Hogging the middle lane......?

Question

I used to be a drivers mate. Long boring journies led to extreme measures to pass the time. I once, on a 900 mile round trip, did a survey of 'middle lane hoggers' and found that 8 out of ten of them were women.
There were 150 vehicles in this particular count.
I'm not making this up.
This is a FACT.
What I want to know, mainly from the women but also from that 20% of men, is what are your reasons for doing this?
Did you know you weren't supposed to?
Or do you just not give a monkeys'?

PS. I'm not suicidal over this, just interested.

No I am referring to people who drive in the middle lane when not even overtaking and don't pull in to the empty lane on the left.
U.K.

Cuddly mum... it was a 900 mile round trip!

Answer 1

Wow a man after my own heart. My wife will thankyou for asking this question/opening debate.
This is a true pet hate of mine. We do a lot of driving as we are both race marshals so every weekend we are somewhere else in the country, Silverstone, Thruxton, Brands Hatch etc etc. For one day meets we drive up in the morning (real early morning) and still at 0400hrs there are people riding in the middle lane. I am probably going much faster than them (ok my bad i don't stick to speed limits on motorways, i do in residential though) and i have to move out of the left lane all the way through the middle lane giving a mandatory flash of the lights and into the right to pass them and then come all the way back to the left. Some people get the hint and move over behind me once i have passed, other just flash thier lights back as i move back from right to left.
I have noticed it is more of an age than a sex thing. Possibly a few more ladies than men but mostly the over 40's. Perhaps they are flustered by the large selection of lanes that they never had 'in their day'.

Now the bit that will upset most of you, When we go for two day meets i tow the car.....car.....I have to say it caravan... there it is done.
I sit in the left hand lane at the maximum legal speed (in the uk towing is 60mph) cruise control on if i get stuck behind lorries i wait and wait till there is a huge gap then over take and back to the left lane. Still sometimes i have to slow down as some tit, generally an old fella or old dear in a micra sat in the middle lane doing 55mph, Now legally i am screwed i am not allowed in the right hand lane with a caravan and i cannot undertake them (left hand lane passing) so i have to site at 55mph they sit at 55mph and in doing so they reduce the motorway to a two lane. ARHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH when i am towing i shouldn't have to slow down for anything other than a lorry, if you cannot do at least 60mph on a motorway in a car, find and alternate route as you are more dangerous than the person doing 95mph.

please forgive me though for owning a caravan it is for a reason we don't just take holidays in it.

Answer 2

I tend to drive in the middle lane because the inside lane 9 times out of 10 is in such a state because of all the heavy lorries that use it. (i'm not having a go at lorry drivers, they have as much right to be on the road as anyone else) I keep an eye on my mirrors and if i see someone thundering up behind me i'll move over to let them pass. I know we're not meant to do it, but i hate being shaken about cos of the mess of the inside lane, and no, my cars suspension isn't knackered!

Answer 3

Hello,
This seam's to be an opinion geared question so I will give my opinion I am a truck driver I drive in Atlanta Georgia everyday and I am a fellow motorcyclist of about 12 years I have figured out finally that there is no common denominator in the issue that faces us I believe that the fact is no one has courtesy anymore and everyone forgets that there fellow motorists are people too and have important lives just like themselves no one is any more important than anyone else. People don't realize this on the most part so I choose to relax let fools be fools and don't get upset when I have a hog on my hands or a dangerous driver on my hands yes I am not perfect and sometimes I drive like an idiot too so when I see someone being an idiot I remind myself that hey you have done that too.
On many occasions I have seen someone pass me in a rush to get where they are going and act like a moron doing it and 15 Min's later I am passing them I haven't even sped up. I just feel like waving. LOL I think that the answer is relax your gonna get there is 5Min's gonna kill you or walk some where so you will appreciate your license and your vehicle.

Answer 4

Yep, see it everyday on the M18 connecting the A1 to the M1 - it's as though these fools haven't noticed that there are 3 lanes.
Not sure about the proportion of men/women who do it, but so many of them are women who appear to be terrified while driving on the Mway...you know the sort, nose just about on the steering wheel, not going faster than 60mph in their little cars, not daring to change lanes regardless of anything around them....IDIOTS - keep off the Motorway if you're that scared!
And people on here who have commented about what a given lane is for - the second lane is NEVER for cruising along when the first lane is free..do you get that??? NEVER!

Answer 5

Those that hog the middle lane are genrally the sort who'll find their ideal speed and stick to it, whether the poor bugger stuck behind likes it or not. And thy go in the middle lane because they somehow feel safer in that position of the road.

I haven't a problem with someone staying in such a lane for an extended period of time if they're overtaking a long line of slow moving traffic, but the middle-lane hogger doesn't really intend to overtake at all.

A basic rule of driving in general is to keep to the left, unless you're overtaking or intending to turn right. That applies to motorway,s which is why you stay in the left-hand lane, using the other two to overtake.

If you want to drve at 56MPH 'because I think it's when my car's most econmoical' stay in the left-hand lane, and out of everyone elses's way

Answer 6

In 2009 there was uproar when a new "ticket" was brought out for "undue use of the middle lane or outer lanes", which was known as the "road hogging law"

When, by 2012 it was found that the majority of drivers recieving these tickets were female, in made great repercussions in the Insurance industry... the companies offering discounts to women only drivers, already under threat of litigation under the sex equality laws ... withdrew these offers, and actually sought to increase premiums (not successful for the same equality laws), when it was found that although women HAD fewer accidents, they CAUSED more accidents.

In 2015 this led to the inclusion of an enhanced "spatial awareness" module within the driving test.

The above events were very distressing for the feminist movement who saw it as a setback in their campaign of superiority.

Answer 7

I don't understand what you are saying when you say people are hogging the middle lanes. If you are on a three lane freeway or highway or interstate, it makes more sense that more people drive in the middle lane. Because in the slow lane there would be slower vehicles like trucks and people entering and exiting the road. In the fast lane, well people would be driving the fastest. So most people, driving at or around the speed limit would be in the middle lane wouldn't they?

Maybe you are describing some sort of roads in another country that I am not familiar with. But that is how it works here.

Answer 8

You've open a can of worms with that question.

I think your referring to roadhogs, they love to drive in the fastlane with a line of cars behind them, some of them do it just to piss of other drivers and some are afraid of on ramps.

I notice a lot of them on cellphones, just not paying attention. what I like to do is get infront of them and open up the slow lane.

Here in California there are 2 lanes in each direction and there is a large difference in speed created by the lower speed limit for trucks, 55 mph. So when you get to slower vehicles passing it creates quite a log jam.

I think one solution here is to raise the truck speed limit to match the cars like in other states. Another would be to asign different speed limits to different lanes or like the German autobaun use the fast lane for passing only!

Answer 9

I agree with Island Queen. Right lane on a three lane highway is for exiting vehicles and larger trucks. Left lane is for passing, and faster moving traffic. Middle lane is for speed limit driving.

Toni

Answer 10

Damn nuisance drivers who hog the middle lane - can cause an illegal manoeuvre of passing on the left.