Safe Speed Forums

Yesterday evening I drove from Hastings back to my home in Berkshire. The route involved using M25 J5-J12. As on all previous occasions when using this motorway, I could not help but notice the somewhat cavalier attitude to lane usage that exists on the 4-lane sections. It's all too typical to see cars being driven at 60-65mph in lane 3, when there is next to nothing in lanes 1-2. There's one other thing I notice as I go past these cars: Many of the drivers have that switched off/bored expression, and have their right elbow up on the window ledge. After passing them, I'll go to lane 2, or even lane 1 if it's free, which it often is, depending on the time of day. Some then realise that they can do the same, but others continue in lane 3, seemingly on autopilot.

Worse was to come last night. Around J6/J7, lane 4 slowed to about 50mph. It wasn't until getting past J8 that I saw one possible cause - a small Peugeot at 60mph in lane 4. He had two opportunities to let me past, but did not move over. I'm not a headlight flasher but I did turn on my right indicator as a suggestion that I would like to get by, please. No joy. With a clear road ahead, nothing in lane 3 and nothing in lane 2, I switched to lane 2 and accelerated past. Yes, I know it's naughty, but so is lane hogging. The fact that I was able to pass this Peugeot in the manner described demonstrates that he had ample opportunity to move over, but didn't.

Why is this sort of lane hogging/switched off driving so much more apparent on 4-lane motorways?

We seem to have the worst of two worlds in Britain. In Germany, most of the 3-lane autobahnen I have driven on have no speed restriction, and drivers are very good at moving back to the slower lanes after overtaking. There are big roadside signs in Germany and Austria, counselling drivers to move over after overtaking. The signs I have seen portray a line of frustrated looking snails being held up by someone who has not moved over. At the other end of the scale is the USA, particularly the California freeways. There, you just pick a lane and drive in it! Lane choice is governed more by where you are going than by speed. Quite often, a four lane freeway splits in two as it joins another, and speed does not enter into it. So it's not unusual to see "undertaking".

In Britain, we have a mix - a law requiring us to overtake on the right, but without the necessary lane discipline to go with it. What can be done?

The Police will deal with drivers that travel in overtaking lanes. However, we do not have enough traffic police on the roads, or do they have the time to deal with this as they regard it as a trivial matter.

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Steve

[Throws hands up in air in exasperation]

Nothing that's what. We're stuck with the fact that the government refuses to spend any of the motorists money on campaigns to promote awareness of correct driving processes and procedures. As a result we have an increasing number of people who, whilst legally licenced to be behind the wheel of a car, are utterly clueless and/or thoughtless in their driving, creating jams, frustration and mayhem wherever they wend their tiresome way.

[Brings hands back down again and slumps off with a resigned air]

Being a heavy motorway user, esp the M25 and M4 I can safely say lane hogging is rapant.

The 4 Lane sections on the M25 are paticular hotspots for this, they either move over after a gentle flash to let them know that you are there or they dont, the worst offenders are those who then move back after you have past them.

M25`s causes of traffic in my opinion (in order of most problematic):

1.) Poor Lane disapline

2.) Tail gating + panic braking equally

3.) inappropriate speed (usually sub 65mph in the overtaking lanes)

4.) HGV drivers not slowing down to allow overtaking lorries to pass speedly (sometimes theses duels can go on for entire stretches of 2 lane motorway with neither lHGV giving up)

These problems exist on any motorway but are a big problem on the M25

Thrush - I absolutely agree, and I use those same motorways.

Last night I was returning from Hastings - same journey that I wrote about in the first post of this thread. No lorries around, quite a lot of traffic which was moving at around 60mph. I got past J7 heading clockwise, and onto the 4-lane section. As always, this seems to be the point at which many drivers seem to relax and switch off. Traffic seemed to be scattered all over the place, with many vehicles cruising at 60mph in lane 3. Often lanes 1-2 had minimal levels of traffic.

I had a red Ford Ka in front of me in lane 4. I didn't flash, didn't indicate and didn't tailgate. I just waited for him to move over, and waited... and waited...

...finally, with the Ka rooted to lane 4, with lanes 2-3 clear, I passed by in lane 2 - only to find myself behind a BMW doing about 70 - also rooted to lane 4, but passing slower traffic by driving about 5mph faster than it. Numerous opportunities to pull over, none taken. I finally passed on the left as I went to lane 1 for the J12 exit. It was a girly - quite nice looking...

What do you chapps think of this "I'm doing my 70" attitude which some people use to justify their presence in the outer lane? I ask, because the police once prosecuted a woman who had been driving in the outer lane of the M3 at 70-75mph.

Totally agree on the point about education. After passing their test (Which has no motorway driving, just a number of theory questions BTW) the motorist see's no further information / instruction on how to drive other than 'Speed Kills.' Only those smart enough to realise that perhaps they don't know everything and are continually looking for information / learning opportunities will ever improve. How much of the poor lane discipline you describe, mixed with a good dose of tailgating, left to simmer for a while and hey-presto five miles further back there is an accident.

The scenario I was faced with last night on the M6 was all too familiar. Lorry or two in lane 1, (56MPH) car in L2 not much faster, queue of traffic in L3 waiting to get by (perhaps two or three cars in front of me, before I reach him). Several cars behind me in said queue get fed up of seeing L3 full and L2 empty in front of them, move into L2 or even L1. So you now get the stable traffic in L3 become unstable as the said cars reach the 'blockage' and squeeze back into L3. Those of us who are maintaining a healthy safety gap absorb this instability and reduce it's effect further back by gently re-establishing our gap. So who's at fault here? is it me for staying in L3? I suspect it's just a symptom of congestion, exaserbated by poor lane discipline, because the cars in L3 having passed the blockage don't pull straight in to allow the flow.

Max

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Tailgaters - Please Pass
You have an Accident to go to!