Safe Speed Forums

Sorry, no chance - I like things as they are. The whole point of driving slow is to relax and take no risk. If I was in a hurry and wanted stress, I'd go in the fast lane and drive like Sterling Moss. The whole point of plodding along in the slow lane is that you don't need to think about merging, lane changes and all that stress-inducing shite. It might make sense in Oz, where everybody's awkward, but not here, thanks.


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These off topic posts have been split off from their original thread here.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Everybody here knows that lane changes are very complex and quite dangerous. Lunging and lurching about in different lanes is a chump's game. If you "stay serial" in the slow lanes, no need to bother with all that stuff. Less lane interaction means less trouble. That's just one reason why we have much safer roads than Oz.

PS: the coppers are trying to spoil that now, by making you move over into the super-slow lane, with the trucks. That's insane.

Lanes changes can be done in complete safety; they're only dangerous if you don't do to them safely.

This doesn't detract from the fact that you must give thought to merging even when in a non-overtaking lane (crawler lanes aside, there is no such thing as a slow lane); failure to do so is highly inconsiderate and can pose risk of danger.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

How on earth is merging complex, unless a driver is incapable of adjusting their speed to suit?

What's wrong with driving in the leftmost lane? On the M40 I regularly see people who are too inconsiderate/stupid/incapable to keep left unless overtaking, even with some real whopping gaps. It is safe and expedient to pass these people on the left, thus avoiding the bottleneck they create by effectively reducing a three-lane road to two.

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Regulation without education merely creates more criminals.

Everyone? Only the terrifyingly bad drivers I think! On the assumption that 'here' encompasses somewhere I've had some experience of.

I don't have to tell you that "can be" doesn't mean "are", Steve. The safest risk is the one you don't take at all.



There's so much wrong with your ideas that I hardly know where to start. How can you suggest there is no "slow lane" - are you mad? The slow lane is the lane nearest to the shoulder. This usage leads to the phrase Life in the Slow Lane, used as the title of various songs and films. I'm surprised that a man of your education and learning doesn't know that. The fast lane is the one furthest from the shoulder. And the middle lane is - in the middle. It's really straight forward once you quit this PC rubbish.

As for your suggestion that "you must give thought to merging", that's true if you are a zooming along. But if (like me) you are a slow poke, merging is automatic - they just go in front, end of story.

This is the "lunge and lurch" attitude we're trying to stamp out. Excessive lane changing is a big deal, boyo.

Well thank you for needlessly stating the obvious. When addressing the comment: "lane changes are very complex and quite dangerous..." I was saying they aren't automatically 'quite dangerous'. A person who is incapable of changing lanes without being quite dangerous shouldn’t be allowed to drive. A driver is regularly changing lanes (roundabouts, junctions); so perhaps the safest option for these people is indeed not to take that risk at all and not drive!


There is no such thing as a "slow lane" or a "fast lane"; these are misconceptions often perpetuated by those who wrongly believe they know the highway code. Conditions permitting, there is nothing preventing a flow of 'fast' traffic in the left lane of a multi-lane carriageway.


Not all drivers can go in front of you, at some point that must end as you approach the pinch point. Failure to give adequate consideration risks collision. What if there was another driver in other lane just in front of you who had slowed for the pinch (possibly to keep a good gap to the car in front): are you not even aware of them, or do you take notice and adapt accordingly?

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

If this is how you change lane then I suspect he was referring to you!

Lane changes are neither complex, nor dangerous, when executed correctly, and they are an essential part of driving on our modern roadways; how on earth would you ever get out of a slip lane without this ability? Furthermore, the lack of adequate skill at this discipline does not excuse sitting in lane 2, causing congestion and aggravation for all.

Keep left unless overtaking, and if unable to change lanes safely then stay off multi-lane roads!

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Regulation without education merely creates more criminals.

Come, come now! I thought "slow" = "less stress"? I thought "The whole point of plodding along in the slow lane is that you don't need to think about merging, lane changes and all that stress-inducing shite"??? Surely the slower you go the less "stress-inducing shite" you have to put up with?! After all, I think you're on record as having said that "twenty's plenty"!

"twenty's plenty"!
"thirty's nerdy"
"forty's naughty"
but "fifty's thrifty"

damn - no rhyme for sixty

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Who do you mean by "we" exactly? No really, I want to know, I'm not aware of any organisation trying to stamp out a belief that changing lane isn't dangerous and that those who think it is are bad drivers. Brake, maybe?

I think if you can't change lane without "lunging and lurching" maybe it's time you hung up the Clio keys. But there's always hope. You could invest in some motorway training, and see if you can learn how to do it smoothly, and get rid of this irrational fear. Then you won't get so stressed out by driving!

That would certainly thin out the traffic! Many m-way accidents are caused by inappropriate lane changes. Again, I'm surprised a man like you doesn't know that. If you don't believe me, try it out for yourself - just take a ride along the m-way and check how stupid people are when they change lanes. On the other hand, just read the posts on THIS message board - quite a few of them relate to inappropriate lane changes, which more or less shows that changing lanes is complex and quite dangerous, compared to not changing lanes. I know you know I'm right, so why make a fuss, Steve?



Yes. The safest driver of all is one who isn't on the road.



Well, it's you against 19,900,000 google hits! You loose. In fact, not only is there a "slow lane" in English, but also one in German (Kreichspur), and many other languages. Feel free to use obscure jargon if you wish - I'll use English, please.

PS: in French, it's voie lente (slow lane).

Look, I expected some denial from the likes of you, but right-thinking people know that inappropriate lane changes are a large cause of frustration and accidents. And only the most hardcore of car-freaks and weirdos would deny that there are many, many incidents of inappropriate lane changes. So here's a couple of general rules, to help you all to drive well.

First, drive as slowly as you can bear (in order to delay your arrival at your destination as long as you can bear). I know there are some hotheads who can't wait, but try to slow down, and delay your arrival. Lower your stress levels.

Second, minimize the number of times your change lanes. Lane changes are complex and quite dangerous, and we must not go about lunging into this lane, and lurching into that one. Stay cool, slow, don't dip and dive around the road and chill out.

If you follow these two simple rules (which are a lot easier to remember that the highway code), you'll help us all out, and you'll be a safer guy.

Thanks...

There used to be a Public Information film about the lesser spotted lane weaver - now the Govt. think all ills can be solved by making people drive slower, at the same time urging us to drive more economically and avoid unnecessary journeys.

Try that in Kendal's one way system - a simple journey requires lane changes galore, and takes you miles from where you used to be able to go!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I'll can tell you about the best stretch of motorway I know in the whole of England. It's the M53, through the back of Birkenhead. Why? No trucks on it. They can't fit through the tunnel. Consequently, the m-way (and downtown l'pool) has a nice, 1960's feel to it. Everybody's happy, without the behemoths. So, yeah, maybe this time you are making an angstrom of sense. Those trucks get in the way and spoil everything.

Could I have some clarity: are you calling me a car-freak or a wierdo, or both?

And once again, who are "we"? Who are you speaking on behalf of? Or is it the 'royal we'?

Now I'm not denying for a minute that changing lane badly causes accidents, but it's a huge (and fallacious) logical leap from there to saying that one shouldn't change lane. The problem is not the lane change but the way it's done. Saying something is often done badly, so shouldn't be done at all is like banning music because some school violin players sound like they're torturing a cat. Think, man, you're not making sense this morning!
Besides, the less you do something, the less good at it you'll get. Practice, abercrombie, is the key! If you keep trying, eventually you'll get the hang of it. You might even come to take pride in your driving, you never know.



Following these rules may de-stress the odd car-hating know-it-all or day-out pensioner, but it will wind up everyone nearby that has to get from Over Here to Over There on a schedule, and take a lot of the joy out of driving for a lot of others. Many people (obviously not car-hating know-it-alls) get a great deal of joy out of driving quickly and smoothly, and being held up by someone trying to drive as slowly as possible in the outside lane will not lower the stress levels of anyone who drives for
a living.

Apart from your tendency to flippancy when at bay, why the emphasis on delaying your arrival at places? Would you recommend this to the drivers of delivery vehicles heading to your home or business?

We have to live in the world as it is, not some ideal one that exists only in your mind. Please check out how it's really done, on a stretch of m-way near your home, and report back. Please do this, because I think you'll find that it's often not very good.



Of course, they are the worst culprits. Remember that slowness is important. Indulge yourself, for all our sakes.

PS: and chill out, before you burst a vein...

No. There are many incidents of inappropriate lane changes. In fact, you advised me to take lessons because lane changes are complex and quite dangerous. You're not being disagreeable.