rules different in Yorkshire ?

[dcb]

I recently made a journey which included driving
the A1 from Ferrybridge to Scotch Corner.

I made the interesting discovery that users of the road,
even though the left lane was empty for sections of
up to half a mile or so, chose to bunch up in the right
lane, so close that they were less than ten feet from
each other.

Can anyone offer any guidance why it is that users
of the A1 choose to avoid the "drive left" rule,
and prefer to adopt a more continental "drive right and
bunch up" style ?

Has Yorkshire joined the Euro and I don't know about it ?

[JMorgan]

Nice to know things are normal up there to.

[superflid]

I have a theory that all of the "looking in mirrors,indicating,thinking" etc involved in changing lanes would disturb their phone conversations and afternoon naps.

[Mark Benson]

Seems to have been taken up in many parts of the country, almost the entire length of the M4 has become a 'Euro' road between 7am and 7pm.
There is now about 1 tailgating 'incident' a month on the stretch I drive, always the same - two or more cars, front and rears stoved in stopped on the hard shoulder, drivers looking sheepish as plod clears up the mess.

[mondeoman]

Heres a question for you then........ If they're all in the righthand lane (not the right lane) and you overtake them on the left, as we're supposed to drive on the left "when safe to do so", and plod saw you do it, who'd get knicked?? (lets assume for the sake of argument that no speeding was involved)

I get them all the time "I'm doing 70 so I must drive in the outside lane, but if I drop to 65 (cos its a hill dear) then I must drive in the middle lane, but NEVER drive in the inside lane - thats only for lorries". Even at night fer chrissakes, there'll be one or two about. Where do they do the lobotomies for these people, cos I've got a few candidates for the op.....

[plotloss]

I had a conversation about this very topic with an ex-policeman friend of mine.

He said that he, if he comes across a car that is a member of the MLOC and is overtaking nothing then he sails down the inside. The reason being that he has not broken the law, he had nothing to over take so he continued his journey. The fact that he undertook is irrelavent as the person in the middle lane has effectively co-erced you into breaking the law.

Not sure how this would be viewed by the Judge however.

Matt.

[relaxitscool]

I think you have to be a little cute about it. Say you see this queue up ahead and an empty lane 2. I'd pull to lane 2, maintain my speed and justify it by saying I hadn't altered by speed, I just happened to catch up with the people in lane 3 and make a little progress on them.

However, I think I'd have more trouble justifying it if I had tailgated somebody, got fed up , pulled to lane 2 and acclerated past them, then cut back in.....although perhaps they then may take a hint

[M@H]

I tend to approch CLODS/MLODS by Driving down lane 1, then pulling across to lane 3 swiftly behind them whilst flashing headlights, then past them and back to lane 1. Amazingly, about 50% of them still wander along in the middle lane, oblivious to the near clip on the @rse, and close cut up at the front....

..do they have eyes ????

Cheers :-)
Matt

[niggle]

quote:
Heres a question for you then........ If they're all in the righthand lane (not the right lane) and you overtake them on the left, as we're supposed to drive on the left "when safe to do so", and plod saw you do it, who'd get knicked?? (lets assume for the sake of argument that no speeding was involved)

This one comes up all the time on the biker forums, and according to the resident plod, its not illegal. The highway code says that undertaking is a no-no, but there is nothing in the Road Traffic Act that makes it illegal.

If they're going to pull you, then they should pull the numpty at the front of the queue for 'due care and attention'.

[DavidP]

I've not got a highway code to hand, but thinking back to my road safety quiz days , there are four times when one can legally overtake on the left:

1. In a one way street
2. When a vehicle has clearly indicated its intention to turn right
3. In a filter lane at traffic lights
4. When traffic is moving in lanes and the right hand lane is moving slower than the left

With respect to 4., it went on to say that "however, you should not change lanes in order to overtake"

So I suppose it depends on your interpretation of "moving in lanes"

[plotloss]

With regards to Point 4 I had always been told that this was only applicable in VERY slow moving traffic. Motorcycle News did an article a while back about bikes filtering and it was the opinion of the two traffic cops that as long as the speed differential wasnt too high then filter away.

I could see this approach being related to cars as well as I dont think that any traffic policeman on seeing you undertake (bearing in mind this is not a 'weaving' incident but you have been in the left lane for some time) would nick you for it. But, by the same token I dont think he would pull the MLOC member either.

Matt.

[CarZee]

quote:"however, you should not change lanes in order to overtake"

But occifer, I changed lanes to gain braking distance - the traffic to my right then slowed down..

[DavidP]

plotloss
I agree...I think it's a context thing.

Your profile leads me to believe that you will know that very bottom bit of the M1, straight off Staples Corner. Nothing really happens until the on-slip from Scratchwood. One thing that I fequently do is cruise leisurely up the left lane at say 70 ish, whilst the numpties that joined from the North Circ blindly sit in lane 2 for the first 15 miles of their jouney at 60.

I would never do this where there was no hard shoulder (escape route) but if I was tugged by plod, I would expect at least a telling off....probably more.

[xylophone]

See Rule 242 of Highway Code, as follows, at www.roads.dtlr.gov.uk/roadsafety

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.

[mondeoman]

So some think its OK as long as you dont change lanes and some say its a no-no. But the Highway code clearly states (from what I can remember) that on multi carriageways, keep left, pull out to overtake slower moving traffic and then move left again as soon as it is safe to do so. The logic I apply is if this was a single carriageway I'd move left asap, so as long as I can maintain a braking distance to the next vehicle in the left lane, thats where I'll be. Which means that the MLOD in the middle lane gets undertaken, without me "swerving". That'd be my defence if I got pulled ..... (havent had to use it yet tho!)

[Jason F]

So why can't we get Plod out stopping these middle lane hoggers ?

That'd get 80% of the Metro Driving Speed Kills campainers three points and shut the f******rs up for five minutes.

[mondeoman]

Because they're not SPEEDING!!!!!! (just thought we could use a speeding smiley!)