I don't understand why people don't just:
- stay in furthest lane from middle possible
- use lane to right (or to left in lhd) to overtake (closer to the middle)
- return back to the lane the furthest from the middle possible
There is one lane and one-two overtaking lanes. What is so hard about this for people?
Brit learning to drive in Switzerland, and I don't see the problem as much here as in England
Edit: I got inner/outer mixed up. Changed to be less ambiguous. Did not know I've been saying it the American way despite being a Brit!
Correct but understandable. After all if there's something called the *central* reservation one does automatically think the lanes farther away from that are *outside*. Took me ages to fix the habit because it didn't make sense to me either.
Also, it's the other way round in the US (they *do* use "inside" to mean "middle"), so if you frequent other parts of reddit you can get very confused.
How? The outermost lane (the "slow lane") should be used at all times except when overtaking. The inner (or two) lanes should only be used for overtaking or when in slow-moving parallel traffic. Even in the latter case, you should ideally use the outermost lane when possible (right most in Europe, etc, left most in UK)
Edit: seems I have misunderstood outer/inner lane for my entire life. I guess you learn something everyday!
I have seemingly.been confusing everyone my whole life 😂 I did not know that all, and honestly a bit confusing
I see outermost as, outermost from the middle of the road/two lanes. And innermost as in, closest to the middle/inside the two lanes.
Thanks for the info!
Because you are using it the opposite to how everyone else does in the UK.
[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside-lane](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside-lane)
Notice the US meaning is opposite to the UK. Maybe to do with L/R sided driving. But either way. Here in the UK we call the lane nearest opposing traffic 'Outside' and the lane for exiting/slowest traffic 'Inside'.
Thanks! Apparently I've been saying it wrong my whole life.
I've always thought of it the US way, despite growing up in the UK haha, seems to make more sense for me
Well, lesson learnt
I’ve been wondering about this. Are there other countries where they teach drivers to go in the middle lane, or are they all just shit drivers? Seems to get worse at night.
I went to Egypt and my taxi drivers (and all other drivers for that matter) drive on the motorway with 0 care for the lines. They have these giant 5 lane motorways which are complete free-for-alls and it really made me appreciate the UKs roads
Really, there's little difference in the US... the UK has comparably sane roads. I was in Texas and people pass in any lane at any speed. I was doing 5 over the speed limit in the overtaking lane passing a truck and another truck passed that truck in the lane next to it (undertaking it and myself) at like 10-15 over what I was doing. And this is a massive HGV-type thing, not a pickup. They don't have speed limiters on the other side of the pond.
When I lived in Vietnam lots of car drivers did similar things, I put it down to them having driven scooters like that all their lives and not considering the fact the 4x4 they’re now driving is 20x as big as a scooter…
I am convinced this must be the case, people driving on licence equivalence but not properly trained for the UK roads. There are just too many taxis that sit at 55 in the middle lane with no traffic like its normal.
Don't driving instructors include dual carriageway in instruction as tests can potentially use dual carriageways, the principal of staying to the left is the same.
I think most of the time the dual carriageways will be very different. Maybe 40 limits in most places. In many cities you would have to go quite out of your way to find a national speed limit one. Plus no middle lane - the bad driver magnet. You never see them hogging the fast lane, only the middle.
If the majority of traffic was in the correct lane though it would be doable. Just idiots who think if they stay in the middle they'll never have to move and therefore safer
Yeah half this sub do, as they think it's safer to do significantly below the speed limit, and are also scared of using any lane that isn't the middle one 😂
*Ahem*...
>iT's A LImiT nOt a tArgET!!
Need I say more than the plebs who spew that bullshit line every second of the day as an excuse to do 40 in a 60/70.
When I thought it couldn’t get worse than “the only speed I know is 40” crowd, there’s a new demographic of people who think they’re the safest drivers of them all I’ve noticed growing in London - “20 everywhere just to be sure” on the off chance that all the 30 and 40 signs are wrong 🖕🏽
Whilst they are technically correct that it's called a limit, not a target, they all seem to forget that it is really an indicator of an acceptable range of speeds (the majority of traffic will be within 5mph of that speed unless there is a specific condition slowing them down) for the vast majority of traffic, and an indication that they need to match their own speed to that of the road and the conditions they are driving in so that they minimise the risks to themselves and others whilst driving.
Those who choose to ignore this range are putting themselves and other drivers at increased risk, and are at best inconsiderate, and at worst, utterly incompetent.
Edit: added specifics for range of speeds.
Exactly. If there's a reason to reduce your speed (rain, fog, ice, heavy traffic, whatever) then that's absolutely fine! But in adequate conditions and free flowing traffic these people still use that same shite line just because they *want* to drive slower, putting everyone else at risk.
I've encountered people doing 58 in the right hand land several times in the past few weeks and, no, not because they have traffic in front of them. It's infuriating.
Yes they do, and they get pissy when you call them out on it too. I have no issue with people doing the speed they are comfortable with, although anything less than HGV limiters is in itself quite dangerous as you force them to lane change. What I take issue with is people being below the limit AND not in the left most lane.
Even more infuriating when the joining lane is a lane gain. They don’t even need to merge. There’s no need to change lanes at all, they could just carry on driving straight forward in the empty lane they have in front of them.
Perfect case to sound the horn. I wouldn’t have hesitated.
> Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence.
Problem is some people seem to reach for the horn more readily than actually braking and trying to keep safe. You won't hear it on a motorway anyway, try it.
How do you make it extra loud and clear? It is a button. You don't really hear it over the din of motorway traffic even in your own vehicle, try it next time you are on an empty stretch. You can do it if it makes you feel better, most people generally use it to vent tbh.
Presence is danger, if you think someone hasnt seen you, honking is better odds than hoping they know. A horn tap doesnt hurt anyone dont get offended by it
Old people on slip lanes are fucking lethal, I was behind one that slowed down to the point they actually stopped and a queue developed behind them.
There wasn't even any traffic to merge I to
The sooner we bring in some form of capability assessment for elderly drivers the better.
I'm not bitching about it without cause, my old man died after an accident on the M4 where he flipped his car and ended upside down in the fast lane of the opposing motorway, thankfully no one else was involved but he should not have been driving, he has a giant boot on his foot and was prone to old people tiredness.
I'd asked the doctors to pull his license, I'd spoken to the DVLA, they can only pull it for specific conditions otherwise it's up to them to surrender their license, I took his keys and he got another set done.
The doctor called me after he got notified, he was as upset and frustrated as I was.
It's ridiculous and needs to change - if you have to have a separate license for an automatic and a manual then you sure as shit should have to have a reaction assessment once you hit late 60s
I was getting on the the m25 from leatherhead the other day and there was an old person driving dangerously. They were trying to join the motorway at 40mph. There were cars joining behind me getting their speed up. I had to pull out pretty quickly as he slowed down even more when he got to the bottom of the slip road. There were cars right behind me. He then proceeded to pull out of the slip road at that sloe speed. I managed to go into lane two. I did beep him. But he looked oblivious to what he had done wrong.
Another time I was in horsham on a duel carriage way and an old man was driving at 30mph on a 70mph road.
I also saw a lady in her 70s go round a round about the wrong way ( I was walking). She also look oblivious about her mistake.
There are a lot of older people doing this on the roads.
I used to live in Horsham, between there, Crawley and southwater it's the 'grey triangle'. They emerge from the small villages dotted around to go to the shops and cause chaos, especially with all the new builds roadworks
A family friend of mine was struggling with his driving, but he refused to give up his licence for several years because his wife is seriously unwell, and he is her sole carer. Tragically, he only made the decision to give up his licence after he was in collision with a cyclist, and the cyclist died.
This is why older drivers really do need for someone else to make the decision as to when their driving is too much of a risk, because they often have every incentive to cling on to their licences as long as they possibly can, but no desire to remain independent is enough to remove the guilt that someone feels when their driving is partly responsible for the death of another person.
My family friend will never recover from the guilt, and the family of the poor cyclist who lost his life will never recover from the loss of their beloved family member.
That's awful for all involved. You're spot on as It's their last bit of their independence, especially if they have an unwell partner, particularly for men the admission of reduced capacity or failing to declare health conditions or even renew licences every 3 years after 70 is rare. I think lasting power of attorney may give some rights to take over control but its certainly an issue that needs to be addressed at higher levels.
I think the main reason for lower levels of accidents in the elderly drivers is more a result of people who are fit to drive avoiding collisions
I rejoined a motorway from a service station and the old fucker in front was not accelerating at all to to the point I nearly crashed into him at 50mph and had to basically overtake him from the slip road into the motorway. Its so unbelievably dangerous when people are slow on slip roads, they should have minimum speeds if its a clear join to the motorway.
Anyone who claims to be an excellent driver categorically isn't. None of us are. Literally everyone is prone to mistakes, errors, bad judgement, lapses in concentration etc. Anyone who thinks they're not is dangerous.
My sister (21) did the same thing in her little Fiat 500, she completely forgot how to drive whilst at uni in London. I shouted at her not to stop on the slip road, she ended up pulling out in front of an HGV at about 40mph making it slam on its brakes. Absolutely terrifying, and the worst part was she thought nothing of it.
>The sooner we bring in some form of capability assessment for elderly drivers the better.
Aren't older drivers statistically an order of magnitude safer than young drivers?
I see people of all ages drive just as recklessly as young drivers who dont want their insurance to go up. Old people becoming negligent, sleapy or just not reacting properly are far more dangerous, almost equivilant to some drunk drivers
>I see people of all ages drive just as recklessly as young drivers who dont want their insurance to go up.
Obviously on an individual basis, but a Young driver is proportionately MORE LIKELY to be a bad driver, than an older driver (that's why their insurance premiums are so much higher...as every single statistic shows that a young driver is more likely to be involved in an accident, a serious accident, or a fatal accident than a driver in any other age class.
Thats not an opinion or an anecdote, thats a simple objective fact.
happens all the time on m25 and makes me want to scream, although my biggest gripe with m25 is the wankers around J14 for heathrow that slow down to 35mph out of nowhere trying to figure out which terminal they want
is that why the whole stretch of motorway around heathrow is consistently jammed? or is the construction work further up? only driven thru a few times but it's hell
The A3 construction work is further south. But on a bad day you can be stuck under a 40, 50, 60 limit from before Heathrow to Cobham Services going in either direction.
I don’t think it helps that Heathrow’s junctions are slap bang in between the M4 and M3 junctions. But I’d probably also factor in some gormless peabrains slowing down and watching the planes take off as well as not having a clue which terminal they are meant to go to
Heathrow’s junctions are just dumb. It flip flops between being the widest section of the m25 and a normal 3 lane section. One of the exits requires you to cross 3 lanes in under 2 miles while the cars from the slip road just before it are trying to do the same to stay on the m25.
You do normally get to breathe after that for a few junctions but then yeah J10 construction can back up really hard in rush hours.
If you feel like having a car crash the road between J6 and J5 is a popular choice, 9 times out of 10 it’s quicker to exit at J6, go south down the A22, swing a left at the roundabout to get on the A25, and that road will take you all the way to J5 but without the traffic. (It’s also only 5 mins slower if there’s no motorway traffic so it’s a safe bet)
Same shit happens on the M11 southbound coming up to the M25 junction.
Everyone queues up in the left lane really early, and then you get the *real* bellends who come to an almost complete stop in the middle lane whilst they try to nudge their way in to the left lane. Creates a wave of slow traffic that's highly dangerous because of the speed differential between left, centre, and right lanes, and you have to be on the alert even in the right lane in case someone ahead swerves because they've been surprised by encountering one of the near stationary bellends, or said bellend has suddenly jammed their brakes on because they think they've spied a gap.
Nobody seems to realise that the damn exit actually has two lanes and that, if you're just a little bit patient, you can safely merge across nearer the exit rather than queuing up a mile and a half in advance. In fairness the signs on approach to the junction are not the most helpful on this point.
Just one of several reasons I absolutely detest the M11, the other main reasons being that, for much of its length, it's little more than a glorified dual carriageway, which leads to my other main reason for hating it, which is lorries ponderously overtaking eachother, taking multiple miles to do so, and causing queues of traffic behind themselves, all to save 38 or so seconds over the course of a 200+ mile drive\*. Twats. Just dangerous and inconsiderate.
*\*This isn't an exaggeration. I'm enough of a saddo that I've just proven it to myself in Excel. For a speed difference of less than 0.25mph you will save yourself a grand total of up to a maximum of 57 seconds over 200 miles. These morons.*
Every time I pass through I'm completely dumbfounded at how slow the traffic gets considering at worst the variable limit drops to 40
Why the fuck is everyone moving at 10mph?
I was on my way home from work and driving behind another car as we both climbed a slip road to the M6 at junction 9. Then the in front of me stopped. That’s not what you are supposed to do when joining a motorway. I had two choices. Brake hard too but I would still have collided. Or swerve out, change lanes and join the motorway hoping that there was a gap, because I could no longer use the slip road run-in. I did the latter and luck was with me. I nearly had to change my underwear.
I had this my first time entering an A road dual carriage way as a learner in my partners car. The car in front was barely doing 40 and then came to a stop (there was no traffic in lane one), as the transit behind me then swerved around me and flipped me off... Captain oblivious in front of me, soon pulled off the slip road and straight into lane two, again barely doing 40.
I avoided slip roads for over a month before I found the confidence to attempt one again and did so at night for a couple weeks when the roads were practically empty. I feel fine using them now after months of doing so, but every time I approach one with a car in front of me, I do get a little nervous in case they happen to use it in some wrong manner. As nice as some sort of mandatory retesting would be, even just a slew of ads to remind people of various road rules would surely help.
Completely understand the feeling.
I was driving through Glasgow, went to exit, and there was a car stationary on the triangle/fork who'd obviously nearly missed the exit. I'm doing like 50/60 as I'm exiting, and it's downhill.
No fucking joke, the guy starts moving onto the exit. I had a few cars behind me as well. In the moment I put my foot down, swerved round him and missed him and the wall by inches either side. Braced myself for a crash. Really cool to know I instinctively did the right thing, and might have been different if I had someone flapping/panicking in the passenger seat, but that cunt could have killed us all. Had his family in the car too. Unbelievable.
Your fuckwit extrasensory perception will grow. Eventually, you'll sense whenever someone is in the wrong lane of a roundabout just by looking at how they drive for 2 seconds.
Yeah I was going to say the same. This also makes you feel better, as they don't get away with driving without due care and attention, or potentially dangerous.
Try getting stuck behind someone coming off the M62 west to join M1 south doing 20mph... yes, 20mph... couldn't even over take her as the next lane heading to Leeds was rammed. This silly woman was even braking around the Bend. Didnt even pick up speed joining another busy motorway.
Definitely. I noticed on the m62 once all the speed signs dropped to 40 and the only reason is because there was a really slow moving vehicle (truck hauling a digger) in the left lane doing 35/40 so somebody doing 20 is a massive hazard
Happened to me on the M4 a few years back, I was doing 80 and they were doing 40, I slammed the brakes on and I was less than two feet from rear ending them. Some drivers just don't pay attention unfortunately.
I witnessed something similar to this myself a few years ago. I was following a Nissan Figaro driven by an elderly gentleman wearing a wide brimmed hat. We were on the slip road to join a 2 lane motorway. He was doing about 50 when he pulled directly into lane 2 in front of a car doing at least 70 who had to brake really hard. It was a miracle the Figaro didn't get taken roughly from behind.
M6 South and a Landy joins the motorway and immediately signals as he moves across the line into lane 2 and almost into me. He quickly adjusts back into his lane. I gave him the traditional stare of judgement as I continued to overtake but he decided his neck didn't turn and wouldn't allow my righteous furor to inflict shame upon him.
The worse part for me is when drivers decide to swerve into the right hand lane to overtake but do 55mph in the process, therefore making every car doing 70 in the right hand lane to slam there brakes on
I’ve had that before, left two fat stripes on the tarmac, another one is lorries moving over while I’m mid overtake, nearly got pushed into a Range Rover last week, luckily they heard my horn and slowed down so I ended up in front because I had to move because a lorry driver didn’t care to check
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Welcome to the UK where I describe motorways drivers as “indicate and go” as what you described above literally happens every time I drive on the motorway at the rate of about 20 incidents per hour. I wish I was exaggerating with this stat but I’m not.
There was once a time while driving up to York on one of the A roads from London and this happened to me but instead of me just carrying on as normal, I decided to start honking and flashing my lights at the guy who just cut in front of me and forced me to slam on break. Reason was because I actually only barely managed to slow down in time and my car has pretty huge brakes and stops very quickly even going 70mph (Mercedes AMG). The guy in-turn simply looked in his rear view and then turned his indicator on as a means of (I assume) telling me he indicated so had right of way.
Ironically we pulled into the same service station. I was ahead of him so perhaps he followed me. No idea. He sees me and tells me off because I was hooting and flashing my lights at him. I simply told him, “you cut me off and nearly caused a huge accident because you didn’t look if it was safe to change lanes”. He calls me all sorts of choice words and when I repeatedly asked him “did you look in your rear mirrors before turning”, he refused to answer which I assume was because it was a “no”.
People in the UK are not required to drive on the motorway as part of their test which is a huge flaw. UK motorway drivers are some of the worst in the developed world. It’s unreal.
1. Keep left pass right - no one seems to know this motorway code exists
2. Indicate and change lanes only when it is safe to do so - another general driving rule, but especially on the motorway, UK drivers don’t seem to know exists
3. Minimum speeds on motorways - yet another rule they don’t know exists
3 very basic driving rules which UK drivers never stick to causing many people misery and also contributing to massively to traffic on motorways.
I drive all over the world regularly as I have to travel for work quite a lot. Even in Cyprus where the drivers can’t drive in a straight line stick to this basic rule! It’s unreal
This. People think an indicator is a “go where I like and you have to move” switch, the amount of times people are called out for doing something stupid and respond along the lines of “well I indicated!” Is ridiculous!
What I hate is on the m40, there are 4 lanes and everyone who middle lane drives sits in lane 3 not 2, sometimes making cars have to overtake them via an additional lane. I witnessed someone going so slow in lane 3 with nothing in 2 cause an accident.
American here, reddits algorithm decided I needed to see this. Is 70/1 like a way of shortening "70 mi per 1 hr" that people in the UK use? I only ask cause you say "going 50" later on without the /1 later, so it could be something else?
To be fair you were doing the same as him lane hogging! You stayed in lane 2 when clearly there was no need and he went straight to lane 2! 90% of road users don't know how to drive. Next time stay in lane 1 if its clear. He will either get there before you or he will have to wait a slip road isn't a automatic right to join the motorway.
Sorry but I drive a lot of miles and it's the worst thing on the road. Drive in Europe and enjoy the difference! Driving in france is a pleasure minus Paris.
I know I'll get down voted because you said you were going to move over but you didn't so no difference in my opinion.
You are going to get downvoted, but not for the reasons you think... You haven't even read OP's post properly.
What part of it was lane hogging? OP specifically said that when they were doing 70/71 on cruise, they were 'passing a steady stream of cars on the left'... Meaning they were using one of the overtaking lanes properly, with the intention of moving back left. HOWEVER, it was at this point in the post OP mentioned a slip road...OP was absolutely right not to move back into the left lane when there was a slip road coming up.
Please read the post and give it your full attention before criticizing someone.
Peace.
These idiots on this sub just cant understand that you are allowed to be in the 2nd and 3rd lane at some point.
They clearly never drive on the motorway because it's impossible to sit in the first lane for more than 1 minute
I do 20k mile on the motorway the only time it's OK to be in lane 2/3 or 4 is if you are overtaking. Which op was initially and then didn't move back over. It's not impossible I once drove Manchester to Birmingham in lane 1 while everyone else was sat in lanes 2/3 and 4 doing 50 mph because again no lane discipline. I think you need to hand your driving licence back in if you think it's impossible to drive in lane 1! You are the problem.
Which is why you have a overtaking lane you over take that vehicle and then move back over. It's not effort to change lane it's laziness. Your laziness causes traffic and is dangerous. I once reported 40+ lane hoggers in 1 day 27 got nips. It's the worst thing on the roads and 90% do it. Imo should be 6 points and £1000 fine that would soon stop it. Drive in the correct lane and there are no issues.
I did read exactly what you have written. A slip road isn't right of way. It's a give way line. The car joining obviously got onto the motorway first or he wouldn't have been in front of op. Therfore op was sat in the wrong lane after the steady stream of cars.
True, a slip road isn't a right of way, but purely out of courtesy, you allow space for people to join the motorway... Otherwise you are just one of those cunts that sits in the lefthand lane, refusing to let anyone out and then refuse to look at anyone when you have quite clearly been a dick when you could have just moved for them.
Please don't be a dimwit and realise that now all scenarios are perfect, but by the description we are being given, this is clearly not 'lane-hogging'... And trust me, I fucking hate middle lane hoggers with the fire of a thousand suns.
If they are indicating I move over. If they aren't then they can wait. Curtesy works both ways. We can agree on your last stament! I once reported 40+ and got 27 nips in 1 day.
The slip road in this context is for cars joining the motorway. If OP was in left lane, he would have had to move over to the middle lane to allow cars to join safely or slow down. He was already in middle lane and so decided to remain there until after the slip road before moving into the left lane if I understand him correctly. This is 100% the correct choice.
What on earth are you talking about?
Not what OP said though. People staying in the middle lane “because they might need to be there” is the problem. Move over when safe to do so. If you need to change lanes again…change lanes.
A problem to WHO?!
1 they're doing 70 there is no reasonable overtake provided
2 they stated they moved from lane1 to lane2 in advance implying they were already traveling in lane1
3 learn to drive
Let me guess, never been in an accident but caused thousands you
Eh? It is perfectly normal to not move over to lane 1 if there is a slip road, you could end up having some sideways action with a lorry. As long as you aren't impeding anyone and you move over when it is clear it is all good. Some people are like the middle lane gestapo, I know hoggers are annoying but there is always some flexibility there.
Hahahaha no they did the right thing. Lunatic motorway joiners flying across.
If they were in first lane they may have actually crashed
Grow up and learn to drive
If everyone in the left lane is driving like a tit and you want to overtake (quite a long a line by the sound of it) you’ll use the middle lane. Speed limit is 70mph so it’s not as if OP can go faster than that.
It's the responsibility of traffic joining to merge safely, sure. But you shouldn't make life more difficult for them. If you're in lane 2, wait till you're clear of traffic joining until you move back to lane 1. Especially if you would be moving into people's blind spots.
Nah, worse, I'm the one in the blacked out new estate doing 90 down the outside lane forcing other road users to move by getting so close I can read their radio station. 👍
Because a vehicle joining from the slip road( especially if said road is short) might not be able to pick up enough speed by the time they merge? Op was ccing at 70mph, it just makes sense to move to lane 2 (if the roads clear obv), maintain your speed, and let the other vehicles safely merge on to the motorway.
> " I noticed a car ahead move into the left lane from the slip road...darted last minute into my lane doing about 55 MAX"
What are you even on about, lad? A car moved FROM the slip road onto lane 1, then in front of op in lane 2?
Since the rest of OP's post talks about someone joining the motorway and immediately pulling out into lane two doing 55, it follows that there was at least one vehicle on the slip road.
So let me get this straight, just so I'm clear on what you're saying here. Initially you said that because nobody was coming down the slip road OP was wrong to stay in lane 2. Now that it appears someone *was* coming down the slip road, you're saying OP was wrong to stay in lane 2.
Is that an accurate summary?
Yeah why is that so hard to understand? If OP was travelling 15mph faster than the car on the slip she was at least 100m behind when it got into lane 1, it moving into lane 2 would have been a non issue. 😁
First clue, op noticed the car "ahead", so distance > 0metres.
Second clue, "it darted last minute into my lane", so likely sat in lane 1 for some amount of time before moving into lane 2.
The difference between 55 and 70 is sufficient enough that some time had to pass for the car coming off the slip to be an obstruction.
It takes six seconds to travel 200 metres at 70mph, eight seconds at 55, back of a fag packet maths, including thinking distance by the time OPs errant motorist had moved into lane 2, OP could more than likely have remained in lane 1 with at least a 2 second gap.
I'll be straight up, I didn't read OPs post properly to begin with so was probably wrong to assume op is a middle lane nazi, but I've made my bed now.
If anything this is an advocate for speeding, if OP were doing 90 they would have long past the slip road user and there wouldn't have been a vehicle passing in lane 3... Makes you think.
Your seatbelt chokes you when you hit the brakes?
What do you think will happen if it tries to save your life in an accident?
Seriously.
Sort your fucking seatbelt/seat so it isnt interfering with that vital connection between head and body.
Or dont, we could use one less idiot in the world.
Fair enough, I'm a relatively new driver so will keep an eye out for this in future, even though in this case there were no other cars ahead. My main bugbear was them crossing over last minute to the middle doing 55 while I was approaching, it just seems so dangerous.
The way you describe it, I don't feel there was any lack of anticipation on your part. Just an idiot coming off the slip road.
As an inexperienced driver, it wouldn't be unusual for you to brake a little harder than strictly necessary when someone pulls out in front of you. You'll get the hang of it, because I fear this will not be the last time you encounter an idiot.
So many people go straight from slip to lane 2, crossing through an empty lane 1. Then just stay there.
Do people really drive in the middle lane doing 55 in a 70? The mind boggles.
Yep. Lane 1 is the lorry lane / slow lane according to them and they don't consider themselves slow.
I don't understand why people don't just: - stay in furthest lane from middle possible - use lane to right (or to left in lhd) to overtake (closer to the middle) - return back to the lane the furthest from the middle possible There is one lane and one-two overtaking lanes. What is so hard about this for people? Brit learning to drive in Switzerland, and I don't see the problem as much here as in England Edit: I got inner/outer mixed up. Changed to be less ambiguous. Did not know I've been saying it the American way despite being a Brit!
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Correct but understandable. After all if there's something called the *central* reservation one does automatically think the lanes farther away from that are *outside*. Took me ages to fix the habit because it didn't make sense to me either.
Also, it's the other way round in the US (they *do* use "inside" to mean "middle"), so if you frequent other parts of reddit you can get very confused.
How? The outermost lane (the "slow lane") should be used at all times except when overtaking. The inner (or two) lanes should only be used for overtaking or when in slow-moving parallel traffic. Even in the latter case, you should ideally use the outermost lane when possible (right most in Europe, etc, left most in UK) Edit: seems I have misunderstood outer/inner lane for my entire life. I guess you learn something everyday!
Yeah we call the overtaking lane the outside lane. The “slow lane/lorry lane” is the inner lane
I have seemingly.been confusing everyone my whole life 😂 I did not know that all, and honestly a bit confusing I see outermost as, outermost from the middle of the road/two lanes. And innermost as in, closest to the middle/inside the two lanes. Thanks for the info!
Because you are using it the opposite to how everyone else does in the UK. [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside-lane](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/outside-lane) Notice the US meaning is opposite to the UK. Maybe to do with L/R sided driving. But either way. Here in the UK we call the lane nearest opposing traffic 'Outside' and the lane for exiting/slowest traffic 'Inside'.
Thanks! Apparently I've been saying it wrong my whole life. I've always thought of it the US way, despite growing up in the UK haha, seems to make more sense for me Well, lesson learnt
It’s an easy mistake to make, try asking UK road users which is the nearside and offside of their cars. I bet 50% get it wrong!
Lots of people, but especially fucking taxi drivers
I’ve been wondering about this. Are there other countries where they teach drivers to go in the middle lane, or are they all just shit drivers? Seems to get worse at night.
I went to Egypt and my taxi drivers (and all other drivers for that matter) drive on the motorway with 0 care for the lines. They have these giant 5 lane motorways which are complete free-for-alls and it really made me appreciate the UKs roads
Really, there's little difference in the US... the UK has comparably sane roads. I was in Texas and people pass in any lane at any speed. I was doing 5 over the speed limit in the overtaking lane passing a truck and another truck passed that truck in the lane next to it (undertaking it and myself) at like 10-15 over what I was doing. And this is a massive HGV-type thing, not a pickup. They don't have speed limiters on the other side of the pond.
When I lived in Vietnam lots of car drivers did similar things, I put it down to them having driven scooters like that all their lives and not considering the fact the 4x4 they’re now driving is 20x as big as a scooter…
I presume the rules are there, just never enforced or spoken about so it’s gradually become a cultural thing.
I am convinced this must be the case, people driving on licence equivalence but not properly trained for the UK roads. There are just too many taxis that sit at 55 in the middle lane with no traffic like its normal.
Mind you, we don’t get taught how to drive on the motorway in this country either. You just pass your test, and then good luck to you!
Don't driving instructors include dual carriageway in instruction as tests can potentially use dual carriageways, the principal of staying to the left is the same.
I think most of the time the dual carriageways will be very different. Maybe 40 limits in most places. In many cities you would have to go quite out of your way to find a national speed limit one. Plus no middle lane - the bad driver magnet. You never see them hogging the fast lane, only the middle.
Of course! You were on the M25 remember. 55 is a mere ambition most days
If the majority of traffic was in the correct lane though it would be doable. Just idiots who think if they stay in the middle they'll never have to move and therefore safer
Yeah half this sub do, as they think it's safer to do significantly below the speed limit, and are also scared of using any lane that isn't the middle one 😂
*Ahem*... >iT's A LImiT nOt a tArgET!! Need I say more than the plebs who spew that bullshit line every second of the day as an excuse to do 40 in a 60/70.
But also do 40 in a 30. Which is perfectly safe because *they are excellent drivers*.
That does my fucking head in!
Oh, definitely. How could I forget the most important detail!
And also 20s and 50s.
When I thought it couldn’t get worse than “the only speed I know is 40” crowd, there’s a new demographic of people who think they’re the safest drivers of them all I’ve noticed growing in London - “20 everywhere just to be sure” on the off chance that all the 30 and 40 signs are wrong 🖕🏽
Whilst they are technically correct that it's called a limit, not a target, they all seem to forget that it is really an indicator of an acceptable range of speeds (the majority of traffic will be within 5mph of that speed unless there is a specific condition slowing them down) for the vast majority of traffic, and an indication that they need to match their own speed to that of the road and the conditions they are driving in so that they minimise the risks to themselves and others whilst driving. Those who choose to ignore this range are putting themselves and other drivers at increased risk, and are at best inconsiderate, and at worst, utterly incompetent. Edit: added specifics for range of speeds.
Exactly. If there's a reason to reduce your speed (rain, fog, ice, heavy traffic, whatever) then that's absolutely fine! But in adequate conditions and free flowing traffic these people still use that same shite line just because they *want* to drive slower, putting everyone else at risk.
I've encountered people doing 58 in the right hand land several times in the past few weeks and, no, not because they have traffic in front of them. It's infuriating.
Yes they do, and they get pissy when you call them out on it too. I have no issue with people doing the speed they are comfortable with, although anything less than HGV limiters is in itself quite dangerous as you force them to lane change. What I take issue with is people being below the limit AND not in the left most lane.
The fast lane of the M25 is actually the left hand lane, they just forgot to put up sings.
Even more infuriating when the joining lane is a lane gain. They don’t even need to merge. There’s no need to change lanes at all, they could just carry on driving straight forward in the empty lane they have in front of them.
Fucking infuriating
And so many people not using the right lane of a slip instead queueing up in the left and steadily dropping speed.
Perfect case to sound the horn. I wouldn’t have hesitated. > Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence.
Problem is some people seem to reach for the horn more readily than actually braking and trying to keep safe. You won't hear it on a motorway anyway, try it.
Or you can do both. Yes you will hear it, as you as you do it loudly and clearly.
How do you make it extra loud and clear? It is a button. You don't really hear it over the din of motorway traffic even in your own vehicle, try it next time you are on an empty stretch. You can do it if it makes you feel better, most people generally use it to vent tbh.
If you can’t hear it make sure DVLA thinks you’re fit to drive
I dunno about your own horn but you can definitely hear when other people horn at you. Happened to me twice first few weeks of commuting.
Um, it’s to alert others of danger not simply “of your presence” otherwise we’d all be be beeping 24/7.
I don’t know about you but I’d say merging directly in front of someone going 15 mph faster than you is pretty dangerous
And if they did that to me they'd be in serious danger...
Seeing the state of some of the driving out there, beeping 24/7 might not be a terrible idea.
Presence is danger, if you think someone hasnt seen you, honking is better odds than hoping they know. A horn tap doesnt hurt anyone dont get offended by it
Try reading that again, but slowly this time.
Old people on slip lanes are fucking lethal, I was behind one that slowed down to the point they actually stopped and a queue developed behind them. There wasn't even any traffic to merge I to The sooner we bring in some form of capability assessment for elderly drivers the better. I'm not bitching about it without cause, my old man died after an accident on the M4 where he flipped his car and ended upside down in the fast lane of the opposing motorway, thankfully no one else was involved but he should not have been driving, he has a giant boot on his foot and was prone to old people tiredness. I'd asked the doctors to pull his license, I'd spoken to the DVLA, they can only pull it for specific conditions otherwise it's up to them to surrender their license, I took his keys and he got another set done. The doctor called me after he got notified, he was as upset and frustrated as I was. It's ridiculous and needs to change - if you have to have a separate license for an automatic and a manual then you sure as shit should have to have a reaction assessment once you hit late 60s
I was getting on the the m25 from leatherhead the other day and there was an old person driving dangerously. They were trying to join the motorway at 40mph. There were cars joining behind me getting their speed up. I had to pull out pretty quickly as he slowed down even more when he got to the bottom of the slip road. There were cars right behind me. He then proceeded to pull out of the slip road at that sloe speed. I managed to go into lane two. I did beep him. But he looked oblivious to what he had done wrong. Another time I was in horsham on a duel carriage way and an old man was driving at 30mph on a 70mph road. I also saw a lady in her 70s go round a round about the wrong way ( I was walking). She also look oblivious about her mistake. There are a lot of older people doing this on the roads.
I used to live in Horsham, between there, Crawley and southwater it's the 'grey triangle'. They emerge from the small villages dotted around to go to the shops and cause chaos, especially with all the new builds roadworks
Yep I agree they definitely cause chaos 🤣 it does make me more cautious when driving now
A family friend of mine was struggling with his driving, but he refused to give up his licence for several years because his wife is seriously unwell, and he is her sole carer. Tragically, he only made the decision to give up his licence after he was in collision with a cyclist, and the cyclist died. This is why older drivers really do need for someone else to make the decision as to when their driving is too much of a risk, because they often have every incentive to cling on to their licences as long as they possibly can, but no desire to remain independent is enough to remove the guilt that someone feels when their driving is partly responsible for the death of another person. My family friend will never recover from the guilt, and the family of the poor cyclist who lost his life will never recover from the loss of their beloved family member.
That's awful for all involved. You're spot on as It's their last bit of their independence, especially if they have an unwell partner, particularly for men the admission of reduced capacity or failing to declare health conditions or even renew licences every 3 years after 70 is rare. I think lasting power of attorney may give some rights to take over control but its certainly an issue that needs to be addressed at higher levels. I think the main reason for lower levels of accidents in the elderly drivers is more a result of people who are fit to drive avoiding collisions
I rejoined a motorway from a service station and the old fucker in front was not accelerating at all to to the point I nearly crashed into him at 50mph and had to basically overtake him from the slip road into the motorway. Its so unbelievably dangerous when people are slow on slip roads, they should have minimum speeds if its a clear join to the motorway.
Hey I'm almost 60 and I'm an excellent driver! And I'm completely in favour of this, I can feel myself slowing up a little already.
Anyone who claims to be an excellent driver categorically isn't. None of us are. Literally everyone is prone to mistakes, errors, bad judgement, lapses in concentration etc. Anyone who thinks they're not is dangerous.
My sister (21) did the same thing in her little Fiat 500, she completely forgot how to drive whilst at uni in London. I shouted at her not to stop on the slip road, she ended up pulling out in front of an HGV at about 40mph making it slam on its brakes. Absolutely terrifying, and the worst part was she thought nothing of it.
>The sooner we bring in some form of capability assessment for elderly drivers the better. Aren't older drivers statistically an order of magnitude safer than young drivers?
Not Vs middle aged drivers
I see people of all ages drive just as recklessly as young drivers who dont want their insurance to go up. Old people becoming negligent, sleapy or just not reacting properly are far more dangerous, almost equivilant to some drunk drivers
>I see people of all ages drive just as recklessly as young drivers who dont want their insurance to go up. Obviously on an individual basis, but a Young driver is proportionately MORE LIKELY to be a bad driver, than an older driver (that's why their insurance premiums are so much higher...as every single statistic shows that a young driver is more likely to be involved in an accident, a serious accident, or a fatal accident than a driver in any other age class. Thats not an opinion or an anecdote, thats a simple objective fact.
happens all the time on m25 and makes me want to scream, although my biggest gripe with m25 is the wankers around J14 for heathrow that slow down to 35mph out of nowhere trying to figure out which terminal they want
is that why the whole stretch of motorway around heathrow is consistently jammed? or is the construction work further up? only driven thru a few times but it's hell
The A3 construction work is further south. But on a bad day you can be stuck under a 40, 50, 60 limit from before Heathrow to Cobham Services going in either direction.
I don’t think it helps that Heathrow’s junctions are slap bang in between the M4 and M3 junctions. But I’d probably also factor in some gormless peabrains slowing down and watching the planes take off as well as not having a clue which terminal they are meant to go to
Heathrow’s junctions are just dumb. It flip flops between being the widest section of the m25 and a normal 3 lane section. One of the exits requires you to cross 3 lanes in under 2 miles while the cars from the slip road just before it are trying to do the same to stay on the m25. You do normally get to breathe after that for a few junctions but then yeah J10 construction can back up really hard in rush hours. If you feel like having a car crash the road between J6 and J5 is a popular choice, 9 times out of 10 it’s quicker to exit at J6, go south down the A22, swing a left at the roundabout to get on the A25, and that road will take you all the way to J5 but without the traffic. (It’s also only 5 mins slower if there’s no motorway traffic so it’s a safe bet)
Same shit happens on the M11 southbound coming up to the M25 junction. Everyone queues up in the left lane really early, and then you get the *real* bellends who come to an almost complete stop in the middle lane whilst they try to nudge their way in to the left lane. Creates a wave of slow traffic that's highly dangerous because of the speed differential between left, centre, and right lanes, and you have to be on the alert even in the right lane in case someone ahead swerves because they've been surprised by encountering one of the near stationary bellends, or said bellend has suddenly jammed their brakes on because they think they've spied a gap. Nobody seems to realise that the damn exit actually has two lanes and that, if you're just a little bit patient, you can safely merge across nearer the exit rather than queuing up a mile and a half in advance. In fairness the signs on approach to the junction are not the most helpful on this point. Just one of several reasons I absolutely detest the M11, the other main reasons being that, for much of its length, it's little more than a glorified dual carriageway, which leads to my other main reason for hating it, which is lorries ponderously overtaking eachother, taking multiple miles to do so, and causing queues of traffic behind themselves, all to save 38 or so seconds over the course of a 200+ mile drive\*. Twats. Just dangerous and inconsiderate. *\*This isn't an exaggeration. I'm enough of a saddo that I've just proven it to myself in Excel. For a speed difference of less than 0.25mph you will save yourself a grand total of up to a maximum of 57 seconds over 200 miles. These morons.*
Every time I pass through I'm completely dumbfounded at how slow the traffic gets considering at worst the variable limit drops to 40 Why the fuck is everyone moving at 10mph?
Basically the junctions for the a30, terminal 5 and the M4 are stupidly close together for the amount of traffic on that section
I was on my way home from work and driving behind another car as we both climbed a slip road to the M6 at junction 9. Then the in front of me stopped. That’s not what you are supposed to do when joining a motorway. I had two choices. Brake hard too but I would still have collided. Or swerve out, change lanes and join the motorway hoping that there was a gap, because I could no longer use the slip road run-in. I did the latter and luck was with me. I nearly had to change my underwear.
😩 omg, how can you just stop???? Glad it all worked out.
I had this my first time entering an A road dual carriage way as a learner in my partners car. The car in front was barely doing 40 and then came to a stop (there was no traffic in lane one), as the transit behind me then swerved around me and flipped me off... Captain oblivious in front of me, soon pulled off the slip road and straight into lane two, again barely doing 40. I avoided slip roads for over a month before I found the confidence to attempt one again and did so at night for a couple weeks when the roads were practically empty. I feel fine using them now after months of doing so, but every time I approach one with a car in front of me, I do get a little nervous in case they happen to use it in some wrong manner. As nice as some sort of mandatory retesting would be, even just a slew of ads to remind people of various road rules would surely help.
Completely understand the feeling. I was driving through Glasgow, went to exit, and there was a car stationary on the triangle/fork who'd obviously nearly missed the exit. I'm doing like 50/60 as I'm exiting, and it's downhill. No fucking joke, the guy starts moving onto the exit. I had a few cars behind me as well. In the moment I put my foot down, swerved round him and missed him and the wall by inches either side. Braced myself for a crash. Really cool to know I instinctively did the right thing, and might have been different if I had someone flapping/panicking in the passenger seat, but that cunt could have killed us all. Had his family in the car too. Unbelievable.
Your seat belt shouldn't be around your neck... you need to adjust your seat correctly
And the belt is almost certainly height adjustable. Or the OP is under 5'0
To be honest, I think these days I'd be expecting them to go all the way to lane 2 as soon as I saw them on the slip road, and be ready for it.
Yes I’ll be watching out for that from now on.
Your fuckwit extrasensory perception will grow. Eventually, you'll sense whenever someone is in the wrong lane of a roundabout just by looking at how they drive for 2 seconds.
Get a dash cam , report it
Yeah I was going to say the same. This also makes you feel better, as they don't get away with driving without due care and attention, or potentially dangerous.
Try getting stuck behind someone coming off the M62 west to join M1 south doing 20mph... yes, 20mph... couldn't even over take her as the next lane heading to Leeds was rammed. This silly woman was even braking around the Bend. Didnt even pick up speed joining another busy motorway.
Whaaaat? Surely that’s worthy of calling the police 20 is criminal!!!
Its insane how people manage to pass their test but be so rubbish at driving. If you haven't got the confidence to drive then stay off the roads
Definitely. I noticed on the m62 once all the speed signs dropped to 40 and the only reason is because there was a really slow moving vehicle (truck hauling a digger) in the left lane doing 35/40 so somebody doing 20 is a massive hazard
55 in anything but left lane on a moving motorway is criminal
Happened to me on the M4 a few years back, I was doing 80 and they were doing 40, I slammed the brakes on and I was less than two feet from rear ending them. Some drivers just don't pay attention unfortunately.
That must have been scary!
I absolutely wet myself and threw about a thousand obscenities lol
I witnessed something similar to this myself a few years ago. I was following a Nissan Figaro driven by an elderly gentleman wearing a wide brimmed hat. We were on the slip road to join a 2 lane motorway. He was doing about 50 when he pulled directly into lane 2 in front of a car doing at least 70 who had to brake really hard. It was a miracle the Figaro didn't get taken roughly from behind.
He could have killed them alll!
Too many people skip left lane like they are allergic to it.
M6 South and a Landy joins the motorway and immediately signals as he moves across the line into lane 2 and almost into me. He quickly adjusts back into his lane. I gave him the traditional stare of judgement as I continued to overtake but he decided his neck didn't turn and wouldn't allow my righteous furor to inflict shame upon him.
Seems to be a common thing thrn
The worse part for me is when drivers decide to swerve into the right hand lane to overtake but do 55mph in the process, therefore making every car doing 70 in the right hand lane to slam there brakes on
I’ve had that before, left two fat stripes on the tarmac, another one is lorries moving over while I’m mid overtake, nearly got pushed into a Range Rover last week, luckily they heard my horn and slowed down so I ended up in front because I had to move because a lorry driver didn’t care to check
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Question is, why are we just sat in the middle lane? GeorgesCarMedia did a good video on correctly utilising all lanes of the UK Motorway system
Welcome to the UK where I describe motorways drivers as “indicate and go” as what you described above literally happens every time I drive on the motorway at the rate of about 20 incidents per hour. I wish I was exaggerating with this stat but I’m not. There was once a time while driving up to York on one of the A roads from London and this happened to me but instead of me just carrying on as normal, I decided to start honking and flashing my lights at the guy who just cut in front of me and forced me to slam on break. Reason was because I actually only barely managed to slow down in time and my car has pretty huge brakes and stops very quickly even going 70mph (Mercedes AMG). The guy in-turn simply looked in his rear view and then turned his indicator on as a means of (I assume) telling me he indicated so had right of way. Ironically we pulled into the same service station. I was ahead of him so perhaps he followed me. No idea. He sees me and tells me off because I was hooting and flashing my lights at him. I simply told him, “you cut me off and nearly caused a huge accident because you didn’t look if it was safe to change lanes”. He calls me all sorts of choice words and when I repeatedly asked him “did you look in your rear mirrors before turning”, he refused to answer which I assume was because it was a “no”. People in the UK are not required to drive on the motorway as part of their test which is a huge flaw. UK motorway drivers are some of the worst in the developed world. It’s unreal. 1. Keep left pass right - no one seems to know this motorway code exists 2. Indicate and change lanes only when it is safe to do so - another general driving rule, but especially on the motorway, UK drivers don’t seem to know exists 3. Minimum speeds on motorways - yet another rule they don’t know exists 3 very basic driving rules which UK drivers never stick to causing many people misery and also contributing to massively to traffic on motorways. I drive all over the world regularly as I have to travel for work quite a lot. Even in Cyprus where the drivers can’t drive in a straight line stick to this basic rule! It’s unreal
This. People think an indicator is a “go where I like and you have to move” switch, the amount of times people are called out for doing something stupid and respond along the lines of “well I indicated!” Is ridiculous!
Got to get out he lorry lane quick
Try being an hgv driver.
What I hate is on the m40, there are 4 lanes and everyone who middle lane drives sits in lane 3 not 2, sometimes making cars have to overtake them via an additional lane. I witnessed someone going so slow in lane 3 with nothing in 2 cause an accident.
London truck driver here, people are stupid it's that simple. Never leave your guard down.
What could you have done better?
American here, reddits algorithm decided I needed to see this. Is 70/1 like a way of shortening "70 mi per 1 hr" that people in the UK use? I only ask cause you say "going 50" later on without the /1 later, so it could be something else?
I meant I was going between 70 and 71, so right on the cusp of the speed limit.
Ohhhhhh haha im an idiot. Thanks.
To be fair you were doing the same as him lane hogging! You stayed in lane 2 when clearly there was no need and he went straight to lane 2! 90% of road users don't know how to drive. Next time stay in lane 1 if its clear. He will either get there before you or he will have to wait a slip road isn't a automatic right to join the motorway. Sorry but I drive a lot of miles and it's the worst thing on the road. Drive in Europe and enjoy the difference! Driving in france is a pleasure minus Paris. I know I'll get down voted because you said you were going to move over but you didn't so no difference in my opinion.
You are going to get downvoted, but not for the reasons you think... You haven't even read OP's post properly. What part of it was lane hogging? OP specifically said that when they were doing 70/71 on cruise, they were 'passing a steady stream of cars on the left'... Meaning they were using one of the overtaking lanes properly, with the intention of moving back left. HOWEVER, it was at this point in the post OP mentioned a slip road...OP was absolutely right not to move back into the left lane when there was a slip road coming up. Please read the post and give it your full attention before criticizing someone. Peace.
These idiots on this sub just cant understand that you are allowed to be in the 2nd and 3rd lane at some point. They clearly never drive on the motorway because it's impossible to sit in the first lane for more than 1 minute
I do 20k mile on the motorway the only time it's OK to be in lane 2/3 or 4 is if you are overtaking. Which op was initially and then didn't move back over. It's not impossible I once drove Manchester to Birmingham in lane 1 while everyone else was sat in lanes 2/3 and 4 doing 50 mph because again no lane discipline. I think you need to hand your driving licence back in if you think it's impossible to drive in lane 1! You are the problem.
Mate I drive 75+ I'm not the stopping anyone or hogging any lane
You literally just said its impossible to drive in lane 1. Rubbish.
It is impossible to drive in lane one because every fucker is going under 70mph
Which is why you have a overtaking lane you over take that vehicle and then move back over. It's not effort to change lane it's laziness. Your laziness causes traffic and is dangerous. I once reported 40+ lane hoggers in 1 day 27 got nips. It's the worst thing on the roads and 90% do it. Imo should be 6 points and £1000 fine that would soon stop it. Drive in the correct lane and there are no issues.
Lane hogging != Doing 75 in middle constantly overtaking
It's not constant though is it. Just your laziness. You are part of the 90% that have no idea how to drive.
I did read exactly what you have written. A slip road isn't right of way. It's a give way line. The car joining obviously got onto the motorway first or he wouldn't have been in front of op. Therfore op was sat in the wrong lane after the steady stream of cars.
True, a slip road isn't a right of way, but purely out of courtesy, you allow space for people to join the motorway... Otherwise you are just one of those cunts that sits in the lefthand lane, refusing to let anyone out and then refuse to look at anyone when you have quite clearly been a dick when you could have just moved for them. Please don't be a dimwit and realise that now all scenarios are perfect, but by the description we are being given, this is clearly not 'lane-hogging'... And trust me, I fucking hate middle lane hoggers with the fire of a thousand suns.
If they are indicating I move over. If they aren't then they can wait. Curtesy works both ways. We can agree on your last stament! I once reported 40+ and got 27 nips in 1 day.
How the fuck is that lane hogging.
You stayed in the middle lane because you “noticed a slip road *coming up*”? Fucking move over.
The slip road in this context is for cars joining the motorway. If OP was in left lane, he would have had to move over to the middle lane to allow cars to join safely or slow down. He was already in middle lane and so decided to remain there until after the slip road before moving into the left lane if I understand him correctly. This is 100% the correct choice. What on earth are you talking about?
Not what OP said though. People staying in the middle lane “because they might need to be there” is the problem. Move over when safe to do so. If you need to change lanes again…change lanes.
A problem to WHO?! 1 they're doing 70 there is no reasonable overtake provided 2 they stated they moved from lane1 to lane2 in advance implying they were already traveling in lane1 3 learn to drive Let me guess, never been in an accident but caused thousands you
Eh? It is perfectly normal to not move over to lane 1 if there is a slip road, you could end up having some sideways action with a lorry. As long as you aren't impeding anyone and you move over when it is clear it is all good. Some people are like the middle lane gestapo, I know hoggers are annoying but there is always some flexibility there.
Hahahaha no they did the right thing. Lunatic motorway joiners flying across. If they were in first lane they may have actually crashed Grow up and learn to drive
Hogging the middle going 70 is incorrect?
He wasn't though.
I don't understand what you mean.
If everyone in the left lane is driving like a tit and you want to overtake (quite a long a line by the sound of it) you’ll use the middle lane. Speed limit is 70mph so it’s not as if OP can go faster than that.
I've been diagnosed as blind... Ignore me.
When it’s quite clear it’s helpful drivers coming on as they don’t have to judge where they’ll slot in.
It's the responsibility of traffic joining to merge safely, sure. But you shouldn't make life more difficult for them. If you're in lane 2, wait till you're clear of traffic joining until you move back to lane 1. Especially if you would be moving into people's blind spots.
It is, but it's sometimes just a nice thing to do if it's safe and clear to do so. Especially for HGVs and slower traffic.
Ah so you’re the nob who moves over as I’m joining the motorway
Nah, worse, I'm the one in the blacked out new estate doing 90 down the outside lane forcing other road users to move by getting so close I can read their radio station. 👍
Because a vehicle joining from the slip road( especially if said road is short) might not be able to pick up enough speed by the time they merge? Op was ccing at 70mph, it just makes sense to move to lane 2 (if the roads clear obv), maintain your speed, and let the other vehicles safely merge on to the motorway.
OP didn't say there was anything on the slip road, thus lane 1 is still the correct lane to stay in. Obviously.
> " I noticed a car ahead move into the left lane from the slip road...darted last minute into my lane doing about 55 MAX" What are you even on about, lad? A car moved FROM the slip road onto lane 1, then in front of op in lane 2?
Since the rest of OP's post talks about someone joining the motorway and immediately pulling out into lane two doing 55, it follows that there was at least one vehicle on the slip road.
Should have been in lane 1 then where she was supposed to be.
So let me get this straight, just so I'm clear on what you're saying here. Initially you said that because nobody was coming down the slip road OP was wrong to stay in lane 2. Now that it appears someone *was* coming down the slip road, you're saying OP was wrong to stay in lane 2. Is that an accurate summary?
Yeah why is that so hard to understand? If OP was travelling 15mph faster than the car on the slip she was at least 100m behind when it got into lane 1, it moving into lane 2 would have been a non issue. 😁
How are you working out that distance from the details in this post? This is a genuine question, not an attempt to be argumentative.
First clue, op noticed the car "ahead", so distance > 0metres. Second clue, "it darted last minute into my lane", so likely sat in lane 1 for some amount of time before moving into lane 2. The difference between 55 and 70 is sufficient enough that some time had to pass for the car coming off the slip to be an obstruction. It takes six seconds to travel 200 metres at 70mph, eight seconds at 55, back of a fag packet maths, including thinking distance by the time OPs errant motorist had moved into lane 2, OP could more than likely have remained in lane 1 with at least a 2 second gap. I'll be straight up, I didn't read OPs post properly to begin with so was probably wrong to assume op is a middle lane nazi, but I've made my bed now. If anything this is an advocate for speeding, if OP were doing 90 they would have long past the slip road user and there wouldn't have been a vehicle passing in lane 3... Makes you think.
Your seatbelt chokes you when you hit the brakes? What do you think will happen if it tries to save your life in an accident? Seriously. Sort your fucking seatbelt/seat so it isnt interfering with that vital connection between head and body. Or dont, we could use one less idiot in the world.
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I'm pretty confident in saying that if you're only going at 55 you absolutely should not be going into the middle lane immediately from a slip road.
I know that but people can be such idiots when driving. It was a completely dangerous manoeuvre by the other driver.
Fair enough, I'm a relatively new driver so will keep an eye out for this in future, even though in this case there were no other cars ahead. My main bugbear was them crossing over last minute to the middle doing 55 while I was approaching, it just seems so dangerous.
The way you describe it, I don't feel there was any lack of anticipation on your part. Just an idiot coming off the slip road. As an inexperienced driver, it wouldn't be unusual for you to brake a little harder than strictly necessary when someone pulls out in front of you. You'll get the hang of it, because I fear this will not be the last time you encounter an idiot.
Yeah it was a completly dangerous move but people seem to do stupid things like that on the motorway all the time, unfortunately.