Middle lane drivers...

[has]

Why-O-why are people so content with driving in the middle lane of a half empty motorway, if there is no other vehicles in the inside lane, when the Highway Code clearly states that the centre lane is used for over-taking then to return to the inside lane?

If you are one of these people, drive properly or get off the motorway. You are a menace!!

[buildersmate]

The trouble is, the other drivers who do this just don't appreciate the consequence of their actions. It causes bunching in the middle and outside lanes behind the prat doing it. People who do it are just oblivious to the problem it causes.
The same people generally have incredibly poor judgement about relative speeds of vehicles so somehow believe that because they can see another vehicle in the far distance, it won't be long before they need to overtake it, or they believe lane 1 is for HGVs.
I, like many, have no legal answer to it.
Coming up on their inside, I'm told, can help educate them.

[R1Geezer]

Let's look at this shall we, if the motorway is empty then it's irrelevant whether you are in the middle or left hand lanes, so why do you care? If the motorway is busy then driving in the middle is safest because it is far more dangerous to go in and out all the truck etc going up the road. I realise this is heresy but the highway code is flawed in this subject and does attract hysterical rantings but on a 3 lane motorway the middle lane is the place to be. Before anyone has a go I have done a 3 day advanced motorcycling course with this guy:
http://www.amazon.co....-Jones/dp/0714038113, you'd be surprised how much of the highway code is discredited.

[vulcan]

That link doesn't work,R1Geezer,any other details ?

[R1Geezer]

It was just the front cover of a book by David Jones, do a search for "Not the Blue Book"

[buildersmate]

Wholly agree, Geezer. The trouble is that (IMHO) the prats that do this, do it all the time - irrespective of what's in Lane 1. That's because they also can't (IMHO) differentiate between a busy motorway and a non-busy one.
And everything is relative anyway - people see things differently.
So one way of demonstrating how un-busy Lane 1 is, is to gently come up Lane 1 to see if they are using their mirror correctly - in which they might, just might, come back in again.
If that strategy fails, there is the opportunity to move up further and pass them.
Or so I'm told. I never do this myself, of course.

[chas2008]

Tend to agree with ZACSMASTER , i do miles of motorway driving a year and it doesnt take long to work out the biggest culprits are those with no confidence or just plain scared, hunched over the steering wheel hanging on for dear life is a usual givaway.
I believe in the USA you can pass on either side, that would solve the problem !!

[vulcan]

Agree with both Zac and chas, it is a confidence thing.Nobody is taught to drive on motorways, that's why they have no confidence. Disagree,though, with us having the American system,if our drivers have no confidence, we wouldn't know how they would react to vehicles passing both sides.
I actually do drive according to the highway code regarding lanes but for reasons not given in the code book. I found driving continously in one lane I quickly lost concentration, by using the lanes correctly I feel more alert.

[R1Geezer]

To the 3 guys above, answer this question, yes or no.

Is changing lanes more dangerous than not changing lanes?

[vulcan]

No

[R1Geezer]

OK so you are in a lane driving and it's actually safer to mirror -- signal -- maneuovre and move in and out of trucks, coaches etc is it Vulcan. Right oh, I can tell you are not a vulcan as logic seems to escape you. You, like others have been brainwashed.

[vulcan]

it's a lot safer than having to move out to the third lane and back again because some idiot wont move out of the second lane. [Inside passing is illegal in this country]
Do I take it you don't check and indicate before you move ?

[R1Geezer]

"Do I take it you don't check and indicate before you move ? "

by what leap of illogic do you make that assumption?

[R1Geezer]

"it's a lot safer than having to move out to the third lane and back again because some idiot wont move out of the second lane."

sorry I'm in the middle lane why would I need to move into the 3rd lane? or perhaps you are saying you too are in the middle lane and wish to overtake, tada! use the 3rd lane, be my guest!

Are you seriously saying that it is safer for me to pull into the left and then move out N times overtaking the trucks, each time having to get those who sensibly stayed in the middle lane to let me in, rather than let those who want to go faster to use the outside lane? Look up "Road craft" expert motorists do that Keep digging!

[Barmaid]

The scary thing for me with "middle lane hoggers" is that they are completely oblivious to what is happening around them. I suspect they are the same people that pick a gear and a speed for a day (ie the 40mph club). You have to keep your wits about you ALL the time when driving and on motorways even more so. If you are changing lanes and adjusting your driving to cope with the varying traffic you are probably concentrating much harder on what is going along rather than just sitting in the middle lane letting the world pass you by (or more properly build up behind you).

[tamborine]

Abers ALL drive safely and considerately....tho some may not have seen the highway code for more than 30y ;)

[jackthehat]

Am I to infer from this thread, and the other, that R1Geezer is usually to be found in the middle-lane of the motorway, smugly shaking his head at the rest of us numpties following the manner of driving as recommended in the Highway Code...........?

Thought so...........

[susiespider]

Surely it's a matter of judgement - if the next vehicle in the left hand lane is not far off, then OK, stay in the middle lane until you've passed it, but if it's some way off, then you're a completely selfish, inconsiderate driver if you stay in the middle lane. If there is heavy traffic and all lanes are full, no problem. But if the motorway is almost empty, why on earth do these idiots stay in the middle lane if they're not overtaking? It means drivers wanting to overtake them have to go from the inside lane across 2 lanes to the outside and then back again. Why on earth should other drivers have to do that just so that these road hogs can avoid the minor inconvenience of changing lanes themselves? It turns a 3 lane road into a 2 lane road - what's the point of having 3 lanes if these people make one of the lanes redundant? And they cause considerable holdups if there are a number of vehicles wanting to overtake, they then have to bunch up behind the selfish twit, so causing a danger. if you can't cope with safely pulling out to overtake and then returning to the inside lane then you aren't fit to be driving on a motorway. Stick to A roads instead.

[susiespider]

I've just seen Barmaid's refernce to the 40 mph club which amused me. I've had exactly the same thought myself, there are quite a few club members round here. 60 mph limit - they do exactly 40, never deviate from it. Enter a 30 mph limit and they still do exactly 40.
And what about those who are so neurotic about speed cameras that as soon as they see one they slow down to approx half the speed limit, even though they weren't breaking the limit anyway. Just to be safe I presume. Ah, bless!