Reply to: Open letter to motorists

[SupremeSpod]

You're saying that moving into an empty lane rather than ramming into the queue slowing down the entire road is wrong? You really are the biggest tosser on CUK, I really hope you try to barge past some innocent motorist and clip their car, spinning into a tree. It couldn't happen to a better person. I bet you're the kind of driver how thinks they're in the top 10% of good drivers while swearing at other drivers.

Wow, that was a bit of a rant wasn't it?

Yeah the moment anyone seems you come past on the 'wrong' side you can see them close any gap to stop you 'cheating'. I do the same thing myself Although I try to only do it to blatant cheeky sods zooming up rather than sensible folk legitimately going faster in the other lane, it's hard not to play the game of blocking people getting in front.

What's wrong with letting traffic merge as you're supposed to?


What qualifies you to instruct others on how they should drive?

[Spacecadet]

One thing I've learnt is to get a feel for when the motorway reaches the tipping point in terms of volume of traffic.
As lane 3 starts to slow down to under 70 mph, it makes sense to move to lane 1 whilst its still moving slower and there are some nice big gaps.
Tuck in behind a truck, wait a mile or two and you'll soon be whizzing past all the other traffic as lane 3 grinds to a halt.
The real knack is to do it BEFORE the traffic slows down otherwise plod can pull you for undertaking. Do it in advance and you're mearly staying in your lane and keeping pace, as you should do when the traffic is heavy.

Lane use and discipline of in this country is appalling. At a rough estimate at least 75% of drivers will pull into lane 2 at the first opportunity and never go back into lane 1 untill they have to leave the motorway.

[d000hg]

There is of course a knack of motor way driving in heavy traffic, especially when the road keep concerteening (sic)

Move to the left lane as you approach the off of a junction. This becomes free as cars
leave, then move middle to outside as cars coming on will cause it to slow.

That doesn't work in my experience. As you come up to the exit, the left lane gets slow as people all pile in to get off the road after trying to overtake as many cars as possible, or there are just slow-moving cars in that lane to start with.
As oncoming traffic joins, everyone jumps to the right lane to avoid them, and a few of the oncoming cars charge into the right as well because they're obviously in a car that should be overtaking (Audi drivers mainly). Net result is now that lane slows up.

Your tactics seem to be exactly what the herd does, I used to play switching lanes but on balance it doesn't really seem to gain anything other than getting you worn out.

Besides this thread is about when one lane is full and the other empty

[d000hg]

The act of being amongst other drivers is obviously causing you problems so I suggest that working from home will be best for you. At least it will be one less dick-head on the road who assumes that he can give the rest of us a lesson.

You're saying that moving into an empty lane rather than ramming into the queue slowing down the entire road is wrong? You really are the biggest tosser on CUK, I really hope you try to barge past some innocent motorist and clip their car, spinning into a tree. It couldn't happen to a better person. I bet you're the kind of driver how thinks they're in the top 10% of good drivers while swearing at other drivers.

[SupremeSpod]

Would you please NOT all pull out to overtake on a dual-carriageway the moment you can see a lorry in the distance? Every day I run into a huge queue in the overtaking lane a few times, with the other lane totally empty. Often the queue is so long you can't even see the slow moving vehicle; and it just means we end up doing 1mph faster than the lorry for several minutes.

What's the right thing to do here? If you stay in the slow lane to try and prevent making things worse, I feel a bit guilty, even though I'm not burning up the empty road at 90 like an arse (which is another option). I sometimes hope that pulling back into the slow lane might encourage others to do the same, causing the overall traffic speed to increase, but not sure it works.


On the other hand, only 3 more days commuting then I'm working at home full-time.

The act of being amongst other drivers is obviously causing you problems so I suggest that working from home will be best for you. At least it will be one less dick-head on the road who assumes that he can give the rest of us a lesson.

[AtW]

Or am I the only considerate driver left on these roads?

Are you a lorry driver?

[Troll]

To feking lorry drivers. Will you please stop tying to overtake on dural carriageways in order to gain one lorry’s length distance or because your lorry can do .01 mph faster than other lorries. It takes you fekers some five to ten minutes to overtake and often you end up just dropping back.

I know the lorries are physically governed to a speed limit, but what I can't understand is why the fecking driver of the lorry being overtaken doesn't ease off the pedal/disconnect cruise for a few seconds to allow the overtaking lorry a higher speed differential to pass quicker. Or am I the only considerate driver left on these roads?

[SofaKingdom]

****'s sake!

Lovely day in the north west so decided to get the 3 series convertible out and go for a drive.

Decided the missus should drive and get use to the automatic. Set the sat nav up for our destination about 45 minutes away, put the top down and away we go.

First junction on the estate she jumps on the brake and nearly sends me through the windscreen! 'What the hell are you doing?' I says. 'Oh sorry!' says Mrs BB. (Should have stopped her there and then!)

So, off we continue at a sedate pace, no probs, there's no hurry. Im sat in the passenger seat trying not to be overprotective of my baby (I love topless motoring, I really do!) and offer words of comfort and advice 'its an auto so all you have to do is point it and put one foot on the accelerator or brake' kind of thing.

A few twisty roads and we're a bit near the gutter but no worries as these roads dont have kerbs.

Gets to within 800 meters of our destination and there's a bend ahead on the crest of a small hillock with the only kerbs around for miles sat there.

Looking at the line she's taking I can see we'd be getting a bit close to them and Im thinking of saying 'mind the kerbs' when 5 seconds later 'bang' the front near side wheel smacks the kerb followed by another 'bang' as the ******* back wheel hits the kerb!

'What the f*** are you doing?' I say to Mrs BB who pulls over and stops. 'What've I done? she asks

'F***ing hell, you're supposed to have a driving license. All you have to do is point the f***ing thing and you hit the only kerb stones for miles around not once but f***ing twice!'

Gets out of the car and sure enough, the 19 inch alloys are kerbed to f*** and the car has less than 4000 miles on it from new!

I walk off in a right strop for half an hour to try and cool down. Then I've got to get back in and drive home with Mrs BB blubbering away.

Had a good look at the alloys once we got home and they are well f***ed. I'll have to get the tracking checked as a precaution too.

Going to make enquiries on Monday to see if they can be refurbed or whether they are write offs (dont look to be but you never know.)

I reckon refurbs is going to be about 100 per wheel. If new alloys required think Im looking at 500 each corner. Ouch!

I should have known better.

Looks really good! Think I may trade the 3 series convertible in for one when the time comes! Only about 30k too, a snip!

BMW X3 | Image | Auto Express

Yep and you'll always find its an Audi A4, A5 or VW Golf driver at the front of the queue.

Your capability to post in motoring related threads should be removed as you are clearly without even the faintest clue.

HTH But IDI

[BolshieBastard]

Would you please NOT all pull out to overtake on a dual-carriageway the moment you can see a lorry in the distance? Every day I run into a huge queue in the overtaking lane a few times, with the other lane totally empty. Often the queue is so long you can't even see the slow moving vehicle; and it just means we end up doing 1mph faster than the lorry for several minutes.

What's the right thing to do here? If you stay in the slow lane to try and prevent making things worse, I feel a bit guilty, even though I'm not burning up the empty road at 90 like an arse (which is another option). I sometimes hope that pulling back into the slow lane might encourage others to do the same, causing the overall traffic speed to increase, but not sure it works.


On the other hand, only 3 more days commuting then I'm working at home full-time.

Yep and you'll always find its an Audi A4, A5 or VW Golf driver at the front of the queue.

[Sysman]

There is of course a knack of motor way driving in heavy traffic, especially when the road keep concerteening (sic)

Move to the left lane as you approach the off of a junction. This becomes free as cars
leave, then move middle to outside as cars coming on will cause it to slow.

Going back to when I spent a lot of time on motorways, I often found it better to get in the inside lane with the trucks. This cut out the stop/start/fast/slow cycle you get in the other lanes. It could be just as fast, but without the blood pressure.

I do tend to let trucks out into the middle lane, because I know what a pain it is for them to lose momentum and have to build it up again. The drivers tend to be grateful and will usually acknowledge what you did. Good vibes rather than stress definitely help a journey.

[MarillionFan]

Yeah the moment anyone seems you come past on the 'wrong' side you can see them close any gap to stop you 'cheating'. I do the same thing myself Although I try to only do it to blatant cheeky sods zooming up rather than sensible folk legitimately going faster in the other lane, it's hard not to play the game of blocking people getting in front.

There is of course a knack of motor way driving in heavy traffic, especially when the road keep concerteening (sic)

Move to the left lane as you approach the off of a junction. This becomes free as cars
leave, then move middle to outside as cars coming on will cause it to slow.

[MrMark]

Lane choppers in slow heavy traffic really take the biscuit. You see them cut across various lanes in order to choose what they think is the faster moving lane. Then they do it again as they realise the faster moving lane has slowed down. Eventually when the general traffic starts moving again you see they've advanced maybe 10 yards, at the risk of various collisions and raised blood pressure across the lanes.

[VectraMan]

To feking lorry drivers. Will you please stop tying to overtake on dural carriageways in order to gain one lorry’s length distance or because your lorry can do .01 mph faster than other lorries. It takes you fekers some five to ten minutes to overtake and often you end up just dropping back.

I have sympathy for the lorry drivers as they can't go much faster. It's the people in perfectly good cars that choose to do 61mph that really annoy me. If I ever looked in my mirror and saw I was holding up a whole line of cars I'd want to die of shame, but some people just don't have the considerate gene.

In fact, I often go out of my way to let the lorries pull out to overtake each other. It's a little annoying sitting behind them for minutes at a time, but has the benefit of giving me an open road to put my foot down once they do pull in. And it usually only takes a minute or so to catch up with the same 61mph idiot I'd have been stuck behind anyway, so no loss of time for me.

[Paddy]

To feking lorry drivers. Will you please stop tying to overtake on dural carriageways in order to gain one lorry’s length distance or because your lorry can do .01 mph faster than other lorries. It takes you fekers some five to ten minutes to overtake and often you end up just dropping back.

Secondly if you want to read a newspaper or light up a fag; can you stop and do that rather than wonder across the lanes.

Thirdly, can you take those feking headphones off so that you can hear that ambulance trying to get passed.

[SueEllen]

Why can't people just stick to the outside lane and floor it, like me?

Cos when the police are behind you it's safer to be on an inside lane as it forces you to stick to the speed limit.