I’ve given up driving on bank holiday weekends. In fact, I’ve taken a distinct disliking to driving anywhere on dual carriageways or motorways over normal weekends, and it’s solely down to middle and outside lane hoggers.
Periodically, I head to Ipswich along the A12, and this is possibly the worst piece of road I have travelled on for witnessing this modern phenomenon. The stretch of road leading to Witham is only a dual carriageway and I have driven in the left hand lane, “undertaking” a stream of 50mph traffic for over two miles! What are these people (or should that be sheep) doing? I wasn’t sure if there was a service station near Chelmsford where I was meant to drop off my common sense!
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not someone who takes risks at silly speeds. I will not overtake on the inside at over 70mph, it is just too dangerous. When I do, I always keep an eye on the vehicle and its body language, and leave plenty of room for manoeuvre should the clueless driver behind the wheel not realise I am there. I also do not drive at 110mph everywhere intimidating people. If I want to go quickly I will either do it on a track day or take out my Rotax Max kart. More worryingly, when I try to drive “according to the law” by not overtaking on the inside, instead giving the driver in front a polite flash from a safe distance (or using the right hand indicator), most of the people causing the problem seem to be oblivious, holding you up for miles before realising what they are doing, if at all! And that’s just scary!
I know it’s not just me either. Recently, I witnessed a police car with blue flashing lights and sirens with exactly the same issue! He was obviously on a call to an incident somewhere, hence why once past, he didn’t pull this imbecile over and at least inform them of their error.
There are several reasons why driving like this should be dealt with, aside from the impedance of quicker drivers. It completely buggers up traffic flow and causes congestion. This has the knock on effect of frustrating people and causing other less desirable sub cultures of the motoring world, to make rash and possibly dangerous driving manoeuvres. Safety is the key issue as far as I am concerned, I do not want see my or anyone else’s loved ones injured or killed driving. I could also argue the environmental issue, but I’m no environmentalist and I genuinely believe that there are bigger polluters (aircraft, ships, the Americans….) that should be dealt with first!
Is this just a bigger problem of driving standards in this country now? I am a firm believer that driving is still an art. Driving is a series of actions to create an outcome, in much the same way cooking is. I, for instance, can’t paint. I have no real interest in painting, so therefore will never master that art. Sure I can create incomprehensible doodles but they will never find their way in to the Tate! By the same count I know lots of people who just aren’t interested in driving, so they don’t bother to master that art to a satisfactory level either. Unlike my painting though, these people have the potential to cause serious injury or kill.
Is this problem going to get worse? As the car becomes demonised by the environmentalists and the popular media, less young people will be inclined to drive. Indeed, in 2005 only 27% of women between the ages of 17 and 21 actually held a license.* This doesn’t bode well for the future. When this generation finally decide that they really do need a car, how much interest in driving properly will they have? It will be more than likely that they will also decide to go green as well, and driving a Prius has as much driver interaction as a washing machine. No wonder they probably won’t care!
How do we, as a country deal with it? A couple of years ago, the government piloted a scheme on selected motorways to educate motorists to keep left. Unfortunately, like many worthy (read non profit) government schemes, it disappeared with out a trace! Tougher legislation won’t happen, the police have too few resources and too much to do as it is. Do we change legislation, so that overtaking on the inside is allowed? It isn’t actually illegal at the moment, but it can be construed as a careless or dangerous act by the police – But hang on…..
For now though it looks like nothing is going to be done. Until somebody in power, be that politician or police chief, actually brings this issue to the public notice, then we as responsible drivers will have to continue putting up with this idiocy on our roads. That, or do what I did over the bank holiday, and sit indoors!
* Source http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1093&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=176
TegTypeR
I sympathise entirely with you, the frustration of the middle/outside lane hoggers. As you say, it reduces the effectiveness of our road systems. In these situations, I will generally content myself with adopting the left lane and if I drift forward along the outside queue, that is fine, but keeping eyes peeled and wits about of course.
I have also realised that lorries do not like changing speed so in congestion if one is reasonably content at 60, then adopting a good distance behind a lorry can be another tactic, because for sure no one will come in between at the front, and if another lorry comes up behind, a quick squirt to get by a few lorries will usually do the trick, space permitting.
Some years ago, I had a 10-day fly-drive in California. Overtaking both sides on free-ways was allowed then (probably still is). I can say that at no time was there an alarming situation arising out of this. I would welcome it in this country. Having said that, I found the driving style across the water much less pushy than over here, so maybe it would not work too well with after all.