Powered by fairy dust. Driven by Jabba the Hut. Every time.

driving without due care and attention, for instance.

Indeed. I reckon you could get done for that if you were undertaking too. Depends on what kind of undertaking you were doing of course. Still no law against driving like an inconsiderate tosser though.

I’m often tempted to simply cruise past on the inside lane myself when I approach someone cruising in the middle. It’s not my job (nor do I have the skillz or training) to police the roads though so I just sigh, pull out to the outside, overtake and pull back in to the inside if there’s plenty of time before I’d have to overtake the next car. If the middle lane driver doesn’t get the message from seeing someone executing this manoeuvre, then he’s lost to the world of us driving gods. I see no reason for (possibly) frightening the bejeesus out of him by passing on the inside? (Other than to give myself a feeling of smug self-satisfaction.)

Oh yeah, I forgot the other one yesterday.

Exactly the same situation as the other one, Prius sat in lane two bimbling along in their own little world, first lane clear as far as the eye can see, third lane rammed. I’m sat in the first lane with the cruise control set at an indicated 75mph (so doing just under 70mph in actuality).

The Prius driver then started drifting across into the first lane as I was along side him. I was watching for this as it happens occasionally; I guess some people aren’t expecting someone on the left / aren’t observant, and some decide to “teach me a lesson”. I sounded the horn to alert him to my presence and he swerved back. He then seemed to take this as an insult to his masculinity (in a Prius), blasted the horn several times as I passed, then booted it (did I mention he was in a Prius?)

He pulled back alongside me and started to nose ahead. I figured, if he got in front of me then who knows what he’d do next; struck me as we’d soon both be on the hard shoulder with him claiming whiplash. So I accelerated a little too, just up to an indicated 80, to keep him from carving me up. Fortunately, the next vehicle in front of us both was a lorry also lane-hogging the second lane, so I sailed merrily underneath him too and the Pious had to brake, that was the last I saw of him.

I reckon you could get done for that if you were undertaking too. Depends on what kind of undertaking you were doing of course.

You could, but as you say it’d have to be in context. If you were carving people up all over the place then almost certainly, but in the sorts of situations I’m describing here it’d be highly unlikely that they’d try and slap a Due Care on you in isolation and if they did they’d have to prove it in court. Undertaking, in and of itself, is not driving without due care; if anything, I’m exercising more care when I do it.

To my mind, it’s often safer to pass on the left than make four lane changes, especially if the third lane is full of power rangers. Another option is to flash the person in the second late but that’s a bit of a lottery. Some people seem to genuinely just forget to pull over and will be grateful / apologetic for the reminder. But some are doing it intentionally presumably out of either spite or ignorance and flashing just antagonises them; they could react in all manner of erratic ways.

As well as fighting his claim for whiplash, you may well have been done for driving without undue care or attention (or whatever it’s called these days). The correct thing to do in your case would be to cross into the outside lane, overtake and continue as normal without creating a dangerous situation in the first place.

I sounded the horn to alert him to my presence and he swerved back.

Thereby creating uncertainty for the wolfpack in lane 3, causing one of them to brake suddenly and possibly have the Audi/BMW/SUV/whatever-car-the-Top-Gear-crowd-hates-these-days driver tailgating him to closely inspect his car boot. I guess you didn’t break any laws though.

I had a clash with an absolute clown in a jag the other week, he was sat in the middle lane cruising along a smidgeon slower than me, i was cruising at (an indicated) 80. I pulled out to overtake him and noticed i’d stopped gaining ground on him as i got within about 10m of him in the outside lane. I commented to my gf at the time saying i don’t think this guy wants the shame of being overtaken by my fiesta. Anyway i just nudged my speed up a little bit to just get past him and then drop back into the middle lane and 80 again. Sure enough the guy in the jag also speeds up and then just gives it a bootful and accelerates off (must have been doing about 100). I started laughing and just dropped back down into the middle lane (inside lane had lorries etc. better add that before the MLH police get onto me). Anyway about 2 minutes later i start to come up behind him again as he’d obviously just slowed down to the speed he was doing originally. This time as I pull out to overtake him he does the same thing, only this time he has nowhere to go as a small VW Up! was pootling along in his lane. I thought he would have just slowed down and waited for me to pass before also overtaking the VW but no. He keeps accelerating the VW has to swerve into the inside lane the Jag then comes half into my lane to get round – forcing me to swerve towards the barrier. He then just puts his foot down an disappears into the distance.

Unfortunately i’d seen red at this point because his ego had nearly caused a pretty major accident and set off after him, just to see where he got off. Only the missus begging me to leave it stopped me from following him. I know i’m gonna get stick for driving too quick or stooping to his level but i just couldn’t believe how dangerous this guy was!

Cheers,

Danny B

Thereby creating uncertainty for the wolfpack in lane 3, causing one of them to brake suddenly and possibly have the Audi/BMW/SUV/whatever-car-the-Top-Gear-crowd-hates-these-days driver tailgating him to closely inspect his car boot.

Not seeing a downside, TBH. I’m not forcing them to tailgate.

Of course, I’m not being wholly serious there. Bottom line though is that there’s vast scope for improvement in motorway driving standards generally. The fact that you cannot drive on one without passing your test first, so motorway driving lessons are wholly theoretical unless you pay extra (and how many 18-year olds are going to do that?) means that most people don’t have a clue what they’re doing. Or, don’t care.

The majority of people drive far too close to each other; observation is generally poor because people just can’t concentrate on not much for several hours at a stretch; you’ve a mix of overly aggressive, overly passive and “I’m alright jack” attitudes; impatience and frustration; hangovers, mobile phones, touch-screen sat navs, yowling kids, fatigue and many other distractions; I could go on. We’re all guilty of some of these at times.

I’d love to see a system where once you passed your test, you then started motorway lessons and had to pass a motorway test to throw away your blue L’s and use them unsupervised. That’d make a big difference I think. You can’t change those who just don’t care, but educating (or removing) the ignorant would make a big difference I reckon.

People should just have a large LED display board in the back of their vehicle giving ‘Time in Current lane’, ‘current speed’ and ‘Distance from car in front’ info.

To my mind, it’s often safer to pass on the left than make four lane changes, especially if the third lane is full of power rangers. Another option is to flash the person in the second late but that’s a bit of a lottery.

I would not have undertaken to avoid the scenario you describe. I’d have gone into lane 2, flashed him and if he had not moved I’d have waited for a clear space in lane 3.

Bottom line though is that there’s vast scope for improvement in motorway driving standards generally.

Agreed, absolutely. I cannot fathom how something that seems so hammered in during lessons (at least it was when I did mine, not practically of course), just gets forgotten once you hit the open road. Sometimes I can sort of forgive someone who’s older and motorways are just one bewildering experience for thinking that the middle is the safest place to be, but cannot understand when I see someone young-ish who ought to know better. Perhaps their parents have always done it and were the first ones to take them out on the motorway…I dunno.

Not seeing a downside, TBH. I’m not forcing them to tailgate.

Of course you’re not, but your actions may well contribute to causing a high speed “accident” (for want of a better word). I rather not help cause one in the first place even if “I wasn’t forcing them…” would help ease my conscience. No matter how shite somebody’s driving is, I don’t want him or her to be involved at a 70+ mph collision with a possibly innocent other driver – they don’t tend to end that well.

I would not have undertaken to avoid the scenario you describe. I’d have gone into lane 2, flashed him and if he had not moved I’d have waited for a clear space in lane 3.

I’d have done the same, minus the flashing. Whether meant aggressively or not, it can be taken as so and you don’t get the chance to explain when you’re both in cars. It’s not the general public’s job to police the roads or give tips on driving.

I agree that motorways have now become so busy (with a major increase in HGVs) that further motorway training should now become mandatory. If only to hammer home lane discipline early on. Hopefully, that would minimise poor lane discipline in the long run.

Cars with Baby on board or words to that effect. Whats the point? Why should I care who’s on board? Do they think it changes the way I drive? As far as I can tell they are just there to obsure the drivers vision and make them more dangerous.

Cars with Baby on board or words to that effect. Whats the point? Why should I care who’s on board? Do they think it changes the way I drive? As far as I can tell they are just there to obsure the drivers vision and make them more dangerous.

To inform the emergency services that they need to look for a baby in the car when they’re cutting people out of a wreckage after an accident.

To inform the emergency services that they need to look for a baby in the car when they’re cutting people out of a wreckage after an accident.

Do they act differently if it’s a “Little Princess On Board”?

To inform the emergency services that they need to look for a baby in the car when they’re cutting people out of a wreckage after an accident

This only applies if they remove the sticker when the child leaves the car 😉

They are in fact an extremely primitive way to show your reproductive prowess to other road users, a far more subtle approach is to drive a people carrier…nothing says “mine works perfectly” like needing a vehicle with seats for 6 passengers 😉

Do they act differently if it’s a “Little Princess On Board”?

Presumably these are standard with all large French Mercedes….

Wombat – I had to think hard before deciding not to dig myself into that particular hole/tunnel…

I find that about a quarter of students will take a Pass Plus or Motorway Lessons, the rest are simply not interested or simply think they know enough already.

The main problem is generations. I can now tell generally, what I will be up against with a student just by looking at the vehicles in the drive, or by speaking to the parents.

If they drive bad, the kids will no matter what.

Apologies though grey, I was a bit harsh, earlier. Since a driver rammed my car deliberately in May and said it was my fault as an ‘Audi driver’ – despite witness reports to contrary, I am a little sensitive.
Thanks for that, it’s easy to be sensitive on a forum as we don’t know each other, i’ve done the same myself.
I don’t class all Audi drivers the same, as for JC i wouldn’t have a clue what he says as i don’t watch him.
I own an Orange Five, so i’m not perfect either, oh and one of my favourite cars is the Audi TT (i’m not a hairdresser BTW :lol:).

I would not have undertaken to avoid the scenario you describe. I’d have gone into lane 2, flashed him and if he had not moved I’d have waited for a clear space in lane 3.

What if he was doing 50?

40?

30?

I take your point, but life’s too short to spend it growing a beard behind a middle lane Sunday driver. Most of the time I’ve gone by the time they’ve seen me, and in the occasional situation where they do something daft I’m watching them and ready to abort / move if they do. I always, always have an escape route in anything I do on a motorway; I wouldn’t entertain the idea if the hard shoulder wasn’t present and empty. If I’ve got a car alongside me or in my blind spot for any length of time, I’ll slow down or speed up to get rid of them.

That thing about the child on-board sign being there to make emergency services aware after an accident, it’s an urban myth apparently. Presumably the presence of a baby seat is just as reliable a clue. 🙂

in the occasional situation where they do something daft I’m watching them and ready to abort / move if they do

And presumably hoping everybody in the wolfpack in lane 3 is watching too.

Life is not that short.

What if he was doing 50?

40?

30?

It’s very rarely I’ve come across anyone in the middle lane of a clear motorway doing 50.

As for 40 and 30, are you now talking about congested conditions, in which case, the highway code informs us undertaking may be acceptable.

Having just returned from 3000ish miles in that Europe I give you

4×4 – that’s the hardest sum they can do. (And, even then, they need to take their socks off);)

I rest my case, your honour 😉