idiotic drivers

[AdamW]

The whole middle-lane-hog issue isn't so cut and dried. If everyone drove properly, there would be no issue.

However, if there is a car driving at 70mph in the middle lane, why would anyone need to overtake them?

People are quick to say "middle-lane hogs, holding us up", conveniently forgetting the fact that they are only being "held up" because they want to go 90.

I often sit in the middle lane, however there are many reasons for this:

1) M25 is so rammed that all lanes are full almost all the time
2) If I do pull over to the left lane, I usually end up with some gimp who accelerates enough to be alongside me, but doesn't get past meaning when I get to the next traffic I have to either accelerate and cut in front, or slow down and cut in behind.
3) If the leftmost lane is knackered (as is often the case, lorries wear the surface out quicker) why should I drive on sets? I'm paying just as much in road tax and fuel tax (in many cases, more!).

Of course, it is unacceptable for people to do this whilst doing anything less than 70. THAT holds people up. But driving at 70 holds no-one up, it just prevents those who wish to drive faster from breaking the law.

 

[Steve]

there is a stretch of A1 near where i live. About a quarter of all vehicles on that road are lorries. Only 2 lanes. soooo . . . ill be driving along at 78, and a lorry decides to overtake another lorry, a manoeuvre that takes about 10 minutes at the best of times, since the "slower" lorry is doing, say, 55 and the "faster" lorry is doing, say, 56, or 55.5. Do they not realise they are all limited to roughly the same speed?? So im then stuck at 55mph for 10 minutes (alongs with about 50 other cars that build up behind) while these selfish drivers have a battle of speeds. does my head in, that one.

 

[user56565]

AdamW - tut tut, i may have been unknowingly cursing you last week then. what are you really going to lose out if you stayed in the left lane:

1) if a road's rammed full, this is the one case where its acceptable not to be in the left lane.

2) this gimp (as you so eloquently put it ), is also one of these lane hoggers id like to rid of. they should be in the left lane unless overtaking. just accelerate past them. you've stuck to the left-lane priniciple and been an example to all other drivers.

3) i don't know if driving in an overused lane will affect your car/ability to drive. but if it did, this is an issue that should be taken up with the highways agency, not with every other driver who just wants to get on with their journey..

your argument is based upon people being restricted to speeds less than 70mph (as it's the law). but why is the limit 70mph, and not 80 for example? the 30mph limit is based on sound reasoning (80% survival rate), but the 70 doesn't.

But driving at 70 holds no-one up, it just prevents those who wish to drive faster from breaking the law.

now i used to drive as fast as my car would let me, but now strictly stick to 70 on my daily rounds on the m25. this is for money - fuel efficiency is higher as speeds reduce to around 50, and 50's too slow, so 70 it is. im able to stay in the left lane, dip out and back in, no prob. i speed up so im not holding back traffic if im overtaking.
note that i get overtaken by every car on the motorway (except the tossers doing only 50), so the vast majority of drivers go over 70.

crafty1289, completely agree with you on that. i often take the a1 all the way from a14 to the north, and i go as fast as i can (saves me hours in time). this happens probably 20 times to me on each journey. these lorries probably only save 5minutes by the time they reach their destination, yet will have slowed down 50 drivers by 5minutes each. society as a whole is worse off, which is why the government should ban lorries overtaking, and enforce a strict minimum and maximum limit of 60mph. no lorries would have to overtake then.

lane hogging just makes every1 worse off.