Cracking down on middle lane hoggers...

[teamsaint]

I suspect that one of the "problems" on motorways is that the three lanes on busy motorways tend to do relatively similar speeds.
The heyday of the 90 MPH fast lane is gone. Although quite a lot of people do go up to that kind of speed, there are just too many OB , cameras etc for the reps to risk points.


As for traffic forecasts...that report just tells us what it wants to, which in the long run is that the government wants to tax road use by the mile.

[Sir Velo]

But it's always about the motorist.
Never about the pedestrian, whose domain has been virtually obliterated.

Probably shouldn't be on motorways in the first place.

[Sir Velo]

There are more dangerous things (nutters who overtake at speed on the left - or rather, 'under'-take - being one thing)

They're probably dealing with middle lane hoggers...

[Serial_Apologist]

Middle leg huggers can be a nuisance too, when not wanted...

[teamsaint]

down here we have Hog Lane Muddlers, but only during the season.

[Nick Armstrong]

Middle leg huggers can be a nuisance too, when not wanted...

Esp. when piloting the old Armstrong Siddeley at optimum cruising speed

[Nick Armstrong]

a pedant writes:

"the slow lane" does not and never has exist(ed). No such thing. There's a driving lane and 1 or maybe 2 or 3 overtaking lanes.

Not pedantic at all, I quite agree - I never call it the 'slow lane'. If circumstances permit, I drive along that lane as briskly and legally as in any other lane.

[amateur51]

down here we have Hog Lane Muddlers, but only during the season.

[teamsaint]

Esp. when piloting the old Armstrong Siddeley at optimum cruising speed

Well I will take your word for it Cal, but I don't remember my dad complaining.............

[Bryn]

Let's face it. They are about as likely to enforce such new legislation as they do that pertaining to mobile phone use while driving.

[mercia]

isn't the idea that they will be on-the-spot fines, without the need to take people to court, so much easier to enforce ?

[teamsaint]

will the OB be given the powers to fine themselves on the spot when they drive like idiots?

[french frank]

isn't the idea that they will be on-the-spot fines, without the need to take people to court, so much easier to enforce ?

Or cameras and fixed penalties? Easier to spot than people phoning, I should think.

[vinteuil]

... I don't think it's quite as simple as some of the virtuous here claim.

Situation A : many cars moving slowly in the left hand lane, all quite close together. Clearly I drive ("at 70mph, officer... ") past them all in the middle lane, as if overtaking them all en bloc.

Situation B : a few cars moving slowly in the left hand lane, miles apart. Clearly I overtake them one at a time in the middle lane, reverting to the left hand lane in betweenwhiles.

However - much of the time I am driving on the M4 or M40 there is an intermediate -

Situation C : quite a lot of cars moving relatively slowly in the left hand lane ("I would say at 67 mph, officer... "), with relatively large gaps between - but only so large that once one has overtaken one car and reverted to the left hand lane one fairly soon has to overtake the next, and so on. If there is little traffic in the middle lane ( looking in the mirror helps... ) it seems to me that endless weaving in and out from the left hand to the middle lane and back again may be ostentatiously virtuous but not really sensible.

It will be a matter of judgment when Situation C blurs into situations A or B.

We have discussed Wang's Paradox (or Sorites) on these Threads before...

[Nick Armstrong]

Agreed, vinrouge... I think we are only talking about situations where it makes no sense to stay in the central lane i.e. "hogging" ... as opposed to being there because it either arguably or clearly makes sense given the other traffic conditions.