Motorway Etiquette

[jogon]

So I was driving back from Liverpool last night mainly spent on the m6/42/40/4, unfortunately my car developed a fault just before the toll road so I limped home under 3500rpm the rest of the way cruising around 60 to 70 on the downhill parts mainly in the inside lane.

Now this happened twice and it caused me great annoyance - Driving in inside lane and approaching a lorry also in the inside lane I signal to overtake a good 100m before I approach the lorry but there is a car going slightly faster than me, maybe 50m behind, in the middle lane and the outside lane is completely empty. I decided to pull out, expecting the the middle lane driver to move to the outside lane if necessary. But no they decide to flash their lights in anger and then leave them on full beam.

The first time this happened I demonstrated to the driver behind me just how easy it was to signal and manoeuvre to the outside lane by doing the procedure three times back and forth in a row before moving back to the inside lane - he still did not get the point and kept his lights on full beam.

So has motorway etiquette died or is this just another result of successive govts war on speed creating a nation of brain dead drivers who sit in the the middle lane doing 75mph paying more attention to their sat nav than what is going on around them.

[BrewsterBear]

If I have room to pull out and help you overtake I will. If I see someone who's going to need to overtake as I approach and I can make room I will. However, cts who start to pull out at the last moment then turn their indicator on expecting the world to revolve around them need birching. That's poor planning on their part.

[Triumph Man]

BrewsterBear said:

If I have room to pull out and help you overtake I will. If I see someone who's going to need to overtake as I approach and I can make room I will. However, cts who start to pull out at the last moment then turn their indicator on expecting the world to revolve around them need birching. That's poor planning on their part.

I too try to "help" people, if there is a lorry coming up, I've moved out in good time to overtake it and there is someone closer to it, I will flash or wave them out, or sometimes just ease off to let them out. 9/10 they don't get the message.

[0000]

100m sounds pretty early, if you need 100m to pull out but only leave him half what you need it's no wonder he flashed you.

[jogon]

I agree the last second 'indicators' who expect you to brake to let them in are just as bad.

But when someone has been trailing you in the middle lane for the past few miles doing a few mph more and can clearly seen the predicament I face ahead, it really gets on my tits.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Three key motorway rules which seem to have been forgotten:

• Going fast doesn't mean you have right of way.

• It's not compulsory to leap straight into lane 2 or 3 when entering from a junction.

• Don't exit the motorway directly from lane 2 or 3.

[Kaizer]

Depending on how fast the other car was travelling, maybe they think you could of waited for them to get by before pulling out.

[Kaizer]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Three key motorway rules which seem to have been forgotten:

• Going fast doesn't mean you have right of way.

Driving within the speed limits doesn't mean you can hold people up in lane 2-3 neither.

[samdale]

0000 said:

100m sounds pretty early, if you need 100m to pull out but only leave him half what you need it's no wonder he flashed you.

You can't just come out with a statement like that with the info he's given...

If the truck is doing 50 and he's doing 75, other guy doing 76 then there was MORE THAN enough room for him to do this.

On the other hand if the speeds were more like 58, 60 and 70 then...

jogon said:

But when someone has been trailing you in the middle lane for the past few miles doing a few mph more and can clearly seen the predicament I face ahead, it really gets on my tits.

...could you not have stayed in lane 1 a little longer (maybe slowing slightly if needed) and let him go past?

In my first example I'd have done what the OP did, in the second example I'd have slowed down. Just never expect people on the motorway to do what you would do in their position.

[jogon]

samdale said:

...could you not have stayed in lane 1 a little longer (maybe slowing slightly if needed) and let him go past?

In my first example I'd have done what the OP did, in the second example I'd have slowed down. Just never expect people on the motorway to do what you would do in their position.

I agree with that and would have certainly slowed and given way if they had been approaching at speed but they weren't, I put the indicator on early as I could see what was coming ahead and what was slowly gaining on me in the middle lane.

Any competent driver would, if clear, then signal and manoeuvre into the outside lane or if especially kind and the outside lane not free flash his lights and slow down to let the inside lane driver out. Its no so much about etiquette but reading the road ahead and acting in appropriate manner to avoid any altercations. Hence my comment about drivers been too focused on the speedo and sat nav and not the road ahead.

[Alfanatic]

So what you're saying, OP, is that an MLM was annoyed at you for moving out of L1 before they had trundled past you? If you have waited for them would they would have trapped you behind the truck and needing to slow down? If so, fk them. They had enough room to pass, god knows why they expect you to make even more for them, or why you should even care. Too many untrained volunteer traffic cops on the roads these days expecting other drivers to drive to the same self made unwritten rules that they do.

Edited by Alfanatic on Sunday 2nd December 15:25

[aw51 121565]

jogon said:

...I decided to pull out, expecting the the middle lane driver to move to the outside lane if necessary. But no they decide to flash their lights in anger and then leave them on full beam.

The first time this happened I demonstrated to the driver behind me just how easy it was to signal and manoeuvre to the outside lane by doing the procedure three times back and forth in a row before moving back to the inside lane - he still did not get the point and kept his lights on full beam.

So has motorway etiquette died ...

Not sure if serious?

[craigjm]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Three key motorway rules which seem to have been forgotten:

• Going fast doesn't mean you have right of way.

• It's not compulsory to leap straight into lane 2 or 3 when entering from a junction.

• Don't exit the motorway directly from lane 2 or 3.

+1

[vonhosen]

Ozzie Osmond said:

• Don't exit the motorway directly from lane 2 or 3.

How can you go direct from lane 2 or 3 & miss out lane 1 (unless the exit is on the offside of course) ?

[jogon]

aw51 121565 said:

Not sure if serious?

Couldn't care less really. They still remained behind me in the middle lane after I completed the overtake, demo and returned to the inside lane. If you don't feel confident in using all the lanes of the motorway when required then you shouldn't be driving on them.

[jmorgan]

vonhosen said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

• Don't exit the motorway directly from lane 2 or 3.

How can you go direct from lane 2 or 3 & miss out lane 1 (unless the exit is on the offside of course) ?

I assume its the "oops, nearly missed it" manoeuvre. Many seem to go straight to the outer lanes on joining and get the book out until they leave the M way. The inside lane is a hindrance to them. Seems the morning rush hour has the highest number from personal observations.

[PinkRinse]

I agree that people are too centrally focused rather than reading ahead and thinking about what is going on around them.

After I passed my test, my dad gave me the best piece of advice when he said "Always assume that the other driver is about to do something really bloody stupid and try to be in a position to get away from the situation".

[8potdave]

Having just driven over 400 miles on UK motorways this weekend I feel your pain! It has been a frustrating experience to say the least! I've had it all:

MLM's consuming the motorways
Wafting into lane 3 while your overtaking them without indicating meaning hard braking to avoid them
Not moving into L2 from L3 after overtaking, meaning miles of following them because they're too stupid to move! Or undertaking them and ending up with their usual headlight flashing bullst
Tailgating when there's nowhere to go
Blocking me in from L1 to L2 because I was driving in the proper manner NOT middle lane hogging!
Swinging from L3 to exit leaving seconds to spare!

Totally painful to witness, morons!

[chilistrucker]

8potdave said:

Having just driven over 400 miles on UK motorways this weekend I feel your pain! It has been a frustrating experience to say the least! I've had it all:

MLM's consuming the motorways
Wafting into lane 3 while your overtaking them without indicating meaning hard braking to avoid them
Not moving into L2 from L3 after overtaking, meaning miles of following them because they're too stupid to move! Or undertaking them and ending up with their usual headlight flashing bullst
Tailgating when there's nowhere to go
Blocking me in from L1 to L2 because I was driving in the proper manner NOT middle lane hogging!
Swinging from L3 to exit leaving seconds to spare!

Totally painful to witness, morons!

it just gets worse, and worse.
so bad these days, that because of my job, i opted to go on nights, so much nicer
but as per the o.p. it still happens even at 2am
i'll maybe catch a slower lorry up on the motorway, indicate to pull out on a virtually empty motorway, apart from the infamous mlm, and 9 times out of 10, they won't move over.