Is it tine to make undertaking legal?

Is it tine to make undertaking legal?

Author
Discussion

surveyor

Original Poster:

17,768 posts

183 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Now we have increasingly got 4 lane motorways yet the capacity remains the same due to lane 2 and 3 hoggers is it time to allow undertaking, perhaps with some sort of law to prevent cutting up?

TimLambert7

642 posts

124 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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People can barely use a motorway with overtaking on one side, let alone two.

richs2891

895 posts

252 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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TimLambert7 said:
People can barely use a motorway with overtaking on one side, let alone two.
While I agree with the above, if the Americans can manage it then why cant we here ?

The Turbonator

2,792 posts

150 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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You already can pass on the inside, if traffic is moving slower on your right.

As for changing lanes to undertake, then no, too many blind spots and unaware drivers would just make it an unnecessary risk.

More police and enforcement of lane hoggers, is what is needed, but that costs too much money. Especially when it's only speed that causes accidents and a camera can do it for a lot less.

McFist

75 posts

111 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Outside of situations where traffic is heavy and speed is similar in both/all lanes, as far as I am aware overtaking on the left is legal as long as it is not done without due care and attention (i.e., if lane 3 hogger is already doing 70mph then speeding past on lane 2 could be construed as driving without due care). Road users have a duty to keep to the left unless overtaking and also to keep up with traffic in their lane - again, so long as within the speed limit.

This is my completely unverified view on the matter, though I have doubts that my reasoning is legally foolproof. Whilst I do not try to make a habit of overtaking on the left I am happy to do it if necessary. A good way to view this topic is that if you find yourself being overtaken on the left, you are probably in the wrong lane.

spaximus

4,230 posts

252 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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There are two problem drivers, those who get in a lane and sit there oblivious to other road users and those who have decided that they will slow everyone down deliberately.

The law says if the outer lane is moving slower, then you can undertake, however you must not exceed the speed limit to do that or change lanes, which makes it al stupid.

I would make any lane available to use, the Americans use this and it works well. It will never happen as too many would predict carnage

DrTre

12,955 posts

231 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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100% yes, although it'll never happen.

I think it would now be fine and safe simply because it's so easy to spot the type of people that sit in a middle lane who never, ever have any intention of moving to the left....they're eminently predictable on that, so why not use that space.

I've often wondered, does the "passing on the left" clarify in which direction of traffic flow it's in relation to? if you were to pass someone on their left, when you're travelling the speed limit and they're travelling below it...could you argue that they'd actually passed you on the right but they were going in the opposite direction to the traffic flow?
This in no way constitutes legal advice..although if anyone wants to try that defence don't mention my name...


I see people have said that the above is legal...can any BiB confirm/deny? (apologies if any above actually are).
Mway speeds are frequently 60-70 mph nowadays at certain times.

The Moose

22,821 posts

208 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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No.

It was time a bloody long time ago!!

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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I would prefer to have the police deal with the morons who do 50-60mph in the middle and outside lanes so that there would be no need to undertake.

Pit Pony

8,266 posts

120 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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It should be illegal only if you are driving a dirty black R32, with a 53 reg. And only if the driver is wearing a wooly hat.

You know who you are, you tt. M6 Northbound M62 WestBound Last Friday afternoon. wker.

mikefacel

610 posts

187 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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richs2891 said:
While I agree with the above, if the Americans can manage it then why cant we here ?
Totally agree. It really is time. The police just don't have the financial incentive resources to do it.

rev-erend

21,404 posts

283 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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How does the system work in the USA .. I think they allow a similar system. Have you experienced big issues and accidents out there ? When I have driven in US, most people still over took in the outside lane but occasionally people did undertake where others were lane hogging and to be fair with such low speed limits and sometimes cops with a real draconian attitude to speeding it seemed fair to those willing to travel a bit faster than some.

Would it work here - no idea really.

swisstoni

16,850 posts

278 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Legalisation would take all the fun out of it. hehe
If I'm in lane 1 and someone is dawdling in lane 3 I certainly don't bother going out to lane 4 to go past.

S0 What

3,358 posts

171 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Undertaking is a matter of timing, TIME is something some people just cant seem to grasp wink
Time = something that should allways be taken but never waisted bandit

ging84

8,829 posts

145 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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For a while now i have been wondering what might happen, if they periodically, closed off small stretches of the outside lane.
There is a motorway near me, there is a stretch between 2 junctions about 2-3 miles, where for half of it one side has a 4th lane, and the other half the other side has a 4th lane.
Now one way the outside lane opens up to a new lane, and you can actually use it to overtake, going the other way however, the inside lane opens up, essentially the inside lane of the slip road becomes the inside lane, and other than for the first few hundred yards where it makes it easier to merge, it's completely useless, it is empty except for those who started on it, it is rare for anyone to move over before the point you start seeing the signs saying the outside lane is merging in.

If say every 2-3 miles, they shut the outside lane for a very short stretch, it would force people out of the outside lane, making it available again to overtake.
Those who just sit in a lane, would soon get bored of using it, and hopefully those who like to sit in the middle lanes, would also get a little tired of the constant cars merging into their lane, and move towards the inside.
It would work particularly well on a 4+ lane motorway, they could even try trialling it on some of these managed motorways by closing the outside lane, between 2 gantries, although this is a longer stretch than i had in mind, i was thinking more along the lines of the normal distance you have the lane closing arrows for, followed by about 50 yards of hatching, then back open again, as short as possible really without it being something people would start to ignore.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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surveyor said:
Is it tine to make undertaking legal?
'Undertaking' isn't illegal...

ChemicalChaos

10,360 posts

159 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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richs2891 said:
While I agree with the above, if the Americans can manage it then why cant we here ?
Have you ever driven on a busy American freeway? Its like Death Race 2000

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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Time to make motorway driving part of learning to drive. Lesson number 1 should be: When overtaking a car, GET THE fk ON WITH IT. Get past and return to lane 1 as soon as possible.

On Saturday (I am not exaggerating here) almost every car across all 3 lanes of the M4 near Reading was doing 50-60 mph (no roadworks). It was essentially a rolling roadblock. Scores of people just dawdling along blocking the road. I will never understand it.

wack

2,103 posts

205 months

Monday 26th January 2015
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The Turbonator said:
You already can pass on the inside, if traffic is moving slower on your right.

As for changing lanes to undertake, then no, too many blind spots and unaware drivers would just make it an unnecessary risk.

More police and enforcement of lane hoggers, is what is needed, but that costs too much money. Especially when it's only speed that causes accidents and a camera can do it for a lot less.
There is no enforcement of lane hoggers

M1 Saturday 12:30am raining but at least a mile visibility

Me in lane one doing 70 , wker in lane 3 doing 60 with his fog lights on 1/4 mile in front

Ahead doing 50 in lane one, cop car, I come up behind the cop car overtake then have to go to lane 4 to overtake the wker then come back into lane one.

Cop car pays not a blind bit of notice letting wker carry on in lane 3 with his fog lights on


aw51 121565

4,771 posts

232 months

Tuesday 27th January 2015
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Pit Pony said:
It should be illegal only if you are driving a dirty black R32, with a 53 reg. And only if the driver is wearing a wooly hat.

You know who you are, you tt. M6 Northbound M62 WestBound Last Friday afternoon. wker.
He speaks very highly of youhehe .

Anyway, "undertaking" is legal - keep consistently as far left as you can and don't weave around the road and avoid the old undertake-on-the-left-and-then-back-to-the-right-again slaloming around other cars like you're trying to warm your tyres up or qualify for pole position at Monaco, and you'll be immune from prosecution (it really isn't difficult) wink .