Holiday traffic.

djbsom

How's this for negative thinking?
We are just about to head off to Bristol floating harbour for some food and I've already found myself moaning to Mrs B about the middle lane drivers we're going to meet when the motorway becomes a three lane near Porthcawl.
I need a holiday.

mjn

JUst fit your car with a cow catcher. Sorted.

PSM1

It may be negative but perfectly true. Had it on that stretch of road last Sunday early. Nothing on the road but she was sat in the middle lane. Noticed that she did not seem to like the outside lane if she came up to another middle lane hogger. So I passed her and then had some fun my slowing down to see at what point she would go passed. Got down to 50mph and she still would not move to outside lane. I had to turn off at Pencoed before I could go any slower!!!!

Iain42

Saw it yesterday on the M1 southbound.  Especially bad in the Smart Motorway stretch south of Junction 13, all these overhead signs telling people to use the hard shoulder, but it was almost empty....

PSM1

I find 4 lane motorways even worse for the issue with lanes 1 and 2 almost empty and 3 and 4 full.

djbsom

The frustration for me is that its almost never ignorance. These people know the way multilane roads work.
Usually they are merely an inconvenience, the danger comes when others try to enforce correct lane usage.
I only travelled on 3 and 4 lane motorway for a total of perhaps 100 odd miles but I saw a dozen or more attempts to force middle lane drivers back into the left lane.
Ranging from flashing headlights to aggressive swerving from right to left a few feet in front of the offender. None of these methods worked. They just resulted in negative emotions in all parties. These drivers select the middle lane for their own 'valid' reasons and everyone else can just put up with it. I've never been able to get a logical response why they do it from any of the hundreds of drivers I've had the chance to question on it.
I also noticed how many vehicles with trailers were using the third lane. One pick up driver towing a horse box drove for around a mile in the third (Of 3) lane about six feet behind a transit towing a genset before returning to the middle lane to tailgait a school mini bus for another mile, all whilst the left lane was completely clear.
I'm hugely impressed with the low number of KSI accidents in this country bearing in mind the general standard of driving.

Iain42

Really intriguing post.  Is there a standard response, or particular "reasons" that are most common?

Trollslayer

For those who don't know, "KSI" means killed or seriously injured.

djbsom

sorry, I should have been clearer.

djbsom

Often people say "it's safer" because they don't change lanes.

It's "easier" because they don't change lanes and, after all, "people can go around me. "

"I'm doing the speed limit so no one should be passing me".

"I don't like being behind trucks".

Etc etc.

There's more too it though, I've a two lane dual carriage way near me and I frequently turn left onto it and, after approx 3 miles, turn left at the roundabout at the end. Every single time I use this route one or more of the cars around me turn left into the overtaking lane and stay there until they turn left with me 3 miles down the road. It's bizarre.

I can hand on heart say that every single one of the several thousand pupils I've taught has had a good session on one of the two fast dual carriage way routes near me. I make a very strong point on lane discipline but I still occasionally catch sight of a past pupil cruising in the overtaking lane. Frustrating.

Of course, in 6 weeks I can start taking them on proper motorways.
It's my job to impress on them the importance of good Roadcraft on the motorways. I'm going to buy a knife.