For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1674528
May be a case of 'nostalgia ain't as good as it used to be' - but my perception is a general decline in the quality of motorway driving.

I'd speculate that the middle lane hog is usually a symptom of either incompetence, dreariness or oblivion to the traffic around them - none of them good. The next step is driving out of the service station in the wrong direction into oncoming traffic.

I found the motorways over the Christmas period were 'interesting' - I'd guess about half as much traffic as a normal rush hour, but double the effort to drive in because of the poor quality of driving - presumably people that had done little more than a supermarket run for the last 12 months, embark on a 4 hour motorway drive to visit relatives.

The one I've really noticed this winter is people driving on the motorway with full beam lights on (and yes, I can tell the difference between bright LED lights and someone driving with full beams on).
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By PaulB
#1674532
rikur_ wrote:...I'd speculate that the middle lane hog is usually a symptom of either incompetence, dreariness or oblivion to the traffic around them - none of them good.


When it’s busy, often when you move the the inside lane, you can’t get back out again, as people seem to often “sit on your shoulder.” Perhaps they assume that you’ll just pull out in front of them without indicating..... arghhh indicating? What is wrong with people (BMW & Audi drivers excepted) that they just don’t know when and how to indicate?

Oh, and people who overtake you, and then slow down.... then the people that speed up when you try to over take them....

The one I've really noticed this winter is people driving on the motorway with full beam lights on (and yes, I can tell the difference between bright LED lights and someone driving with full beams on).


I’ve noticed that too - I wondered whether it was automatic headlights that weren’t quite as good as they were claimed to be. (Or on the other hand, it could be idiot drivers.)
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By JoeC
#1674540
Jim Jones wrote:Given that the majority of UK motorways south of Carlisle are mostly 3 full lanes travelling at 60 to 69 mph, there is a case for moving to the US practice of overtaking in any lane rather than having to move across from lane 1 to lane 3 (or 4) in two steps, separated by 3 miles of running.


No need to change the law. Perfectly legal to pass in lane one if your lane is freely moving and the others congested.
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By PaulB
#1674546
JoeC wrote:No need to change the law. Perfectly legal to pass in lane one if your lane is freely moving and the others congested.


So in the example at the head of this thread, would it be ok to pass on the left?
By JoeC
#1674547
cockney steve wrote:The picture clearly shows a deserted road, other than the two protagonists. Assuming the L.H lane was not heavily- rutted by HGV's , there was no reason to stay in the middle- lane.



These ‘heavily rutted’ left hand lanes on motorways have been mentioned before on the forum. Never experienced them :?

Where are they? The 1970s?
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By PaulB
#1674548
There was a part of the M1 S that was particularly bad. It may have been resurfaced with the smart motorway work that’s been ongoing between 23a and 31.
By JoeC
#1674549
PaulB wrote:
JoeC wrote:No need to change the law. Perfectly legal to pass in lane one if your lane is freely moving and the others congested.


So in the example at the head of this thread, would it be ok to pass on the left?


Last time I looked at the Highway Code (a few years ago) I’m sure word ‘congested’ was used. So in Jim’s example yes, the video example, no. That’s my interpretation anyway.

Edit to add:

268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake
By malcolmfrost
#1674566
The concrete section between the A3 and Leatherhead isn’t good in the left hand lane. Apparently it was done like that because of a tarmac shortage during the oil crisis in the 70s!
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1674568
What if you were already in the left hand lane.

You'd been happily driving along in lane one for miles and miles before you come across this nugget dawdling along at 61 mph in the middle lane...

I can tell you what I do, and it's not making a total of four unnecessary lane changes just because someone else is too retarded to be in the correct lane... One such middle lane tool actually flashed me for doing this. And then continued sitting in the middle lane as he disappeared off in the distance behind me.
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By T67M
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1674570
malcolmfrost wrote:The concrete section between the A3 and Leatherhead isn’t good in the left hand lane.


It's not good in ANY lane, but the left hand lane is no worse than the other three. I usually have it all to myself, driving at a steady 70mph when the other three lanes are nose to tail with cars driving at 60mph.
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By Miscellaneous
#1674571
stevelup wrote:I can tell you what I do, and it's not making a total of four unnecessary lane changes just because someone else is too retarded to be in the correct lane...

Although it is not illegal, overtaking on the inside is advised against. Consequently passing on the inside is running the risk of being charged with carless driving / driving without due care and attention…

Personally I tend to move out and back in.
Flyin'Dutch', T67M, AlanC liked this
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