Another 'Grinds My Gears'

jas72 said:
Here in Belgium the middle lane drivers aren't too bad. You get the occasional muppet (usually old people) who never actually had to sit an exam so don't have a clue about the rules of the road.
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Having just done 3000 miles in France the Belgians at the worst driver in Western Europe, in my opinion. They just sit in lane two with their cruise control set at 2mph above the speed limit and dont show any consideration to move, speed up, or slow down to help anyone else.

I try not to make anyone brake because that's what I was taught and it's just inconsiderate driving, especially on the motorway.

Basher said:
I appreciate the police will use their discretion, but technically everyone who past on the left is in the wrong.
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Really, which section says it's illegal? I understood that undertaking wasn't technically illegal but you would generally be pulled for driving without due care and attention, or similar.

Edit: Found it in sections 267 and 268, both of which say 'do not' rather than 'must not' and as such they are not enforced by law.
 
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Basher said:
Irrespective of the slow muppet, they are still in the wrong. It is dangerous to pass on the inside, hence the ruling in the highway code.
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TBH I canne be ****ed to debate the issue further the highway code needs a complete overhaul tbh as does politics, law enforcement, education, health... infact we should just start the country from scratch!
 
Capn' $qu!ff said:
TBH I canne be ****ed to debate the issue further the highway code needs a complete overhaul tbh as does politics, law enforcement, education, health... infact we should just start the country from scratch!
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Right ok. So it's the rules that are wrong as apposed to your argument :p If you think it shouldn't be against the rules to undertake, I don't want to be on a motorway near you.
 
Basher said:
Almost as annoying as the people who don't change lanes to give others room to join the carriageway.
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I dont agree in all cases....

I do a daily commute and sit with the cruise control on at circa 50-55mph along the motorway and I sit in the left most lane unless its going slower than I go into middle lane. Why ?? Because even at that speed I still catch everyone up again thats went much faster further along but without the constant braking/accelerating so I save my stress levels and also fuel.

Anyways, my point is this - Is my speed THAT horrendously fast that drivers cant use a slip road for its proper purpose and accelerate to either the same speed as me and merge behind me or go faster and merge in front ??

No, what happens is they pay NO attention to the m-way until the last 20yds of the sliproad and THEN look for a space, and if you happen to be beside them they curse you for being ignorant when it is in fact their own selfishness/ignorance/self importance that put them in that position in the first place.

Before its mentioned, I know there are some short sliproads but most cars can accelerate to circa 50MPH or so in time and anyways, I see this happen where the sliproad lasts for a 1/4 mile alongside the motorway (no kidding)...
 
I get held up all the time in my 1.1 fiesta carb(44hp as standard).

How this is possible is beyond me, but it's absolutely ridiculous. If I can outpace you you really shouldn't be in the same lane!
 
Basher said:
Irrespective of the slow muppet, they are still in the wrong. It is dangerous to pass on the inside, hence the ruling in the highway code.
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As long as you don't specifically change lanes just to pass someone, it's not undertaking. So if you're pootling along at a constant speed in the "slow" lane and pass someone in the middle lane, that's not undertaking. Undertaking is when you start in the same lane as the person you're passing, and pass them on the left instead of the right.

At least, that's my understanding. Moral of the story: keep to the bleeding left hand lane when you're not overtaking anything, and the situation would never arise in the first place. It's not difficult.
 
Capn' $qu!ff said:
If you are able to let him pass you should, unless you are unable to and he's doing this then as he goes past give him the finger!
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I prefer to keep a cup of **** in the cupholder for just such an eventuality, **** over the screen speaks volumes louder than a simple finger.

Now i just need to get my crappy nappy launcher in working order...
 
I am guilty of passing people on the inside, but when I do it, I make a point of staying in the left hand lane for a while afterwards just to make sure nobody thinks i'm undertaking.

I think that way it's clear to them that they should really move over. The alternative is to overtake them properly, then pull straight into the left hand lane. But that rarely works in my experience. I've seen every type of person drive in the middle lane like that. I really don't understand it, I feel self conscious if I stay in the middle lane for too long if there's a reasonable opportunity for me to pull back into the left hand lane.
 
SlyReaper said:
As long as you don't specifically change lanes just to pass someone, it's not undertaking. So if you're pootling along at a constant speed in the "slow" lane and pass someone in the middle lane, that's not undertaking. Undertaking is when you start in the same lane as the person you're passing, and pass them on the left instead of the right.

At least, that's my understanding. Moral of the story: keep to the bleeding left hand lane when you're not overtaking anything, and the situation would never arise in the first place. It's not difficult.
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I think you need to read The Highway Code. Passing on the left on a motorway is undertaking. Simple. This is only ok in a very limited number of scenarios (yours isn't one of them).
 
Highway Code said:
Overtaking
267

Do not overtake unless you are sure it is safe and legal to do so. Overtake only on the right. You should

* check your mirrors
* take time to judge the speeds correctly
* make sure that the lane you will be joining is sufficiently clear ahead and behind
* take a quick sideways glance into the blind spot area to verify the position of a vehicle that may have disappeared from your view in the mirror
* remember that traffic may be coming up behind you very quickly. Check all your mirrors carefully. Look out for motorcyclists. When it is safe to do so, signal in plenty of time, then move out
* ensure you do not cut in on the vehicle you have overtaken
* be especially careful at night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance

268

Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
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I'm not sure how people are trying to justify overtaking on the left. You can only do so in congestion - see 268.
 
Middle lane hoggers suck. So do those that insist on undertaking you when you are only staying in the lane to overtake the next car, which isn't far away.

I sound like I'm contradicting myself. Meh. :confused:
 
P'ah there is always another lane to use to overtake. What cheeses me off are people who drive at 30mph on designated 60mph country roads that are single carriageway and the road has too many bends to allow safe passing.
 
I had an old guy cut me up about 5 times yesterday.

Every roundabout he'd approach at the wrong lane, straight line across the correct lane(s) and generally went about completely unaware of his poor driving :rolleyes: Thankfully I was paying attention..
 
As mentioned earlier the most annoying thing on motorways is people who come charging down the sliproad and for some reason think they have a right to join the motorway despite the fact that i am already on the motorway and i have right of way!

the ignorance is absolutely unbelievable, i am sure they would just crash right into me some of them! even when they can see i have nowhere to go! when i join a motorway i am looking all the time and judge my approach based on what the rest of the traffic is doing!

My dad perhaps takes it to the extreme but we have a lowloader for moving drilling equipment about and people will STILL come down the sliproad and try and enter the flow of traffic like its there god given right despite there been 50 tons of plant in the way which has nowhere to go!, one guy ended up doing 300 yard down the hard shoulder in his 4x4 due to this!

I put it down the general level of stupidity and ignorance present amongst a great deal of the British Public! it can be attributed to quite a few problems in this country
 
I just stick my foot down and overtake with my middle finger at the passenger window at them, it really really bugs me.
Why do people go so slow in the middle lane or just generally, why go 10-20 mph under the speed limit on a clear day? Why not do the speed limit and you'll get there much faster.
 
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