Why Divers Stay in the Middle Lane

[jesta1865]

theboss said:

Bebee said:

Make it legal to pass on the inside, as they do in the US&A.

I drove a couple of hundred miles in the states in convoy with American relatives, a good hundred of which was spent on a stretch of freeway. The relatives stayed in L3 ('their' L3, leftmost) the whole time at a modest pace, overtaken constantly, and despite knowing the rules over there, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I got asked several times later on "how come you kept driving on the right, is that a UK thing?". If only they could have appreciated the irony...

i did this in australia the first time i drove out there, i even got pulled up by a copper as i was changing lanes and he advised me not to as it would 'confuse the locals'. i did as he said, till i couldn't see him then it just made my hair stand on end so i had to go back to moving left when i could. mind their motorways are about as busy as our country lanes, except right at the cities

[KingNothing]

dublove said:

I prefer the middle on an open motorway simply because its the middle of the road with space either side of me. I don't hog if there is other traffic and abide by our lane rules.

However. Making the lanes equal and allow overtaking on the left, like in the USA - slows the traffic down across all lanes as a whole. It would effectively eliminate our 'fast lane' so I am surprised this has not been implemented in the UK.

Wow... just wow.

[Johnnytheboy]

TurboHatchback said:

ShaunTheSheep said:

The rutted lane one thing has always been horsest.

This

Debaser said:

In my experience they do it because they don't know any better. The concept of keeping left is completely alien to them.

And this.

If this ruts theory is correct, why are the cars one tends to find sat in L2 not the kinds of cars that one would expect to be affected by them?

[Swanny87]

bimsb6 said:

Inside lane northbound on the m1 at junction 12 used to be all rutted , it's fine now . One stretch they even moved the lane lines over to presumably even out the wear feckin horrible on a bike

There's a stretch Northbound as you join at J2 still. When you come back off southbound at J2 the surface on the slip road is fking awful.

[The Wookie]

MBZ 6 said:

" I always drive in the middle lane because if you drive in the inside lane, the ruts caused by HGVs put your tracking out and you will need new tyres."
So now we know why they do it

That isn't why he does it, it's just his justification for it. The real reason why he does it is because he's a lazy, selfish fking moron who needs to be fired out of a mile high cannon aimed at the heart of the sun.

[Prawnboy]

I find it's best to use the middle lane as it gives me a lot more time to text my mates before i run off into the verges.

[benters]

I was travelling home on Sunday evening around 9pm from Handy Cross on the M40 to Junction 11 M25 Chertsey and a guy in a Polo changed lanes, under taking and swerving to an extent I have never seen before. Many cars flashed their lights as he got very close on occasions as he cut in and out of traffic. He eventually joined the M4 heading towards Heathrow.
I doubt in his case he was caught up in the frustration of middle laners, he saw them as a challenge, an object to undertake in fact.

[Bebee]

Prawnboy said:

I find it's best to use the middle lane as it gives me a lot more time to text my mates before i run off into the verges.

Nah, I'm not having that.............you ain't got no mates

[Johnnytheboy]

I did the old L1-L3-L1 round a MLM the other week. His response was to speed up, pull in front of me and severely brake test me.

That showed me!

[marshalla]

There was an interesting mention of this behaviour on "Woman's Hour" this morning ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04jk364 feature on "gender politics" in driving starts at 36:22, with the "confession" at about 41:29 in the bit about motorway driving). Apparently some drivers are genuinely being told/believing that it is illegal for them to be in Lane 1 because it's for lorries only.

Edited by marshalla on Tuesday 30th September 16:35

[Hol]

Johnnytheboy said:

I did the old L1-L3-L1 round a MLM the other week. His response was to speed up, pull in front of me and severely brake test me.

That showed me!

At least you ruined HIS/HER/ITS day.

[9mm]

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me. Similar story to taking the racing line on two lane roads when there's nothing about. Where's the harm?

[marshalla]

9mm said:

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me. Similar story to taking the racing line on two lane roads when there's nothing about. Where's the harm?

What if there's debris in the middle of the road ? Maybe you'd be safer not driving anywhere at all.

[Prawo Jazdy]

Bebee said:

Make it legal to pass on the inside, as they do in the US&A.

This doesn't work. You end up passing three quarters of a mile of bovine dunderheads, only to discover that they're formation driving with Lanes 1 and 3; a massive, depressing, congested sack of st, all sweeping in unison across the land at 59mph. You slow to the same speed because there is a vehicle occupying Lane 1 (with the bumper sticker 'E pluribus unum' ), simultaneously cursing yourself for trying to achieve the holy grail of the motorway national speed limit. Then, due to the effects of the Coriolis force, Lane 2 starts overtaking Lane 1, and Lane 3 (which by now contains 83% of all UK motor vehicles) slows to 7mph. The people in Lane 2 decide they were right to stay there after all, because they now have a 2.3mph differential on Lane 1. The people in Lane 3 decide that even though they're losing ground at the moment, there's no way they're letting any of those Lane 2 s into 'their' lane, so they'll eventually 'win'. Everyone decides their actions are correct, and will be repeated in future, apart from you, who wonders how long it will be before these things drive themselves.

Edited by Prawo Jazdy on Tuesday 30th September 17:12

[trashbat]

9mm said:

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me.

I know it's a bit leather gloves and all that, but have you ever given any thought to the advanced driving technique of Actually Looking Where You're Going?

[Prawnboy]

9mm said:

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me. Similar story to taking the racing line on two lane roads when there's nothing about. Where's the harm?

have a look for the following switch on your car, either around the steering wheel or maybe on the dash somewhere.
i find it really useful in order to spot things on the road ahead of me at night when this is in the 'on' position.

[9mm]

marshalla said:

9mm said:

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me. Similar story to taking the racing line on two lane roads when there's nothing about. Where's the harm?

What if there's debris in the middle of the road ? Maybe you'd be safer not driving anywhere at all.

I think there's a equal chance of debris in each of the lanes. There's a higher chance of a broken down vehicle or people on the hard shoulder and closer to the left hand lane. I can't do anything about the former situation but I can improve my odds slightly with the latter. I can't quantify that and it doesn't matter as it isn't affecting anyone else.

[9mm]

Prawnboy said:

9mm said:

I will use the middle lane late at night when the roads are quiet for the simple reason that I consider it to be safer. I'm happy to move to the left if there's a vehicle catching me but I don't like being next to the hard shoulder in the dark with the added risk of encountering broken down vehicles, people working on them, etc. I don't think there's a counter argument that would sway me. Similar story to taking the racing line on two lane roads when there's nothing about. Where's the harm?

have a look for the following switch on your car, either around the steering wheel or maybe on the dash somewhere.
i find it really useful in order to spot things on the road ahead of me at night when this is in the 'on' position.

Yes, lights are a constant. The possibility of unlit vehicles, people or other objects on the hard shoulder or close to it, isn't. I'll repeat, where's the harm? I'm not interested in modifying a behaviour that has no effect on anyone else. You may think my approach is pointless. Fine. Carry on.

[73mark]

If you stay in the middle lane for most of the Journey you are a tool.

[0000]

9mm said:

Yes, lights are a constant. The possibility of unlit vehicles, people or other objects on the hard shoulder or close to it, isn't. I'll repeat, where's the harm? I'm not interested in modifying a behaviour that has no effect on anyone else. You may think my approach is pointless. Fine. Carry on.

Top tip; prefer lane 1 to the hard shoulder when making lane choices.

If you can't drive down lane 1 safely because of unlit errata when someone's not passing you, how do you expect to do it when they are?