so i see loads of complaints directed toward “lane hoggers”, then people driving agressivly up ppls arse and risking incidents over a few mph.

driving a HGV gives you a good perspective on it…when you get to see a near birds eye view from a truck on the roads, you see 90% of the tailgating and ppl who seem to get annoyed, are getting annoyed that the person infront isnt cutting up the person they passed instantly so they can speed off.

overtaking to me implies you are passing safely and not removing the safe stopping distance or tailgating before passing. 2 seconds before the car infront you move over, 2 seconds gap ahead you pull back over. whole thing can take 15-40 seconds depending on speeds. if the car you passed is leaving a 2 second gap to the one infront, then you cant expect to be let in and simply keep passing until you are past the clump going slower

27 comments
  1. Yeah, I think there are an awful lot of angry people out there at ‘lane hoggers’, when they’re actually just continuing to overtake. I’m not changing lane for the sake of 45 seconds, I will continue as I am otherwise I’m switching, and switching back – there may not even be space for me to switch back into if I switched out.

    I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ to say why can’t you just hammer it at 90 in the right lane and leave the rest of us alone, but I really don’t fucking understand why they can’t.

  2. I had someone get so angry at me because I dared to move into the right hand lane to overtake that he undertook me then pulled out right in front of me and slammed on his brakes. Nearly went right into him! When I got to the next roundabout he was only one car in front of me so he nearly killed both of us and didn’t really gain anything.

  3. I drove on the motorway for the first time recently. A long journey. I went miles and miles and miles where there wasn’t a single thing in the left lane except me, doing 65-70.

    Once every 10 minutes a lorry came into view. Otherwise it was completely empty. Middle lane packed, right lane sparse but had more people in than the left.

    It was truly dreadful driving from everyone in the middle lane. Just what is the point? the authorities should just remove the left lane on stretches like that if that’s how people will behave, they deserve the fucking congestion they cause.

  4. Must have performed this manoeuvre about 6 times between south Glasgow and the English border, move from inside lane to overtake silly sod in middle lane and go in outside lane to overtake then return to inside lane, all the while the silly sod is oblivious on the real rules of the road, and glued to the middle lane terrified of everything.

  5. Lane hogging to me is when you seem oblivious or simply refuse to move back into lane 1, even when clear and safe. I have less of a problem if the road is quiet and you can see a few lorries say 200 yards in front and you are being followed by 1 other car who isn’t gaining on you. If the car behind is gaining, you’re doing 65 and the lorries are that far ahead, pull back in.

    Saying that though, if everyone is doing around 67mph in the overtaking lane and there are back to back lorries in lane 1, staying out and passing a long line (even with gaps) is easier and safer than darting in and out all the time.

    Overtaking – I’ve been flashed by arseholes who want to pass the second my back door passes the car I’m overtaking. I wait until I see whatever I’m passing in my rear view mirror. When I can see them fully, I know I’m well clear. It does make overtaking cyclists and pedestrians harder as I like to give them as much space as possible and ensure I’m clear so don;t always overtake on windy roads when another driver would. Horses I treat differently – if I can’t pass on the other side of the road (to be wide) AND give them space in front, I’ll drive a decent gap back and wait until they beckon me or until the road becomes safe for me to pass with that much space.

  6. anyone who drives the A1 knows that if you don’t stay in the outer lane you risk being boxed in behind slow moving lorries for ages.

  7. My dad was a driving instructor for the police for years, his general rule (they have more specific guidelines but I don’t want a 20min lecture about police driving standards) was that if you aren’t passing a vehicle within the next 15-20 seconds then you shouldn’t be in that lane.

    Also never going 3 abreast is a huge rule that will cause you to fail your driving certificates.

  8. Lorry drivers who overtake other lorry drivers is where I draw the line. They must be doing it for a laugh.

  9. IMO speed restrictions are bollocks, they were put in place in the 60’s when cars had shit steering that would wobble around. And brakes made of jelly.

    We now how power assisted steering, and brakes with ABS making cars a lot safer. Never mind the advancement in engineering around crumple zones and what not.

    Our speed limits should reflect that.

    But haven’t, my view is that you should be driving quicker to overtake, as long as you actually are passing cars.

    But yet, on our roads, you see drivers all the damn time, that are sat in the middle lane, or lane 3, who just trundle along at the same rate as everyone else….not overtaking.

  10. Shit or get off the pot.

    Cruise control has a lot to answer for with this. I’m certain people just sit there at that speed in the overtake rather than putting their fucking foot down.

  11. People unwilling to use the outside lane to overtake someone in the middle lane are also lane hogging. They’re expecting people to get out of their way just because they’re nervous about driving in the fast lane.

  12. 2 seconds is too short IMO. If you are passing a queue of cars separated by 3 car lengths going 65 and you are going 70 then you are going to be going in and out a silly amount of times. Changing lane is the most dangerous manoeuvre you can do and should be minimised. I would say 10 secs is reasonable. And just be sensible eg slow down to pull in to let cars go past if there is a queue behind.

  13. You must have a fantastic view from the middle lane. No wonder HGV drivers love to drive there

  14. If someone drives up my arse on the motorway, they are obviously a dangerous driver, so the only valid response is to slow down gradually and force them to reduce their speed too.

    Stupid petrolhead Clarkson fans should not be given any chance to endanger the lives of others.

  15. If I have time and space to undertake you (at the speed limit) then you are lane hogging IMO

  16. Overtaking is when you pass another car on the road. Lane hogging is when you stay in the middle or left lane when there’s no one in the right lane.

  17. I also wonder at what point it’s ok to hog the middle lane when the lanes are all separating to go in different directions.

    I once pulled into the 3rd lane of 5 because lanes 3, 4 and 5 were continuing on that motorway, as per the gantry signs. Lanes 1 and 2 were going elsewhere.

    Someone came right up my backside for a while, then overtook, moved in front and tried to brake check me, very poorly.

    The only reason I can think of for that behaviour is that they thought I was lane hogging because lane 3 was going slower than lane 2.

  18. Middle lane drivers are just being lazy, don’t want to make lane change to overtake slower vehicles, which they justify by thinking that it is inevitable they will have to change lanes so may as well hog the middle lane. Pretend you are an idiot if someone comes up the inside and ignore them while they have to either pass on the inside or cross 2 lanes to pass.

  19. Lane hogging is if you in the lane going at the same speed or slower than those to the left of you (traffic jams are an exception obviously). But I agree you should always pass the car on the left and then move into the left lane when there is enough space to and I have had a fair few people get inpatient at me for it and I am not a slow driver but they can go do one.

  20. If it is possible for me / someone to overtake the car on the inside (ie to its left), then they are lane-hogging and they are in the wrong.

    On a motorway, if there’s a gap to your left which is longer than about 150m, move left, into that gap.

    I think lane-hoggers are either:

    – arrogant twats who see it as a point of pride not to drive on the left “I’m doing 85mph in my BMW; the left lane is for pussies!”
    – people who are unsure of the rules of the road “I’m driving at a medium speed, so I’ll drive in the middle lane”
    – people too scared or inexperienced or useless to change lanes “I’ll stay in this lane; I don’t want to crash by moving the car too far to the left, do I Gerald? All these young’uns driving so fast in the left hand lane, it scares me.”

  21. I use cruise control. If I can undertake you while I’m doing a consistent 55 you’re lane hogging. No argument

  22. I’m kind of bored of the Reddit obsession with lane hogging debates. People drive the way they do for lots of reasons and we ain’t going to change that on Reddit. It’s vanishingly rare that anything other than lane 1 is doing less than the national speed limit so all the moaners are just impatient, entitled, wanna be racing drivers.

  23. People are such dicks honestly… give each other space, stick to the limits and keep left. Quite easy.

  24. Lane jogging is sitting at a few miles, even a couple of miles per hour more than the person on the inside lane of you. If you aren’t willing to go a decent bit faster than them, then sit behind them and allow faster drivers to pass by your right.

    It’s the folk who overtake someone going seventy, but take a couple of minutes to do so who wind me up rotten 😂

  25. There’s few things I find more irritating than being on a dual carriageway and a twat decides to sit in the overtaking lane doing either the exact same speed as me or maybe 1-2mph quicker.

  26. See alot of lane hogging on the m6. Especially when driving to work at 5am.

    Many of them doing between 65-70 in the 2nd of 4 lanes. I don’t get annoyed however I just ignore them and if I’m already in the 1st lane il remain there and pass them.

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