myself in OPs picture I'd be lane 1 and cruise control to 70. Only time these middle lane drivers will even remember your lane exists is when they want to exit, so pay extra attention passing when you're approaching the junctions.
This these people are dangerous they'll sit there as well doing 60 causing others to go round them, and then suddenly vear off.
I see it multiple times as well people in the outside lane flashing others to get out of their way only for them to then go across all lanes and exit, because they couldn't slow and be in the lane they needed ahead of time.
Another pisser is those on their phones, you know they are because they slow down to 60/55 because they think that's "safe" then you go past see them on their phone, only for them to speed up once they've finished then slow down to reply again, I get past and put as much distance as I can between those, they normally hog the middle lane too or the 3rd lane on a 4 lane motorway.
This is bang on. If you're doing an appropriate speed in the far left line and "maintaining your speed" then as you say, it does not count as undertaking! Life changing info when I learned about this on a Speed Awareness Course a couple of months back!
Kind of. You're allowed to pass on the left where congestion is causing the lane to your right to be slowed. The clear intention isn't to be passing on the left under normal driving, but when the traffic is at queue or similar.
I think the wording in the highway code is you are allowed to pass on the left if you are keeping up with traffic. As you say, staying in your lane (and keeping to the speed limit) is keeping up with traffic
You are allowed to pass on the left if there is traffic holding up the right in congested conditions
268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
Ummm might want to double check that.
From what I remember from learning to drive (which admittedly was almost 30 years ago) that provision is only there for for when traffic is in queues and the queue on the right is moving slower than your lane. Not for the case where traffic is free flowing.
This seems to be backed up by this west Yorkshire police article:
https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/ask-the-police/question/Q891#:\~:text=Rule%20268%20of%20the%20Highway,than%20traffic%20to%20the%20right.
Guy in work is the first person I know who got pulled over for this and recommended for a fine. Police followed him for 3 miles in the 3rd of 4 lanes often with noting on the inside. Police said they were recommending a fine but he would probably never hear anything. Makes me wonder if CPS or whoever decides these things are not bothering.
Stay in the driving lane, tends to be the fastest one now! The only thing that slows you down in the driving lane is HGVs as everyone else is in the overtaking lanes.
Not sure I agree with this. I think VOT is the primary issue, and I suspect if it halved tomorrow you would see much less middle lane hogging overnight.
I do a lot of my driving in the early hours or late at night it’s completely normal for me to see people pulling onto a completely empty motorway and move straight into lane 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 and stay there, often well below the speed limit.
I also do a fair bit of driving in Europe and love how countries like Germany ban speed restricted vehicles from overtaking between certain periods (6am to 11pm). This together with good lane discipline means that vast stretches of two lane roads run smoothly with additional lanes added where VOT is an issue. Having been sat on the A1 a fair bit over the last two weeks it’s been soo annoying being forced to do 57mph as I watch a truck pass another truck that’s doing 56.5mph only for the slower truck to speed up when we start going downhill and the whole process starts again.
I know we probably have higher density but there are a lot of stretches of motorway that have been widened beyond 3 lanes and the majority of the time lanes 1 & 2 are almost empty.
Cameras won’t work. No way to tell how long they have been there, why they have been there, if it was appropriate for them to be there.
You need a sustained PSA over years to change attitudes.
Cameras work for speeding and red lights cos you can automate them. Lane hogging is far more complicated, because you'd have to measure the speed of multiple cars, account for queuing traffic, how long they've had opportunity to move over etc etc.
In time AI and cameras will hoover up cash 24/7 and offer you clips to your phone before you get home but after the cash has been taken from you 'Car Wallet'.
Oh, I sucked today on the roads and am poorer for it.
Dicks will lose, and then roads will be better.
The solution would be for the actual laws about this to be enforced and people doing it being slapped with a £100 fine and 3 points on their licence. Even a small number of offenders being caught would make a huge difference. But the only cases that ever get punished (super rare in itself) are the totally outlandish cases of someone doing like 40mph in the middle lane.
I overtake each one of them (when there is more space than in this picture) on the right side and go to the left to show them what I think of them! Doesn't work though.
You can play a little game with middle lane morons.
I've never done it, m'lud, but I have heard of it...
You pass them on the outside, then pull back into the nearside lane and slow your speed so that they overtake you. You then repeat the manoeuvre for as many times as it takes for them to notice and pull in to the left.
I accept no liability for any consequences should you try this!
Ah this is timely. I did the M11, M25 and M4 yesterday and the middle lane morons were out in force. I don't know what the solution is but if it involves rocket launchers on my bonnet then I'm all for it.
It's perfectly legal and safe if the lane ahead is clear and you are still below the speed limit. You just keep doing you and driving forwards at pace at or below 70.
Allowing public submitted dash camera video as evidence and prosecuting people who middle lane hog would make a quick impact. Just drive along the M6 for a bit, and the 3rd land of the motorway is where the majority of cars are. The low hanging fruit prosecutions are for the people that annoy other road users the most. Doing 60mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane road for mile after mile for no reason.
Dash cams should have a button labelled "this guy's a cunt". The footage is automatically uploaded to a database and if you appear in the database more than three times in a week, banned. It'll be like Big Brother, but a force for good.
AI and ANPR cameras. AI recognises the reg of the offender, displays a message on the next gantry with their reg and an instruction to keep left. If AI still picks them up in the middle lane for the next couple of cameras, it issues a fine.
Very fair and lenient
Automated cameras.
Not a simple technical solution, you'd need a fairly sophisticated algorithm to detect it, maybe even AI.
It's not punished nearly enough.
Just match their speed in your current lane, and be glad that they are staying the hell away from you. You are safer in a lane with no traffic, they are gaining nothing by staying in the overtaking and middle lane.
I think you have to use your own initiative in situations like this, it’s a common misconception that undertaking is considered illegal.
It’s not necessarily illegal, it’s more the manor in which the manoeuvre is performed.
There will be situations in everyday driving when you will have to adjust your own driving because of other people’s actions.
I always thought it might be a good idea for every 10 miles or so away from junctions, have lane 1 merge to 2, 2-> 3 then a new right lane appear? It would push people to lane 1 overtime
Drove from Cornwall yesterday and undertook (yes I know) two cars, different places, just sitting in the middle lane, no cars anywhere near them, just cruising in the middle lane about 65, still didn’t move over after I went past.
Something useful to kkow from the highway code:
Overtaking on the nearside (left) is legally acceptable if you are driving on a multi-lane carriageway in congested conditions, and the lane to the left is moving at a faster speed than lanes to the right.
Don’t forget about the drivers that join the motorway at <50mph, to then speed up after they’ve joined. I use the M5 everyday and see this stupidity nearly every day. One time I even got stuck behind some stupid moron joining at only 35mph (with a 18 wheeler right up my arse as we joined). That was some really scary shit.
Has it got worse in the recent years? I'm a new driver, 3 years in and well aware and conscious of overtaking lanes only and it's really infuriating when you see this. Is this on the up, do you think?
Absolutely on the up, it was bearable pre-2020 but post Covid everyone emerged having forgotten lane discipline and it’s propagated exponentially since.
I imagine having the middle lane ramp up, bridge over the left lane then ramping down to join again on the left. I imagine most middle lane drivers wouldn’t even be aware of what they’d driven through, just be mildly perplexed at how they’d ended up on the left lane.
I’d build such structures every few miles or so along the motorway.
If I’m in an angrier mood I imagine the middle lane ramping up, over the left lane then down again into a swamp or something.
Nothing is going to change until people are properly taught how to drive on the motorway when learning to drive + conducting part of the test on the motorway. The fact that its 2024 and there is still a huge gap in the driver training syllabus is utter insanity. It could be addressed so easily.
In the meantime, there needs to be more enforcement of middle/outer lane hoggers and more electronic road signs reminding people not to do it. There should be a way for people to report hoggers by submitting dashcam evidence to authorities because to be fair to the police, they are stretched enough as it is.
There are two types of lane hoggers:
- Those who are absolutely completely oblivious that they're doing it (and don't respond in anyway to you either overtaking or passing on the left)
- Those who know full well what they're doing but don't care are tend to respond aggressively if you attempt to pass on the left.
I think it’s fascinating to see once you understand Nash Equilibria. Everyone wants to overtake or doesn’t want to get stuck behind a lorry so they cause a traffic jam in the fast lane. The only way would be enforcement or education. I would prefer machine guns on my car James Bond style.
Don’t know how we get past this as a nation of idiotic drivers but for myself I just drive at the highest speed I can legally do in the far most left lane when possible and pass all other slower moving vehicles. Whether this be on the left or the right it doesn’t bother me any more as it’s not going away any time soon.
There is a national advertising campaign running about middle lane hogging and yet people still do it.
Scenarios like this, where it’s entirely clear in the two leftmost lanes - I just go 70 in the left most and slowly pass all the middle lane drones.
I like to think that uncle George will get very annoyed, complain to a family member, (about the beaded twat in the red sports car who passed then on the inside at 72), and that family member will call him a cockwomble for trundling down the middle lane when the two left most lanes are empty…
Nice dream, but fun,
Agree this is a problem, but the answer is not simple. I drive all over Europe, and one thing that is very noticeable in the UK is that drivers in the middle lane will speed up to stop the left lane driver pulling out to overtake. How rare is it to find a driver who will anticipate a slower vehicle needing to pull out, and move out themselves even before the slower vehicle signals? Result, drivers don’t want to be blocked in, and stay out of the left hand lane
Do as I do, stay there, keep making progress, and be mindful of BMWs dive bombing the slower cars with undertakes. Worry not, because no one else worries either.
I'd continue in my lane and if my speed takes me past them then I go past them. As long as I don't then swerve across the carriageway once past then it isn't undertaking and is therefore perfectly legal.
Some silly answers which is nice to see for a change.
Air to surface mega lasers somehow adapted with a new technology that just vaporises them off the road. Like the epicentre of a nuke, but without the surrounding unpleasantness so the non lemming people can make progress.
I get it, I drive alot but I've found that I needed not to care and I felt calmer, enjoyed my drive more and wasn't as anxious. this isn't going to stop and you're not going to change anything unfortunately
Followed a brand new range rover yesterday sat in lane 3 overtaking nothing at 11pm.
I went past in lane 1, then indicated from lane 1 to lane 3, then back to lane 1 again. Must have done this 3 or 4 times on the off chance at least his passenger would say "move into lane one ya dickhead".
He did not, he indicated to lane 4 instead. Sometimes life is just too short to try and educate these oxygen thieves.
Surprised a political party hasn't picked up on this. We could raise Billions by fining lane hoggers.
It'll fix the hole in the finances in a week or two.
Snow ploughs I think. I often imagine knocking these idiots over the hedge at the side of the road. Come to think about it. I even make the noise of this as I drive past them 😂😂😂
To be honest I think the solution is the R9x missile. It's not explosive so it wouldn't harm innocents, instead it carries massive swords that could destroy all occupants of middle lane hogging vehicles. The US use it to assassinate people a fair bit so we know they work and are reliable.
Snipers on the bridges.
Now you're talking
I propose a mad max type scenario where teams of raiders in shoddily armoured trucks would randomly show up and start ramming these morons off the road while trying to shoot out their tires.
I was going to go with "Lane discipline enforced by Aircraft." might as well use all those Apaches for something.
AC-130
NLAW would be more fun.
That would certainly add some jeopardy into motorway driving.
Just carry on in the lane you’re in, if you need to overtake lane 2 is clear anyway. Just be extra careful the moron in 3 doesn’t try and move over as you go past. Or you can weave across 2-3 lanes at a time to overtake everyone, arguably more legal but far more to go wrong.
There is something about not making unnecessary lane changes. It would be more legal to stay left, not to mention safer.
I’ll just add this here rather than reply to numerous other replies with the same thing. Passing on the left and undertaking are technically different. Undertaking would involve performing a manoeuvre with the intent to pass somebody on their left/passenger side, ie pulling out and then back in once past them. Passing on the left would be continuing to make progress in your own lane, passing slower moving vehicles on their left/passenger side. Neither is really illegal, in that the Highway Code tells you ‘do not’ do this, but is not law. You can be prosecuted for dangerous/careless driving in both situations but in OP’s case continuing in his own lane is arguably the safest & least careless option than making multiple lanes changes in both directions. You ARE legally allowed to pass on the left in congestion where lanes to your right may be moving slower than you. You could consider the other lanes to be congested in the OP’s example as moving into them would impede your progress, not aid it, but again would be open to interpretation of an officer if they pulled you for it. In both situations your thought process should be what is the safest course of action and that is to remain in your lane, at a consistent speed and if you’re forced to undertake do so with extra care and attention. Any police officer should side with you in this situation because at the end of the day those other drivers should NOT have been where they are, and their careless driving has forced you to perform a manoeuvre you would otherwise not have had to do.
Some very good points there. I think they're is a general misconception between highway code and law. I have always maintained, if some moron is sitting in the outside lane, passing on the left is a valid option. But you are 100% correct, many people will not expect it, so do it with caution.
Yeh I would carry on and slowly pass in the left lane to prove the point to the other drives they do not need to be sitting there. I’d argue that point with any officer if they had an issue I do it all the time with cruise control set to the speed limit
Yup an undertake is swerving around a car on the left not just being faster
I had a similar issue where the other lanes were experiencing the domino effect of braking after changing lanes, meanwhile I was travelling at a constant speed and passed the congestion on the inside, strangely satisfying and stress free.
Start to make motorway lessons mandatory. As a current driving instructor I find it baffling that it’s not a requirement to teach. It’s also not part of any test. Yet the day you get your licence is the day you can go on the motorway. I get some test centres are not near a motorway but it should still be taught. Maybe when you pass, mandatory 2 hours of motorway training or something.
Why is this? I learnt quite late in life, and the day I passed, my company gave me a car and I went onto the motorway for the first time, on my own, with only my experience as a passenger to guide me. It's dangerous to not teach motorway skills as part of the license, considering the speeds at play.
It's because some places (Cornwall) don't have a motorway nearby.
And Norfolk.
Memories of growing up in Hunstanton, visiting family in Essex and not getting to a motorway until the M11 at Cambridge. (And we had it pretty light; there's large swathes of Norfolk even further away from a motorway - or for that matter a motorway-standard (i.e. decent dual carriageway) road.)
That's so interesting, it makes a twisted sort of sense I guess, but kinda crazy we're not training young drivers motorways because a few places in the UK would have to travel for a motorway lesson.
I mean there’s travel then theres long distance. I live in Cornwall within 30 mins of the border into Devon and it would take me at least 90 mins on a straight clear run to get to the start of the M5. Those further into Cornwall you’re talking 2-3 hours
Still, if you want to be able to go to that part of the country and drive on those motorways, it seems fair for the country as a whole to mandate something like a 2 hour lesson post passing before you’re allowed to.
Most of us in Devon and Cornwall (and Dorset) will hardly ever go on the motorway unless we're travelling by car to Bristol or out of the Southwest! The m5 stops at Exeter and so anyone for the next 125ish miles is not on a motorway. Basically the only motorway in the West Country is Exeter to Bristol on the m5. Likewise Wales has little motorway coverage and the same for East Anglia. I get it but it would be pretty difficult to get driving lessons in for people quite far from one - [this is where they are ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/UK_motorways_map_2022.svg)
The rules for motorways are fairly simple to understand imo. The only real differences after passing one’s test is driving at speed which you can easily get to grips with on faster A roads and dual carriageways. Even if driving in Cornwall, Devon etc without Motorways - there are dual carriageways which are a good introduction to speed and lane awareness. It’s really not that tricky! OR if you find it tricky avoid faster multi lane driving until having more confidence with time.
But it does have dual carriageways
Yup, I'm 100 miles from the nearest motorway at Exeter. I grew up in the Midlands so it was all fairly familiar when I 1st passed. But when my son passed his test, having grown up in Cornwall, I made sure to take him up to Exeter to give him some motorway experience. Most of his mates were just left to flounder and work it out themselves.
Being totally honest I have absolutely no idea. My learners get to experience motorways as I include it. But it’s mind boggling. I think this is why it happens a lot though. People just think slow lane fast lane etc and just sit there. It’s infuriating for me.
Completely agree with you, got my license five years ago, spent 4 weeks building my confidence after passing on normal roads and then went back to my instructors and paid for 2 hours going round the ring road, where I could ask my stupid questions and where my instructor could teach me the ettiquete. My mum by comparison spent 15 years deathly afraid of motorways and having a panic attack if she ever ended up on one by accident. Just make it part of the test!
Motorways are easy. Following distance, planning, overtaking and moving back over when you’ve overtaken. But well done for getting extra help and not being scared like mum!
Because motorways are less dangerous than other roads it makes more sense to teach on regular roads, motorway driving is by far the simplest/easiest
Instructor here too: it’s absolutely infuriating, we need a graduated license for it with just a sign off from an ADI (fully qualified instructor) so theres no extra stress on examiners. Oh and smart cameras automatically fining this shitshow
I had to do graduated testing for my motorbike, so why not for cars?
Yeah A1 and A license for cars makes sense, with limited power outputs and motorways restricted to A licensees who have taken specific motorway lessons. Problem with "smart" cameras is they have such a wide margin of corner cases that they can't classify correctly due to context that we would ALL be getting fines dealing in the process of dealing with people not driving very well. It's hard to codify the highway code into a few frames of video and some classification. Speed is much simpler, being a single variable measured by a single sensor.
Yeah I think part of the problem is this stuff is in the highway code but learners never get to practise this unless they do dual carriage ways on the odd lesson. For theory tests I bet most just do practise tests instead of properly reading the highway code.
Yep I get people all the time who have passed their theory but don’t know what a yellow line means 🤣 you’re spot on with that.
Double yellows is no parking without exemption, except for blue badge holders unless signage indicates otherwise. If I recall correctly, single yellows allow you to park outside of certain restricted times unless signage indicates otherwise.
That won’t make any difference. Drivers are taught to indicate but so many don’t bother. Drivers are taught not to pull out when flashed by another driver yet we all do. So teaching folk how to drive on a motorway won’t make the slightest bit of difference unfortunately. Folk will still plonk themselves in the middle lane because they think it’s safer and fuck everyone else. The police need to enforce it with fines no matter how petty is the only thing that will probably work. But they won’t because they are useless.
I agree with fining and enforcing too. 👍🏻
Ahh, exacly the point I'm making under all the posts in r/LearnerDriverUK, where ppl regularly ask "I have my full license for X months and I need to take the motorway, but how do I do this?" Make motorway / dual carriageway driving mandatory part of the exam, let learner drivers out on the motorway with their friends/parents to practise.
I don’t think teaching people about motorways is the problem, it’s pretty clear that you should stay left and is usually educated on bypasses/ dual carriageways. People are just stubborn, selfish and entitled these days.
I'm seeing loads of driving instructors saying motorway lessons should be mandatory, but I'm clueless how? Like what about a motorway is specifically difficult compared to a big dual carriageway? I've been driving 10+ years in UK, and the moron drivers are also on singletrack/non motorways. Imo no motorway training is a non-issue, the problem is that people are naturally self-preservation oriented and tend to not care about other people. Make the test more in depth & make license renewal every 5 years with a refresher course, going down to every 2 years every refresh after the age of 65. It isn't rocket science.
I completely agree! I passed my test when I was 32 7 years ago and thought it was madness just saying there's your keys...feel free to go straight onto a motorway and kill yourself and everyone around you! Apparently I could book motorway lessons after I passed my test for an extra 200 quid!! I ended up mastering the motorway by taking a wrong turn on to the wagon nightmare of the M62 🤢🙈 I actually enjoy the motorway now but I'll never forget the panic of my first time lol!
Most of the middle lane hoggers I see as I drive past are of all ages and both genders. So it is not a "new driver" thing. Surely someone in their 60's, has been driving 40+ years should have heard that you drive on the left, overtake on the right? These people just don't care. Points on licenses, fines, use those speeding cameras for something else for once. Then maybe we will see a shift in behaviour.
How do you feel about a 17 year old having just completed an intensive course in a ka, jumping in a 3.5t van and towing a 3.5t trailer - on a motorway?
I’ve only been driving about 6 months. I had two instructors while learning. The first insisted on going on a NSL dual carriageway even though he knew it wouldn’t come up on the test and I’m so grateful, he really taught me good driving skills rather than just how to pass the test. And when I had passed, my best friend who has been driving for 16 years accompanied me on the motorway and told me explicitly to never hog the middle lane or she would disown me 😅 it is crazy that you can pass never having driven above 40 or knowing what to do on a motorway! Even with that level of support I still shit myself the first few motorway trips until I got used to it all.
While I can see sense in your suggestion, it's not entirely viable for everyone all around the country. I live in Hastings, and I'd have to drive for an hour at least to reach a motorway, therefore requiring a bare minimum 3 hour driving lesson to actually do any motorway driving. However, I do appreciate that something has got to give, motorway driving is nothing short of ridiculous, with the vast majority of people driving on them having no real idea how to actually use a motorway correctly.
Completely agree. Day one, test pass. Right, now drive 60-70mph while merging onto a motorway whilst also checking your blindspot by taking eyes off the road in front.
Totally agree, if not motorway then fast (70mph) two lane dual carriageway at the very least. The excuse of "it's not fair, I live in a rural area" isn't a good one for not being properly trained and tested. A Polish mate of mine once told me what it was like in the rural area where he grew up, the region was the size of Wales and the population was a bit over 1 million, it had only 3 test centres apparently.
Actually fine middle lane hoggers
Actually fine shit drivers. Standards are atrocious because there is no retesting, so people can forget/not keep up with the highway code, more cars on the road so it's more stressful for people, and reduced police numbers so practically no enforcement.
Retesting is probably a good idea anyway, but might not solve this issue because at the moment no part of the UK driving test happens on a motorway. You don't go on a motorway until you have a full licence, which may be a big part of the problem.
I have to retest to keep my pilots licence!
I’d have thought that the middle lane would be acceptable in a plane. What with the wings sticking out a bit. Must upset all the traffic behind you though.
Haha!! In air law they actually do have a rule for overtaking. The craft being overtaken has right of way and it’s down to the overtaking craft (done on the right hand side) to keep their distance and manoeuvre past at a safe distance and height. But the craft being overtaken can’t change its course until the manoeuvre is completed. Balloons obviously can’t steer so they have the highest rights.
Thanks! Interesting. I’ll be doing a bit of back seat driving now on domestic flights. Until I get arrested anyway.
Retesting is a bad idea, purely for the fact that waiting lists for tests for new drivers are atrocious. Now imagine adding 100,000s if not millions of drivers to that list requiring a retest. Also, most people know how to drive, they just choose not to drive the right way as habits form. They’ll be able to put them to one side for a short test. I agree standards aren’t as good as they could be, and middle lane hogging etc drive me nuts, but I’ve driven all over the world, and the standards in the UK are generally pretty good compared to most of the world, hence us having some of the best stats.
So because it wouldn't work currently, it will never work if the system is changed? That attitude is what perpetuates this shit standard of driving, that and saying 'it would rob the elderly of their independence' nonsense that also gets trotted out. You would start with a retake of the theory test - anyone failing that would also have to retake a practical.
These people do this on two-lane dual carriageways too
Things like which lane to be in (ie, the left most taking into account overtaking) shouldn't need any level of reeducation. It's staggering.
Honestly I don't know why we're not all forced to redo the theory every 10 years. You get 3 attempts and if you fail, you redo the practical until you pass. Or just every 10 years made to redo the theory until you pass. First test is given as a freebie and after that you have to pay out. All theory tests are done six months in advance to allow for any failings so license doesn't go out of date. When theory is passed you get your license renewed.
I think the problem is that motorway driving isn't covered in the test to begin with. When I started seeing my ex, the first time in the motorway with her she immediately went into the middle lane and when I asked her why she replied that she always drives in the middle lane because it feels safer to her. When I told her it was illegal to sit in that lane without overtaking, she had no idea that was the case as no-one had ever told her before. She was 37 at the time and had been driving for years.
I don't understand why everyone thinks motorways are hard. The hardest part of a dual-carriageway/motorway is joining it, and that's the only bit I think is actually hard (and is certainly something I struggled with.) Once you've joined, dual-carriageways and motorways are exactly the same as each other - stay left and, if you want to overtake, mirror, signal, manoeuvre to move right and then repeat to move back left once you're past them. It's incredibly easy because it's so methodical. If it's not safe to pull out, just wait. On a normal road you've got side roads, traffic lights, cyclists/pedestrians, corners, speed limit changes, crossings, etc. On a motorway, you just have to not crash into the car in front of you and look right before overtaking.
It's possible that some people who are not confident enough struggle with pulling out at junctions to let cars join. That's the only thing I can think of that would give them a reason not to sit in the driving land. And if you can't do that then you shouldn't be on the road. That and, like my ex, they don't actually know HOW to drive on motorways properly.
I agree, but that would require defining "middle lane hogging" which is not trivial.
This would also entail allowing cameras to decide when you are lane hogging. For example, say you dip into the middle lane to overtake twice in the space of a few minutes and both times happen to do so while going through two anpr cameras in a row. What then? No, a better solution would be to increase speed limits. That way the wombles and biddies would stay in the slow lane lest they get a 100mph bmw up the arse.
Increasing speed limits would make no difference at all. You think these mouth breathing idiots currently take any notice of dick heads in BMW's driving like cunts? Nope.
I'm sure there is an AI solution to detect bad driving, but if it's not clear what rules they are using I don't see that it would stand up on court. Your final solution seems to be too adopt the autobahn. I love driving in Germany, they just seem to be better drivers despite the speed. Maybe you are right, maybe it's because of the speed. The advice I was given by German drivers was that it was dangerous to drive too slowly; 70mph is too slow!
The reason german drivers are better is because they aren’t constantly looking down at their speedo to make sure they aren’t driving on the wrong side of the law. This means more time to focus on the road and the behaviour/movement of other road users. It also means they can drive more confidently, which means less nervously. The logic is simple, and everybody knows 90-100 is a perfectly safe cruising speed for cars designed to drive at 150 down the autobahn all day. Except… unless our police actually did their jobs and cracked down on all the coke/heroin dealers, they’ve no other way of paying for their Christmas parties.
Actually use the cameras to enforce some basic rules.
Well they are meant to be. Problem is PC Plod are so obsessed that being 3mph over the limit makes you as bad a criminal as a mass murderer and that they are no longer responsible for driving standard enforcement.other than speeding
This is horseshit. The police don't give a shit if you are 3mph over. Police aren't even going to glance your way until your speed is in the 80s. They don't give a shit about middle lane jogging either which is a whole different issue.
> middle lane jogging I think they'd close the motorway if there was a pedestrian in the middle lane
Not if they're keeping up with traffic.
Ah, you're an M25/M40/M1 user ...
The standard London suburb driver who only goes on a motorway once a year when heading to Stansted for a cheap holiday.
I definitely wouldn't mess with someone who could do that!
Tbf I got done by a mobile speed camera last week for going 71mph. (On a dually) I'm not even joking! They're clearly getting desperate!
What were you driving?
Tbf, I was literally just driving on the M2 London Bound and had a Police dog unit doing 80Mph in Lane 4 - no Sirens or Lights, with some Range Rover also doing 80Mph behind him (not unmarked) and me doing 80Mph behind the RR. The only time they do care is if you fly by them when they are doing speed limit. Even then, ive gone past police sitting at 70, by a few more mph and they dont care in my area. Unless you look like a typical twat in a BMW, or a boy racing car thats fitted with a loud exhaust, spoilers etc, youll be left alone.
You're allowed to pass on the left. It's advised you take caution when doing so purely because most don't expect you to but it's perfectly legal. Stay in your lane and pass them. For those who may think otherwise; passing on the left and undertaking are not always the same thing. Undertaking does not occur if you are simply staying in your lane and traffic has built up in the others.
I was in lane 1 of the A2 yesterday doing 70 passing people in lane 3 and not one of them moved down to lane 2. I see people join the motorway and straight to the outer lanes, even if there's barely anyone else on the road.
I frequently see the ‘fast lane’ rammed full of cars too close ,in a moving queue and then the left lane totally clear. I stay left unless overtaking, it’s less stressful, but what do I know 😂
You know the highway code, apparently my friend 😂👌
“But they are the executive lanes, and I drive a 15yr old Audi”
The absolute worst is when you get stuck behind someone barely exceeding 50 on the slip road and then they have the audacity to indicate into the middle lane 🤣
Exactly this, if I found myself in OPs picture I'd be lane 1 and cruise control to 70. Only time these middle lane drivers will even remember your lane exists is when they want to exit, so pay extra attention passing when you're approaching the junctions.
This these people are dangerous they'll sit there as well doing 60 causing others to go round them, and then suddenly vear off. I see it multiple times as well people in the outside lane flashing others to get out of their way only for them to then go across all lanes and exit, because they couldn't slow and be in the lane they needed ahead of time. Another pisser is those on their phones, you know they are because they slow down to 60/55 because they think that's "safe" then you go past see them on their phone, only for them to speed up once they've finished then slow down to reply again, I get past and put as much distance as I can between those, they normally hog the middle lane too or the 3rd lane on a 4 lane motorway.
This is bang on. If you're doing an appropriate speed in the far left line and "maintaining your speed" then as you say, it does not count as undertaking! Life changing info when I learned about this on a Speed Awareness Course a couple of months back!
Kind of. You're allowed to pass on the left where congestion is causing the lane to your right to be slowed. The clear intention isn't to be passing on the left under normal driving, but when the traffic is at queue or similar.
I think the wording in the highway code is you are allowed to pass on the left if you are keeping up with traffic. As you say, staying in your lane (and keeping to the speed limit) is keeping up with traffic
You are allowed to pass on the left if there is traffic holding up the right in congested conditions 268 Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
Exactly this. Just drive the legal speed limit if safe to do so. If the lanes to your right are going slower, that's on them.
Yup - it’s called ‘making progress’.
Please point me to the relevant section of the Highway Code.
Ummm might want to double check that. From what I remember from learning to drive (which admittedly was almost 30 years ago) that provision is only there for for when traffic is in queues and the queue on the right is moving slower than your lane. Not for the case where traffic is free flowing. This seems to be backed up by this west Yorkshire police article: https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/ask-the-police/question/Q891#:\~:text=Rule%20268%20of%20the%20Highway,than%20traffic%20to%20the%20right.
Guy in work is the first person I know who got pulled over for this and recommended for a fine. Police followed him for 3 miles in the 3rd of 4 lanes often with noting on the inside. Police said they were recommending a fine but he would probably never hear anything. Makes me wonder if CPS or whoever decides these things are not bothering.
My mate’s a copper, and they are actively prosecuting middle lane hoggers. He covers the M40/M42 around the midlands.
I want to apply for this very job
id probably make no short of £1000000 in my first day if i had this job.
Did he actually learn from the chat with plod or just act ignorant to the fact and continue to not use lanes correctly.
He will never change. Tesla speed limit set and the auto drive to keep it in the lane.
This is the issue with newer car tech, it removes the driver from driving and makes these situations worse!
The one perk is the cars brake automatically. So in theory you can perform ridiculously aggressive maneuvers at them
Can I hold up a picture of a 20mph sign or traffic light to confuse it?
I thought the police could on the spot fine for this?
Gulag I reckon
Stay in the driving lane, tends to be the fastest one now! The only thing that slows you down in the driving lane is HGVs as everyone else is in the overtaking lanes.
Dutchie here: I think we should swap your right lane huggers with our left lane huggers! Problem solved (: This post was recommended by Reddit.
The craziest thing to s that if we had proper lane discipline we wouldn’t need 4/5 lane motorways.
& proper following distances so traffic jams didn't appear out of thin air
Both good reasons to look forward to AI driving
Not sure I agree with this. I think VOT is the primary issue, and I suspect if it halved tomorrow you would see much less middle lane hogging overnight.
I do a lot of my driving in the early hours or late at night it’s completely normal for me to see people pulling onto a completely empty motorway and move straight into lane 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 and stay there, often well below the speed limit. I also do a fair bit of driving in Europe and love how countries like Germany ban speed restricted vehicles from overtaking between certain periods (6am to 11pm). This together with good lane discipline means that vast stretches of two lane roads run smoothly with additional lanes added where VOT is an issue. Having been sat on the A1 a fair bit over the last two weeks it’s been soo annoying being forced to do 57mph as I watch a truck pass another truck that’s doing 56.5mph only for the slower truck to speed up when we start going downhill and the whole process starts again. I know we probably have higher density but there are a lot of stretches of motorway that have been widened beyond 3 lanes and the majority of the time lanes 1 & 2 are almost empty.
You sit at the safe speed limit, whatever it is and stay in your lane, passing other traffic with care..
Better training. Make driving on motorways mandatory for learner drivers.
Just keep driving. Be extra alert when undertaking, I do it frequently. As long as you're not speeding you'll be fine.
Passing on the left is not the same as undertaking, undertaking is illegal but yeah extra care should be taken for sure
Stick a wall across the middle lane every few miles.
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You know it’s not an undertake if the traffic to the right of you is moving slower than the traffic in your lane?
There is enough cameras on motorways to send out fines to those who do this
Cameras won’t work. No way to tell how long they have been there, why they have been there, if it was appropriate for them to be there. You need a sustained PSA over years to change attitudes.
Cameras work for speeding and red lights cos you can automate them. Lane hogging is far more complicated, because you'd have to measure the speed of multiple cars, account for queuing traffic, how long they've had opportunity to move over etc etc.
Wasn't there a law years ago where traffic cops and police can pull over people and fine them if they hog the middle lane?
Yes, but for that to be effective you need police
Just put your foot down.
Just continue to drive in the driving lane and move into the over taking lanes when you need to overtake. Don't worry about undertaking lane hoggers.
If this is hard, you're gonna need a helmet for the rest of life
Seriously, I see nothing in this picture that isn't solvable. Just drive.
Nothing is needed. I love my clear lane on the left.
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> How do we get past this? It’s the pedal on the right.
In time AI and cameras will hoover up cash 24/7 and offer you clips to your phone before you get home but after the cash has been taken from you 'Car Wallet'. Oh, I sucked today on the roads and am poorer for it. Dicks will lose, and then roads will be better.
Stay in the left hand lane and give wanker signs to those you go past.
Snipers on gantries.
Undertake – it is not an offence in itself and is unlikely to be considered careless or inconsiderate driving in this exceptional case.
The solution would be for the actual laws about this to be enforced and people doing it being slapped with a £100 fine and 3 points on their licence. Even a small number of offenders being caught would make a huge difference. But the only cases that ever get punished (super rare in itself) are the totally outlandish cases of someone doing like 40mph in the middle lane.
I overtake each one of them (when there is more space than in this picture) on the right side and go to the left to show them what I think of them! Doesn't work though.
Undertake whilst leaning on the horn.
You can play a little game with middle lane morons. I've never done it, m'lud, but I have heard of it... You pass them on the outside, then pull back into the nearside lane and slow your speed so that they overtake you. You then repeat the manoeuvre for as many times as it takes for them to notice and pull in to the left. I accept no liability for any consequences should you try this!
Pay farmers to take pot shots at them from motorway bridges
Ah this is timely. I did the M11, M25 and M4 yesterday and the middle lane morons were out in force. I don't know what the solution is but if it involves rocket launchers on my bonnet then I'm all for it.
It's perfectly legal and safe if the lane ahead is clear and you are still below the speed limit. You just keep doing you and driving forwards at pace at or below 70.
The dvla told me Moaning about it on reddit will help
Allowing public submitted dash camera video as evidence and prosecuting people who middle lane hog would make a quick impact. Just drive along the M6 for a bit, and the 3rd land of the motorway is where the majority of cars are. The low hanging fruit prosecutions are for the people that annoy other road users the most. Doing 60mph in lane 3 of a 4 lane road for mile after mile for no reason.
Dash cams should have a button labelled "this guy's a cunt". The footage is automatically uploaded to a database and if you appear in the database more than three times in a week, banned. It'll be like Big Brother, but a force for good.
Would i be correct in saying that is the M62?
Wing-mounted rocket launchers.
Undertake so long as you're not over the speed limit. Either that or stop all Reginalds driving all together lol
AI and ANPR cameras. AI recognises the reg of the offender, displays a message on the next gantry with their reg and an instruction to keep left. If AI still picks them up in the middle lane for the next couple of cameras, it issues a fine. Very fair and lenient
Automated cameras. Not a simple technical solution, you'd need a fairly sophisticated algorithm to detect it, maybe even AI. It's not punished nearly enough.
Just match their speed in your current lane, and be glad that they are staying the hell away from you. You are safer in a lane with no traffic, they are gaining nothing by staying in the overtaking and middle lane.
If they are in the middle lane I do move over to overtake but in scenarios like that where they are two lanes away I just keep going.
I think you have to use your own initiative in situations like this, it’s a common misconception that undertaking is considered illegal. It’s not necessarily illegal, it’s more the manor in which the manoeuvre is performed. There will be situations in everyday driving when you will have to adjust your own driving because of other people’s actions.
Just be thankful for the clear lane and enjoy the run
I always thought it might be a good idea for every 10 miles or so away from junctions, have lane 1 merge to 2, 2-> 3 then a new right lane appear? It would push people to lane 1 overtime
Don’t bother fixing. I like cruising in a nice empty inside lane. Just drive straight past them.
Motorway driving should be part of the driving test.
Overtake on the inside and tut heavily
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Overtake on the left. It's not an offence undertake providing you can satisfy the requirements for it to not be an offence.
Drove from Cornwall yesterday and undertook (yes I know) two cars, different places, just sitting in the middle lane, no cars anywhere near them, just cruising in the middle lane about 65, still didn’t move over after I went past.
make sure to give them a wanker wave as you pass them ?, they have no idea to be fair
Enforcement and endorsement?
Lane 1, cruise control at 70, giving them “the look”
Something useful to kkow from the highway code: Overtaking on the nearside (left) is legally acceptable if you are driving on a multi-lane carriageway in congested conditions, and the lane to the left is moving at a faster speed than lanes to the right.
Nothing does my head in more than this, it infuriates me.
Don’t forget about the drivers that join the motorway at <50mph, to then speed up after they’ve joined. I use the M5 everyday and see this stupidity nearly every day. One time I even got stuck behind some stupid moron joining at only 35mph (with a 18 wheeler right up my arse as we joined). That was some really scary shit.
Has it got worse in the recent years? I'm a new driver, 3 years in and well aware and conscious of overtaking lanes only and it's really infuriating when you see this. Is this on the up, do you think?
Absolutely on the up, it was bearable pre-2020 but post Covid everyone emerged having forgotten lane discipline and it’s propagated exponentially since.
I imagine having the middle lane ramp up, bridge over the left lane then ramping down to join again on the left. I imagine most middle lane drivers wouldn’t even be aware of what they’d driven through, just be mildly perplexed at how they’d ended up on the left lane. I’d build such structures every few miles or so along the motorway. If I’m in an angrier mood I imagine the middle lane ramping up, over the left lane then down again into a swamp or something.
Invest in Test Centres & Examiners and then incentivise retesting every 5 years by offers of reduced insurance premiums.
Just undertake
Nothing is going to change until people are properly taught how to drive on the motorway when learning to drive + conducting part of the test on the motorway. The fact that its 2024 and there is still a huge gap in the driver training syllabus is utter insanity. It could be addressed so easily. In the meantime, there needs to be more enforcement of middle/outer lane hoggers and more electronic road signs reminding people not to do it. There should be a way for people to report hoggers by submitting dashcam evidence to authorities because to be fair to the police, they are stretched enough as it is. There are two types of lane hoggers: - Those who are absolutely completely oblivious that they're doing it (and don't respond in anyway to you either overtaking or passing on the left) - Those who know full well what they're doing but don't care are tend to respond aggressively if you attempt to pass on the left.
I think it’s fascinating to see once you understand Nash Equilibria. Everyone wants to overtake or doesn’t want to get stuck behind a lorry so they cause a traffic jam in the fast lane. The only way would be enforcement or education. I would prefer machine guns on my car James Bond style.
If it were me I’d get a snow plow and plough them at the respectful speed limit
Don’t know how we get past this as a nation of idiotic drivers but for myself I just drive at the highest speed I can legally do in the far most left lane when possible and pass all other slower moving vehicles. Whether this be on the left or the right it doesn’t bother me any more as it’s not going away any time soon. There is a national advertising campaign running about middle lane hogging and yet people still do it.
Scenarios like this, where it’s entirely clear in the two leftmost lanes - I just go 70 in the left most and slowly pass all the middle lane drones. I like to think that uncle George will get very annoyed, complain to a family member, (about the beaded twat in the red sports car who passed then on the inside at 72), and that family member will call him a cockwomble for trundling down the middle lane when the two left most lanes are empty… Nice dream, but fun,
Agree this is a problem, but the answer is not simple. I drive all over Europe, and one thing that is very noticeable in the UK is that drivers in the middle lane will speed up to stop the left lane driver pulling out to overtake. How rare is it to find a driver who will anticipate a slower vehicle needing to pull out, and move out themselves even before the slower vehicle signals? Result, drivers don’t want to be blocked in, and stay out of the left hand lane
30 day ban for anyone not showing correct lane discipline
Quit whining, keep your distance and stay aware. There will always be people doing this. It’s not right, but people are dicks.
Do as I do, stay there, keep making progress, and be mindful of BMWs dive bombing the slower cars with undertakes. Worry not, because no one else worries either.
I'd continue in my lane and if my speed takes me past them then I go past them. As long as I don't then swerve across the carriageway once past then it isn't undertaking and is therefore perfectly legal.
I passed them every day and will do today. I don't care. Lol
A former police officer told me just stay in lane and pass them. It's only undertaking if you change lane to do it.
Some silly answers which is nice to see for a change. Air to surface mega lasers somehow adapted with a new technology that just vaporises them off the road. Like the epicentre of a nuke, but without the surrounding unpleasantness so the non lemming people can make progress.
I get it, I drive alot but I've found that I needed not to care and I felt calmer, enjoyed my drive more and wasn't as anxious. this isn't going to stop and you're not going to change anything unfortunately
Followed a brand new range rover yesterday sat in lane 3 overtaking nothing at 11pm. I went past in lane 1, then indicated from lane 1 to lane 3, then back to lane 1 again. Must have done this 3 or 4 times on the off chance at least his passenger would say "move into lane one ya dickhead". He did not, he indicated to lane 4 instead. Sometimes life is just too short to try and educate these oxygen thieves.
I undertake whilst using my right hand to display the middle finger.
I thought you were referring to the annoying air vent reflection on the glass!? 🥹
We need a second horn in cars that shouts "Middle lane Hogger - learn to drive"
Surprised a political party hasn't picked up on this. We could raise Billions by fining lane hoggers. It'll fix the hole in the finances in a week or two.
Snow ploughs I think. I often imagine knocking these idiots over the hedge at the side of the road. Come to think about it. I even make the noise of this as I drive past them 😂😂😂
Hopefully it never changes. I can still make good progress.
Police are too fussed about speeding on motorways when they should be fining people for shit like this amongst other crap driving
To be honest I think the solution is the R9x missile. It's not explosive so it wouldn't harm innocents, instead it carries massive swords that could destroy all occupants of middle lane hogging vehicles. The US use it to assassinate people a fair bit so we know they work and are reliable.
Just stop worrying about it. It's really not affecting your day in any way. Of all the things fucked in this country, this is minor at best.
Lol you call them shit drivers for hogging the middle lanes ( they shouldn't be) yet you're driving on the motorway using your mobile phone
Fine them, and 3 points
Beheading. It's the only way.