Motorway Traffic - Switching Lanes

[Slow.Patrol]

I occasionally ride shotgun with a friend who delivers stuff for a living. A fair bit includes the M25. And a lot of the time the M25 is solid traffic.

Now, I'm a fairly laid back person and tend to just sit it out if there is a jam. My mate however, seems to make it their personal goal to be in the lane that is going fastest and will switch lanes frequently.

Does it actually save much time?

[Benmac]

Mythbusters tested it a while ago (and there's a few academic papers too IIRC).

Basic answer was that it doesn't really save time. If you get your moves perfect and also have a bit of luck then you can save a small amount whilst also creating more risk and making the traffic worse behind you.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Slow.Patrol said:

I occasionally ride shotgun with a friend who delivers stuff for a living. A fair bit includes the M25. And a lot of the time the M25 is solid traffic.

Now, I'm a fairly laid back person and tend to just sit it out if there is a jam. My mate however, seems to make it their personal goal to be in the lane that is going fastest and will switch lanes frequently.

Does it actually save much time?

My experience of regularly sitting in M5 traffic during the school hols is barely. I tend to just sit in the side with the lorries and generally I'd say it moves quicker than any other lane.

[Richard-390a0]

I had some helmet in a 3 series estate driving like this down the M3 from J9 to J13 a few weeks back. Carving from lane to lane & potentially into gaps which were too small as you could track the progress by the brake lights of vehicle behind him having to brake sharply. By the time we got to J13 I was still in my original lane alongside him again...

[vikingaero]

You always get a bunch of Snivellers who try and change lane constantly. The net effect is that they slow the whole motorway down and you invariably catch up with them at the next bottleneck.

[Slow.Patrol]

Benmac said:

Mythbusters tested it a while ago (and there's a few academic papers too IIRC).

Hopefully it's this one.
https://youtu.be/BiHsmIont0Q?si=ATAUaEo4UT_iYQob

I've booked marked ot to watch later

[Cheddarbang]

Yep, lane weaving is very prevalent where I live. I don't understand the desire for these people to stress themselves out like that, trying to save a few precious seconds. From what I've seen, it's just a basic lack of intelligence and or mega impatience/entitlement.

Best to just sit back, mellow out with your tunes and let the weirdos just get on with it.

[WilsonWilson]

It depends on the reason for the hold up. There's a section on my commute home where a 4th lane appears from a junction for about 2 miles then takes traffic off at the next (so it is back to 3 under the junction) but then the 4th lane appears again. Around that section in heavy traffic the lane moving fastest consistently swaps four times and you can take advantage. Although, if it is really bad I found using the lane that appears, coming off and rejoining the motorway is usually fastest.

But I wouldn't go to all that effort moving lanes if I wasn't familiar with local flows and reasons.

I always used to find in jams the inside lane moved at a consistent speed as the lorry drives wouldn't be on/off brakes as much and would crawl consistently so I'd prefer to be in with them although there seems to be less of difference these days.

[sortedcossie]

i quite often pick a reference vehicle and see where it ends up, especially if it's been changing lanes every 400 yards. 9 times out of 10 it ends up further back.

[BunkMoreland]

I commute on a 3 lane road that drops to 2 lanes. (Lane 3 disappears)

There is inevitably queues at this time of year (but not often during the summer )

I go mostly from L3 to L2 to L1. Sensibly. Whilst most people in L3 try to fight it out at the merge point with those in L2 who dont understand merging


I sail past them all in L1. Its hilarious! Makes several minutes every day. Yes, largely irrelevant. But its a good feeling to "be like water" and flow

[swisstoni]

I usually head for L1 in heavy congestion. Many years ago I worked out that, overall, trucks did well compared to the hot-shots who ducked and dived.

[wazztie16]

I think there's less chance of lane switching in the aforementioned situation working, as most drivers coming onto a motorway nowadays immediately head straight for lanes 2 and 3, even in traffic, I've found myself in all the lanes on different journeys in different vehicles at different times and usually don't lose much time on a reference vehicle in another lane, if I lose any time at all.

[Macneil]

I don't like to be behind a wagon in a queue as I can't see ahead, otherwise quite happy to stay in the left lane, spent many years sitting on the m6 on a friday night in the wagon and you'd hit the queue around Birmingham and you'd see the same cars alongside at Keele for all their chopping and changing.

[Mr Tidy]

The odd occasion I have changed lanes, typically because I'm leaving the Motorway at the next junction, it doesn't seem to make any difference.

So I don't bother - it's way less stressful!

[king arthur]

If you're on the M25 anti clockwise from Watford towards Heathrow and traffic is crawling, always head for lane 1. Then when you get to the M40 where lane 1 becomes the slip road for the London bound exit, you will without fail find a decent gap in what is now lane 1 you can safely merge into and you will often be a good quarter of a mile ahead of the traffic that stayed in lanes 3 or 4.

[uktrailmonster]

My default strategy is to head for lane 1 when approaching a queue and then head back to lane 3 when it starts to speed up again.

But I’m always a bit wary of trucks steaming up behind me if I go into lane 1 as traffic is slowing down quickly. Sometimes I prefer to let them pass me on the inside before filtering in behind.

[otolith]

I think there is sometimes an advantage to being in lane 1 up to a junction (because traffic is leaving) and in lane 2 until you’re past it (because traffic is joining) but mostly can’t be bothered trying to take advantage of it.