So who was it doing 112mph on A30 this afternoon?

[VW Cali]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22784983

Thanks for posting.

I highlight two extracts dealing with Lane hogging, and passing on inside lane:



1. LANE HOGGING

Part 264 of the Highway Code says: "You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past."

2. PASSING ON INSIDE LANE

Some have argued for copying the example of California where drivers are encouraged to stay in lane, but are allowed to pass vehicles on either side where necessary.

Heydecker says the Californian example would be ideal for increasing the carrying capacity of the UK's roads. "If this was just a capacity issue we'd say allow passing on both sides." But there is also an argument about safety.

Motorways are currently the safest roads in the UK, Heydecker says. Any change to the system of driving would need to keep them as safe as they are now. "The big question in the UK is whether we'd allow passing on both sides. I believe the Department for Transport is resistant to this."

My view:

My own view on 1 is that it is difficult to keep to, and sometimes more dangerous to stick to than staying in own lane. My view on 2 is that passing on inside lane is less safe than waiting to overtake on outer lane.

Obviously, there are other opinions here. T6 CFO for some reason does not agree with me on 1 even though I understood his reasons. Loz totally against 2 with a very precise mathematical claim of binary choice available.

At any rate, both 1 and 2 not officially recommended.

 

[GrannyJen]

I don't really give a shi*t about the science or mathematics of it.

If I get home in one piece without having anyone needing to flash me to get out of the way, nick me for driving too fast or too slow or too long in the same lane, and if I get home feeling that I have made "good progress" then I have no need to give it another thought.

 

[potem]

Hahahaha:

Exactly! As is on those countries where passing on inside lane is illegal. In those countries they wasted money on building extra lanes.

Lucky that few follow my logic or theirs here in Blighty then . And look at the types who agree with me: all those anti-gun campaigners in America who also tend to campaign to make inside lane overtaking illegal.

What I really about your statement is the precise mathematical nature of it. Genius in the simplicity of deduction:



Namely, that there is a binary choice between:

1) Letting people pass on the inside lane.

OR

2) Using only a single lane.

I wouldn't say it ranks up there with the Goldbach conjecture. But it is a precise mathematical conjecture.

Well done!

Hahahaha:

Exactly! As is on those countries where passing on inside lane is illegal. In those countries they wasted money on building extra lanes.

Lucky that few follow my logic or theirs here in Blighty then . And look at the types who agree with me: all those anti-gun campaigners in America who also tend to campaign to make inside lane overtaking illegal.

What I really about your statement is the precise mathematical nature of it. Genius in the simplicity of deduction:



Namely, that there is a binary choice between:

1) Letting people pass on the inside lane.

OR

2) Using only a single lane.

I wouldn't say it ranks up there with the Goldbach conjecture. But it is a precise mathematical conjecture.

Well done!

One of those countries is the UK where undertaking except in very particular circumstances is illegal.
The reference below is for a motorway, but the rules on other roads are even more retrictive.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/motorways-253-to-273

 

[VW Cali]

I don't really give a shi*t about the science or mathematics of it.

If I get home in one piece without having anyone needing to flash me to get out of the way, nick me for driving too fast or too slow or too long in the same lane, and if I get home feeling that I have made "good progress" then I have no need to give it another thought.

Hahahaha, exactly! Like 99.97% of the population.

 

[soulstyledevon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22784983

They should go further and ban them from driving with a mandatory re-test which would include how to drive correctly on motorways...!!!

 

[gregspam]

This thread seems set to keep rolling, just like an outside/middle lane driver with no traffic ahead...

You missed the point:

Sometimes there are guys sitting in the middle lane at constant say 80mph for no good reason. So if you are trying to let cars in right most lane overtake you either have to go faster than or watch out.

Some middle laners seem to be even faster than outside lane drivers. Say right hand lane has traffic at 75mph and you get tail gated. You want to move to left only to find that a number of cars are doing 80mph making it difficult to get in. So essentially you are being overtaken on the left.

If a number of drivers can sit (implying comfortably) in the middle lane at 80, then I’ll reiterate that you’re most likely in the wrong lane. If drivers are passing you on the left then it’s for one of three reasons:

• Relatively rare cases of dangerous/impatient undertaking
• The road is very congested, in which case all bets of making meaningful progress in any lane are off
• You got comfortable/lazy in the outer lane when you should be pulling in

Interesting that in Germany overtaking from slow lane is against the law - considered dangerous. I personally never pass cars on their passenger side. It is not safe in my view at least. So I move to the outer lane, even if slower and bide my time.

Passing on the left is okay under certain circumstances, such as when the road is very heavily congested or flowing at a reduced speed. Think of the M25 when variable speed limits are in force. You are ordered to stay in lane so passing on the left will be inevitable. Snaking from lane to lane is another matter however. But you seem to have generally got the hang of this part of driving, well done.

If middle lane cars moving faster, say 75-80mph, the only option left for someone in the fast lane is to then speed up to say 85-90mph to get into the middle lane. My view is that middle laners should not be passing cars on the passenger side. It is a blind spot, and indeed a potential source of accidents.

I agree, but I think we’re retreading old ground here. You won’t find me arguing this point, my issue is with your possibly ill judged statement that “I always drive in outside lane finding it the safest with usually the most alert drivers”. It hints at a touch of arrogance and laziness when it comes to driving. Sticking right because you think there are generally worse drivers on the left is a race to the bottom.

Can you advise, genius or otherwise, why it is so obvious that one should speed up to even higher speeds to overtake cars in middle lane to get into middle lane?

I can only think your post was an attempt at reductio ad absurdum?

 

[motacyclist]

This particular naughty biker had a woman waiting for him on our return, although she must have considered our return unlikely given the way he rode and I climbed.

I haven't read much more than a few posts on this thread but it's looking promising ... better than Poldark looking forward to more ..

 

[GrannyJen]

I haven't read much more than a few posts on this thread but it's looking promising ... better than Poldark looking forward to more ..

So having got to the base of the mighty crag he gentlemanly offered me the opportunity to go first, climbing above him.

Realising I wasn't wearing a skirt he tried to change his mind and be manly and go in front but as I was still in a state of disbelief that we had arrived unscathed, and also in the sure knowledge that he, looking up at the vertical crag, was having a male version of the vapours, decided on a "let's get it over with" before the macho half wimped out altogether.

To be continued