Lane hogs

With a subject title like that it might appear that this is OT. Oh alright I
admit it's a very tenuous link...

Driving on Belgian motorways today I spotted they have an advertising
campaign going to discourage people from staying in the left (fast) lane.

Charles Ellson...

.. and going downhill appears to involve rather more (positive) error
in the speed which is presumably the result of calibration on a
rolling road.

One sign reads... You're driving on the left because your ancestors were
English? :-)

About time we did the same in England. Last week I drove 35 miles up the
(two lane) M11 last week in a group of six cars blocked by someone who was
driving below the speed limit in the right hand lane oblivious to the queue
behind him. One by one the other cars lost patience (not me obviously) and
overtook him on the inside. I can only assume he'd just got off the plane
from the USA.

Peter...

I think you'll find that the advertising campaign was to stop people
hogging the "overtaking" lane(s) - there is no such thing as a "fast"
lane on a UK motorway.

Steve Hayes...

We have signs that say "Keep left, pass right".

But most people follow the unwirtten rule "Keep middle, pass left and right".

Peter...

Yes, members of the MLOC

Graeme Wall...

Known by certain constabularies as CLODs

Charani...

My youngest sister was a fully paid up member.

She terrified the life out of me on the M25 about 15 years ago.
Unusually, it was completely empty and she was riding in the middle
lane with a thumping great juggernaut tail gating her. What did she
do?? Wound down her window and told him to slow down!!!! When I
suggested she move into the inside lane, she retorted that it was the
slow lane and she was doing the speed limit.

Graeme Wall...

That assumes her speedo was accurate, no guarantee, it could legally be 10%
out so she could have been doing 63, not 70. Secondly if the inside lane was
clear she should have moved into it regardless of what speed she was doing.
A policeman would have been justified in booking both drivers for driving
without due care and attention.

Charani...

She didn't have the right to be there because she was in the middle
lane of a 3 lane motorway, therefore, she was in the first overtaking
lane and there was nothing on the inside lane, so she wasn't over
taking anything. She should have been in the inside lane but wasn't
because she had the fixed, but erroneous, idea that the inside lane
was the slow lane. There's no such thing on British motorways.

Peter...

But did she know what the speed limit was?And even if she did, it's
not up to her to police it by ignoring other rules of the road

I never road with her again.

Problems occur whenn two cars that have passed left and right return to middle
at the same time.

CWatters...

Particularly the M11 :-)

Don Phillipson...

The rules of the road vary between US states. I was
once charged in California with changing lanes too
often when (on a motorway) I overtook several vehicles
in British style, viz. moved past a slower vehicle in the
slow lane and then returned to the same lane myself.
If some US states train you to remain in (either)
lane indefinitely, tourists' driving habits may reflect this.

willers...

I've never heard of such a thing. The driving lane is for driving and if
you're inclined to pass you move into the left lane (right in Britain), pass
and then move back into the driving lane. If you anticipate passing a number
of cars in one go then it's safer and easier to stay in the passing lane
unless someone behind you is trying to pass *you*. It's pretty standard in
North America to use the right lane for driving and the left for passing and
to return to the driving lane once you've done your passing. In fact where
I am in Canada if you fail to return to the driving lane after passing and
are blocking other cars from passing you can be charged. On a multi-lane
freeway (motorway?) you're supposed to find the lane with cars doing your
speed and basically stick with it rather than speeding up, changing lanes to
pass and then settling into cruising speed again. I wonder what this has to
do with genealogy.

Tom Perrett...

Well when we are over there driving we have
to be very careful that we don't pass on what
you folks call the inside.

On our (Aus) motorways, if the lane
you are in is moving faster that the lane
on your right, well you just go right on
and pass on what you call the inside.

CWatters...

The problem we have is that many only have two lanes and the left hand lane
is full of lorries that are speed limited to 60mph. You soon find a there is

Peter...

56mph

one car driver doing 62 in the right hand lane. A queue builds up behind him
and he doesen't take any oportunity to pull over to let the queue past.

It is the lane that is important not the
overall motorway, although to be
truthful some now have signs up
"Keep left unless overtaking" and
they enforce them.

But even there passing traffic in
other lanes is the go.

Tom

Liz J...

In my experience of the M6, this is also what happens here. There have been
many times when the slowest lane on the M6 has been the 3rd lane.

myths...

The UK "rules" about which side to overtake on motorways do not apply
in "lane-driving" situations (my terminology).

In "lane-driving" situations, one stays in lane for good or ill;
passing or being passed by vehicles in other lanes.

Cheers,

Tom [Tom Perrett]
Proud to be member of Melbournee DPS, first