dangerous motorway driving

[sammyboy77]

Byker28i said:

He was busy shouting "CAMERAAAAA" and pointing to his dashcam?

no dashcam, only trying to stay safe/ legal ish and trying to maintain my highish average speed over 660 miles

[av185]

sammyboy77 said:

I was driving my panda

Plod or rancher?

[vonhosen]

Andy S15 said:

Last time I read up on this, you can actually overtake on the left legally. Stick to the lane you are in and go past, this is considered 'maintaining your current speed in lane', not an undertake. An undertake according to the highway code (iirc) is to be following someone in the same lane, change to a left lane, go past and then return in front of them. In the case of an accident, you could be charged with undue care and attention though, so always be alert.

Worth checking a highway code yourself.

Edit: some supporting info here:

"Rule 268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."

In the highway code, 'Do not' and 'should not' are advisory. 'Must not' is a legal. It is indeed a bit of a grey area, but as long as you perform an overtake on the left with due care and attention and within the speed limits, this doesn't seem to be a prosecutable offence.

Undertaking has nothing to do with a lane change, it's simply passing on the left whether there is a lane change or not.
The Highway Code gives some limited examples of where that may be considered acceptable.
There is no specific legislated offence of undertaking, just as there is no specific legislated offence of lane hogging.
They both fall within the remit of Sec 3 RTA where it's considered action is required.

[av185]

rxe said:

I gave him a quick flick of the lights

Confusing and ambiguous signal especially to a moron.

[sammyboy77]

vonhosen, there is a very specific offence added to the RTA a couple of years ago. It is illegal to hog middle lane. Not our fault that there are too few traffic cars policing this major problem

[vonhosen]

sammyboy77 said:

vonhosen, there is a very specific offence added to the RTA a couple of years ago. It is illegal to hog middle lane. Not our fault that there are too few traffic cars policing this major problem

No there wasn't.
Care to tell us the act & section of the specific offence if you think there was.

What happened was they changed the Sec 3 case disposal options. Previously FPNs couldn't be issued for Sec 3 RTA, it had to go to court. What they changed was they allowed it be dealt with via FPN (that included undertaking, lane hogging or any other application which amounted to a Sec 3 RTA).

[tinnitusjosh]

Kewy said:

The stretch of A27 between Chichester and Portsmouth I stay in L2 the whole way because the pot holes in L1 don't play nice with the LSD, not to mention what they probably do to tyres, wheels, alignment etc.

Agree - that road is a disgrace

[captain_cynic]

av185 said:

rxe said:

I gave him a quick flick of the lights

Confusing and ambiguous signal especially to a moron.

This.

You'll also get their attention and they may try to block you overtaking. If they're daft enough to be in L3 on a relatively empty road they're probably too insecure to handle being overtaken.

[Monkeylegend]

sammyboy77 said:

hi, i was doing my usual monthly trip from cornwall to aberdeen today. on the M6/74 i experienced the worst case of lane 3 hogging ever. young lad refusing to move into lane 2 or 1 on a quiet daytime road. i would like to be travelling about 5 or 10 mph faster than him but he would not shift. personally, i dont undertake unless it is slow moving lanes / roadworks / filters / etc. several times i moved to lane 2 at the same speed and to improve my sight lines and he pulled in front and slowed down about 10 mph.after about 30 miles of this i pulled into a service area. REALLY all the way through Cumbria in lane 3?????? Dangerous git in white fiesta st reg SY16 PRX.

So was it like a rolling road block or were other drivers going past on the inside and it was just you who wouldn't undertake?

[Jimi.K.]

A few months ago I came across a MLM in the middle lane of the A20. Lane 1 was completely empty. He was travelling at about 65mph and I was doing exactly 70mph (GPS). It was dark and I gave him a quick flash of the headlights to try and get him to move out of the way. He didn't budge and I overtook in lane 3 still doing 70mph. As I passed he gave me the old fashioned "slowing down" arm signal and veered into my lane to try and intimidate me. I can only assume he thought he was doing exactly 70mph and therefore I was speeding and was annoyed I'd flashed him.

Now, I've stopped trying to get these morons to move out of the way and just stay in lane 1 if it's possible to get past them. Occasionally I'll still give them a toot on the horn as I pass on the inside (just to warn them of my presence of course).

[XMT]

Osinjak said:

I can't quite get my fat head around the fact that the OP has encountered a hazard on the road and actually made it worse by 'doubling the odds' for 30 miles(!) Call me old fashioned but when I encounter a hazard on the road I do my level best to get away from it, not make it worse by hanging on to it for 30 miles.

Daft, really.

Totally agree. A swift and safe undertake would be the end of the matter in a few seconds.