Motorway gap fillers
Discussion
Here's an everyday situation that requires the patience of a saint. You're on a busy three lane motorway with a fair amount of traffic in lanes 1 and 2 but nose to tail cars in lane 3. In fairness, you can't blame the drivers in lane 3 because the speed is about 55mph and the traffic in lanes 1 and 2 is doing about 53mph.
So, you're sitting in the lane 3 queue, trying to leave something like a two second gap to the car in front - not enough, really, because the road is wet but you're horribly aware of the car 10 feet behind. Then, of course, he sees a gap in lane 2, undertakes and pulls back in front of you, having gained one car length advantage. You grit your teeth and drop back again, only to find that the next car does the same thing, and the next. You feel like you're going steadily backwards and the temptation to do as everyone else does and close the gap to the car in front is hard to resist. Trouble is, many drivers obviously see the gap I'm leaving to the car in front and, I guess without really thinking about it, feel that I'm going unnecessarily slowly and holding them up. You can see the frustration on their faces in the mirror as they close up to "push" me to go faster!
I know that I could either drop back to lane 2 or just pull off and have a cup of tea but I on the occasion I have in mind I had a long way to go and wanted to make progress as much as the next man.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
So, you're sitting in the lane 3 queue, trying to leave something like a two second gap to the car in front - not enough, really, because the road is wet but you're horribly aware of the car 10 feet behind. Then, of course, he sees a gap in lane 2, undertakes and pulls back in front of you, having gained one car length advantage. You grit your teeth and drop back again, only to find that the next car does the same thing, and the next. You feel like you're going steadily backwards and the temptation to do as everyone else does and close the gap to the car in front is hard to resist. Trouble is, many drivers obviously see the gap I'm leaving to the car in front and, I guess without really thinking about it, feel that I'm going unnecessarily slowly and holding them up. You can see the frustration on their faces in the mirror as they close up to "push" me to go faster!
I know that I could either drop back to lane 2 or just pull off and have a cup of tea but I on the occasion I have in mind I had a long way to go and wanted to make progress as much as the next man.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
You answer your own question.
At 53 mph they have gained an advantage of nearly a whole second. If you let one hundred cars do this (they won't), you might lose upto 2 minutes. Which is nothing, compared with pressing on a bit when the traffic does clear and it is safe to do so.
Your number one priority is your and your passengers' safety.
I tend to sit back into lane one or two, hopping out where I need to to pass lorries, and let them queue up.
When it clears I get a nice empty bit of road to drive in.
Probably best to stop driving before either of these stress-relievers.
gdaybruce said:
Then, of course, he sees a gap in lane 2, undertakes and pulls back in front of you, having gained one car length advantage.
At 53 mph they have gained an advantage of nearly a whole second. If you let one hundred cars do this (they won't), you might lose upto 2 minutes. Which is nothing, compared with pressing on a bit when the traffic does clear and it is safe to do so.
Your number one priority is your and your passengers' safety.
I tend to sit back into lane one or two, hopping out where I need to to pass lorries, and let them queue up.
When it clears I get a nice empty bit of road to drive in.
gdaybruce said:
I know that I could just pull off and have a cup of tea
Probably best to stop driving before either of these stress-relievers.
I was in this situation the other day - trying to maintain a safe following distance and yet make the best progress. On a two-lane stretch of the A1 southbound, lane 1 was empty for almost a mile and lane 2 was brake/go/brake/go. The stress levels in that lane were almost palpable. I 'retired' into lane 1, keeping my speed down, so that I couldn't be accused of undertaking. After a couple of minutes, several of the drivers in lane 2 (the ones with mirrors fitted) who were some distance ahead, must have noticed me pottering along all by myself because remarkably, quite a few then moved into lane 1.
Their moves into lane 1 significantly reduced the traffic in the 'overtaking' lane, the gaps between cars increased and I was then able to ask politely if I could come out into lane 2, getting past some of the retirees and, by this time, the heavy which had been causing the obstruction.
All calm, no stress and reasonably progressive
Their moves into lane 1 significantly reduced the traffic in the 'overtaking' lane, the gaps between cars increased and I was then able to ask politely if I could come out into lane 2, getting past some of the retirees and, by this time, the heavy which had been causing the obstruction.
All calm, no stress and reasonably progressive
I usually avoid sitting in the lane 3 queue in this situation as I feel that I am an exacerbating the problem of the queue when often I am not actually overtaking anything. I will normally stay in lane 2 and if the traffic there moves a little faster than lane 3, then I am undertaking albeit by default. I would rather do this though than sit in lane 3. Any opinions on whether "undertaking" as I would say by default is a correct thing to do rather than staying in lane 3?
v15ben said:
I usually avoid sitting in the lane 3 queue in this situation as I feel that I am an exacerbating the problem of the queue when often I am not actually overtaking anything. I will normally stay in lane 2 and if the traffic there moves a little faster than lane 3, then I am undertaking albeit by default. I would rather do this though than sit in lane 3. Any opinions on whether "undertaking" as I would say by default is a correct thing to do rather than staying in lane 3?
As far as I am aware, there's nothing wrong with passing slower moving traffic to your right, as long as you don't move to the left to do it.
CommanderJameson said:
As far as I am aware, there's nothing wrong with passing slower moving traffic to your right, as long as you don't move to the left to do it.
There's nothing wrong with moving to your left either. Undertaking is not an offense in the Road Traffic Act. Under the amended Road Traffic Act (if that hateful new Bill gains assent) you could only be prosecuted for 'without reasonable consideration' if other drivers are 'inconvenienced'. In short, my understanding is that you can undertake as long as you don't force anyone to have to change direction or speed.
StressedDave said:
my understanding is that you can undertake as long as you don't force anyone to have to change direction or speed.
On that basis, if I'm exercising my democratic right to sit in lane three (sorry, the 'fast' lane where I belong), and some insolent upstart dives down the inside forcing me to accelerate sharply to box them in and stop them getting ahead of me, *they* are in the wrong? Good news!
Hi Dave - Why? Green V8S hasn't caused the potential overtaker to change speed or direction? He has merely discouraged someone from undertaking before the start of any lane change. Wouldn't the case be in a grey area?
Interesting you feel that the 'fast' lane is where you belong. Interesting that you feel this. Come and sit on my psychologist's couch …
>> Edited by Mark_SV on Wednesday 2nd November 18:17
GreenV8S said:
On that basis, if I'm exercising my democratic right to sit in lane three (sorry, the 'fast' lane where I belong)
Interesting you feel that the 'fast' lane is where you belong. Interesting that you feel this. Come and sit on my psychologist's couch …
>> Edited by Mark_SV on Wednesday 2nd November 18:17
Mark_SV said:
Hi Dave - Why? Green V8S hasn't caused the potential overtaker to change speed or direction? He has merely discouraged someone from undertaking before the start of any lane change. Wouldn't the case be in a grey area?
Highway Code said:
144: Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.
The 'Code defines the standard by which a person's driving is judged under the Road Traffic Act. So acting contrary to the advice/rules in the HC is tantamount in the eyes of the law at minimum to driving without due care . The use of the word dangerous in this particular clause is important. I've certainly had cases in the past where this was held to be dangerous and the offenders got a stretch at Her Majesties God Bless 'Er Pleasure. I could also add that sitting in lane 3 when there is an empty lane two next to you preventing drivers who want to travel faster than you has also been held to be 'driving without insurance' - as most policies specifically prohibit 'pace-setting'.
I don't make the rules, I just used to help enforce them.
>> Edited by StressedDave on Wednesday 2nd November 19:20
This issue of undertaking on a motorway is a real grey area and yet the Highway Code is quite clear. Para 242 says:
"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 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."
That is a pretty comprehensive rule, even if a great many people happily ignore it! To me it means that swapping to a lane to your left to undertake and then pulling back out again is a no no. Where lane 3 is nose to tail and lanes 1 and 2 are empty, however, then you could argue that you are simply "moving faster than traffic to your right".
Personally, I will occasionally do this if I have a clear lane between me and the vehicles I'm undertaking to allow for someone switching out of lane 3 without looking but I always feel slightly guilty doing it. I guess it's not something I'd do if there was a police car behind because I'm not sure what their interpretation of the rules would be.
"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 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."
That is a pretty comprehensive rule, even if a great many people happily ignore it! To me it means that swapping to a lane to your left to undertake and then pulling back out again is a no no. Where lane 3 is nose to tail and lanes 1 and 2 are empty, however, then you could argue that you are simply "moving faster than traffic to your right".
Personally, I will occasionally do this if I have a clear lane between me and the vehicles I'm undertaking to allow for someone switching out of lane 3 without looking but I always feel slightly guilty doing it. I guess it's not something I'd do if there was a police car behind because I'm not sure what their interpretation of the rules would be.
gdaybruce said:
To me it means that swapping to a lane to your left to undertake and then pulling back out again is a no no. Where lane 3 is nose to tail and lanes 1 and 2 are empty, however, then you could argue that you are simply "moving faster than traffic to your right".
I'd agree with that assuming you were either already in lane 1 (say) and just continued along in that lane, OR had made an early move into lane 1 (say) on the basis of picking the line of least resistane.
As far as I'm concerned anyone doing that doesn't get a second look. Anyone pulling hard left and then nailing it up the inside deserves a pull.
Highway Code said:
In these conditions you may keep up with traffic in your lane
If you are accelerating towards the car in front of you you're not 'keeping up' you're gaining.
It really boils my piss when people duck down the left and try and pull into the space I've left.
A friend of mine plays what he calls 'congestion'. Idiot ducks left to undertake (usually an Audi diesel
) he matches their speed so they can't pull in, then when they slow to go behind him he slows. He maintains their speed (fast or slow) until a nice queue has formed behind him (hence congestion). Idiot then has to drop back say 5 places to get back into outside lane. 7db said:
I tend to sit back into lane one or two, hopping out where I need to to pass lorries, and let them queue up.
When it clears I get a nice empty bit of road to drive in.
Ditto, can't be bothered sat in the outside lane queue having to brake constantly as the cars bunch up. Much prefer to sit back and wait for the clear bits and then go.
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