Why are UK motorway users utter bell ends (in lane 3)?

[g3org3y]

A bit of a rant and a bit of an observation precipitated by a combination of a week driving in Europe (mainly Germany) and a few hours driving back in the UK yesterday evening.

Driving back from Dover travelling at a speedo indicated 80mph I happened across an Astra estate sitting at 70mph in the outside lane. No big deal, it is the speed limit after all.

Lane 2 was intermittently busy (lane 1 packed with trucks) but there was ample opportunity for him to move over so gave him the benefit of the doubt. A couple of minutes pass and lane 2 becomes totally clear. I await said Astra driver to move over.

Nothing.

A little longer.

Nothing.

Give a flash of the headlights thinking it might awake him from his slumber/lack of concentration etc and what does he do?

Brake test!

Utter wittery of the highest order.

As such, decide it prudent (for my blood pressure and risk of stroke/MI) to move in Lane 2 and 'overtake on the inside'. Astra boy of course isn't having any of this and starts to accelerate. I had predicted this and already shifted down into 4th. Foot to the floor, see you later Astra .

And that was it, I continued on with my journey.

Some points:
1) I don't expect people to break the speed limit in lane 3 however, if it appears someone behind wants to go quicker I think it reasonable to move over when the opportunity arises. Drivers in Europe seem to have no issue with this.

2) Why the fk is this sitting in lane 3 at 70mph with lane 2 being clear? Is he 'policing' the motorway? This seems an attitude absolutely isolated to the UK. I've not seen this once during my time driving in France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy or Switzerland. People always move over.

3) Why such offence to the light flash? Insult to his manhood? Doesn't like the fact that someone want to go quicker and 'get one over on him'? The headlight flash seems commonplace abroad (especially Germany where difference in speed between approaching cars can be quite significant).

4) Brake test. Seriously? ttbag.

5) Then accelerating to stop me getting past. WTF!?

I think this Astra embodied all that is bad about driving in the UK: Selfish (or utter lack of awareness), impeding others, dangerous and basically being a . This is not the first time I have encountered the '70mph lane 3 police'.

I can genuinely say that I witnessed more terrible driving and provoked more rants from myself in the 2 hours of being back in the UK than a week (and >1000 miles) on the German Autobahn.

[Triumph Man]

And breath....

Unfortunately a fact of life I've seen it before, and when younger as a family we went on holiday, somebody did this to Dad. With his wife and two children on board. (i.e. brake testing)

Just be careful they don't suddenly slew into L2 when you try to get up the inside.

[gradeA]

Having spent a few days driving in Europe - Holland, France, Germany and Austria - last year, I completely agree with points 1-3. Having to deal with UK motorways on my return was just depressing.

[BriC175]

I completely agree. On the M6 coming back from Birmingham, the amount of idiots sat in the outside and middle lane cruising along at 65mph without actually overtaking anyone is infuriating. Also, people who have a good few car lengths in front of them, every now and then they'll touch the brakes. Nothing has happened that means they need to... It's like they're checking the brake pedal hasn't disappeared.

[BriC175]

I completely agree. On the M6 coming back from Birmingham, the amount of idiots sat in the outside and middle lane cruising along at 65mph without actually overtaking anyone is infuriating. Also, people who have a good few car lengths in front of them, every now and then they'll touch the brakes. Nothing has happened that means they need to... It's like they're checking the brake pedal hasn't disappeared.

[simoid]

Pass them with a smile and a wave, or a blip of hazards if they actually do move out of the way after a flash.

Tends to diffuse the situation

Obviously not an option if you can't actually get past them...

[reymatt]

I drove to Paris this time last year, and even the autoroute around the outside of Paris had a higher standard of driving than what I witness daily on the M2/A2.

I used to drive to Portsmouth from Kent a couple of times a month, and the amount of fkwittery you see on the M25 is enough to drive a man insane. Literally the most frustrating piece of motorway ever.

[fatboy69]

Not just motorways where people drive like bellends.

On my way home from work at stupid o'clock this morning i was driving down a dual carriageway with just one other car going the same way as me.

As I indicated to pull out to overtake him he did exactly the same! Pulled out, dropped his speed to 60 & stayed in the outside lane so that I couldn't overtake him.

No need to do that as the road was deserted. I thought, for a brief moment, about undertaking him however decided against doing that in case he pulled over into me.

We got the end of the road where it meets with a traffic island & he stayed in the outside lane unit the last minute & then pulled across both lanes to turn left left.....

fking idiot.

[ImpossiblyDaft]

Its a combination of two things really;

1. No motorway training while learning. I'd say that in order to use the motorways, Pass Plus should be mandatory.

2. The British attitude of not wanting to let aholes get away with being aholes, by way of being rather passive-aggressive in response.

This means that because the average driver in the UK is rather substandard, they misread what can often be meant as a simple "excuse me" when they're in the wrong place (as in op) as "oi, get out my way!" and get rather indignant.

[Face for Radio]

I had very similar with a van driver on the A14/M11 a few years ago. Except he didn't brake test me, once I got past he chased me up to 90mph after originally doing 60mph, and then had his entire torso out of the window screaming and shouting at me to pull over and get out. Weaving all over, nearly squeezing me into the barrier.

I'd love to talk to him now he's calmed down, to find out exactly what was running through his head.

[StottyZr]

This morning I was travelling on the M1 northbound. Where it merges/splits with the M621, morons routinely sit in the 3rd lane on the M1 with nothing to their left after the split. This morning was not an exception. A women in an Astra was sitting at ~65, I know this as I was catching her slowly in the middle lane at 70. The van in front of me passed her on the left and I continued.

As I got alongside her she had increased her speed to match mine (not intentionally) after 3 seconds of being alongside she indicated left and moved into the side of me... I braked hard and swerved a touch to the left (couldn't swerve fully as I was overtaking a lorry) Luckily I slotted in behind her as I'd pre-empted her muppetry. She didn't notice anything. Not the near death crash, not that I even existed.

I carried on at 70 in the left lane, as a young lad in a BMW passed me I looked across and we gave each other the look, you know the "did you see that?" and got the obligatory "yes I did, what a muppet" look back.

[J4CKO]

I find it depends on what car I am in and how I approach, in the 944 appearing behind with lights popped up, going quickly usually ensures they move sharpish, I think they want to see what it is or see something low, wide and red and assume it is something more serious than a 944 in the Galaxy you can wait for days as some tool hogs "The Fast Lane"

I will go though up the inside, if ramming, small arms fire and threatening VBRJ havent worked, it works ok in the US, dont know why it is such a cardinal sin over here, if you are blocking a lane when there is an empty one to your left expect to be overtaken on the inside and dont start with the bottom lip looking for the referee to appeal to, I always give someone the opportunity to move out of the way but if they are just sat there I go past, if they start a road rage I will just back off, absolutely dont want to get into a pissing contest with an angry cretin as even if you do "win" it is a hollow victory as he/she is still a bell end and if you dont it rankles or gets you points or a ban, plus there will still be several hundred thousand other angry bell ends, you cant re-eductate them all, this is all tempered with the slight chance that I acknowledge that it may be me being the bell end !

Edited by J4CKO on Monday 19th November 09:47

[ViperDave]

g3org3y said:

I think this Astra embodied all that is bad about driving in the UK: Selfish (or utter lack of awareness), impeding others, dangerous and basically being a . This is not the first time I have encountered the '70mph lane 3 police'.

This pretty much sums it up, I drove in Thailand recently and whilst on the face of it its chaos and dangerous, but the big difference is everyone is trying to survive so are aware of whats going on and will accommodate others. On one occasion i was expecting to be the first responder to an accident as the car behind overtakes me and continues on past the truck in front, oncoming car comes around a corner and oh st, but everyone moves over a bit and three abreast on a two lane road fitted in quite well. No blaring of horns or anything.

Over here the oncoming car would have probably had a head on with one hand on the main beams and the other on the horn, just to prove the point.

[XDA]

I don't think this type of driving is down to lack of training, as I can't recall it being much of an issue 4-5 years ago? Unless it was and I didn't notice it?

Seems to get worse as the months roll by!

There's also no pattern to it either. All age ranges do it and an equal amount of male & females.

[Jasandjules]

I truly believe that much of this is down to the simple thing that simple people have been told and now believe - speed kills. Stick to the speed limit and you will be fine. No need to move over and of course anyone trying to get past you at 71mph or more is clearly going to cause an accident just up the road which will kill you, your children (wherever in the world they may be) several kittens and bunnies.

So now people have little care or pride in their driving. Or ability.

[Sam.F]

The thing that annoys me the most is that these "enforcers" who sit in the outside lane at 70 are quite prepared to speed up to 90-100 and weave about in order to stop you from passing "dangerously." Invariably you find that 70 on their speedometer is only 63-65mph which makes it all the more infuriating.

[simoid]

Sam.F said:

70 on their speedometer is only 63

Not likely.

[john2443]

BriC175 said:

Also, people who have a good few car lengths in front of them, every now and then they'll touch the brakes. Nothing has happened that means they need to... It's like they're checking the brake pedal hasn't disappeared.

This has puzzled me as well, apart from them just being knobs the obly other idea I have is that they have cruise control on?

To answer some other comments,

Compulsory motorway training - how do you do this for people who live a few hours drive from the nearest motorway?

Getting worse ove rthe last 5 years? Maybe but it's been aproblem for a lot longer than that, I commented in a thread recently about it happening to me in 1977. Knobs aren't a new invention!

[BriC175]

simoid said:

Not likely.

Nice misquote, and yes actually, it is likely.

[simoid]

BriC175 said:

simoid said:

Not likely.

yes actually, it is likely.

Thanks

No it's not.

63 + 63/10 < 70.