Hi ,just been driving down the infamous A3 and M25 in surrey today and have been making casual notes to the standard of driving on this stretch of road ,which sadly reflects any major A-road or motorways in Britain.
Without sounding like a grumpy old git,the goverment needs to do something before we end up in grid lock.
What am i on about?
Right take the A3 tonight heading for London ,the inside lane no cars,the middle lane doing 45mph and is solid with bumper to bumper traffic and the outside lane doing 40mph and is the same nose to tail
Why on earth do people who are not overtaking have to use the middle and outside lanes when there is no one using the inside lane.?
The main people guilty of this are the upmarket car possie in their pink fluffy dice X5s,anyone who is driving a merc,bmw, women(there will be some comments do doubt!),oaps driving micras or other slow moving cars and someone who is day dreaming and has no idea that faster moving traffic is behind them and they and others doing the same are causing the domino effect all down the outside lane.
Then as seen tonight a pompus Audi owner who cant wait ,uses the inside lane at well over the speed limit and zig zags thru the traffic on a suicide misson,who nearly hit three cars.
Cant the traffic police sort this ,maybe a tv ad ?,or how about charging people by the mile if they are using the overtaking lane !(i know that will cause a stir!)
I agree we pay far too much for driving cars in this country and toll roads and limits are the only way to go ,to stop idiots clogging up our roads
But surley it would be money well spent to encourage people to drive better on our A-roads and M-ways allowing all the traffic to flow freely.
i welcome you comments
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Shhhh....
It's people like you shooting your mouth off that will cause the inside lanes to clog up too. Then I'll just have to queue like everyone else! :-)
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This subject must have been covered more time than any other subject except ***** cameras.
If the outside and middle lanes were doing 40mph and 45 mph, and the traffic nose to tail, it is a pretty safe bet that everyone wants to go faster. We are not talking about the dreaded 'middle lane hoggers' in this case. Your post implies that cars in those lanes are content to drive at those speeds.
If I am in the outer 2 lanes in the situation you describe and want to drive at Motorway speeds, what do you suggest I do?
It is the constant lane swapping to gain a car length advantage that causes braking and thus congested motorways to slow down.
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I get the joys of this every day...
On the way to Guildford in the morning it's a lot easier to just cruise up the inside lane and undertake at 70mph than to do it 'properly'.
I sit in the inside lane on the way home anyway, as I like to relax and not rush after work. But the standard of driving is generally OK with a few exceptions.
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<< the inside laneno cars,the middle lane doing 45mph and is solid with bumper to bumper traffic and the outside lane doing 40mph and is the same nose to tail
I think you will find that if all lanes are occupied you are entitled to drive in whichever lane enables you to make maximum progress. In other words if you can't overtake in the normal manner you are entitled to pass vehicles on the left. If the inside lane was free, why didn't you use that lane to it's maximum capability ~ within the prevailing speed limits of course, and without deliberately weaving into that lane and then out again after you had passed whatever was in the middle lane.
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L\'escargot.
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Although I drive on motorways a lot, why is it I never see a clear inside lane(to enable me to drive at 70mph) when the outside two lanes are nose to tail. Loads of other people in the BR always seem to find this clear inside lane.
What I do see all the time is a cars switching into the inside lane to undertake a couple of cars and then 'forcing' their way back into an outside lane; causing several cars behind to brake.
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The problem of empty inside lane has existed since 3-lane motorways were first built. The inside lane was generally referred to as the "slow" lane so no respecting car driver would use it, it was for slow lorries!
Realising this, the Ministry of Transport (or whatever their current name is) has subsequently built a lot of 2-lane motorways, reasoning that costs can be saved by omitting the inside lane as it won't be used very much.
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This kind of thing makes my dad furious. Another thing is when cars decide to use the outside lane even when the inside lanes are empty, we want to go quicker than them, and they refuse to move over. Sometimes they wont even budge with the old horn/flashing lights combination. Really annoying.
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I find the "old horn/flashing lights combination" really annoying too so I don't move over ;-)
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Look, what you lot need to understand is that there is a natural order to these things. I long ago accepted my place in the order of things and you should do too!
It's quite ovious that there are several categories of driver who are more important than us mere mortals and deserve their place in the outside lanes e.g. those who drive with fog lights on all the time; reps.; failed/frustrated racing drivers; insecure and/or impotent middle-aged men; motorcyclists; those who think tinting their windows as dark as possible, tweaking their plates, glueing on led's and/or owning 20" wheels is cool; boy racers; girls racers; white van men; lane hoppers etc..
I bow to their obvious superiority and feel entirely at home relegated to the inside lane where I spend many a hour in awe of their prowess, envious of their vehicles, wondering at their progress and praying that one day I will be important.
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praying that one day I will be important.
All Vovo drivers are important - by definition; particularly if they drive Volvo Articulated trucks as they are even bigger!
The scenario that started this thread was not about middle lane hoggers(who we all detest) but nose to tail traffic in the outside two lanes at 40 mph(who all presumably want to go much faster)
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>>Why on earth do people who are not overtaking have to use the middle and outside lanes when there is no one using the inside lane.?>>
I reckon it's a psychological thing. People seem to feel "safer" in the middle lane no matter how empty or full the inside lane.
There's also this concept of a slow, middle and fast lane rather than lanes one, two and three.
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What's for you won't pass you by
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"safer" in the middle lane"
Am I odd in feeling safer in the inside lane on very crowded m-ways?? Hard shoulder could provide an "escape route" and traffic is often wider spaced with fewer tailgaters and moves more smoothly that outer lanes
Phil
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"safer" in the middle lane" Am I odd in feeling safer in the inside lane on very crowded m-ways?? Hard shoulder could provide an "escape route" and traffic is often wider spaced with fewer tailgaters and moves more smoothly that outer lanes Phil
If you feel odd, i must be odd as well. Life is much more relaxing in lane 1. So what if you get to where you're going five minutes later?
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I agree. If the motorway is clogged up, lane 1 is the best bet all round. Safer, easy to get off if you reach your turn, or decide to try a detour having scanned the traffic ahead and consulted the atlas. Also, as a bonus, it is sometimes fastest.
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