What is the best way of dealing with middle-lane hoggers?

[nonsequitur]

alfabadass said:

Why would anyone want to drive in the 1st lane?

It's full morons driving at 50mph and lorrys.

OP needs to drive better and stop moaning. There is a reason why everyone sticks to the middle lane and 3rd for overtaking.

Sometimes the motorway is chock full of HGV in lane one and it is reasonable to stick to lane two to avoid a continuous in and out movement to OT. But always return to lane one if a suitable gap opens up.

[cadmunkey]

Ziplobb said:

my Uncle (when he was alive) would put in in front of them and then shove the handbrake on

haha, the good old days before dashcams came along to spoil his fun!
Alfabadass, you're just a knob!

[cadmunkey]

Ziplobb said:

my Uncle (when he was alive) would put in in front of them and then shove the handbrake on

haha, the good old days before dashcams came along to spoil his fun!
Alfabadass, you're just a knob!

[ToothbrushMan]

I also just stay in lane 1 and get on with my day too as I like to cruise at a steady 65-70-ish on the motorways (and you can people watch to some extent at the same time with seemingly 80-90% of road users in just so much of a goddamn hurry to get.......somewhere, nowhere? ). you get good MPG its low stress and you can enjoy watching others fight over their piece of tarmac - there are lots of brain dead bozo's meandering along in lane 2 overtaking thin air for mile after mile...........

what I do do though as I approach their rear end is be a bit cautious and wary in case they suddenly wake up and pull in or just decide to cut me off and move back to lane 1 so just be aware ........some of them I think do it to provoke some reaction that they can then feed off.

Can we also ask here how we deal with people who sail along in the very outer lane (lane 3 or maybe 4 etc) again overtaking thin air ofr miles? you even see people with their foot down too like 80-90mph but thats no reason to not move back into lane 2 or 1 if they are empty on a lightly loaded road...........some cock wombles out there just want no other vehicles to be in front of them for as far as their eye can see (the audacity!).

[vonhosen]

MrGTI6 said:

I think a lot of it is down to people using the terms "slow lane" and "fast lane". These idiots probably think they are going too fast to be in the "slow lane" so just obliviously get in everyone's way instead.

The fact that learner drivers are now allowed on the motorway will hopefully mean that drivers will be more educated in the future. Just so long as they're not being taught to drive by lane-hoggers!

Personally I would like to see lots of "KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING" signs as well.

They won't take any notice. If they believed in it they'd already be doing prior to the signs.
They do it that way because they believe it makes their lives easier, that's their primary concern.
They see fewer adverse consequences for them doing what they are doing than the alternative that you want them to do.
It doesn't matter to them what others believe, it's what they believe that matters to them.
You won't change the behaviour unless you change the belief & you won't change the belief by a sign.

[jamei303]

It's more annoying if there only two lanes instead of three and they are outer lane morons.

[jamei303]

MrGTI6 said:

I think a lot of it is down to people using the terms "slow lane" and "fast lane". These idiots probably think they are going too fast to be in the "slow lane" so just obliviously get in everyone's way instead.

The fact that learner drivers are now allowed on the motorway will hopefully mean that drivers will be more educated in the future. Just so long as they're not being taught to drive by lane-hoggers!

Personally I would like to see lots of "KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING" signs as well.

Ah yes, like "KEEP 2 CHEVRONS APART" which has eliminated tailgating nationwide.

[Conscript]

Educating them.

[Europa1]

jamei303 said:

MrGTI6 said:

I think a lot of it is down to people using the terms "slow lane" and "fast lane". These idiots probably think they are going too fast to be in the "slow lane" so just obliviously get in everyone's way instead.

The fact that learner drivers are now allowed on the motorway will hopefully mean that drivers will be more educated in the future. Just so long as they're not being taught to drive by lane-hoggers!

Personally I would like to see lots of "KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING" signs as well.

Ah yes, like "KEEP 2 CHEVRONS APART" which has eliminated tailgating nationwide.

And the "Please use both lanes while queuing" i saw this morning, with the vast majority of drivers obstinately sat in a queue in the inside lane several hundred yards away from the merge point. Are these people (a) stupid; (b) unobservant; (c) think such signs are directed at other people (if so, who?); (d) incapable of understanding simple instructions? None of those options is appealing in someone who is supposedly in control of a ton or more of metal.

[Haltamer]

jamei303 said:

It's more annoying if there only two lanes instead of three and they are outer lane morons.

This is what is most "surprising" about driving in Europe for me; People Approach the truck / caravan / moving chicane and pull into lane two, overtake, and return to lane 1.

Due to a blend of traffic volume, questionable speed differentials and simple morons, 2 Lane motorways and A roads here usually seem to be trucks in lane 1 at 56, and cars & vans in lane 2 at 58.

As for the question of the OP, Same as most I'd say - I'm not out to "maliciously undertake", blasting past them on the inside, but if conditions are right and I'm going to coast past, I'll generally let it (the undertake) happen.

[cobra kid]

Alex@POD said:

You're either a troll or an idiot. Which is it?

Both I'd imagine.

[otolith]

vonhosen said:

They won't take any notice. If they believed in it they'd already be doing prior to the signs.
They do it that way because they believe it makes their lives easier, that's their primary concern.
They see fewer adverse consequences for them doing what they are doing than the alternative that you want them to do.
It doesn't matter to them what others believe, it's what they believe that matters to them.
You won't change the behaviour unless you change the belief & you won't change the belief by a sign.

Tragedy of the commons.

If only we had some way of imposing adverse consequences on people who ignore the rules to their own benefit.

[FourWheelDrift]

Europa1 said:

And the "Please use both lanes while queuing" i saw this morning, with the vast majority of drivers obstinately sat in a queue in the inside lane several hundred yards away from the merge point. Are these people (a) stupid; (b) unobservant; (c) think such signs are directed at other people (if so, who?); (d) incapable of understanding simple instructions? None of those options is appealing in someone who is supposedly in control of a ton or more of metal.

It's because when seeing someone going down the outside empty lane they don't want to be thought of as pushing in. So they don't bother because they don't want to have some road raging nutcase having a go at them. More likely where no signs are visible though, but it still stands as the reason.

[ArsE92]

Conscript said:

Educating them.

This.

It's been going on since time immemorial. Or at least since I started driving 25 years ago.

You'll get people saying that they stay in lane 2 because:

(a) the trucks have created divots in lane 1 therefore it's unusable
(2) they are overtaking. It's just that the vehicles they are overtaking are only going between 1 and 5mph slower
(iii) "I'm doing 80mph which is too fast for the slow lane"

I just go straight down lane 1. I know, I'm wrong and I'm evil and you will flash your lights at me and call me a tosser and tell all your friends and family when you get home. Maybe even post about me on Facebook.

[Deltic]

What's even more annoying is on 4 lane stretches where they sit in Lane 3 when Lane 1 & Lane 2 are empty
I suspect as long as there is one lane on their right hand side they think they are doing ok.

[sly fox]

Haltamer said:

This is what is most "surprising" about driving in Europe for me; People Approach the truck / caravan / moving chicane and pull into lane two, overtake, and return to lane 1.

Due to a blend of traffic volume, questionable speed differentials and simple morons, 2 Lane motorways and A roads here usually seem to be trucks in lane 1 at 56, and cars & vans in lane 2 at 58.

As for the question of the OP, Same as most I'd say - I'm not out to "maliciously undertake", blasting past them on the inside, but if conditions are right and I'm going to coast past, I'll generally let it (the undertake) happen.

You've never driven in Belgium i presume? They make up the highway code as they drive....

[J4CKO]

Just get on with your own journey, some just get on the motorway and plonk themselves into lane two, the thought process seems to be that lane 1 is for lorries and slowcoaches, lane three is a bit fast and scary so lets go for the literal "middle of the road" option and never deviate.

To be honest, I find myself in Lane 2, it isnt illegal and sometimes slavishly going back and forth isnt worth the messing if you only have 100 yards to the next truck, the difference is awareness of whats going on around you and not just sitting there mile after mile oblivious to anything other than Steve Wright and his brain addling influence, its there for a purpose, use it, then get back in when you can.

Not sure why overtaking up the inside is so frowned upon and supposedly illegal in the UK, Americans seem to manage, yet over here going up the inside is treated like someone has bummed you dog and people get really irate, if there is room to go up the inside then you should have moved over. Even worse on dual carriageways as you dont have lane three as an option, thats the preserve of proper road captains who get properly irate when doing the speed limit in the outside lane, secure in the knowledge that nobody should go past, sorry but it doesnt work like that, if there is empty road to your left, move into it and get out of the way, sorry if you think its not fair but I dont think its fair I have to sit behind a shagged out diesel X type (Road Captains go to chariot) doing 59 mph all day.

[V88Dicky]

samwhunt said:

Aggressively switch to the fast lane, overtake, pull back into the slow lane, slow down so that they overtake you. Repeat.

This^^^ (preferably without the aggression though)

It's called 'orbiting', and my record is nine full orbits, on an empty M74 late at night.

Subject car was an beaten up Peugeot 307SW if I'm not mistaken.

[vikingaero]

UFO them and get your passengers to film them and mock them.

[MrGTI6]

V88Dicky said:

samwhunt said:

Aggressively switch to the fast lane, overtake, pull back into the slow lane, slow down so that they overtake you. Repeat.

This^^^ (preferably without the aggression though)

It's called 'orbiting', and my record is nine full orbits, on an empty M74 late at night.

Subject car was an beaten up Peugeot 307SW if I'm not mistaken.

That's a new one on me! If I ever encounter alfabadass trundling along in the middle lane for no reason, I reckon I could beat your record of nine orbits!