Middle Lane Hoggers E-petition

[LTD]

The flip-side to middle lane hoggers is those that zig-zag in and out as soon as they overtake someone, when good practice would have been just to stay in the lane that they were in.

Undertaking a middle-laner is illegal and dangerous.

Nothing wrong with going from Lane 1 to Lane 3 and back again to lane 1 in order to pass a **** camped up in lane 2.

Should be an immediate 3 point offence to sit in anything but the innermost unoccupied lane. In fact, £100 fixed-fine too and the Traffic Police will be all over it like a rash raising funds, sorry, imposing the law.

 

[flango]

So what's worse? A central lane hogger or the guy/gal who comes up behind him/ her flashing his/her lights so close his/her front number plate can't be read?

Discuss.

Both are illegal and prosecuted under the same section of the road traffic act, so does that make them as equally bad as each other

 

[LTD]

So what's worse? A central lane hogger or the guy/gal who comes up behind him/ her flashing his/her lights so close his/her front number plate can't be read?

Discuss.

The former as the latter would not exist if the lane was free.

 

[rf065]

I simply drive up behind them, go full beam to alert them of my presence, indicate, pass then indicate and pull into the inside lane.

Hopefully some of them will learn to use the inside lane.

I'm afraid they will never change.
Due to numerous government safety campaigns over the years, most of these motorists think that speeding & drunk driving are the only crimes you can commit in a car.

They are neither drunk or speeding, therefore in their eyes they are in the right and it is you who is breaking the law. Watch their smirking faces as the police pull you over for undertaking them while they boldly go for the next hundred miles frustrating everyone around them and clogging up the UK's motorway system with the full co-operation of her majesty's police force and our elected government.
You only have to drive abroad to see it does not have to be this way.

Russ

 

[rf065]

Undertaking a middle-laner is illegal and dangerous.

There is not one law in this country that actually states that, so it isn't!

Russ

 

[Dieselman]

What amuses me about middle lane drivers is that they will speed up or slow down with the vehicle in front, but won't pull out to pass it.
If they want to go faster they wait until the vehicle in front clears, however long that takes, then they boot it..weird.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Undertaking a middle-laner is illegal and dangerous.

Nothing wrong with going from Lane 1 to Lane 3 and back again to lane 1 in order to pass a **** camped up in lane 2.

Should be an immediate 3 point offence to sit in anything but the innermost unoccupied lane. In fact, £100 fixed-fine too and the Traffic Police will be all over it like a rash raising funds, sorry, imposing the law.

How could that be judged though? What if you didn't want to pull into the middle lane because there was a foreign lorry on the inside lane up someone's backside and you weren't sure whether he would see you if you pulled into the middle lane?

I'm a very observational motorway driver and I know that zig-zagging can be just as bad practice as lane hogging.

 

[Mercy1]

The flip-side to middle lane hoggers is those that zig-zag in and out as soon as they overtake someone, when good practice would have been just to stay in the lane that they were in.

Strictly speaking - he's right, you're wrong...

And he knows it...enough to flaunt it!

...but I'm with you...

 

[flango]

There is not one law in this country that actually states that, so it isn't!

Russ

I beg to differ it is most certainly illegal to undertake in the UK. If you went past a middle lane hog in lane one and stayed there i agree probably not an offence, but the second you move into lane 2 you have committed the offence of undertaking and will be prosecuted under section 3 RTA

 

[BTB 500]

There is not one law in this country that actually states that, so it isn't!

It contravenes the Highway Code though. The only situation where you are allowed to pass on the left is in heavy traffic

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.

 

[flango]

Magistrates Guidelines for the offence of undertaking require them to consider a level 5E fine which means a fine of up to £5000 and they must endorse the offenders license, they can also consider disqualification for this offence.

 

[Igurisu]

It contravenes the Highway Code though. The only situation where you are allowed to pass on the left is in heavy traffic

This is my understanding also, it contravenes the highway code. What I am not sure about if is the highway code is law or legally enforceable in all aspects.

My (mis)understanding is that the highway code is a guide, not fixed law, although many areas are in fact law, not all are.

 

[flango]

This is my understanding also, it contravenes the highway code. What I am not sure about if is the highway code is law or legally enforceable in all aspects.

My (mis)understanding is that the highway code is a guide, not fixed law, although many areas are in fact law, not all are.

The Highway code is exactly that a code, it is not law and not enforceable in law i.e you cannot prosecute for contravention of the highway code.

however because the highway code is considered the best practice and is what you learn in order to pass your driving test then if you do not adhere to what is says and are observed doing so by the police, the catch all is prosecution is under section 3 of the RTA

 

[rf065]

From an article in a recent bike magazine, a police instructor stated that you could pass a middle lane hogger on the inside, legally, although most police would not see it that way and would charge you for it. However, in these circumstance a good lawyer would win your case, at a cost of course. I'll need to see if I still have the article.

Russ

 

[Clivefa]

I was driving west-bound on the M-8 last night and I noticed the inside lane was completely empty and in middle lane was car after car doing between 50-60 mph, it got me thinking. All these people must not be aware of the function of the middle lane, it must be ignorance. I thought to myself, would it be possible to get an e-petition with 100'000 signatories, to debate this and possibly legislate in parliament! i.e motorway driving should be part of driving lessons and test and fines for offenders.

I for one would be in favour of a fine for middle lane hoggers because IMO they are the main cause of unnecessary traffic jams and alot of personal frustration while driving on the motorway.

what does every-one think?

They are know as "clogs" (centre lane owners group) round this way.

 

[MOCAŠ]

Magistrates Guidelines for the offence of undertaking require them to consider a level 5E fine which means a fine of up to £5000 and they must endorse the offenders license, they can also consider disqualification for this offence.

Need to be careful with terminology here to avoid confusing the issue, flanaia1. There is no offence of undertaking - as you have already pointed out, it is simply an example of behaviour used to support a prosecution for dangerous, careless or inconsiderate driving. Other examples include tailgating, tuning a radio, lighting a cigarette or using a handheld device.

 

[steve333]

From an article in a recent bike magazine, a police instructor stated that you could pass a middle lane hogger on the inside, legally, although most police would not see it that way and would charge you for it. However, in these circumstance a good lawyer would win your case, at a cost of course. I'll need to see if I still have the article.

Russ

Undertaking is a daily exercise for thousands of motorists on the M25 during rush hour(lanes 1&2 usually move quicker than lane 3&4 from my experience)

 

[neilrr]

Twice today on the M4 I had drivers get on the motorway & go straight across all the lanes to get into the RH lane about a car length in front of me.

WTF is that all about?

 

[flango]

Need to be careful with terminology here to avoid confusing the issue, flanaia1. There is no offence of undertaking - as you have already pointed out, it is simply an example of behaviour used to support a prosecution for dangerous, careless or inconsiderate driving. Other examples include tailgating, tuning a radio, lighting a cigarette or using a handheld device.

You are quite right Mocas, sorry when I re read my post I agree my use of terminology was quite poor

You are quite correct there is no "offence" of undertaking however in law there is an "act" of undertaking, which in the situation we are discussing would be a car travelling past the hogger car in lane 2 in lane 1 and then returning to lane 2. This is what magistates consider as the "act" of undertaking. It could obviously also apply to a car undertaking in lane 2 and then moving back to lane 3, or lane 3 into 4, you get the picture

 

[312 Sprinter]

I'm going to start a petition to ban people from demanding more and more pointless legislation. There is quite enough of it and it ought to be banned.....