Middle Laners

[KiwiCol]

Yep same. It's a bloody risky move & wouldn't take very much for it to come to grief for both.

[Rynglieder]

It's really cheered me up to read this lot, I thought it was just me getting wound up over these things.

Dead right about it being a waste of millions adding extra lanes to motorways though, there a whole empty one over on the left already.

I'm probably going to offend a few people here, but here goes anyway - There does seem to be a regional variance in middle lane hogging. I find the M60 / M62 to be the worst, people there seem to think driving in what they perceive to be the "slow" lane is an slight to their manhood. The bottom part of the M5 in contrast seems to be fairly well driven. In my part of the UK (around the M5 / M6 intersection) you can't change lanes even if you want to because the traffic barely moves.

Oh, and I'd be happy to do a fly-by on the inside lane, but it causes me grief from her on the back, so I settle for a tight out-and-round. It usually seems to wake up the offending driver who then seems to remember where they should be.

[Kiwifruit]

How does the law read Pete ?
I think ours pretty much says keep left unless passing.......but in reality its a dogs breakfast, just a free for all.

[gsxbarmy]

Personally I think the U.K. government should legalize undertaking on motorways, in the same way that the US allows undertaking on highways. I use the M25 a lot (the London "ring road") and it's a fairly common occurrence anyway, in fact you find that the (general) 3 lanes move at their own speed most of the time anyway be it under or overtaking. I do like these countries though that remind drivers to pull over once they have passed vehicles - the traffic seems to flow better.

People though in general seem to think that they "must" get in the outside line (I'm refusing to call it the fast lane) and won't budge. I'm now using the centre lane more as I'm finding that most of the time you can maintain the same speed as the outside lane but without the constant brake and accelerate (and a lot of time you are undertaking anyway, just to be overtaken a few minutes later).

The police seem to turn a blind eye to this anyway (except for the dangerous ones who weave through all the lanes at speed) in order to keep the traffic moving.

As for those on bikes who weave through the lanes on motorbikes at speed (usually about 20-30 mph more than the traffic speed) - a dangerous thing to do IMO, certainly on the M25 as Road and lane conditions change way too often, and nearly every hour is rush hour.. seen way too many results of this and they are not pretty, especially given the number of foreign tourists who use the M25 going to/from the ports, particularly the eastern side of the M25.

Middle laners though - hardly happen. Juggernauts up their posterior soon stop that. On other roads they annoy me no end. That and those who insist on throwing their fag ends out the window.  I'd love to stuff their fag ends back though their windows having had a few bounce off my visor over the years.

My main gripe are the convoy of lorries that will travel nose to tail making it difficult to both enter and exit junctions.

To me lane proticol in the U.K. is very poor and the annoyance it brings no doubt leads to a number of accidents which could otherwise be avoided.

[KiwiCol]

That's very restrained of you Dave . . .  only thing gets your goat is fag ends flicked out the window.

We're allowed to pass on the inside if it's 2 or more lanes on that side. We're also allowed to filter at traffic lights, but not at high speed.

[Kiwifruit]

Barmy mentions fag butts thrown out of the window.
I seem to follow quite a number who decide its time to clean their windscreen with their washers when a motorcycle is behind them. 

[KiwiCol]

Anyone noticed Friday traffic is more 'aggressive' than other days?  I always notice it. I leave home just before 6.30 every day, Friday is when I see the worst behaviour. 

Take this morning, 4 f**kwits in 20 minutes of driving.  First some halfwit driving at 41k in a 50 k area, no reason, just going at 41!!  Then a moron on the express way, I'm in the left lane, I see some headlights coming up fast in the right lane, which happens to have a truck n trailer in it (going along ok) So this hero comes barrelling up & I'm thinking, he's gonna ram right into the back of the trailer cos there's no room to change into the left lane as I'm there, nope, hero just missed the truck, swerves violently into my lane just in front of me, I brake hard & the hero then proceeds to go normal speed in front of me. What the hell that was about I'm buggered if I know, just didn't want to be behind a truck or anybody else. 

Then about 3 minutes later, different road but 2 lanes, under roadworks & has been for a few weeks, reduces to 1 lane, another hero / asshole comes barrelling up trying to push in to the queue that was already merging like a zip???  Why?  We're all being considerate & well mannered.

Then the fourth one, another halfwit doing 43k in a 60k area.  Just bloody staggering Friday morning traffic. The other days are bad enough,  but Fridays are definitely worse. IMO.

[grog]

Fridays are bad here, everyone wants to be here for weekend. ill put up with all the antics, seems a world problem. lh lane doesnt exist for most. my absolute prob at moment is phone users. 1 out of 10 i reckon. all over the road, very scary. reckon i saw 5 today. i want a sign to hold up to them. shove it/phone up your arse or something similar.any ideas what it should say

[Hooli]

You could try this Grog

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x56w8d1

[Charliewag]

 :rant:How about variable time bus lanes? On my commute to work (5 miles) in Sheffield, the bus lanes are only active between 7.30am and 9:30 am, then 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm. So many drivers do not read the road signs giving this info and stick to the outside lanes religiously. It makes I mad!

[Del]

so there is no fast lane on the motorways you can do 70 mph in any lane so if Im doing 70 mph in the inside lane and there some one doing 60 in the middle lane then Im not undertaking . . . . . . . 

or do you wee me having the do mirror signal maneuver to traverse lanes 2 and then 3 then once I have overtaken the middle laner  I then have to repeat the mirror signal maneuver all over again to get back into the correct lane

. . . . . but what if I was approaching my junction ?!?!?!?. do I need to reduce speed just because some cretin (or just plain ignorant fooker) doesnt know the correct procedure for motorway driving

ANSWER . . . .

[ARH]

Del..

Yes.... maybe... well it depends. 

[KiwiCol]

Change the rules so you can pass on the left if there's 2 or more lanes on your side, that's how it's done here, usually the halfwits move left after a queue has built up behind them & half a dozen or so cars have passed on the left of them.  Usually, not always though.

[Mister Fishfinger]

so there is no fast lane on the motorways you can do 70 mph in any lane so if Im doing 70 mph in the inside lane and there some one doing 60 in the middle lane then Im not undertaking . . . . . . . 

or do you wee me having the do mirror signal maneuver to traverse lanes 2 and then 3 then once I have overtaken the middle laner  I then have to repeat the mirror signal maneuver all over again to get back into the correct lane

. . . . . but what if I was approaching my junction ?!?!?!?. do I need to reduce speed just because some cretin (or just plain ignorant fooker) doesnt know the correct procedure for motorway driving

ANSWER . . . .

In UK law I think this would be considered a grey area.

The highway code says it is acceptable to pass on the left on a multi-lane highway in congested conditions, when the lane on the left is moving faster. You still have to exercise caution though, but generally (as gsxbarmy mentioned earlier), the M25 operates like this pretty much all the time because it is always busy.

The problem is when you come across a middle lane hogger when the traffic isn't congested. This is what makes them so dangerous and annoying. If traffic is light (never really happens near home), I go all the way round them the proper way. Usually I have a good moan about it as well, much to the annoyance of Mrs Fishfinger who has heard it all a million times.

If there are a bunch of vehicles in the outside lane I sometimes make an executive decision and pass on the inside, again to the annoyance of Mrs F, who doesn't like it when I do that.

I have read that the police could in theory do me for driving with undue care and attention for doing that, but I would hope that the sensible decision would be to prosecute the lane hogger instead. In reality, neither is likely to happen because there aren't any police on the roads nowadays - so I think the important thing to worry about is how safe it is.

[Kiwifruit]

Fishy l note you say "there aren't any Police on the roads" So where have yours gone ?