Middle Lane Morons, version 2...

[staffsMike]

I wanted to ask the same thing the other day

[menthel]

Even worse for me are the idiots who zoom up behind you in the outside lane flashing their lights, demanding to be let past when the motorwY is busy and the reason I am in the outer lane is that I am overtaking people. Not everyone wants to be doing 100! What a bunch of tits!

[handscombmp]

Even worse for me are the idiots who zoom up behind you in the outside lane flashing their lights, demanding to be let past when the motorwY is busy and the reason I am in the outer lane is that I am overtaking people. Not everyone wants to be doing 100! What a bunch of tits!

Same! I always think whats so important that you have to go along the road doing that. I would drive slowly on purpose to annoy them but i know it's unsafe to.
Once though after one of these idiots went past i saw his car pulled up with a police one. Couldn't help but smile

[Mblaster]

Not being picky, but how much effort is it to sit in lane 1, then occasionally move into lane 2 or 3 as required to overtake?

Not singling yourself out individually, as it seems to be a universal habit, just trying to understand. For me, changing lanes occasionally is the only active movement on the motorway. The rest is watching out for the numpties around you

Mainly it's to stop a queue of other people who are overtaking me at 1mph faster than me blocking me in behind a lorry so I have to slow down by over 20mph. Also, I'm driving faster than most of the people that the complaints seem to be made about in this thread, if it looks like I'm going to be holding people up I'll pull in, but the majority of the time it's fine to just let them overtake in the right hand lane.

[kalniel]

Mainly it's to stop a queue of other people who are overtaking me at 1mph faster than me blocking me in behind a lorry so I have to slow down by over 20mph.

If you anticipate the lorry with any reasonable amount of time that's never a problem.

Also, I'm driving faster than most of the people that the complaints seem to be made about in this thread, if it looks like I'm going to be holding people up I'll pull in, but the majority of the time it's fine to just let them overtake in the right hand lane.

Fine for you, not for them - what if two cars come up at different speeds, or what if someone is driving correctly in lane 1 and is going faster than you? They now have to move twice the distance in the same space of time to overtake you, vastly increasing the risk.

Lazy, bad driving.

[Mblaster]

Fine for you, not for them - what if two cars come up at different speeds, or what if someone is driving correctly in lane 1 and is going faster than you? They now have to move twice the distance in the same space of time to overtake you, vastly increasing the risk.

Lazy, bad driving.

As I said in the previous message, 'if it looks like I'm going to be holding people up I'll pull in'. I look behind me, and if I see that I am going to be blocking the way for someone then I move over, otherwise I don't bother. If someone is in the left hand lane going fast enough to want to overtake me, it usually means the motorway is empty, in which case I'll be in the left hand lane anyway.

I just don't automatically move to the left lane just because it free, when there's stuff to overtake within sight, I just move when someone behind me gives me a reason.

[kalniel]

I just don't automatically move to the left lane just because it free, when there's stuff to overtake within sight

If there's stuff to overtake then you're not a middle lane moron.

[Gerrard]

Mainly it's to stop a queue of other people who are overtaking me at 1mph faster than me blocking me in behind a lorry so I have to slow down by over 20mph. Also, I'm driving faster than most of the people that the complaints seem to be made about in this thread, if it looks like I'm going to be holding people up I'll pull in, but the majority of the time it's fine to just let them overtake in the right hand lane.

I think this is the reason for a majority of middle lane hoggers. The motorway becomes 3 lanes of "queues", with each one going a different speed, rather than used for overtaking. If you're in a "queue" of traffic going 70ish in the middle lane, there's nothing in the left hand lane for a mile or so, and you move to the left hand lane whilst maintaining your speed, the car behind will close the gap, effectively blocking you in. Of course, if everyone moved over, then there wouldn't be a problem, but we know that doesn't happen. I've heard the discipline on German autobahns is very good, with people pulling back in straight after overtaking, almost on the verge of cutting you up.

[staffsMike]

I've heard the discipline on German autobahns is very good, with people pulling back in straight after overtaking, almost on the verge of cutting you up.

That about sums them up, cutting up about 100mph, takes some getting used to be they are quite accomplished motorway drivers I find.

If there's stuff to overtake then you're not a middle lane moron.

Depends how far away it is..

[how1]

Same applies to Dual Carriageways where you get a flat cap hogging the outer lane doing 30!

[kalniel]

I think this is the reason for a majority of middle lane hoggers. The motorway becomes 3 lanes of "queues", with each one going a different speed, rather than used for overtaking. If you're in a "queue" of traffic going 70ish in the middle lane, there's nothing in the left hand lane for a mile or so, and you move to the left hand lane whilst maintaining your speed, the car behind will close the gap, effectively blocking you in.

It never seems to bother me - just plan ahead and you can get back into seemingly quite solid queues without having to slow down.

[Konan555]

I've noticed that the problem is worse the closer you get to The Smoke. I guess the people that learned their driving inside the M25 apply the same techniques on the surrounding motorways, just at 70mph.

It's always bad up the hill on the M11 as you're headed Northbound off the 25. What's worse, is when a middle lane hanger is doing 65, so I move ye Transit out to overtake and they speed up, leaving me hanging in the outside lane.

[yamangman]

Has someone got an itchy trigger finger and an urge to get an old russian bird up in the air?

You know about zak's mail order missus too?

[menthel]

You know about zak's mail order missus too?

I've heard she is back at the post office at the moment waiting for a replacement. Something about undercarriage issues I think...

[Lucio]

I think the biggest reason why people become MLM's is the way the HGV drivers drive. Instead of simply sticking to the inside lane, you get the odd idiot who insists of creeping a couple of MPH more than the one in front of him and spend 5-10 minutes overtaking the inside lane in slow motion.

If all the HGV's stuck to the inside lane and maintained their speed (baring juctions where they split), our motorways would flow a lot more freely.


Oh and the answer to number of driving lanes on the motorway ISN'T always 1, because of the various trafic contraflows, such as opening the hard shoulder or when motorways merge.

[Stringent]

People hogging the middle lane (even had one on the outside lane!) REALLY grate on me. One has 3 options. Undertake, overtake or I sit behind them with my full beam on (only really effective at night). My full beams are on a Focus morette conversion so they will kill your eyes if looked at for too long. Plus I move a little bit to one side so it reflects in their side mirrors too.

Also when I pass, I give them the old stare and shake. lol