Undertaking on Motorway?

[BagPussAA]

If a vehicle is travelling in the middle lane of the motorway along with other traffic, then moves to the inside lane as their junction is approaching and then overtakes the vehicle in the middle lane (that they were sitting behind before) - have they committed an offence? I am hoping this makes sense!!!

[No,Knowledge]

should not be allowed .The funeral director walking in front of the hearse on a motorway would cause havoc and possibly more deaths.

[pink-kittens]

Undertaking is not an offense in the Road Traffic Act. Under the amended Road Traffic Act you can only be prosecuted for 'without reasonable consideration' if other drivers are 'inconvenienced'. In short, my understanding is that you can undertake as long as you don't force anyone to have to change direction or speed.

[TWR]

If the person knew their junction was approaching they should stop in the inside lane, if seen by the poilce doing what you stated the police would be well within the law to book the person.

[TWR]

I would not like to bet on it pink kittens. the only time you can pass on the motorway is when the traffic has been held up in the outside lane & the traffic is building up.

[New Judge]

Highway Code paragraphs 259 to 273 relate to driving on a motorway.

Paragraph 267:

�Overtake only on the right�

Paragraph 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 sometime be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with traffic in your own lane even if this means passing traffic in lanes to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.�

The action you describe is often seen and is caused because many drivers simply will not use the nearside lane even though it may be empty. Nonetheless it does seem to fall foul of the advice in paragraph 268 and a charge of careless driving is a possibility.

[tubeway]

If the inside lane is clear - you should have been driving in that lane anyway - rather than being a middle lane meathead

[BilSuth]

There would come a point when the left lane would be part of the off-ramp and so passing parallel traffic would be ok.
Secondly, on a 2-lane motorway, backed up traffic often results in surges which take inside-lane vehicles briefly past the other-lane traffic.
As for the police, it seems the kind of gray area that they could use to pull you over if they wanted an excuse.

[Electrochem]

It is only undertaking if you move out from behind a vehicle, pass it on the left and then pull back in front of it.

Passing slower moving traffic on your right is not undertaking.

I drive on the M6 to get to and from work everyday, and I'm amazed at the idiots who sit in the middle or outside lanes when the inside lane is clear. In fact I often get to my junction quicker than they do. Worse still are the clowns who seem to think that indicating 10 yards before a junction gives them the right to pull across two lanes of traffic.

[Hammer]

You should stay in the left hand lane unless you are overtaking something slower than you in the left lane. If you happen to pass other vehicles that refuse to move from the middle lane, arguably no offence is committed, though interpretation of "reckless" and "agressive" may or may not apply.

It's worth noting that "Do not" in the highway code means it's not specifically an offence, although all drivers are expected to drive to these standards. "Must not" means it's an offence.

[TWR]

Hi, on your point Hammer, If the old bill seen you doing what you state they CAN book you. make no doubt about that.

[jamielee2]

My opinion has always been the same, if there's enough room to undertake a car then theres enough room for that **** to pull over to the inside lane in the first place! Its people like that, that cause accidents.

[kramer81]

Does anyone ever get booked for sitting in the middle lane? Surely this is driving without due care and attention?

I think it is an even bigger problem up here in Scotland where the motorways are generally quieter. I'd say about 80% of cars only use the inside lane when entering and exiting the motorway.

I think its down to sheer ignorance, nearly everyone considers themselves to be good drivers and are oblivious to the problems they are causing. Bring back public service announcements I say

[spannersTJ]

My understanding is....

Undertaking is where you approach in the same lane as a vehicle and decide to pass on the inside which is a driving offense.

However approaching in an inside lane and passing when someone is driving in one of the overtaking lanes is not undertaking and not an offense. You are deemed as just moving in a faster lane just like when in a multi-lane traffic jam.

However it is an offense to drive in one of the overtaking lanes when there is no vehicle in an inside lane.

Following on from the last point means that Highway Code paragraphs 259 to 273 is in contradiction as you would be committing an offense if you were in the first lane and then had to move to the fourth lane to pass someone sitting in the third lane whilst the second lane is empty. Which appears to be the norm these days ie individuals driving in the third lane, or fourth, so they can interact with their smartphone or something...