There is a great deal of discussion on this topic of the pro's and con's of good lane discipline on the motorways. Last week I drove from London to Amsterdam and back. I've never driven in Holland before and not much in Belgium. The motorways are packed with traffic at all times. Much of it is heavy goods. Alot of the system is two lane as well. In Holland on a Wednesday afternoon it was like the M25 at 5.30 pm on a Friday, yet amazingly there was no trouble overtaking. The fast lane is used for what it is supposed to be for - not a car park - and the speed limit is 75 and hardly anyone drives at more than 80 - and needless to say I saw no one undertake. I had the most relaxing busy motorway drive of my life and no hold up's. Anyone who stays in a lane when they should move over who is observed by the traffic police is given a ticket and fined on the spot. As soon as I pulled out of the tunnel on my return in Kent I just knew straightaway I was back home!
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Sorry to be pedantic, but on the subject of lane discipline, it's not a "FAST lane"! That's exactly what a lot of people think, and causes much of the problem.
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The level of pedantry on this board never ceases to amaze me. Fast lane is a colloquial term well known and understood by most people. Are the pedants here actually so pedantic in real life I wonder?
What problem btw?
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I don't think the terminalogy stops/cause people to drive in a certain way, changing the name of speed cameras to safety()cameras didn't make people suddenly go "oh, thier Safety-cameras! that's okay then!"
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The point is valid - people regarding it as a "fast" lane think they're entitled to be there just because they're driving "fast" - never mind the fact that someone else behind is trying to overtake. If so many people understand the concept accurately why are so many people complaining about those who hog the outer lanes?
The problem is poor lane discipline, obviously (!).
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Well yes, poor lane disipline is a problem but I don't think it's because people don't know what the lanes are for - I belive it's more that people don't care how lanes should be used.
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Sorry to be pedantic, but on the subject of lane discipline, it's not a "FAST lane"! That's exactly what a lot of people think, and causes much of the problem.
I agree that lane discipline in this country is just about non-existent, but if those in the fast lane went fast, there would not BE a problem. It's the self-righteous 70mph lane-hoggers with their 'I am driving at the speed limit, so anyone who wants to overtake is breaking the law' mentality that are the cause of frustration and undertaking.
And the centre-lane drivers thinking 'Left lane is only for HGVs - I can't go in there'.
Its a shame we rely on cameras and not the constabulary to police our roads these days - a few well-publicised tickets for lane-hogging would go some way to getting things back on track.
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VDM - don't forget the fear of entering lane 1 caused by those who WILL NOT under any circumstances let you back into lane 2.
Thus, a line builds up in lane 2 of drivers who can't go into lane 1 because there is a line in lane 2 that they won't be able to get back into if they meet a slow lorry/caravan.
Some then move into lane 3 to overtake this slow line of traffic. Lane 3 clogs up with the people who would be in lane 2 if only some would go into lane 1.
Sometimes I want front and side bull bars to educate people with...
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Errr.. if overtaking, you tend to go faster. If not, the overtake is difficult, to say the least. Hence the name. "Overtaking lane" has more syllables and is thus usually abbreviated to "fast lane".
[pedant-in-chief mode off]
hector is absolutely right. Many times I have moved back to lane 1 and had it and lane 2 all to myself for about a mile ahead with a steady queue of slow traffic in lane 3. Generally the only thing that stops me undertaking is my sheer open-jawed amazement at the idiocy to my right.
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This country is motoring heaven compared to my 2 weeks in Portugal. The majority just cannot drive, pure and simple.
Over Easter weekend, 900 road accidents with 18 fatalities, in a country of only 11 million! Scale that up by at least 5 for a UK comparison. 100 fatalities in holiday weekend? It just doesn't happen thank God.
Its obvious that the testers receive bribes. True the roads dont help and as for traffic police....in two weeks I saw just two cars, this is in an urban area south of Lisbon!
They should not be allowed cars for their own sakes. They were safer with the horse and cart.
I have never seen street racing here among traffic, over there I saw it three times in 2 weeks! A p[ointless waste of human life.
Regards,
Alf
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