New penalties to tackle tailgating and middle lane hogging

[jojo]

I can't wait until the first member on this forum to actually get get done for this offence and admit it on the forum!

 

[@udi A3]

As a former truck driver, I can say it would be nice to have been able to just go about my business, But what sidibear says has happened to me on just about every journey in the cab, and is exactly what you say irks you. Truck drivers can't use the outside lane, so a 60mph middle lane hogger halts their progress until said hogger gets a sense of fair play.

They're selfish & inconsiderate, but as long as they're okay that's all that matters.

Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

 

[Ghost]

Respect to @udi A3 for saying the way he drives and explaining the reasons why!

I agree with Ads, try not to let other drivers wind you up, but when I find myself catching up with someone driving in the middle lane, and no cars in the left lane, it makes me slowdown… and I find that is dangerous.

I slowdown cos I think WHY is he/she driving there?
Is there something in the left lane iv not seen? (debris)
Are they drunk?
..And if I go to overtake will they pull to the left or right?

Like said, respect to @udiA3, but maybe reading this thread he can see why others think its dangerous.

 

[Artimus]

Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

Most car speedo's indicating 60mph are actually doing around 3mph less! meaning they're in fact doing a true 57mph. A trucks governor is calibrated accurately and when it hits that governor it will actually be doing 60 ..a 3 mph difference! So a truck doing a calibrated 60mph will usually catch a car doing an indicated 60mph at a rate of 3 miles per hour - on uk roads.

If you want proof of this, set your CC to 70mph, then use a Sat Nav which displays your speed & you'll see the difference - the Sat Nav will be the more accurate of the two & invariably shows a lower speed.

So your indicated 70mph becomes between 67 & 68mph when calibration is taken into account, and as your tyres wear down, the discrepancy increases! and the faster you go, the bigger the margin of error. Hence why Police can't prosecute for less than 2 miles per hour offenses & don't usually bother with anything less than 4mph. You would have to be doing an indicated 75mph for them to be sure your car wasn't lying to you & you couldn't claim you just drifted 1mph over the limit because you were going downhill.

 

[@udi A3]

Most car speedo's indicating 60mph are actually doing around 3mph less! meaning they're in fact doing a true 57mph. A trucks governor is calibrated accurately and when it hits that governor it will actually be doing 60 ..a 3 mph difference! So a truck doing a calibrated 60mph will usually catch a car doing an indicated 60mph at a rate of 3 miles per hour - on uk roads.

If you want proof of this, set your CC to 70mph, then use a Sat Nav which displays your speed & you'll see the difference - the Sat Nav will be the more accurate of the two.

So your indicated 70mph becomes between 67 & 68mph when calibration is taken into account, and as your tyres wear down, the discrepancy increases. Hence why Police can't prosecute for less than 2 miles per hour offenses & don't usually bother with anything less than 4mph.

Are you the only person using a satnav on the road?

How is your 'true' 60mph maintained? the governor is mechanical, your tyre wear will no doubt make your indicated 60mph and actual 57mph too. Your tyres have a larger rolling circumference so 1mm wear will be a larger speed error than 1mm from a 17 inch audi wheel! Incidentally, according to my satnav (yes i have one too), and continued average trip speed resetting, my speedo is within 1mph of the satnavs readout at about 3mm of tread. when the tyres were new, the speedo was bang on the satnav iirc.

 

[Artimus]

Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

...

was my answer sufficient or are you trying to deflect attention from your ill thought out question?

 

[@udi A3]

Originally Posted by @udi A3
Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

Originally Posted by @udi A3
...



was my answer sufficient or are you trying to deflect attention from your ill thought out question?

Why are you miss quoting me?!

 

[Artimus]

Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

Why are you miss quoting me?!

where is the misquote?

you asked about 60mph trucks & 60mph middle lane hoggers! you asked nothing about you driving at 70. The fact is the massive majority of car speedo's are poorly calibrated and read higher than the vehicle's true speed. but it's the car speedo that people rely on when they stick rigidly to the limit. right?

 

[Gaz!]

Tell me what road in the uk allows a truck to go over its 60mph national speed limit on a moterway (3lanes), that would cause a 60mph middle lane hogger to inconvenience you?

The road it's self cannot impose a speed limit. The trucks have differing weights, meaning the heavier truck to slow on a hill and the lighter to overtake. Whilst you are strumming yourself in the middle lane the lighter truck needs to pull out and overtake, without loosing momentum.

Mirrors are not a dirty word, don't be scared to use them, thinking ahead and moving lanes is the way ahead. You do not police the roads, you are not a mad max vigilantly. People will do what they want, leave them to it, if the police catch them, so be it. Don't be rude and hold others up on purpose, out the way. They don't effect you.

 

[@udi A3]

Neither of you are grasping that HGV are limited to 60mph max speed on a three lane road, 50mph on a 2 lane, and 40 on a single lane, so a driver doing 60mph should not cause you a problem if lane hogging. however i did clearly state if im under the road speed limit in my car, I will stop hogging and use the lanes accordingly.
I bet your one of those hgv drivers who do 56 on a 40mph single carrageway (60 limit for cars).
I bet also you like to over take on a duel carrageway when the lorry you overtake is going 1mph slower.
I bet yet again, if you are the slower lorry being overtaken, you lane hog and dont slow down as the highway code suggests you should.
Just because your vehicle is bigger and carried more inertia, doesnt mean you rule the road.

 

[Artimus]

Neither of you are grasping that HGV are limited to 60mph max speed on a three lane road, 50mph on a 2 lane, and 40 on a single lane, so a driver doing 60mph should not cause you a problem if lane hogging. however i did clearly state if im under the road speed limit in my car, I will stop hogging and use the lanes accordingly.
I bet your one of those hgv drivers who do 56 on a 40mph single carrageway (60 limit for cars).
I bet also you like to over take on a duel carrageway when the lorry you overtake is going 1mph slower.
I bet yet again, if you are the slower lorry being overtaken, you lane hog and dont slow down as the highway code suggests you should.
Just because your vehicle is bigger and carried more inertia, doesnt mean you rule the road.

I bet I gave up truck driving back in 2005 and returned to Railway work. ..best decision I've ever made.

I'm starting to understand why some have bowed out of the thread - and maybe I should have done so earlier too.

@udi A3: I sincerely hope you've seen that the majority of members have, to this point at least, disagreed with your stand and even if you don't admit it here, you'll amend your hdriving habits! If not.. well that's your prerogative until the Police tell you otherwise! just as it's others' prerogative to travel faster than the law allows until enforcement decides against it.

I wish you no ill fortune, despite our conflict of opinion. Good Luck Sir.

I'm out.

 

[Gaz!]

Neither of you are grasping that HGV are limited to 60mph max speed on a three lane road, 50mph on a 2 lane, and 40 on a single lane, so a driver doing 60mph should not cause you a problem if lane hogging. however i did clearly state if im under the road speed limit in my car, I will stop hogging and use the lanes accordingly.
I bet your one of those hgv drivers who do 56 on a 40mph single carrageway (60 limit for cars).
I bet also you like to over take on a duel carrageway when the lorry you overtake is going 1mph slower.
I bet yet again, if you are the slower lorry being overtaken, you lane hog and dont slow down as the highway code suggests you should.
Just because your vehicle is bigger and carried more inertia, doesnt mean you rule the road.

Your not grasping the fact that I'm not an HGV driver any more. Hope your not a poker player, your bets are terrible.

You, are the one acting as though you rule the road. You are the problem the law is trying to deal with. You, will pick up £100 fine and 3 points for every offence. The traffic police don't bother pulling people over doing less than 85mph as long as they are behaving themselves, you will incurre the fine and points. You cause problems, you irritate people onto undertaking or tailgating. You cause queuing. Maybe one day Karma will hit you, I hope I catch you and fine you.

 

[voorhees]

@udi first dibs on your car when the points tot up to a ban :thumbsup:

I don't like the way the government have decided mobile phone usage whilst driving is the same as middle lane hogging.

 

[@udi A3]

Gaz, catch me and fine me, then make it stick. good luck

 

[dieseldoos]

I see both sides of this argument, I am middle of the road...

... I will get my coat!

 

[@udi A3]

I actually tried lane hopping today rather than middle lane hogging, i didnt like it, too stressfull dealing with mindless morons ( who probably thought i was a moron too) speeding up before i indicated to pull out and overtake. On a plus note I didnt see any overly agressive HGV driivers today, nor any accidents. Today was a good day

 

[Gaz!]

I actually tried lane hopping today rather than middle lane hogging, i didnt like it, too stressfull dealing with sensible drivers ( who probably thought i was a sensible driver too) speeding up before i indicated to pull out and overtake.Today was a good day

Well done, you are on your way to being a half decent, considerate driver, rather than a selfish driver. Keep practising, points do not make prizes.

 

[JudderMan]

Just been on a 600-mile trip this past week. Seems no one ****ing knows what the Highway Code is nor heard this news story about the fines they WILL be getting soon.

I'm sure they'll sort their **** out once the £60 fines start coming their way.

Coming back this afternoon on the M74 (easily the best motorway in the country) and doing 70mph in lane 1 to then have to go around a **** in the middle lane doing 45mph into lane 3 then back into lane 1. No other cars anywhere for at least a mile in either direction.

If I was a **** like Mr Middle-Lane I'd have undertaken him, gone into the middle lane and stood on the brakes to potentially cause an accident and bag a load of compensation, but I doubt he even noticed that there was anything else going on in the world nor that he would have hit the brakes if I'd done that as he (and seemingly every other mindless ***** in the middle lane) wasn't paying attention to what was going on.

As I drove properly on my journey, I knew exactly where everyone was around me and as far as I could see ahead and behind me BECAUSE I was changing lanes to go around lorries and slower cars. When coming up behind numerous, selfish people in the middle lane they seemed oblivious to EVERYTHING around them. Probably the same sort of people that **** about with their iPhone/radio/sat nav (does no one know how to get anywhere any more, nor can read road signs?) etc.

Not that it will happen but if I get into an accident with someone that isn't paying attention to the road ie. going into the back of me, the last thing they'll feel is my vice-like grip round their necks.

I sound like a hot head but I'm actually cool when driving. Oh and for everyone whining about other drivers then saying that they do 70+mph you're breaking the law, and your argument fails.

 

[Gaz!]

Exactly, it's not so much the speed people are traveling at, it's the manner in which they drive. This obnoxious attitude to sit there and ignore other road users has gone too far.

The middle lane crew lack spacial awareness, far to blinkered on what is going on infront of them. Totally unaware of the disruption they are causing in the rear views. Yet believe themselves great driver because of the attention they pay to the front of the car. Unbeknown to most they require 360 views to make a proper decision as to their driving.

 

[@udi A3]

Well done, you are on your way to being a half decent, considerate driver, rather than a selfish driver. Keep practising, points do not make prises.

Do points make PRIZES?!

 

[JudderMan]

Thread locked.















































I wish..

 

[@udi A3]

Awww and i was behaving today!

Sundays scare me, i tend to avoid driving where possible, too many 'sunday drivers' for my liking!

 

[JudderMan]

Awww and i was behaving today!

Sundays scare me, i tend to avoid driving where possible, too many 'sunday drivers' for my liking!

I've just been in a train of 10 cars undertaking a car doing 30mph in the outside lane (2-lane, 60mph road) as they were on the brakes and sneezing/blowing their nose. Having hayfever myself, I know that this could have been avoided if they were in the left lane as there were 3 laybys on this stretch of road we were on.

TBH the conclusion of this whole thread should be: no one wants to adjust their driving habits, everyone is more important than the next person on the road, everyone else is the problem and everyone should just f-king deal with every obstacle in the road in the best way possible, agreed?

 

[voorhees]

TBH the conclusion of this whole thread should be: no one wants to adjust their driving habits, everyone is more important than the next person on the road, everyone else is the problem and everyone should just f-king deal with every obstacle in the road in the best way possible, agreed?

Yes we should just deal with problems but that isn't going to line the governments and insurance companies pockets is it.

 

[@udi A3]

As somebody who sneezes a fair bit, I have found a way to supress them while driving. unfortunately this does mean removing a hand from the wheel.
If middle lane hogging and the supression doesnt work, i have 2 more lanes to swerve into so im safer, otherwise i may end up in a verge or on the central reservation! Middle lane FTW.

(ok so that argument is dumb, but seriously for those with hayfever, google a sneeze supressant, for me just holding index finger under your nose and pushing the bit between your lip and nose to your gum, actually works to supress it.)

Unfortunately i had to encounter some sunday mayhem taking littluns boyfriend home. All minor roads, but idiots sitting at 40 in a 60 zone, ok thats not the issue, but at the only clear overtaking opertunity i have, they speed up to 60 so i cant go past, then promptly sit at 40 again. Long straight road, about 2-3 miles clear view. no need for it.
Same thing coming home, same road, this time sitting at 50, tearing on ahead into the 40 zone, still at 50 when i catch up the other side. Sundays suck.

 

[JudderMan]

Unfortunately i had to encounter some sunday mayhem taking littluns boyfriend home. All minor roads, but idiots sitting at 40 in a 60 zone, ok thats not the issue, but at the only clear overtaking opertunity i have, they speed up to 60 so i cant go past, then promptly sit at 40 again. Long straight road, about 2-3 miles clear view. no need for it.
Same thing coming home, same road, this time sitting at 50, tearing on ahead into the 40 zone, still at 50 when i catch up the other side. Sundays suck.

It's the ones that do 47mph in a 60mph zone then continue to do 47mph in a 30mph zone, past schools, houses etc that bug me. If they kill a child then I hope that it makes them think about their driving. Probably won't.

 

[Ads]

I did a 10 mile drive today on a London three lane A-road with this thread in mind. It wasn't very busy but the cars were shared equally between the left and middle lanes, and about half the number again in the right hand lane.
Anyone in the middle lane wanting to overtake just pulled into the right hand lane.
Then I did a few miles on the London end of the M11 and M1. Same thing.
Not an annoyed person, light flasher or tailgater in sight.

I've come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a middle land hogger down here, we just have people who drive in the middle lane. It's just not an issue to the majority us.
Thinking back over all my years of driving I can't remember seeing anyone getting pee'd off with someone in the middle lane, only seen it when venturing to other parts of the country.
The only thing we seem to have an issue with are right hand lane hoggers. Saw about ten of 'em today, and each one was being shown some sort of disapproval by other drivers.

 

[Dazmo]

I agree with it if they enforce it properly.

I am just concerned it will open up a whole can of worms.

Remember, if you don't believe you were in the wrong, just deny the offence and fight it in court!

(Front and rear cameras help too)

 

[jojo]

Let's face it, the traffic police are going to apply a bit of common sense to this, I'm sure when you see a marked copcar behind you, the first thing you are going to do is move to the left lane where possible. They are only going to do the stupid ones who have no idea what's around them, so nothing really changes, in my opinion.

 

[Luke2.0tdi2010]

My opinion.... get over your fury at middle lane drivers, there's always a way past them. Unless of course there is a right hand lane hogger, who DO ANNOY THE F*CK OUT OF ME!!!! These mofos are the ones who deserve to be tortured.

So 'outside lane hoggers' "ANNOY THE F*UCK OUT OF YOU" and they deserve to "be tortured"!! but middle lane hoggers apparently don't bother you at all!!
It's the same principle! Doesn't matter how fast any vehicle is travelling breaking the speed limit or not why do they not use lanes 2 and 3 for OVERTAKING and then get back into the driving lane??? WHY? WHY? I watched one of these idiots pull onto the motorway at 3am (nothing else but me and him on the road) and made his way directly into lane 3 WHY? WHY? WHY? My guess is COMPLETE lack of driving education, clueless people who shouldn't be on the road. What I don't understand is how there can be any defense for not driving properly/to the highway code!
To answer your question Ads, No I don't get in the wrong lane when approaching a roundabout. why would I?

 

[@udi A3]

To answer your question Ads, No I don't get in the wrong lane when approaching a roundabout. why would I?

You live in London dude, pretty much everyone does out of shear frustration or to avoid being cut up!

 

[Luke2.0tdi2010]

Honestly I don't, I might do the odd bit of 'marginal' speeding here or there but 'lane discipline' is one of my o.c.d. situations. I also drive H.G.V's so know how to use lanes properly unlike a lot of car drivers.

 

[Ads]

So 'outside lane hoggers' "ANNOY THE F*UCK OUT OF YOU" and they deserve to "be tortured"!! but middle lane hoggers apparently don't bother you at all!!

Correct. And for the reasons I gave.

one of my o.c.d. situations.

I think this^^^^^ probably has a lot to do with the intensity of your feelings on it.

 

[Luke2.0tdi2010]

It was a joke, nothing wrong with driving properly, unless of course your (you're, thank-you Ads!) not educated enough to do so.
Just putting my point across and showing my hatred for people who don't know how to use the road

 

[Ads]

unless of course your not educated enough to do so.

you're

 

[Luke2.0tdi2010]

lol, I (thought I'd) thoroughly checked that before posting it! Especially when I'm referring to 'education' ....... Fair play for the pull up on that one.

In my defense I am using my phone..... whilst in lane 2 on M25

 

[s3clarke]

What about those drivers who sit on your **** when u are in the outside lane over taking and will move over when safe to do so, flashing there lights doing what ever speed they wish trying to bully me out the way- I need to do some of my stockcar spin outs on those t*ssers!

 

[@udi A3]

What about those drivers who sit on your **** when u are in the outside lane over taking and will move over when safe to do so, flashing there lights doing what ever speed they wish trying to bully me out the way- I need to do some of my stockcar spin outs on those t*ssers!

This thread should have taught you by now, the outside lane is for nobheads who dont know how to stay within the speed limit, stick to middle lane hogging youll be fine.

 

[Ironborn]

I know what you mean, and maybe it's driving in and around London for so long that has "toughened" me up and made me more thick skinned, but people take stuff too personally on the road.

All this anger at people who drive in the middle lane.... just seems OTT to me.

Town drivers need not reply lol. When you have to deal with this 5 days a week, then you will understand.

 

[Artimus]