Middle lane hogs

[mesmerred]

Why do people drive in the middle lane when the inside lane is empty? It's not nervous drivers, afraid of cars joining from the left as I first thought. What's the attraction? It is so annoying because we only use two thirds of our motorways. ILorry drivers get annoyed. t forces me to go in the outside lane when I don't need to be there, and I may have to speed up to get out of the way of faster drivers. I have often seen drivers "trapped" in the outside lane, with not quite enough speed to overtake a "hog" who has speeded up and with someone else breathing down their exhaust pipe.
Can someone explain why mjiddle lane driving is becoming a national pastime please?

[sddsddean]

Its amazing how quickly they all realise that lane 1 exists if there is the slightest hold up in lanes 2 and 3 though. Also amazing how many trucks they cut up (and who have to brake hard) at the same time.

[Jugglering]

What is more worrying is the fact that they simply forget about all the other drivers on the road... hmmmmm in other words they are not paying attention - dangerous at 70 mph....

[david1702198]

because we have so many stupid drivers on the roads in this country who a) dont know what they are doing and b) should not be on the road

[SlackAlice]

basically their lazy drivers, with no consideration for other people.

[gouldc]

But what really gets me is when they hog the ouside lane on a dual, then when you undertake them after being stuck behind them at less than the posted limit for a while, and have flashed your lights to encourage them to move, you then undertake them (ensuring that it's safe to do so), they take offence!!!

I passed one elderly gentleman whilt doing 50 (in a 50 zone) in the inside lane, and he then drove up alongside of me waving and shouting!

Ban the bl00dy lot of them.

[pusspuss]

i had an argument in a pub a few years ago over this. his argument was that if he got on a motorway and put his foot down did 70 mph then it was safe for him to stay in middle lane as anyone who wanted to overtake him was breaking the law because they were speeding.so i asked him if the inside lane is empty you stay in the middle. he said yes. he just could not see that he was in the wrong.

[buildersmate]

Having studied them at length, I reckon they just aren't aware of the issue it causes other motorway users. They think that because they are doing something close to 70, there can't be a problem.
The reality is that traffic stacks in lanes 2 and 3 behind them, as average speeds in lane 3 move back closer to 70 due to greater probability of being caught speeding.
In turn that results in the volume of traffic that the motorway is able to handle being reduced because only two lanes are being used effectively.
Time to start passing on the inside, I reckon.

[mattie]

They are idiots, but its fun to watch the police deal with them.

I saw a Motorcycle Cop come along side one and then point at the inside lane (which was empty) the driver soon got the message.

Drivers who spot a police car and all slow down, causing bunching, also get on my nerves.

If they stopped everyone for doing 80, the motorways would resemble car parks.

[gouldc]

mattie - that happened this Sunday on the M4 in Wales.

I'm driving along at 70 (gone past the poxy 50 limit) and traffic is crawling - reason - there is a police riot van (not a speed camera van, a riot van) with a single WPC in it, so people are crawling because the can is struggling to do 50 given it's weight.

I shoot past it (when people moved over) at 65, but people just stayed behind it?????

[mesmerred]

Thank you everyone, but in particular pusspuss and buildersmate as you began to answer my question - why do they do it?

[helpmetoo]

There are two issues for why it is ok to use the middle lane when driving at the legal speed limit.

1. Large lorries 'tramline' the inside lane and their wider wheel base can sometimes throw a car to one side or the other, which is dangerous.

2. If your car is in the centre lane and there is an incident where avoiding action is required then you have two escape options, to either the left or right. Why accept one?

[JonnyBoy12]

Actually I do own the road, and as I am a bus driver I can do anything I want, OK?

[johnny37]

Doesnt answer the question but I cant resist a reply. Someone told me that when in the middle lane if you cannot overtake the next vehicle in lane 1 in 30 secs then pull in. However, in my opinion it is more dangerous to keep switching from lane 1 to lane 2 to overtake, especially when you get 32 ton trucks doing this and they can barely get up enough speed, fcircing the middle lane driver to switch to the outside. As regards the outside lane, is this reserved for drivers who want to drive over 90 mph?

[buildersmate]

I'll be on a look out for you on the roads then Helpmetoo. Suggest you consider carefully what your attitude causes for other users. Just me, me, me.

[mesmerred]

Ok helpmetoo, thanks for the reasons, although they can't be the full answer.
1. Isn't it more scary being the sandwich filling between those lorries? sometimes they are so close to a slow car in the middle lane that the car would stand no chance if something happened.
2. This reason is understandable when there's a lot of traffic. I'm lucky that sometimes the motoways I travel are fairly quiet (late at night for example). No real danger of an incident, because there is nothing much around. But drivers are still in the middle lane. What for? Late at night it's tempting to undercut, but why should I break the law? habit?

[jno]

Inside lane is the province of juggernauts and 1957 Fiat 500s. Outside lane is for sales reps in beemers doing 90. Middle lane is the only sensible place to be.

[sigma]

Reasons
1) Ignorant of the rules of the road
2) Never been taught how to drive on a motorway
3) Cocooned in their car unaware of the road conditions around them as they are looking no further ahead than the end of their bonnet

[mesmerred]

Thanks sigma. But they would not be the reasons they would give if asked "why" We have a few reasons, e.g noknowledge has given his/her reason and pusspuss has found out more, but interesting that the people we get so annoyed at are not themselves explaining why.

[sigma]

They won't tell you why because everyone is a perfect driver and they see no wrong in what they are doing