Scary motorway incident

[VectraMan]

It's not necessarily illegal, but it's extremely dangerous. It's much more likely that somebody will pull in, having failed to check their blind spot, than that they will pull out without doing so.

Indeed, but once you've followed somebody for half a mile who's determined to block the outside the chances of the pulling over the moment you overtake on the left are slim. You have to weigh up the risks, and calmly overtaking on the left is typically safer than getting wound up, driving inches from the car in front, skewed slightly to the right so they can see you in their driver's mirror, flashing your lights and waving your arms.

Okay so you shouldn't do that (and I admit that I have), but if you follow at a safe respectful distance, then the person behind you thinks you are the problem and gives you the same treatment.

All of this avoided if you just overtake the idiot on the left, giving them a friendly wave as you do so.

[darmstadt]

outside lane

Right hand lane

[VectraMan]

Right hand lane

Left hand lane.

The "fast lane" or second overtaking lane is on the inside, not the outside (it's nearer the middle). The outside lane is the left lane, incorrectly called "the slow lane" in the UK. In the Euro zone (where you are), it's the right hand lane, unless you're in Ireland, in which case it's the left hand lane.

HTH.

[Spacecadet]

Oh aye you can always tell exactly what's happening on a fast moving motorway when someone's relaying the info to you on a web site! 'WTF were you doing in lane 3 when lane 2 was 'clear'? Maybe it wasnt ******* clear? Maybe a car in lane 1 was indicating to pull into lane 2 ahead so he moved into lane 3?

**** me, such visionaries on here!

wilmslow didn't mention any vehicles indicating to use lane 2 or any other reason why he wasn't in lane 2 except for the fact that he was "keeping pace with lane 3"

I lose count of how many times each week I have to go from lane 1 to lane 3 just to pass some idiot(s) sat in the middle lane on a near empty motorway

[NickFitz]

The "fast lane" or second overtaking lane is on the inside, not the outside (it's nearer the middle). The outside lane is the left lane, incorrectly called "the slow lane" in the UK.

Not correct. The inside of a road for a given direction of travel is the side adjacent to the kerb. The presence of a central divide, such as a barrier or verge, between individual carriageways that together constitute a single road doesn't make any difference: the kerb always marks the inside of each direction.

Two-or-more-lane one-way streets therefore have two inside lanes, one on each side

[stek]

.....his number plate reads F 6REG because he's one of those toolheads who rearranges the digits. At last! someone's getting nicked for it!

I saw one last week on the M621 in Leeds, Reg no. PSY C0 - took me ages to work out it should be (probably) P5 YCO

I don't think it was Stuart Pearce's, was on a crappy 1.6 Japo-box....

[cojak]

The problem is lots of people are scared of overtaking on the left. They think it's illegal or something.

That's because it is illegal.

I know a guy who was done for exactly this - the police charged him with dangerous driving.

Highway Code Rule Number 268:

"Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."

They generally won't do you if you are simply following traffic flow (if you're already in lane 2 and pass traffic in lane 3 because it as slowed down), but anything else is dangerous.

[VectraMan]

Not correct. The inside of a road for a given direction of travel is the side adjacent to the kerb.

But motorways don't usually have a kerb on the left. They only usually have a kerb on the central reservation. Therefore by your logic, the right hand/fast/outside lane is nearest the kerb and therefore the inside.

[VectraMan]

"Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."

They generally won't do you if you are simply following traffic flow (if you're already in lane 2 and pass traffic in lane 3 because it as slowed down), but anything else is dangerous.

I agree that swerving left to overtake is dangerous. But, assuming you're a good driver you would have moved to the left anyway when you'd finished overtaking. The very fact that it's possible to overtake somebody on the left means your lane is going faster than theirs, and the above exception applies.

What happens if there's somebody doing 10mph on the outside lane of a freely moving motorway? Should everybody else in the other two lanes slow down to 10mph because overtaking on the left is "illegal"? Or should common sense prevail?

[sasguru]

I'm making it up, again.

FTFY