Middle lane hoggers rant

[maximus]

I bet this has been brought up so many times before but I was so irritated by this one road user on the way home today that I just had to vent.

Now I respect people that adhere to the speed limit, if they want to do that then fine, its probably safer and if they feel comfortable with that then cool.

I like to do a little above the limit (not that much over but a bit) and I respect people who want to go faster and clear out of the way of them if its possible to do so.

What I saw today had my jaw dropping to the floor (not to mind a few swear words) I was approaching my turn off (it does seem that many other road users turn their brains off on this stretch of tarmac for some reason) I saw a large gap behind a lorry and a white car (which was catching me up so i accelorated a little to get away from him) as I pulled into this lane I noticed that the car I was following didn't have any traffic in front of him, yet there was a mile to go before this lorry. I accelorated up to my normal speed and actually managed to undertake him (safely I may add) and still had plenty of room to get back into the middle lane and actually pass the lorry safely before hitting my turn off. Why do some people insist on using that middle lane, yes he was approaching the lorry, but he was miles off and me flying past him at no more than 5mph over the limit should have put a message across to him!! Grr!!! What was it that was so hard for the driver to pull into the "slow lane" and let faster cars through or just clear the middle lane up? Some drivers are just plain lazy.

It didn't help that he pulled into the third lane I was using, just as a car in front was having to brake for another idiot who slammed on for what seemed no reason. This halved my braking gap so that I went from having plenty of room to brake to having barely enough.

/rant

Ahh I feel better now.

[Paul V]

I have given up on the no undertaking rule - with an underpowered diesel, it is safer for all concerned to go by on the inside. I don't have the power to move into lane 3 without causing grief to those faster than me.

The other pet hate is those morons who go at the speed of the middle lane - slowing and speeding up depending on what is in front of them. Getting hung out to dry with a 7.5ton truck up yer butt is not my idea of fun.

There are loads more of them about at the moment - I wonder why?

[Alan]

I hate this too with a vengeance.

As a possible explanation I have heard some people say that they are not confident and stay in the middle lane so that they dont have to swap lanes.

But what about those who stick to the outside lane no matter what?

[Tim Falce]

An ex girlfriend of mine used to sit in the middle lane and when I asked why, she said her instructor had taught her to do this so that if the car wandered she would just go into one of the other lanes and not off the road.

[maximus]

lol, she would be ok if a car was there!

I noticed a typo in my post, I was in front of the white car and behind the lorry.

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by Paul V

I have given up on the no undertaking rule

Me too. Don't get me wrong, I won't pull into the lane to overtake, but if I'm in the lane I don't bother to go out, and since I drive in the inside lane whenever possible it happens a lot. CLOCS they're called. Centre Lane Owners' Club.

I have the same problem with people who sit in the outside lane of a dual carriageway because they're turning right in a mile or so at the third island they come to. Forget it, I just go past on the inside.

And it's nothing to do with "...people that adhere to the speed limit". 5-20mph under is no more adhering to the limit than 5-20mph over is, not on fast straight highways.

[Mackmot]

its the same type of people who are just so lazy that when they drive down a single carriageway country road thats easy 60mph and do 45mph, then reach a village and carry on at that speed.

[robfenn]

What annoys me is when you come up to them as someone wants to overtake you, so you either have to brake because they don't go into the slow lane. Sometimes i undertake, in my rage i feel i'm "putting my point across" by doing so..

I must confess i went absolutely mental at one person once when i was in the above scenario and undertook him. Except as i undertook he started to accelerate so i wouldn't get past. There was still a gap though so i finished the move and the guy then flashed me up. So, i slowed down, let him overtook me and drove for about a mile with full beam behind him. Not clever, but it felt so good!

-Rob

[maximus]

Add lazy idiot in the third lane who was barely going faster than people in the middle lane who were doing 75 miles an hour rant.

[Bluebottle]

It really is high time we got rid of the undertaking rule- think how much better the flow of traffic would be.
Let me add my own rant to the thread- truckers, if you cant get past the other truck going up the hill, drop back and pull back in to the first lane. It's so annoying when you come up against two trucks side by side barely making 60mph with the overtaker making no progress- and it's then more difficult to pull out and pass them because you've had to slow down to 60 and there's not a gap big enough between the train of cars in the third lane......

[krt917]

Middle-lane hogging is very annoying, but I find this worse:

Originally Posted by Mackmot

its the same type of people who are just so lazy that when they drive down a single carriageway country road thats easy 60mph and do 45mph, then reach a village and carry on at that speed.

It's also the same kind of person that drives at 60 on a dual-carriageway, so you go passed them. Then, if you come to a 40 or 50 section, they don't slow down and come back passed, apparently completely oblivious to the sign or impending hazard. Then, when you get into a derestricted again you have to repass them.

Lorry drivers do this too, only they seem often to just drive right up your backside. Presumable its's because their lorries take so long to asselerate that they feel it's not worth slowing down, no matter what the road conditions are or road signs say.

Grrrrrr.

[MikeHoyer]

I hate that, most times when I go off to a track, I have to go the same way up the A14. After about 20 minutes or so there's a bit that's limited to 50 for a bit, with speed cameras. So I'm doing maybe 75-80 till I get there, and slow down, only for lorries etc. to overtake me in this zone...

WHY???!!! As soon as it goes back to normal I'm back past them again, I just don't get it. I hate slow people on country roads aswell...

[Tim Falce]

Sorry Mike but lorries can't do 75-80, they are limited to 56mph so that's why when you break the speed limit you overtake them and when you stick within it they overtake you. Are you also one of these people who slam their brakes on and slow to about 10mph below the limit when the see a camera?

[Woolley]

Lorries are generally limited to 56, so in a 50 limit they can just go past illegally without activating the cameras, while he's sitting on the limit. I assume that's what he means?

[MikeHoyer]

Originally Posted by falcemob

Sorry Mike but lorries can't do 75-80, they are limited to 56mph so that's why when you break the speed limit you overtake them and when you stick within it they overtake you. Are you also one of these people who slam their brakes on and slow to about 10mph below the limit when the see a camera?

No I'm not. When I'm in a zone on a dual carriageway with a limit below the speed limit I stick to it.

[Logrence]

I think all this middle lane hogging business is all about people with no manners - I went for a 30-mile bike ride the other day and the amount of the drivers who came within a gnat's whisker of killing me was incredible (probably 10thers!) - nobody has any respect for other people anymore, it's every man for himself out there...