Forum menu
tootling up the M1 in outside lane
Rather than waiting until I'm on top of someone I'll flash my lights from a distance if they look like they're "tootling", usually wakes them up.
But as someone who's spent their life 'making progress' plus too many years commuting on a motorbike, folk not really paying attention are very easy to spot.
yesterday i got a chap ($%$£) on the M9 going through the 50mph speed camera at Newbridge flashing and widely gesticulating at me as i slowed to 50mph for the camera. I was in the outside lane, but then the inside was also full of traffic and doing 50mph. He then proceeded to undertake me at the earliest opportunity with a variety of hand gestures, then spun off onto the M8 eastbound cutting someone else up and i expect straight into the back of the que towards Edinburgh. Some people are just c0ck$.
There's not a lot you can do OP other than just pull over when you can, and get out of his/her way.
Sounds to me like OP isnt a very confident driver.
Tootling up the 3rd lane, getting undertaken, getting stressed.
Arses will be arses so you should have either speeded up and over taken the lane 2 driver or indicated to pull back in and pulled in behind the car that had speeded up.
IMO no one should be tootling on a motorway, to me that implies with little awareness or care
Maybe consider an advanced driving course / motorway driving course?
Channel your inner Ogmios. Gentle acceleration to get past the car to the left then move out of the way, to allow your new friend to attend to their urgent business. Safe travels.
Since getting caught out in a crash for cash incident I've fitted my cars with front and rear dashcams. Easy DIY job. I'm much more relaxed about the range rovers that own the outside lane doing 100 knowing I've got evidence and their number plate on camera.
The barrister on my case said they didn't necessarily sway or help court decisions, but they're better than nothing and you can upload dangerous driving footage to a police portal
Yep on the dashcam. Wife got tailgated & bullied in a similar way near Bristol. When she pulled out of the way the other car overtook and then feinted into her lane as it went past, pulled in front and brake-checked a couple of times before then blocking her attempts to then overtake and brake checking again.
The moron then pulled off the motorway at the very next junction so he'd gained precisely nothing for being a bellend, as this was on the M5 coming North away from the Cribbs Causeway junction so the next junction was probably about a mile or a mile and a half.
Fortunately we have full front rear and side dashcams so I downloaded the footage and sent it all to the Bristol police who responded pretty quickly with a "yeah, we'll be having a word with this one, would you be willing to give evidence in court?"
Nothing has happened yet but it does make you feel a bit better just being able to do something in response.
yup, front and rear dashcam are a winner, has the undocumented benefit of keeping me honest so its easier not to react in a negative way.
Pricks that tear about the place, overtaking dangerously, undertaking, tailgating etc only draw attention to themselves to the police or run out of luck and end up in a smash. As previously stated, hang back, let fannyballs do whatever he's going to do and keep yourself safe.
If you've got a dashcam, send the footage into the police, they love it when someone does much of their work for them, or will use the info- number plate etc to go looking for them.
I've sent dashcam footage and an associated witness statement to Cheshire Police a couple of times. Not had to go to court, but one of my clips subsequently turned up in a Facebook compilation video of piss poor driving. I'm pretty sure both were actioned from the replies I got from police, but it would be nice to know the final outcome. Little resource for that I assume.
I just need someone to tell me to calm down and ignore it.
Actually not helpful. You've been in a frightening situation where your body has reacted, as it's designed to, by going into a full-on adrenaline rush, just as it would if you were physically assaulted or threatened. It's not 'nothing', it was an unpleasant, frightening experience for you and your family and it's quite natural that you're shaken up.
Acknowledging that rather than thinking it should be 'nothing' is a good start. Most of us thankfully don't get in those situations regularly adn unfortunately there's not much you can do about it in the bigger sense that there is a small number of aggressive idiots on the road.
Sure you can consider what you might do if something similar happens in the future and there's nothing wrong analysing your own driving, but you shouldn't be blaming yourself. There's no excuse for what this driver did.
It will pass with time - someone drove straight into me at a relatively low speed a few years ago and it really shook me up for weeks - but for now, I'd acknowledge that you've been in a frightening situation that's caused a huge adrenaline rush without any release and it's something that most of us aren't used to dealing with, fortunately our world mostly protects us from that sort of thing.
That's my take. I get wanting to 'ignore it', but actually I think maybe appreciating that it was a frightening experience and going from there, is a better start.
You should see the tossers flashing me when I'm in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁
Those saying that 70 indicated is more like 65 need to check their speedo. Modern cars are more accurate.
Not really, the accuracy has been fairly stable since ABS/traction and stability control systems became standard on new cars. As that's generally the module that is used to calculate the speed. The whole calculation process, including accuracy, is a legal requirement in most markets. It's not changed hugely in the last 15ish years.
Just trying to raise awareness not to rely on under reading and to know the offset of the vehicle you are driving.
There isn't an offset, there are two or three, as the calculation model (and accuracy requirement) changes based on speed. Also, each calibration will cover a range of tyre rolling diameters (at a range of pressures).
I can speak with some authority on this, as I spent
the last few years reading the bloody standards and implementing the functionality.
Some judgmental pricks on here today, condemning the OP's driving from a few ambiguous lines.
Take it easy OP, sounds like a mini-PTSD episode.
I was brake tested by some utter space cadet in a Caravelle on one of the non-motorway bits of A1(M) in Lincolnshire or thereabouts a few years ago. He came charging up behind as I was in lane 2 doing no less than GPS 70 passing traffic in lane 1. After I'd pulled into lane 1 (only a couple of seconds later) he pulled across in front of me and braked for no obvious reason. Luckily I'd already started slowing as soon as he pulled over, but I'm now even more careful about preserving my braking distance around those kind of fools.
You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁
The fact you use the term "fast lane" shows you're an ignorant fool, and towing in (the 3rd lane) it proves it.
Just one of those bad timings when a slight bend means the car on left is going slower but annoyingly just as fast as they’re on inside of a curve in the road.
I doubt that the slight bend in the road on a motorway accounts for him going any faster than you one lane apart - more the weird behaviour of drivers when someone goes past them and being unable to maintain a set constant speed. Happens all the time.
However, if you don't feel confident enough to give it a little extra when you need to get past someone, then maybe the motorway isn't the best place for you to be - you should be reading the road, looking 2-3 cars ahead and also checking your rear view mirrors, as well as anticipating what the vehicles in lane 1 and 2 are going to be doing. At all times
I always laugh at the term "fast lane". They all have the same speed limit. Sometimes the left lane goes faster that the right. Quite often when people pull on a 3 lane motorway and automatically go to the right hand lane causing congestion, leaving the left and middle lane empty. Maybe it's an ego thing to be in the right hand lane for as long as possible. Or maybe certain brands have a little red light on the dashboard that flashes when smaller cheaper cars pass them saying "must get in front"
You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back
Hmm - perhaps a refresher on the Highway Code is neccessary.
"Rule 265
The right-hand lane of a motorway with three or more lanes MUST NOT be used (except in prescribed circumstances) if you are driving
any vehicle drawing a trailer
a goods vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 7.5 tonnes, which is required to be fitted with a speed limiter
a goods vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes
a passenger vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver
a passenger vehicle with a maximum laden weight not exceeding 7.5 tonnes which is constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver, which is required to be fitted with a speed limiter."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/motorways-253-to-273
Surely the caravan comment was a joke?
You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁
Surely the caravan comment was a joke?
Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!
However, if you don’t feel confident enough to give it a little extra when you need to get past someone, then maybe the motorway isn’t the best place for you to be
Not just this one but **** me there are some condescending comments on this thread.
I am entirely confident in giving it some to get by someone (and am confident in all other respects when it comes to driving) however the speed limit is 70 so that is as fast as I go on the motorway.
If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70. If some dick comes barrelling up behind me I will continue to do 70 until I am clear of the car I am overtaking and then I will pull back in and the dick can get on their way. They can flash their lines, stick fingers up at me - whatever - their problem and not mine.
Nothing to do with my ability, confidence or anything else as a driver. Thems the rules. I am perfectly entitled to overtake said car and am under no obligation to speed up just because someone wants to do 80+, particularly if to do so would mean exceeding the speed limit.
If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70. If some dick comes barrelling up behind me I will continue to do 70 until I am clear of the car I am overtaking and then I will pull back in and the dick can get on their way. They can flash their lines, stick fingers up at me – whatever – their problem and not mine.
Nothing to do with my ability, confidence or anything else as a driver. Thems the rules. I am perfectly entitled to overtake said car and am under no obligation to speed up just because someone wants to do 80+, particularly if to do so would mean exceeding the speed limit.
Amen to that. I do exactly the same thing.
I am entirely confident in giving it some to get by someone (and am confident in all other respects when it comes to driving) however the speed limit is 70 so that is as fast as I go on the motorway.
If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70.
So the car in lane 2 is doing 69.9mph and you want to stick to 70, you'll crawl past it forever?
Haha yes, you'd think the smiley face would give the joke away. I thought I'd lob the " fast lane" in just in case the caravan bit didn't give them enough to fret about 😁
So the car in lane 2 is doing 69.9mph and you want to stick to 70, you’ll crawl past it forever?
Why not? So long as I am edging by then I am using the lanes correctly and driving fully within the law.
That said the chances of them doing 69.9 consistently and for a prolonged period of time are remote and it is more likely that either a) they are drifting between 69.9 and 70+ and I will remain behind them or that they will slow down somewhat and I will overtake them.
But yes, let's say they are doing constant 69 and I have my cruise control set at 70 then assuming the outside lane is clear when I commence the manoeuvre then I will overtake them at a difference of 1mph. As I said at the start of this reply - why not? It is entirely legitimate whereas giving it a bit of right foot and going past at 75 is not.
You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁
Surely the caravan comment was a joke?
Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!
Loads of whoosh, unlike when the OP was overtaking. 😀
Why not? So long as I am edging by then I am using the lanes correctly and driving fully within the law.
The OP wasnt edging past though, the car in lane 2 was travelling quicker, so he should have pulled back in or accelerated (naughty boy) to resolve the issue.
Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!
Yep, caravans displace a lot of air at 80mph.
70 is the legal limit, yes - however it's quite safe to do more than that* and unless you're doing waaay in excess you're unlikely to be done for speeding.
*As above, 70 indicated is actually less, so if you want to do exactly 70, stick the cruise control at 73mph, give or take 1/2mph
*Also, lets remember the 70mph speed limit was set in 1965 when the UK's best selling car was a Morris 1100 with 48bhp and a top speed of 78mph. Cars have moved on a bit in safety in the last 57 years. France seems to do just fine with an 80mph speed limit in the dry. Anyway, let's not derail this any further.
*As above, 70 indicated is actually less, so if you want to do exactly 70, stick the cruise control at 73mph, give or take 1/2mph
GPS and speedo are pretty much the same in my car so 70 is 70. And even 73 won't stop a cock doing 80-90+ from coming hooning up behind so makes little or no difference. And it may be safe but it is not legal. And yes, when the cameras are on in the 70 bits as they sometimes are then you will get a ticket for breaking the speed limit and not always with the 10% tolerance.
The OP wasnt edging past though, the car in lane 2 was travelling quicker, so he should have pulled back in or accelerated (naughty boy) to resolve the issue.
Except at the point the dick was behind them they couldn't
Actually thought he wasn’t even going to stop, I can’t get into the inside lane(s) as the guy there has decided he now wants to speed up.
And yes, when the cameras are on in the 70 bits as they sometimes are then you will get a ticket for breaking the speed limit and not always with the 10% tolerance.
They aren't going to catch you at 75mph
Except at the point the dick was behind them they couldn’t
Actually thought he wasn’t even going to stop, I can’t get into the inside lane(s) as the guy there has decided he now wants to speed up.
Ah so you just sit there for the next hour blocking 2 lanes ?
1. Either indicate to move over and reduce your speed a little allowing you to pull back over.
2. Be really naughty and go to 75 mph and pull in in front. Yes the world might end, but I doubt it.
3. Be a complete arse and stay along side the car for the next hour further winding up the idiot behind you.
Ah so you just sit there for the next hour blocking 2 lanes ?
The whole point of the OPs thread is that they had not been idly sitting there - they were overtaking quite legitimately and then they had someone up their arse and at that point they could not move over as at the same time the car next to them decided to speed up. Further, by the sounds of things it was not safe to slow down either as the car behind was very close.
And why should they speed up and break the limit? The fault is entirely 100% that of the driver getting right up their arse and being aggressive.
There is nothing in the post about this being a two hour stand-off with the OP trying to wind people up.
It seems that a number of people think that a driver abiding to the law has less rights to be on the road than dicks who like to speed.
But yes, let’s say they are doing constant 69 and I have my cruise control set at 70 then assuming the outside lane is clear when I commence the manoeuvre then I will overtake them at a difference of 1mph
Yep, putting yourself in danger for no reason - you need to really get some training.
Yep, putting yourself in danger for no reason – you need to really get some training.
Putting myself in danger by driving within the law in case someone who decides to break it comes tearing up my arse? Really? And it's me that needs training?!
How exactly am I putting myself in danger? By the sounds of it you are concerned that someone else's driving would put me in danger, not my own as there is no reason for anyone to get close to me in the situation I describe.
Going up the M6 a few years ago, that long climb out of Tebay heading north. There were two lorries in the inside and middle lanes doing their drag race of 55mph and 55.5mph so I moved to the outside lane to overtake (one car miles back in the rear view mirror).
Well **** me if that car wasn't doing well over 100 and he was rapidly coming up my bumper in no time at all. Some Jaguar saloon thing. I pushed it to 80 and pulled in and the guy went past at a proper rate of knots.
Less than a minute later, another car passed me going even faster. This one had flashy blue and red lights in the back of it and I laughed a LOT when I passed Jaguar Man pulled over on the hard shoulder a couple of miles later. I love it when that happens.
It seems that a number of people think that a driver abiding to the law has less rights to be on the road than dicks who like to speed.
I don't think anyone is implying that flashing light man isn't a dick - it's more about being dynamic to your surroundings than resolutely sticking to a set of rules. Common sense normally trumps sticking to 'rules'. There's really no harm in speeding up a little bit to get yourself out of a situation with an arrogant arsehole. Or slow down, whichever.
Of course you don't 'have' to do either, but that's slightly ridiculous tbh
I find it quite astonishing that on a STW motoring thread which usually attracts self-righteous high-horse riders like moths to a flame, there are so many posters here suggesting that the OP should have 'given it a bit more' and is somehow feeble for not breaking the speed limit.
All motorway lanes bar the first are overtaking lanes. If you're in one and not overtaking, you're in the wrong lane. That said, the OP was - as presented, at least - overtaking a vehicle in lane two. Whether this is an accurate description or whether the OP was being undertaken out of frustration for their 'tootling' along, only one poster will know for sure and the rest of us are speculating.
In the situation the OP describes, you have three basic courses of action. You speed up, you slow down, or you do nothing. The first is illegal, the other two both have potential to inflame the situation. Lifting off will allow you to pull in behind the driver in lane two who's just discovered what the pedal on the right is for, but you're slowing down even more the Wing Commander you're towing. Maintaining a constant speed just prolongs the issue, like when you see two trucks drag-racing at 55.9mph for miles.
Hard to know what I'd have done to be honest. If someone is in a hurry I'll do everything I can to let them past safely, but fundamentally I hate bullies and if someone thinks they can just muscle me off the road then I have little patience for that crap. I'd probably just have booted it for a couple of seconds to get out of their way, but if I needed then off my arse and didn't have that option then maybe drag the brake pedal with my left foot to put the lights on?
Really though, I wouldn't have put myself in that situation in the first place. Motorway driving, I like to have as many escape routes as possible. If I'm overtaking then I overtake, it's an active manoeuvre not 'tootling' along. Similarly if I'm being overtaken, either get on with it and come past or get behind me. I'll try to avoid having another vehicle alongside me for longer than is absolutely necessary because it reduces my options if something were to go wrong and, well, creates this sort of dilemma.
Or the ones that flash at you to get out of the way, to sit on the bumper of the car in front, that's moving at the same speed as the 10 in front of them.
I may have given free issue of screen wash for folk like that... my windows were dirty.
Cougar
I’d probably just have booted it for a couple of seconds to get out of their way, but if I needed then off my arse and didn’t have that option then maybe drag the brake pedal with my left foot to put the lights on?
As tempting as it is to do this, what this will result in is the car behind undertaking at the first opportunity then brake testing you.
I don’t think anyone is implying that flashing light man isn’t a dick – it’s more about being dynamic to your surroundings than resolutely sticking to a set of rules. Common sense normally trumps sticking to ‘rules’. There’s really no harm in speeding up a little bit to get yourself out of a situation with an arrogant arsehole. Or slow down, whichever.
I tend to agree with this approach to dealing with such drivers. However at the weekend I was coming off the A1 to take the A19 (this is a dual carriageway straight away so there are two lanes of vehicles still travelling at high speed) and I could see a guy in a Volvo v60 coming up quite quickly behind me but still indicating left although he had left it very late to squeeze in. I speeded up a bit to make room behind me so he could merge in but ohh no, he didn't want to do that – he carried on past me then made a suicide manoeuvre swerving in right in front of my bonnet *just* before he ran out of slip road. Idiot. Lesson learned – don't go changing speeds to suit what you *think* others are doing / are about to do – just stay at your speed and let other drivers work out for themselves what they are doing.
As my dad has often said
“Pee or get off the pot”
If you are in lane 3 get on with it. Sitting in L3 for two miles creeping past a L2 hogger at 70 is nearly on a par with flashy twerp. It’s just less aggressive, slightly more legal but likely to upset L2 hogger and everyone else too!
As tempting as it is to do this, what this will result in is the car behind undertaking at the first opportunity then brake testing you.
No it won't, because as I said,
All motorway lanes bar the first are overtaking lanes. If you’re in one and not overtaking, you’re in the wrong lane.
The only time I ever get undertaken is if someone is properly driving with their head on fire (or it's a slow-moving traffic jam). It can't happen if you pull back in once you've completed an overtake.
Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!
One hopes, but then again have you been on the roads lately?