Cracking down on middle lane hoggers...

[alycidon]

If I can see that there is a slow-moving vehicle in the left-hand lane at some distance and that if I turn into that lane I will shortly have to come back into the middle lane, I may decide that it is better (less risky) not to make the two manoeuvres. Of course that doesn't excuse lane-hogging when there is plenty of room in the left-hand lane but only to suggest that there ought to be some flexibility about the law here.

This is exactly the point, and I hope that there will be laid down a sensible distance after which the police can pull you over. It should not be difficult for the boys in blue to identify a typical middle lane hogger, as distinct from a driver who is merely using the middle lane to overtake a tranche of slow vehicles in the inside lane, albeit a longish spaced-out tranche.

I do hope that the police will be sensible about this.

[alycidon]

There is something about driving which makes it particularly difficult for a discussion to remain good natured and civilised, most particularly when there is a divergence of opinion. So I explicitly preface this with "any offence is unintentional"!

I don't know why you should think that, Simon. I think that you have added a very well reasoned analysis to the debate, and we want to see it from all angles.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There's one thing to like about Ferney - when expressing his opinions he's never backward in coming forward.

I should think not! The fuss people made when I was going in the right direction!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5207465/Pensioner-on-mobility-scooter-rescued-from-motorway.html

[Resurrection Man]

40,000 miles you poor b

But think of the Green Shield Stamps !

[Simon B]

40,000 miles you poor b

I quite agree - especially if one intended implication was the possible effect on my sanity, as reflected in my postings . As you would expect, most of it is work related. Utopian notions of escaping it all aside, there isn't much viable alternative. I'd far rather be in Wester Ross, but from experience, therein lies more mostly unavoidable driving anyway...

I don't know why you should think that, Simon. I think that you have added a very well reasoned analysis to the debate, and we want to see it from all angles.

As you may have noticed, these MBs have a tendency to explode into heated disputes, sometimes simply due to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. That said, they're nothing compared with many MBs on the internet, but that's another story. I've no desire to fall out with anyone, so it's sometimes safer to preface with a disclaimer, then bury whatever my point was in acres of inflated verbiage so no-one reads it anyway .

To get back to the point, I would reiterate that I'll be amazed if there are more than a handful of tickets dished out for this by the near-extinct police presence on motorways, and those that are will be in the truly blatant cases.

Whatever our slightly varying views on the minutiae, I reckon everyone who's expressed an opinion here is automatically disqualified by default. Whatever your custom is, you've thought about it, there is a reasoned basis for your approach, and you almost certainly pay attention to what's going on around you.

Meanwhile, there is an extreme minority who really do plonk themselves in the middle lane and just sit there, sometimes for miles on end. They usually appear completely oblivious to what is going on around them (an alarming tendency at nearly 30 m/s) and seem not to notice the effect they're having on the entire road. They routinely end up being flashed, tailgated, blasted with horns etc and still seem mystified as to what the problem is. They really need dealing with, not just because of the lane hogging but because of the vacant approach to being responsible for a lethal projectile at high speed it implies.

Everyone else needs to keep calm, make allowances for the reality that everyone will have slightly different views about when it is or isn't reasonable to be in lane x and generally be reasonable. On the whole, I'd say things have actually got quite a lot better in the last 10 years, though I may be in a minority of one!

[Resurrection Man]

Interesting the perception that there are fewer traffic police. If this is based on visible police cars then I'd agree. However there are an awful lot of unmarked police cars.

I went past one a bit (well, more than a bit) over the limit and as I approached it I thought that it seemed a bit strange ..odd bit of equipment on the rear parcel shelf. A bit further on he overtook me, blue lights on (behind the front grille) and as he went past, I looked at him and mouthed 'Sorry'. He pulled in front of me and the odd bit of equipment lit up saying 'Please slow down' which naturally I did and gave a quick flash of my headlamps.

The sign changed to 'Thank You' and he sped off.

[Simon B]

Interesting the perception that there are fewer traffic police. If this is based on visible police cars then I'd agree. However there are an awful lot of unmarked police cars.

In some areas there are no longer any routine police patrols of motorways at all, marked or otherwise. For example, South Wales constabulary stopped patrolling the M4 some years ago (e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...es/8264788.stm - though this specific example may have been reversed, it's hard to tell). Rapid response police vehicles are then used to cover both traffic and other emergencies but not much/any routine enforcement.

Unmarked cars? Depends what you mean by a lot, but I see the same few regularly either attending a crash, having done a bit of shooting-fish-in-a-barrel and pulled a random member of the 90mph+ set or using ANPR rigs to target vehicles whose registrations are flagged on the database for one reason or another. You see the same few cars on the M4 in each area, the same few on the M6 in e.g. West Mids and Cheshire, the same few on the M3 in Hampshire, the M1 in W Yorks, the M11 near Cambridge etc.

If you drive 100 motorway miles I'd guess there's a reasonable chance you'll pass one. So, I suppose if you're consistently doing something extreme there's a reasonable chance of getting caught. On the other hand you only have to compare the rate of convictions for mobile phone use with the probability of seeing someone using one within the first few miles you're on a motorway (i.e. 100%) to see that the chances of detection are minimal for this sort of thing.

[teamsaint]

40,000 miles you poor b

That is what I do too.
I am taking up Wagner,to supplement the Bruckner and Mahler.

[teamsaint]

Interesting the perception that there are fewer traffic police. If this is based on visible police cars then I'd agree. However there are an awful lot of unmarked police cars.

I went past one a bit (well, more than a bit) over the limit and as I approached it I thought that it seemed a bit strange ..odd bit of equipment on the rear parcel shelf. A bit further on he overtook me, blue lights on (behind the front grille) and as he went past, I looked at him and mouthed 'Sorry'. He pulled in front of me and the odd bit of equipment lit up saying 'Please slow down' which naturally I did and gave a quick flash of my headlamps.

The sign changed to 'Thank You' and he sped off.

So THAT is what you keep your charm for RM !! Knew there must be something.

The OB in Wiltshire mostly seem to drink coffee in quiet beauty spots.

[Nick Armstrong]

I gave a quick flash...

The sign changed to 'Thank You' and he sped off.

I agree with teamster - that goes down as hi-tech flirting.

Can't be safe.

Welcome back RM