Idiotic copper

[Dieselman]

Well , it could be argued that if maintaining 70 he isn't holding anyone up .

So, are these lane hoggers really are doing it to be acting as law enforcers...?

Perhaps they would like to observe the relevant law that says move to the left if possible instead of being pompous fools.

 

[E55BOF]

Well , it could be argued that if maintaining 70 he isn't holding anyone up .

Only by pompous fools....

 

[219]

So, are these lane hoggers really are doing it to be acting as law enforcers...?

Perhaps they would like to observe the relevant law that says move to the left if possible instead of being pompous fools.

No argument from me re proper use of lanes .

However , if lane 1 is full of trucks sitting at 56 mph on their limiters , a few towing trailers at 60 , and Miss Daisy doing whatever speed , then someone maintaining 70 past all of them in lane 2 really ought not to be holding anyone up .

If there is a third lane then anyone who wishes to pass can still use it .

I don't think speeding is as commonplace as it used to be ; the vast majority of drivers these days seem to keep pretty much to the limits , with those who choose to disregard them sticking out like sore thumbs .

 

[davidjpowell]

N
I don't think speeding is as commonplace as it used to be ; the vast majority of drivers these days seem to keep pretty much to the limits , with those who choose to disregard them sticking out like sore thumbs .

Depends very much where you are in the country. Scotland I'd agree - in the south speeding is still common, when traffic allows.

 

[Howard]

I don't think speeding is as commonplace as it used to be ; the vast majority of drivers these days seem to keep pretty much to the limits , with those who choose to disregard them sticking out like sore thumbs .

Really ?

Not driven much in southern England recently ? Come and have a little drive on the m25 , m3 , m4 , m40 lol.

If its not stationary traffic , it's a racetrack !

 

[wilsodg]

There are times on the M3 (usually SW-bound around 7.30 pm) when middle land is steady 85-90, and 3rd lane is steady 95 - but not many lane hoggers and it's more akin to German driving (disciplined).

I drive a lot in the US, and that is positively scary where there is zero lane discipline, and if you look at their road fatality rates compared to the UK (down this year to a record low of 32,000) I conclude that there is a link. US are 12.3 deaths per 100k population, UK are 2.8 per 100k. I am sure that a lot of the US issues are that they dawdle along completely unaware of what is going on around them ( last trip I noticed an alarming number texting while driving) whilst cars wanting to pass do so left and right weaving as they go and plenty of accidents as a result. UK needs to stop us drifting to the US model. Germany have (IMHO) the best lane discipline and are at 4.8 deaths per 100k population ( but drive a lot faster).

I have a simple rule that was taught to me when younger.. if you are not going to pass another vehicle in the next 10 seconds, then consider moving to the left lane. There are always exceptions, but this argument that if you are doing 70 then you are entitled to drive where you like is positively naive and selfish.

 

[maska]

He sounds like a nasty piece of work.

Now, can you explain why you had to be in lane two...unless you were imminently about to join the A40?

Last Time I Commented On Something Similar : I Was Banned !!

 

[219]

Really ?

Not driven much in southern England recently ? Come and have a little drive on the m25 , m3 , m4 , m40 lol.

If its not stationary traffic , it's a racetrack !

To be fair , I haven't . The last time I went far south was about two years ago , even then keeping myself to 70 , mostly between lanes 1 and 2 as dictated by presence of truckers , and occasionally out to 3 to pass overtaking trucks , caravans etc , most others seemed to be doing the same , with only the occasional speed merchant flashing past .

What I wrote does hold true in Scotland and the northern half of England .

With all the technology available for enforcement nowadays , speeding is a pretty silly thing to do .

 

[brucemillar]

My two penneth worth.

The laws are already in place to deal with lane hogging and bad lane discipline. Unfortunately the Police who Police and enforce these laws are no longer there to do so.

I drive every week twice a week from Kent to Yorkshire and back again:

M2, M25, M11 A1(M), M62, M1.

I am struggling to remember the last time I actually saw a Police Car on my travels.

So (my opinion) this is a vote catcher. It will serve no real purpose and will see very few (if any) prosecutions. I foresee a big backlog of people claiming they were stopped not because of their driving abilities but because of their colour, hairstyle, type of car, age etc. If none of the above they will claim that the Police are no disclosing all the facts; I was forced into lane 2 by a foreign lorry driver just as the Police got behind me, it was a Monday, I was following a Police car who was using the same lane as me.

Sadly the Highway code is seen by today's Yoof as something that brings humiliation and ridicule on them. An owners manual for a PS2 demonstrating a real knowledge of the road. A winning score in Grand Theft Auto being equivalent to an Advanced Drivers and F1 Race License.

The days of the AA patrolman saluting us as we waft past are long gone. You cannot pick up a paper here in Kent without reading about some carnage involving the following elements.

Yoof
Nova
Speed
Passengers

In Yesterdays Kent Messenger Paper there were three cars photographed. All three on their roofs and all involved in separate incidents.

Yoofs
Nova
Speed (Denied)
Passengers (injured)

This was followed (lost inside in a smaller article) by a Mother making a heartfelt plea for youngsters to learn to drive properly. Her 17 year old son having been killed whilst a passenger in his friends car which was crashed heavily. Witnesses and the Judge described the friend as having a sustained period of showing off in the car having passed his test ONE WEEK previously.

As other have said. If the lane to your left is empty? Then use it.

 

[219]

That may again be an area thing .

The two motorways I drive regularly on - M8 and M74 have a very visible police presence and it is not unusual for me on my 34 mile commute to see two or three traffic cars on any journey . When I say 'traffic cars' they can be either BMW saloons or X5 which have all the gear to deal with incidents .

If they are not sitting in their observation points at the side of the motorway , they are frequently seen on the hard shoulder having stopped someone for something or other .

I still regularly drive throughout Scotland and see plenty of police patrols elsewhere too .

Of course , we don't have HATO to do some of the things police still do up here . Even if a police 4x4 is out there on motorway patrol in case of crashes or breakdowns , it still acts as a deterrent and is capable of dealing with lawbreaking - which HATO is not .

 

[BTB 500]

I am struggling to remember the last time I actually saw a Police Car on my travels.

A friend of mine works in a Police control centre and she says they no longer 'patrol' the M25 or (IIRC) the M3. The routine stuff is covered by the HATOs now, if you do see a Police car it's going to be on its way to an incident rather than looking for people to nick.

Speeding is of course mostly enforced via cameras (on gantries or SPECS average speed ones). Re. tailgating, in Germany they have mobile devices they put on motorway bridges to measure the gap between cars. Then you get a ticket through the post (happened to my father in law).

As an aside, I saw a bunch of Police motorbikes on the M25 yesterday making 'good progress' down the outside lane. They were riding in tight formation side-by-side, either 4 or 5 pairs (so 8 or 10 bikes in total) following each other very closely. No idea what that was about?!

 

[Dieselman]

As an aside, I saw a bunch of Police motorbikes on the M25 yesterday making 'good progress' down the outside lane. They were riding in tight formation side-by-side, either 4 or 5 pairs (so 8 or 10 bikes in total) following each other very closely. No idea what that was about?!

Getting the hot doughnuts back to the station, quickly.

 

[219]

Getting the hot doughnuts back to the station, quickly.

Or maybe the CHiPs

 

[flango]

As an aside, I saw a bunch of Police motorbikes on the M25 yesterday making 'good progress' down the outside lane. They were riding in tight formation side-by-side, either 4 or 5 pairs (so 8 or 10 bikes in total) following each other very closely. No idea what that was about?!

Training exercise

 

[BTB 500]

Training exercise

That was my guess, but Saturday afternoon seemed a strange time!

 

[Lord-WYBMAnE220]

My two penneth worth.

The laws are already in place to deal with lane hogging and bad lane discipline. Unfortunately the Police who Police and enforce these laws are no longer there to do so.

Indeed - and it's a sad fact that due to our chronically failing economy, successive governments have had to turn public organisations (those in receipt of tax pounds) into self-financing businesses - which means that police forces have become less about enforcement and more about rationalised revenue generation.

Hell, we don't even see those public informercials on how not to drive ... featuring that incompetent family (whose name I forget) from the 1980's ... someone throw me a line here.

 

[vito stan]

Well , it could be argued that if maintaining 70 he isn't holding anyone up .

The legal speed limit that is aloud is actually 10% over the speed limit so motorway travelling is 77. So someone travel in a non mb car at there speedo reading of 70 is actually travelling at 64ish and someone travel with sat nav speed (gps) 100% accurate of 77 is actually travelling 13mph faster which is a hell of a lot of difference. Imo 75% maybe more of people that overtake you on the motorway have gps speedo.

I say non mb cars because every mb I have driven with sat nav speedo reading has been almost perfect, oh apart from my police vito that was calibrated at new and that is 2 mph slower at 70

 

[Lord-WYBMAnE220]

The legal speed limit that is aloud is actually 10% over the speed limit so motorway travelling is 77

Really ?

 

[brucemillar]

Really ?

Not sure on that. I thought that the courts allowed for +10% or 2mph + 10%.

I am not sure that is the same as claiming to be driving legally driving at 79mph in a 70mph limit.

Could be wrong (I often am). But wifey just got caught speed in a 50mph and was charged with speeding at 59.7. On her "safe driving" course she was told "unlucky" 57 and they would not have prosecuted.

 

[Dieselman]

The legal speed limit that is aloud is actually 10% over the speed limit so motorway travelling is 77. So someone travel in a non mb car at there speedo reading of 70 is actually travelling at 64ish and someone travel with sat nav speed (gps) 100% accurate of 77 is actually travelling 13mph faster which is a hell of a lot of difference. Imo 75% maybe more of people that overtake you on the motorway have gps speedo.

I say non mb cars because every mb I have driven with sat nav speedo reading has been almost perfect, oh apart from my police vito that was calibrated at new and that is 2 mph slower at 70

GPS speedometer. Really?