Is it ever safe?
Travelling back on the motorway this eve, overtaking lane absolutely chocker, inside lane one car every 600 yds. oh the frustration!
regards kev
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It's only unsafe because people aren't expecting it and could pull over without a thought.
If it was made legal like in America then it should be safe as people would (should) look before pulling over.
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Why isn't it legal. It's so obvious road space is there to be used.
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Drive in lane one at 70mph, if there's a truck or slower vehicle on lane one then overtake it by pulling into lane 2 (after checking your mirrors, signalling, checking your mirrors and blindspot) and then back into lane one.
Providing you're not exceeding the speed limit it is possible to argue that the traffic in your lane was moving faster than the traffic in the other lanes.
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I say undertake and be done with it! Why should you move all the way across from lanes 1 to 3 and back again just because of someone else's ignorance? I've been doing it for years and have never had any near misses. After all, these people have probably been sitting in the middle lane for miles (nay, years!), so the chances of them suddenly realising what lane discipline means in the few seconds it takes you to nip down the inside are minuscule.
Saw a great example a couple of Sundays ago - I followed an old biddy in a Polo up the slip road from the M25 onto the A3 (3 lanes in each direction, 70mph limit, motorway-standard road) at 50mph. The A3 was deserted, but as soon as she joined the inside lane, she very carefully put her right indicator on, looked over her shoulder, and moved over into the middle lane. Then sat there, still doing 50mph... I passed her, and watched her remain there until she vanished in my rear view mirror.
Makes you want to shake these people and shout "WHY???", doesn't it?
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The " never had an accident, but seen hundreds..." scenario.
It still amazes me that some people can get away with this kind of driving for years - if ever there was a case for "without due care and attention" ...I recall, when still a schoolboy, a friend and I missed the bus, and hitchhiked home (you could do it safely in those days).
His Mother drove past us, standing with thumbs out, and didn't stop. She was too busy yabbering away to her mate in the passenger seat...
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Ian Aspinall wrote:
>
> Saw a great example a couple of Sundays ago - I followed an
> old biddy in a Polo up the slip road from the M25 onto the A3
> (3 lanes in each direction, 70mph limit, motorway-standard
> road) at 50mph. The A3 was deserted, but as soon as she
> joined the inside lane, she very carefully put her right
> indicator on, looked over her shoulder, and moved over into
> the middle lane. Then sat there, still doing 50mph... I
> passed her, and watched her remain there until she vanished
> in my rear view mirror.
Perhaps she didn't want to get trapped into the filter off for Guildford. I mean, those 10 miles from the M25 fly by. . .
It's not just old ladies either. There are plenty of twentysomethings who sit in the middle lanes, in their 3-door hatchbacks, pootling along at 60 mph. Perhaps if there is a requirement for a motorway driving assessment then the next generation of young drivers will at least know and have experience of positioning themselves properly on the road.
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When I travelled daily on the M25 Heathrow stretch, undertaking was essential to keep traffic flowing and I believe the vast majority of drivers on that stretch are alert to that. Away from that particular stretch, I am wary of undertaking the middle lane crawler and will move over if lane 3 is not so busy. If I have watched them for the last few minutes as I come up behind them and it is becoming obvious they don't intend to move over until their required exit 50 mies on, I might undertake if lane 3 is full of fast-moving traffic.
If I am in lane one elsewhere and the queue of BMWs/Mondeos and Vectras in lane 3 slows down to 50-60mph and lane 1 and 2 are flowing nicely above that, I happily undertake those Friends of Lane 3. After all, there seems to be some kind of snobbery that prevents them moving over into lanes 1 & 2 so, provided you stay alert, you can be fairly confident they will wait doggedly in line anxious not to let the guy behind get one up on them.
David
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Undertaking*is* legal as long as you don't break any other laws while doing it.
I reckon it's always unsafe because the sort of fool who doesn't chek his mirrors is hardly gonna check his nearside mirror when he comes back in.
I still do it all the time. (undertaking)
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I too often undertake on the A55 when the full outside lane is travelling at 50 and the inside lane is empty.
Highway Code says we can undertake if the traffic " is moving slowly in queue's and vehicles in a lane on the right are moving more slowly than you are"
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Undertaking is legal, so far as I understand, in slow moving or congested traffic.
Choose your own definition of "slow moving".
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I always undertake,have done for years,including plod.M3 2 lane bit is a nightmare,overtaking lane doing 50MPH and braking every few yards,seems daft 2 me not 2.
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Brian. Undertaking is legal full stop.
Unless you're suggesting that where the traffic is not "moving slowly" undertaking would break some law such as Inconsiderate D, or Dangerous D.
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I had to drive from Heathrow to Wycombe everyday for work. Picked up the M25 at J4a M4 and continued in the 'slow' lane doing a very nice 65 mph all the way to the M40 junction.
I undertook literally hundreds of cars everyday as they plodded along in lanes 2,3 and 4 at 50mph.
What amazed me is why no-one ever caught on and the old bill never caught me.
Now on the Maidenhead to Heathrow run (M4), the middle lane is chocker with usually small cars (why?) doing 50. The outside lane is empty and the inside is stop-start. The motorway is a death trap in places as a result if you are unsuspecting. I sit quite happily in the 'slow' lane doing 50 mph undertaking as I go. Only the A4 slip at Slough requires a move into the inside lane as the cars come on thinking they have right of way and then proceed to the middle lane to jam up the motorway.
Maybe it's something in the water ?
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I've posted a picture of the problem
href="http://www.btinternet.com/~harkis/help.html"
target="_blank">click here. or
www.btinternet.com/~harkis/help.html
>
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I've posted a picture of the problem a
href="http://www.btinternet.com/~harkis/help.html"
target="_blank">click here
www.btinternet.com/~harkis/help.html
>
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I should exercise great caution when considering to 'undertake'.
As a generality Plod can rely on a breach of the Highway Code to support a charge of driving without due care and attention etc. The Highway Code dictates that you should only overtake on the right. It is also stated that where there are those on the offside going slower it is Ok to go down the nearside. Whilst it appears there is a contradiction the later is obviously for situations of slow moving congested traffic. As far as I am aware there has been no clear directive that it is in order to 'undertake' but a couple of years ago it was being considered by PTB to bring us line with USA.
In Trentham v Rowlands 1974 a Divisional court held that it was potentially dangerous and thus dangerous driving for a motorist to overtake another on the outside lane at 70 mph by moving to inner lanes to do so.
Perhaps Pug Ugly and Plod-u-Like could advise any change to the above.
Strange I never seem to see the Middle/Outer LaneHogger done for driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.
DVD.
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> Strange I never seem to see the Middle/Outer LaneHogger done
> for driving without reasonable consideration for other road
> users.
There was one I knew of. I think it was in the Berkshire/Hampsire area.
There was a woman in the 'fast' lane at 70mph. She was holding up a car, which was flashing to get passed her. Turn out to be a police car which promptly tried the Driving without Due Care or similar offence.
She tried to defend on the basis that no car should have been going faster than here anyway, they pushed that she should be aware of other road users, and that the correct use of this lane was for overtaking.
She lost.
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DVD,
At last some sanity on this thread.
Agreed the middle lane hogging idiots are a big problem, but it is not on just these drivers that these self righteous fools undertake. They then just cut in(cut up) on those awaiting their turn to overtake these middle lane dawdlers.
More aggression and road rage is caused by those who scream up behind you drop into an inside lane, undertake and force themselves into the outside lane causing everyone behind to brake.
It is no different to pushing in to any form of queue. Selfish B******* who try to justify their loutish behaviour because others are driving inconsiderately.
D
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