Ethnic drivers & lane hogging. True or racist?

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neilrr

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Louis Stead insists 'I'm no racist' after rant on LinkedIn | Daily Mail Online

Mr Stead wrote on LinkedIn:

'I am fuming! I am sick to the back teeth of drivers, mostly van drivers or ethnic minority drivers in the UK hogging lane two and lane three or motorways or dual carriageways.

'If you are a van driver or you employ them, or if you are ethnic minority or know van drivers or ethnic minority drivers, please speak with them.

'There seems to be this innate sense of Britishness that is causing everybody to be politically correct and think that it may be racist to post such things.

'Well LinkedIn folk, I'm telling you. I am no racist.

'Nor am I against van drivers but I have seen this morning, driving from Bristol to Brighton far too many vans and far too many ethnic minority drivers hogging lane 2 and lane 3 and this is dangerous.

'It causes other drivers who cannot get past to undertake.

'Lane hogging is a criminal offence and can land you in prison if its causes a collision whereby people are injured. At the very least, it is classed as careless driving - three points and a fine minimum.

'Remember keep left and only use lane two and three to overtake in.

'I'm texting my ethnic minority friends after this post to tell them to tell their family members who are maybe not so British to remind them of the law of the UK.'
 
Yeah, I spotted that & deleted the poll. I think there are actually more than 2 questions & a poll would be overly complicated

Just expound on any views you may have below.
 
Personally its a problem I don't encounter much.
but I don't see you an generalise and as for ethnicity how can you tell unless its a foreign vehicle.
I think Louis Stead needs to learn a little patience and tolerance, but I don't know him.
 
Yeah I have seen a lot of middle lane hogging although I couldn't pinpoint it as to one type of person or another. I was surmising I'd probably say morons but they come in all creeds! haha

Culturally there are difference in how people drive though, that's to be expected. I suspect that if you originate from a country where driving standards are somewhat relaxed compared to the UK, will likely take a different view to certain things. That's not racists though, that's just how it is.
 
Definitely true.
Lanes 2 and 3 on the M5 heading south always seems to be full of yamyams who have no idea of lane discipline.
 
I am in no way racist, i have black, asian and chinese friends but the majority of black people cannot drive! Whenever i am passenger in 1 of their cars i am always gripping on for dear life because of their wiggling about all over the road and jerky driving, cutting up other road users, going straight across roundabouts you know not following the lane they are in, pulling out in front of other road users, sharply appling the brakes when on a country road going round a bend, contantly being in the wrong lane at junctions, there is a running joke i have with my friend chooks that after all there is the film “white men cant jump” so how about “black men cant drive” :D:D
 
OK, here's are some of the fallacies...... :

a. What percentage exactly of middle-lane white-van hoggers are of ethnic minority? How has this been established? Most probably the person who wrote this was held-up once or twice in the past year by a white van driven by an Asian-looking or black person, enough for him to reach a conclusion regarding the entire UK's white-van drivers population.

b. What is the percentage of ethnic minority drivers out of the overall white-van drivers population, on that particular stretch of road? If (say) 80% of white van drivers are 'of ethnic minority', then you would expect 80% of white-van lane-hoggers to be 'of ethnic minority' as well. But if it turns-out that (say) 60% of white-van lane-hoggers are 'of ethnic minority', then clearly ethnic minorities are better drivers overall than the rest of us and we should all learn from them.

c. Is there a correlation between one's genealogy and the quality of their driving? This would be a fascinating study. But until then.... the more likely explanation is that a dark bearded man driving the van that is holding you up is doing so not because of his ethnicity, but simply because his other car is a BMW.

So in a nutshell.... a bigot, an not very bright one.
 
I'm neither a bigot, nor particularly dim (most of the time...). Nor am I a racist or a moron, though I don't have much time for the sillier, more extreme and poisonous aspects of the PC culture.

I drive motorways mostly around west London and Buckinghamshire, commuting from Beaconsfield to Heathrow. I'm inclined to agree that, for whatever reason, non-white drivers are to a minor extent more likely to be hogging the wrong lane than white.

However, I bear in mind that many such drivers will have learnt to drive in countries where driving standards, driving practices, the driving test itself, and the culture and pace of life are much different to the UK's. In Saudi Arabia women driving at all is rare; in some cultures driving is seen as the modern version of leading the donkey on which the man sits, so most of the driving is done by women.

Mutter something rude under your breath if you must, but a little consideration goes a long way.

Mind you, middle-lane hoggers on almost-deserted motorways do get my goat. I usually pass them on the inside, trying to establish eye contact as I do so, and shake my head sadly as I pull ahead. It often works. Flashing them as I come up behind them is usually less successful, because they're obviously not paying attention to what they're doing.

Other than ramming, I can see no cure for the occasional one who pulls over to the left-hand lane to let me pass, then pulls straight back into the middle lane immediately afterwards.
 
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I hope this is a joke...
 
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