Taking the racing line on the Motorway?

[mattman]

I for one hate the middle lane hoggers, but this morning on an early run to our capital i found myself with an empty motorway and not another car as far as I could see.

So what do you do on an empty motorway - stay left?, stay middle or take the racing line and see if you can hit the apex over all 3 lanes?

[williamp]

pactice J-turns??

[MC Bodge]

Not necessary on most motorways other than the tight-ish bend on the lashed-up section of the M60 nr Stockport. It now has SPECS cameras anda 50 limit though.

[Jasandjules]

Stay left unless it turns in a tractor rut at which point I'll move out so the road is smooth.

[Benbay001]

For the amount of time taking the racing line will save you.... No

[Terminator X]

Stay left. Better still get off the m/way on to some back roads

TX.

[gareth.e]

If its 2am on an empty road and I'm making progress then sometimes ill take the racing line, especially if its wet

[Mr_annie_vxr]

mattman said:

I for one hate the middle lane hoggers, but this morning on an early run to our capital i found myself with an empty motorway and not another car as far as I could see.

So what do you do on an empty motorway - stay left?, stay middle or take the racing line and see if you can hit the apex over all 3 lanes?

So you increase speed and then take a route that reduces your visibility?

If you are going to drive that much faster then you should be maximising your view not potentially shortening it.

[tmcgurk]

Sometimes on dual carriageways at night- the A303 being a good example- the turns are relatively sharp. So sometimes if you're making progress then the car just feels that bit more stable if you "take the racing line".

But on 3 lane motorways? No.

[McSam]

tmcgurk said:

Sometimes on dual carriageways at night- the A303 being a good example- the turns are relatively sharp. So sometimes if you're making progress then the car just feels that bit more stable if you "take the racing line".

But on 3 lane motorways? No.

+1, some dual carriageways make it very helpful to do this, but I've never felt the need on a motorway, even at.. speed.

[hesnotthemessiah]

gareth.e said:

If its 2am on an empty road and I'm making progress then sometimes ill take the racing line, especially if its wet

This.

[rallycross]

M6 section from Carlisle to Wigan middle of the night no traffic cruising at 3 figures lots of Time to be gained by straight-lining all the bends but rare to get a clear run - and you do have to be pressing on to make it worth doing.

If you try doing it at normal speed feels pointless.

[Fatman2]

If the motorway is empty then just take the lane that gives the best progress. I'd say this would be the middle lane, assuming you have an equal amount of right/left bends.

Either left or right lane would mean cutting across two lanes on a bend. Or you'd end up turning more sharply than strictly necessary.

I reckon it's all marginal though.

[xr287]

I just take the shortest route, you're going to have to be going very far in to 3 figures before you actually need to think about a "racing" line.

So I tend to just take the lane that is on the inside of the corner so I travel the least distance. Or if there is a bit of a kink keep going straight which means drifting across all lanes then drifting back again as the road straightens.

[arun1uk]

Mr_annie_vxr said:

So you increase speed and then take a route that reduces your visibility?

If you are going to drive that much faster then you should be maximising your view not potentially shortening it.

Alright there Mr condescending,
At what point did he mention increasing his speed? You don't need to increase speed to take the racing line.

I don't do this as it's not representative of a real corner you'd find on a track, so it's not worth it. I just keep left. No harm in other people doing it though...

[TheStig44]

Theres a section of the M5 in Birmingham, the first few junctions, with a few tight bends which are nice to take the quickest line.

Am I really going to get to my destination any faster? Barely.... Ruddy good fun though!

[skodamanpat]

Take the racing line, over a journey of 60 or 70 miles it can save you a mile or two and the petrol associated with that. Tight northerner, me, never.

[craig7584]

gareth.e said:

sometimes ill take the racing line, especially if its wet

+1

[deveng]

skodamanpat said:

Take the racing line, over a journey of 60 or 70 miles it can save you a mile or two and the petrol associated with that. Tight northerner, me, never.

[highly sceptical]
A mile or 2?

[/highly sceptical]

[NiceCupOfTea]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Came that way last night, really does tighten up at the end doesn't it?