sometimes what's perceived as middle lane hogging is actually not, when there's a lorry to overtake about 100 yards in front that's doing 65 and i'm doing 70, but a massive stream of traffic behind that wants to do 75-80, then i will stay in the middle lane becuase if i move over then the chances are I won't be allowed back out again.

Quick lorries around you then!

Basically those that drive in any other lane than the left hand lane when there is no reason to be there, are knobs.

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GrahamS – Member

According to the Highway Code, it's legal to overtake on the left to pass slower-moving traffic. Some coffin-dodger doing 55mph in the middle lane falls into this category as far as I'm concerned.

Nope.

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.
— Rule 268, Highway Code

So lets say you're cruising along at 60mph in the inside lane of a three lane NSL motorway and it's reasonably quiet.

You round a bend and up ahead is someone trundling at 50mph in the middle lane.

You check your mirrors and there's some traffic approaching from behind making an overtake difficult.

Do you

a) Stay in the inside lane and undertake even though it's not "congested conditions"

b) Swerve across three lanes to overtake them with traffic approaching from behind

c) slow down and make sure you don't undertake them until traffic behind has clear and you can overtake

Real world answers please, not high and mighty lies.

Personally it's answer A every time.

the Middle Lane Hogger I heard on the radio who justified himself by saying "it's dangerous to change lanes

vs

having to make four lane changes (1 > 2 > 3 > 2 > 1) to go round a paid-up member of the Lane Two Owner's Club?

just shows, the midlane pillocks main motivation is selfishness

Decision is made for you when driving a BMW – I AM IN THE FAST LANE GET OUT OF MY WAY SCUM!

Works for me anyway.

The slow lane is for trucks and poor people.

nothing if you then maintain a faster speed than i was going to do anyway,

Ahh, so they're supposed to use mind-reading techniques to determine what your final speed will be? Based on your slower acceleration I'd say they could reasonably judge that you may end up at a slower terminal speed than them.

but the purpose of overtaking is to travel at a faster constant cruising speed than the vehicle you are overtaking is choosing to cruise at.

Overtaking is to get past a car that you're travelling faster than at the time. I'm not advocating accelerating and then slowing back down, but accelerating to speed and holding that speed is perfectly right.

not in terms of fuel consumption. Accelerating fast (ergo, at high revs) uses more fuel than keeping the revs down.

Yes in terms of fuel consumption, though your comment about "at high revs" shows you're not thinking it through, you don't have to be at high revs to have high acceleration – my cars peak acceleration is at 3200rpm (out of 7500). You could have at least read the links I provided.
You forget about time in your thought processes I think – remember that for more throttle you'll accelerate faster, meaning shorter time accelerating. If your engine is 100% efficient and you take half the time to reach the same speed it would take the same amount of fuel just over a shorter period. But remember that your engine is throttled if done in the slower fashion, so if you take longer to reach your speed, you're spending more time with a strangled engine.

C.

Not being high and mighty, that's just what I'd do.

If I was stuck behind them for a reasonably long time, they obviously weren't getting the hint and there was no chance of pulling out to overtake then I might consider undertaking.

Most likely though would be that I'd have seen that I needed to overtake, pulled into the middle lane, accelerated to 75 to make sure the cars approaching from behind didn't arrive too quickly and then overtaken him.

I've noticed that lane hoggers are usually one of the following:

Elderly man (optional hat)
Nervous-looking middle-aged woman
Minicab drivers on the way to the airport.

The most annoying things on motorways are the following:

People who change lanes without checking their blind-spot.

People who drive right up behind a slow-moving vehicle before the thought of changing lanes occurs to them and then change lanes without looking -Other drivers should be on the lookout for these imbeciles.

Often bolshy young ("I'm F**kin' empowered, me") women or van drivers

Tail-gaters -What exactly is going in the mind of people who do this? So many people do it, there must be a lot of you on here.

Usually one of the following:

Pushy-looking blokes aged 25-50 in vans or Mid-seized cars (often base-model Audis or BMWs because that's the sort of car they aspire to).
The same bolshy young women.

I feel uncomfortable if I am a passenger with a driver who displays any of these characteristics and feel compelled to comment….

I have to say that the bolshy young women (typically in a Mini Cooper or a Punto adorned with pink things) seem to be taking over from the boy racers as the biggest menace on the roads. A lot seem to drive 'fast', but with no concept of what they're doing.

Middle lane drivers have provided good entertainment whilst driving vans, in convoy there is the box option, though my favourite is probably circling, which means the road is pretty empty and they are still out there, one guy went frickin' bansai on our 9th loop as he realised what was going on.

timber did you ever pull the wings off flies when you were a kid ?

Middle lane drivers have provided good entertainment whilst driving vans, in convoy there is the box option, though my favourite is probably circling, which means the road is pretty empty and they are still out there, one guy went frickin' bansai on our 9th loop as he realised what was going on.

ROFL!

high 5's timber.
true class 😀

BoardinBob – Member

So lets say you're cruising along at 60mph in the inside lane of a three lane NSL motorway and it's reasonably quiet.

You round a bend and up ahead is someone trundling at 50mph in the middle lane.

You check your mirrors and there's some traffic approaching from behind making an overtake difficult.

Do you

a) Stay in the inside lane and undertake even though it's not "congested conditions"

b) Swerve across three lanes to overtake them with traffic approaching from behind

c) slow down and make sure you don't undertake them until traffic behind has clear and you can overtake

Real world answers please, not high and mighty lies.

Personally it's answer A every time.

Well I hope you get seen by a cop and done for dangerous driving which is what that is – and cops hate it and normally throw the book at people for doing it.

Personally I would be using my skills of observation and anticipation so as not to get into any tangle – I'd probably flash the middle lane hog once and then if they stayed there move out into the outside lane to overtake.

If you have to

Swerve across three lanes to overtake them

then you are a crap driver with no skills of anticipation and observation – but then as you are a undertaker we knew that anyway.

I really wish driving standards were enforced better. Middle lane hogging is "without due care" but undertaking is " dangerous driving"

Anyone who undertake is a dangerous liability who should have their licence taken off them

I'm with BoardinBob on this one – answer A. but proceeding with caution though – just in case it's TJ in the middle lane 😆

Seen plenty of people undertaking the usual "oooh god, a cop, stay in lane and drive at Vlimit-5mph right smack bang in front of cops. Never yet seen one pulled for passing them on the inside but have seen the cops undertaking in that situation. I can't claim to speak for the cops though, I've not discussed it with them. That said, when people do the usual "ahh, cop" and drive at BANG on the limit in their car causing a rolling roadblock, I normally pass them all on the outside and continue followed by a flood of chickens who didn't want to be first, never yet been fingered by the police for doing it. I agree with your principle though, two wrongs don't make a right, but at times it takes a lot less hassle and causes a lot less traffic interruption to pass on the inside, especially when you can see that the lane hog has been being flashed for several seconds and others are having to go around them. But like with anything dangerous, you take care, take your time and prepare to abort if they look like they are going to move and may come across your bow because at that point you're the one in the unexpected place. Though they should still be checking their blindspot when pulling back in, but since they don't seem able to remember the rules of the road I suspect they won't remember to look either.

LOL at the high and mighty I'm better than you on here. 🙄

Ok, real world people. Undertaking unless you are moving with the flow of traffic in congestion is against the law and dangerous FACT.

Middle Lane Hoggers are one of the biggest causes of congestion and are complete idiots for doing so. FACT.

People will still middle lane hog, no matter what you do, so don't drive like a dick to prove a point!

I have in the past in my youth flashed people, undertaken people, gesticulated that they are the son of satan etc etc etc. It makes no difference and you end up being just as much of a liability on the road as them trying to prove a point!!

you are a crap driver with no skills of anticipation and observation – but then as you are a undertaker we knew that anyway.

BoardinBob pictured earlier:

…they should still be checking their blindspot when pulling back in, but since they don't seem able to remember the rules of the road I suspect they won't remember to look either.

Exactly. If they are that unobservant that they haven't noticed you approaching behind them or that the inside lane is clear then what are the chances of them checking their left mirror and blindspot before pulling in?

Ok, real world people. Undertaking unless you are moving with the flow of traffic in congestion is against the law and dangerous FACT.

Which law would that be, then? I think you'll find, etc etc.

Middle lane drivers have provided good entertainment whilst driving vans, in convoy there is the box option, though my favourite is probably circling, which means the road is pretty empty and they are still out there, one guy went frickin' bansai on our 9th loop as he realised what was going on.

That's a shame, if you'd got to ten then protocol dictates that you start circling in the other direction.

Following HC advice – in many situations, where the outside lane is congested and moving slower than the middle lane, that constitutes a queue and therefore you can undertake?

Which law would that be, then

Yeah, I suppose you're one of those drivers who thinks that talking on your mobile, speeding, undertaking, etc don't technically apply to you because your better than everyone else! 🙄

Yeah, I suppose you're one of those drivers who thinks that talking on your mobile, speeding, undertaking, etc don't technically apply to you because your better than everyone else!

No, I think he was asking whch law applies exactly. Unlike all of the examples you provided which have a specific law against them.

only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so

Taken from the highway code

Highway Code

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.

Its pretty straightforward, no? 🙄

Have any of you taken lessons beyond the basic test?

If not, your opinions are void.

The Highway Code isn't law in and of itself. A lot of it is backed up by law, but that bit isn't.

The Highway Code isn't law in and of itself. A lot of it is backed up by law, but that bit isn't.

Yes but if you are in an accident and it transpires that you were breaking the highway code then it is you that is screwed

The Highway Code isn't law in and of itself

Ah, that Chestnut! Brilliant.

But YOU can choose to ignore what you want, because YOU are better than everyone else. 🙄

They've got a point though LHS. Undertaking is not "against the law..FACT" as far as I can tell.

It is breaking the advice/rules in the Highway Code which would influence liability in an accident and could be used as contributory evidence of "driving without due care" or possibly even "dangerous driving", but it doesn't seem to be an offence on it's own.

LHS > Don't be obtuse.

They've got a point though LHS

I beg to differ.

The highway code is there to be followed.

If a policeman saw you driving like a dick you would get points and a fine. Why should selfish drivers who pick and choose what they think is applicable to them?

LHS > Don't be obtuse

Why do people think they are above what applies to everyone else? Seriously?

Why do you assume that you know the first thing about me? Or anyone else for that matter?

and to summarise the thread….

Anticipate, Overtake and forget about it, unless:

1) TJ is the Middle lane hog
2) LHS & Cougar are having some kind of road rage spat in front of you.

Alternate Option:

Work from home and go out for a sneaky ride on your bike at 'lunchtime' and vent your frustrations out on that nasty climb 3/4 way round your local loop.

As John Lennon said: Life's too short to waste it being angry

To expand on that,

Everyone picks and chooses what they do, everyone has their own moral code, their own interpretation of what rules they choose to recognise. I fail to see why you'd think that was due to some sort of superiority complex.

I'm not saying it's right to do so, but people break laws all the time. Ever littered? Downloaded a song off bittorrent? Copied a C90 full of Spectrum games back at school? Driven at 71mph? Used a phone whilst driving? Obtained dodgy porn? Had your Playstation chipped?

It's easy to break the law, hell, it's easy to do it accidentally.

2) LHS & Cougar are having some kind of road rage spat in front of you.

Arf. (-:

It's easy to break the law

Good for you! 🙄

And where exactly did I say I'd done all (or indeed any) of those things?

Anyway, I think I'm going to bow out of this discussion. You seem determined to make it personal based on inaccurate assumptions, and I've no interest in a flame war. It's just getting tedious.

LHS seems to be taking whatever small chunk of a post he can to use against your argument, rather than looking at the overall intent of the post. Don't take it personally, some people just miss the bigger picture when arguing.

Who's arguing? I'm merely discussing. (-:

Nah, in seriousness I'm too old and grumpy to take Internet 'arguments' seriously. Water off a Cougar's back. I was more concerned with not boring the p155 out of everyone else.