which lane?

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

i was under the understanding that if you approach a 2 lane junction where traffic lights are you should always use the lane closest to the curb if no other traffic is present?so why is it everytime i'm approaching said lights behind 3 cars they ALWAYS use the outside lane
if i use the inside lane and pull away slowly (as it goes 2 lanes into 1)i'm always tempted to just use enough oooomph to get in front(not racing or anything like that)after a hard days work i just want to get home & can't be doing with stupid w* nk *rs in the wrong lane.its sooooooooooooooo frustrating.grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[securespark]

Yes, it seems carazy to use the o/s lane when there's naff all in the inside, but then why do R Soles use the second lane on mways when there's FA in the first lane?

 

[kendor]

maybe the car in front stalled and then the lights changed again, all the other traffic moved leaving an empty lane?

 

[AdamW]

It's probably because they think if they use the inside lane then you will get past them. The Highway Code taught them to "give way to the right", so they grab that lane so they don't have to suffer that gravest of all insults: being overtaken

Thing with these junctions is when some road planner goes "I know, the road is two lanes either side of the traffic lights, but let's make it two lanes just for the bit across the junction eh?". 99% of the time you are fine, but it's just that 1 time in 100 where Mr William Anker decides "The cars may be crawling through nose to tail in single-file, but if I cut into the other lane I can really annoy Adam and possibly even take out his front driver's side wing!"

 

[AdamW]

Yes, it seems carazy to use the o/s lane when there's naff all in the inside, but then why do R Soles use the second lane on mways when there's FA in the first lane?

I can shed some light on that one. I have often had to resort to being a middle-lane hog round here because:

a) the inside lane surface is knackered, perhaps from lorries perhaps just from not being resurfaced as often as the other lanes. I pay as much road tax as anyone else (in fact more cos my car pumps out zyklon B and Agent Orange) so why should I drive on a dodgy surface and wear out my tyres, bearings, use more fuel?

b) I find that whenever I drive in the inside lane, someone will always take it upon themselves to sit alongside me in the middle lane, doing THE SAME SPEED AS ME! Or worse still, speeding up down hill and slowing down up hill so they just go back and forth.

With b, I find the best thing to do is to hit your right indicator well in advance of the obstacle (lorry) and see what they do. If they don't speed up, or move over, speed up and then pull out, then gradually slow down just enough that it really annoys them (68mph).

And the thing is, with 3 or 4 lanes either way, if anyone has a great need to pass you then they can use lanes 3 and 4. And it is logical quite often because:

1) on an empty motorway, being in the middle lane means you have more time to react: I had a pheasant or similar run out in front of me. If I had been in lane 1, I would have hit it. But because I was in lane 2 I had that extra couple of seconds it took the bird to cross lane 1, I had time to react. It also means that if you get caught by a sudden side-wind (we sometimes get right bu**ers of them round here, I saw a chap nearly tankslap his bike going 70mph) then you won't get blown into the hard shoulder or central reservation.

2) on a full motorway, driving in lane 1 guarantees that you will get stuck behind a lorry and no bu**er will let you out.

3) You should do this approaching junctions anway, in order to facilitate the joining of traffic to the motorway.

I would say MUCH worse crimes against mobility are:

I) People who seem to drive on throttle position rather than speed, so they vary between 60 and 80 depending on what way the hill goes instead of sticking to 70... BAAAAAAAASSSSTAAAAAAAAAADS!!!!!!

II) People who don't understand the purpose of a sliproad is to accelerate. So you either reach the motorway still going 30mph, or you find yourself heading up the sliproad at 70 then have to brake because they can't be a**ed to change up slightly later. Happened to me yesterday. Granted the sliproad was up a slight hill, but my modest car was going 70 still with quite a way to go, and I wasn't razzing it up there.

III) People from II), who assume that the traffic on the sliproad has right of way onto the motorway so pull out regardless.

IV) Relations to the people from III, who don't read the signs up the sliproad to assess what it does, so despite the sliproad turning into a lane think "S**T, must pull out into motorway!"

My longest post yet? Got to use three types of numbering, great!

 

[planenut]

I am certain that some of the plonkers in the middle or outside lane are thinking, be it subconsciously, that the town or location they are going to is on the right hand side of the motorway, regardless of the fact that they have to leave to the left to turn right.
I was in a car once being driven by a member of the opposite gender when she was poodling along in the middle lane. When I asked her "why?" she told me that she considered it dangerous on the inside lane. I explained to her that with this sort of mentality she made any lane dangerous. I told her to drop me off on the hard shoulder or use the inside lane properly - I had forgotten that she didn't know how to use it properly, so I went on to further explanations. (there are men with this sort of attitude/ignorance as well!)

 

[masona]

I was in a car once being driven by a member of the opposite gender when she was poodling along in the middle lane. When I asked her "why?" she told me that she considered it dangerous on the inside lane.

She does have a point, I don't use inside lane anymore unless it's safe to do because the number of time I have a 44 tons tanker on my rear bumper, I doing approx 60mph (they are breaking speed limit anyway) and if I do a emergency stop, I will be dead by the 44 tonner.

 

[planenut]

From the inside lane one still has the hard shoulder, very useful the day I saw one of those heavies coming at me from the rear as he was looking in his mirror to overtake me, I slipped onto that hard shoulder maintaining my speed to see this idiot drive past me still on the inside lane.
Rules are guidelines provided for situations that have already gone wrong - 'cos otherwise one wouldn't know what rule to make.
I teach people that "every driver is an idiot, just don't let the others know you're on their side"

 

[kendor]

why do people wait until you are almost on top of them before they decide to pull out in front of you?

 

[planenut]

Its a cunning plan!

 

[kendor]

You can say that again

 

[breezer]

i say you are wrong to drive in the middle lane when inside lane empty.

I will set the scene, Autumn day, bright , warm, no rain for few days roads dry, it a sunday morning on a M way

a truck comes along a 40 mph and who is in front? YOU as you are busy "plodding along at 40" you dont look behind you and see the truck"

the truck can not take you on the inside as that is undertaking, he has to come into middle lane, he gets closer to you (safe distance but closer than when us that know he is there first saw him) you still do not notice him, he is now at "legal close limit" YOU are STILL in the way, he flashes you , you do not notice, he flashes again and toots horn, you "wake up" you see in mirror truck behind flashing and tooting, you swerve, go into outside lane through outside lane into crah barrier, car coming up outside at 70 (going down as he has seen whats happened) he hits you side on, you are instantly killed.

Now tell me that it is ok/good to drive in middle lane.

Its people that sit in the middle lane that cause more accidents than any one else

 

[kendor]

I'd say that most accidents are caused by lack of due care and attention

 

[ninebob]

I'd say the accident in Breezer's scenario is caused not by driving in the middle lane but by failure to check mirrors?

 

[securespark]

I am certain that some of the plonkers in the middle or outside lane are thinking, be it subconsciously, that the town or location they are going to is on the right hand side of the motorway, regardless of the fact that they have to leave to the left to turn right.

This is not always quite true.

Some junctions on the M60 you have to be in the r/h lane in order to take a certain sliproad (m60 clock/anticlock) and you do peel off to the right, rather than the left.

The best junction is M60 near Bredbury. The slip road joins the motorway from the right, not the left, so you end up with dodderers doing 40mph in the fast lane, with all the existing traffic overtaking on the inside. And the HA say it's safe.........