Middle Lane Morons, version 2...

[dave87]

I'd almost forgotton about this until I had a browse of pistonheads earlier.I'm guessing most of us here dislike people sitting in the middle lane when the first lane is free and clear for a significant distance infront of them, and cause more congestion by doing 50 in conditions where 70 is perfectly safe? Well, version 2 has arrived. And they are even more irritating, even more numptyish, and even more dangerous.


Lane 3.


M11.



No traffic on the innermost lanes. At all.




50mph!





Honestly, where did these people pass their driving test?

I resisted the urge to undertake (unlike many of the people behind me) and sat 2 seconds behind them (only a fool breaks the two second rule said outloud as a measure) but they continued this way for what must have been a good couple of miles. Eventually moved up behind them and gave them a single flash of my lights and they moved over to the middle lane. I did check my mirrors to see if anyone was planning to undertake, more than they did when they moved back into the middle lane.


Lane 1 still free and clear.



Welcome to numpty ridden britain

[Zak33]

this is where a Yak9 K would be great, isn't it?

[Zak33]

or an IL-2 3M with AJ23 cassettes, rockets and twin 37mm canons.

[menthel]

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

[Zak33]

/stifles a twitch of the finger.....

no.....

not...


much.....

[MadduckUK]

bloody commies

[slugs]

i just undertake people now. and just do it at the speed limit. i find theres no other choice on the m25 some people just think its there right to block out the lanes. you should overtake and move back

and how i love creeping along on the m1 looking for the debris that other people must find so interesting.

i do think it amusing when people at breaking in the road works as well. it says its a average speed camera. and on the m1 the road works section is about 26 miles long.

so breaking when you see the big yellow camera's isn't going to make that much difference !

[finlay666]

Annoys me so much on the drive on the M4/M40/M1 when I go home, it's the fact that I spend most of the journey on the inside lane and people don't pull in after overtaking and just sit in the outer 2 lanes at about 65 when the road ahead of them is empty

I think you should get points for it, it slows the flow of traffic down when normally people would overtake, causes bottlenecks in the flow and annoys the hell out of me.

[how1]

I hate people who go slow in the fast lane!!

[Mblaster]

TBH, I'll sometimes sit in the middle lane when the left lane is free, but it's usually at 80+mph and only when the right lane is free too, so people who want to overtake can. I'm lazy, but not totally inconsiderate...

[dave87]

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

[SHare]

The traffic police she be pulling these idiots. To often I've seen them ignore the numpty blocking the outside for an age but yet are off after anyone creeping above 70 as fast as you can say 'book em'.

[Bleak]

Only time I will sit in the middle lane is around midnight coming up the M20 with a HGV to overtake every minute. Having said that if I see a car in the mirror coming up behind I will pull in.

Totally agree about how annoying it is though, some people just have no common sense.

[KidChameleon]

The traffic police she be pulling these idiots. To often I've seen them ignore the numpty blocking the outside for an age but yet are off after anyone creeping above 70 as fast as you can say 'book em'.

Perhaps because it is not illegal to drive in the lanes to the right when the two on the left are clear. It is very annoying, but how would you write a law against it? Drivers would have to pull over immediately after getting past the vehicle in the left lane, but what would be a "safe" distance? What if there are hazards in the left lanes?

Same with undertaking, there is no specific law against it because of situations such as slow traffic where it is all in the right lanes with an empty left lane. Most people would agree that's a reasonable time to undertake. It could be seen as driving without due care and attention, though.

[how1]

If a numpty is hogging the middle lane just overtake them! No problem! If they are doing a constant 70mph then that is fine as far as i am concerned. They are within the speed limit. The first lane is usually full of people going a lot slower than that so probably safer to stay in the middle lane if travelling at 70 or above. If anyone thinks it is then annoying then they are probably trying to go faster, thus breaking the law!!

[staffsMike]

If a numpty is hogging the middle lane just overtake them! No problem! If they are doing a constant 70mph then that is fine as far as i am concerned. They are within the speed limit. The first lane is usually full of people going a lot slower than that so probably safer to stay in the middle lane if travelling at 70 or above. If anyone thinks it is then annoying then they are probably trying to go faster, thus breaking the law!!

It is nothing to do with speed, it is to do with safety. If you have to move across two lanes just to pass someone and then move back two, you put youself at more risk.

It also means that one passing lane is effectively blocked for faster moving traffic, causing more danger for other road users and themselves. Of course undertaking is stupid at the best of times, but it obviously does happen. People should be driving in a manner which makes undertaking pointless if not impossible to do.

Generally speaking I read the road ahead, If I can back into lane 2 or 1 (depending where I am) for 20-25 seconds or more, I move.