Hey all, hope you are all well.
I've only posted a few times on this forum and i admit its been when i have needed a rant or a question answered, and frankly have been shocked at some of the members replies. So i am very eager to find out what peoples views on this matter is, as i believe i may get more heat then what offenders of my issue will.
To set the scene, i'm a van courier who travels upto 2000 miles per week. If anyone does much more than that hats off to you. I've been doing this for the past 12 years and like to think i've earned a certain amount of experience on motorway driving.
I'm a steady driver. 60 mph is my speed and whilst i sometimes creep over that, it tends to be for small amounts of time. I find my fuel comsumption to be fantastic at that speed and any faster seems to waste fuel and for what? arriving at your destination 5 minutes earlier?
Anyway, to my issue. Over the past year or so i swear that Middle laning has grown and grown into levels i've never seen before. I'm not just talking seeing more and more morons sitting there oblivious to surroundings. I'm talking about crowds of middle laners. A whole strech of motorway can now be spotted doing it together. We have an epidemic of the stuff.
This sunday really finished my hope off with people. Now i hate Sundays. Hate them! I dread having a call and having to travel far. The reason being that as many people know there's not many trucks about. Which means that lane 1 of the motorway is very quiet and an HGV is met once every few miles instead of them being there all the time.
Good thing right? Not for me. I'm travelling along at 60 in the left lane happy that there's nothing to overtake, or at least that should be the way it goes. Nope.
You'll often find lane 1 being totally empty of traffic, lane 2 full bumper to bumper of people doing 50mph or below, and then lane 3 being even worse at times. What on earth is going on? Lane one is EMPTY yet there seems to be this taboo that if you are driving a car that you won't be seen dead in the scrubbers lane to the left.
What do i do then? Surely i have two options. Try and get into lane 2? Which remember is bumper to bumper and some of these people are willing to DIE rather than allowing another car in front of them. To me, rightly or wrongly, the simple and easy solution is to pass safely and calmly to the left.
Now this is where i have the problem, as i'm sure alot of members here will attack me for being an undertaking and making the problem worse. But the issue for me is simple. These drivers are taking out a lane on purpose on the motorway. Why should i battle to get past them? I sometimes slow down to 40mph and STILL i'm travelling faster than the middle lane car with a lorry behind closing in. What are you supposed to do? We see millions of pounds spent on alot of our motorways being made into four lanes, or the harder shoulder becoming a 4th lane. WHY??? We could have 10 lanes and i assume the first eight will be friggin empty and lanes 9 and 10 doing 45mph.
One of my major worries is at junctions, both joining and leaving. A middle laner will with 100 yards to go from the exit want to cut across lane 1 and into the off ramp like lane 1 isn't even there. If you happen to be in lane 1 at the time? Expect verbal abuse and the odd finger. Sunday at the Dartford Crossing a guy wanted to leave before the bridge. He was in lane 2. Sadly for him the traffic was really busy so he simply blocked the two lanes of traffic untill someone let him in. Like on a busy city street. On the M25. Sigh
Anyway, does anyone else believe this sort of driving is getting worse? I am now taking the view that i drive to the left unless overtaking. Whatever is to the right of me dawdling along is irrelevant.
I've only posted a few times on this forum and i admit its been when i have needed a rant or a question answered, and frankly have been shocked at some of the members replies. So i am very eager to find out what peoples views on this matter is, as i believe i may get more heat then what offenders of my issue will.
To set the scene, i'm a van courier who travels upto 2000 miles per week. If anyone does much more than that hats off to you. I've been doing this for the past 12 years and like to think i've earned a certain amount of experience on motorway driving.
I'm a steady driver. 60 mph is my speed and whilst i sometimes creep over that, it tends to be for small amounts of time. I find my fuel comsumption to be fantastic at that speed and any faster seems to waste fuel and for what? arriving at your destination 5 minutes earlier?
Anyway, to my issue. Over the past year or so i swear that Middle laning has grown and grown into levels i've never seen before. I'm not just talking seeing more and more morons sitting there oblivious to surroundings. I'm talking about crowds of middle laners. A whole strech of motorway can now be spotted doing it together. We have an epidemic of the stuff.
This sunday really finished my hope off with people. Now i hate Sundays. Hate them! I dread having a call and having to travel far. The reason being that as many people know there's not many trucks about. Which means that lane 1 of the motorway is very quiet and an HGV is met once every few miles instead of them being there all the time.
Good thing right? Not for me. I'm travelling along at 60 in the left lane happy that there's nothing to overtake, or at least that should be the way it goes. Nope.
You'll often find lane 1 being totally empty of traffic, lane 2 full bumper to bumper of people doing 50mph or below, and then lane 3 being even worse at times. What on earth is going on? Lane one is EMPTY yet there seems to be this taboo that if you are driving a car that you won't be seen dead in the scrubbers lane to the left.
What do i do then? Surely i have two options. Try and get into lane 2? Which remember is bumper to bumper and some of these people are willing to DIE rather than allowing another car in front of them. To me, rightly or wrongly, the simple and easy solution is to pass safely and calmly to the left.
Now this is where i have the problem, as i'm sure alot of members here will attack me for being an undertaking and making the problem worse. But the issue for me is simple. These drivers are taking out a lane on purpose on the motorway. Why should i battle to get past them? I sometimes slow down to 40mph and STILL i'm travelling faster than the middle lane car with a lorry behind closing in. What are you supposed to do? We see millions of pounds spent on alot of our motorways being made into four lanes, or the harder shoulder becoming a 4th lane. WHY??? We could have 10 lanes and i assume the first eight will be friggin empty and lanes 9 and 10 doing 45mph.
One of my major worries is at junctions, both joining and leaving. A middle laner will with 100 yards to go from the exit want to cut across lane 1 and into the off ramp like lane 1 isn't even there. If you happen to be in lane 1 at the time? Expect verbal abuse and the odd finger. Sunday at the Dartford Crossing a guy wanted to leave before the bridge. He was in lane 2. Sadly for him the traffic was really busy so he simply blocked the two lanes of traffic untill someone let him in. Like on a busy city street. On the M25. Sigh
Anyway, does anyone else believe this sort of driving is getting worse? I am now taking the view that i drive to the left unless overtaking. Whatever is to the right of me dawdling along is irrelevant.