Drivers in the overtaking lane

Feisar

What does one do when a fellow motorist is in the overtaking lane on a motorway doing a lot less than the speed limit and flashing doesn't encourage them to pull in?

bear1

Feisar wrote: »

What does one do when a fellow motorist is in the overtaking lane on a motorway doing a lot less than the speed limit and flashing doesn't encourage them to pull in?

Undertake.

thelad95

Feisar wrote: »

What does one do when a fellow motorist is in the overtaking lane on a motorway doing a lot less than the speed limit and flashing doesn't encourage them to pull in?

Well first of all, don’t flash! that’s a lot more dangerous than hogging the overtaking lane.

Just undertake them, they’ll get the hint eventually.

368100

bear1 wrote: »

Undertake.

Agreed, though it can be quite dangerous depending on why the idiot is sticking to the overtaking Lane, some just have no awareness and can be liable to move left without looking

Zulu

"Ramming speed"

bloodless_coup

Do you mean the fast lane? I usually overtake them using the grass / gravel verge.

bear1

thelad95 wrote: »

Well first of all, don’t flash! that’s a lot more dangerous than hogging the overtaking lane.

Just undertake them, they’ll get the hint eventually.

These sort of drivers never get the hint, in fact they'd probably go all mad max the moment you pass them.
M6 is full of them.

Sexual Chocolate

thelad95 wrote: »

Well first of all, don’t flash!

Why ? Its not like your shooting james bond styled lasers at them.

TheChizler

bear1 wrote: »

Undertake.

Killing them is a little extreme.

Del2005

thelad95 wrote: »

Well first of all, don’t flash! that’s a lot more dangerous than hogging the overtaking lane.

Just undertake them, they’ll get the hint eventually.

A quick flash of high beam is not dangerous.

John_Rambo

Sometimes obstinately indicating right when driving behind them works, but if you keep a safe distance they won't really get the message.

Not being one to advise tailgaiting, often, the only thing to do (if you don't want to undertake) is to drive in the driving lane a distance behind them and wait till someone else comes along and flashes and harasses them in to driving properly in the hope that the lane hogger stays in the driving lane while you complete your overtake in a safe and prompt fashion.

If you successfully complete the overtake and settle in to the driving lane at 120kph there's a good chance they'll do the most annoying, distracting, itching, hovering and infuriating thing in the world...

Sit on your right shoulder a few metres behind you in the overtaking lane. Without overtaking you. :mad:

thelad95

Sexual Chocolate wrote: »

Why ? Its not like your shooting james bond styled lasers at them.

No point momentarily blinding or startling someone, just get up their hole and if necessary undertake.

Dartz

Del2005 wrote: »

A quick flash of high beam is not dangerous.

Tell that to the people of Alderaan.

They got a quick flash of a very high beam. Just for getting in the way.

Feisar

Cheers, I'm always afraid of undertaking in case they decide to pull in as I'm passing. I'm usually up early and not in that much of a hurry and I realize a few kmph's on the motorway makes bugger all difference when you hit traffic but sometimes it's infuriating when someones doing 80!!!!

pablo128

Feisar wrote: »

Cheers, I'm always afraid of undertaking in case they decide to pull in as I'm passing. I'm usually up early and not in that much of a hurry and I realize a few kmph's on the motorway makes bugger all difference when you hit traffic but sometimes it's infuriating when someones doing 80!!!!

Its up to the person changing lane to look out. Get a dashcam too. Too many people take offence nowadays at being passed and start carrying on.

Guy:Incognito

thelad95 wrote: »

No point momentarily blinding or startling someone, just get up their hole and if necessary undertake.

Flashing is dangerous so tailgate instead? Really?

thelad95

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Flashing is dangerous so tailgate instead? Really?

Well let’s face it, person who suggested flashing is tailgating in any case

rosmoke

I don't flash, I find it they get pissed off instead of getting the message, so I tailgate a bit and then I undertake. What else can we really do like .. ?

Just make sure they aren't undercover ... been there .. done that , ended up ok, they just showed me their Christmas lights and they went ahead ..

bilbot79

Have you tried overbeeping?

dodderangler

Had one of these a week ago coming home from navan. Wouldn't move out the way. Flashed him and beeped. He started jamming on the brake at me a few times. Then I undertook him and he sped up wouldn't let me in front. Then started swerving at me.
Sometimes undertaking can end bad. A lot of idiots on the road don't like being undertaken. I reckon he was drunk aswell. On the phone etc and all over the place.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

thelad95 wrote: »

Well first of all, don’t flash! that’s a lot more dangerous than hogging the overtaking lane.

Your logic, please explain it to me.

thelad95 wrote: »

Well let’s face it, person who suggested flashing is tailgating in any case

Are they? How do you make that one out?

thelad95

Journee Many Value wrote: »

Your logic, please explain it to me.



Are they? How do you make that one out?

Flashing someone could startle or blind someone if there mirror is at a certain angle. If they’re a driver dopey enough to be crawling in the overtaking lane then chances are they’re dopey enough to skip lane without checking any mirror or even god forbid use an indicator.

Just get up behind them, hope they pull in and if not, just undertake the idiot.

Chances are that the person hogging the lane is either an incontinent old man whose lost the ability to judge speed or else a newly qualified driver getting used to the nuances of motorway driving. Neither of these are a category of driver who should be startled unnecessarily just so Mister 20 something banker in his beamer can get home two minutes faster.

Although it sounds like an oxymoron, just undertake as safely as possible and let idiots be idiots.

dodderangler

Del2005 wrote: »

A quick flash of high beam is not dangerous.

It is if they take it the wrong way. As I said in my other post I flashed someone who wouldn't move and he reacted dangerously and violently when I undertook him. Tried t run me off the road.

dodderangler

thelad95 wrote: »

No point momentarily blinding or startling someone, just get up their hole and if necessary undertake.

Again as I said in my first post I flashed and he wouldn't move and driving up his hole he started to brake suddenly to divert me.

Del2005

dodderangler wrote: »

It is if they take it the wrong way. As I said in my other post I flashed someone who wouldn't move and he reacted dangerously and violently when I undertook him. Tried t run me off the road.

The flash wasn't dangerous though. You meet a dangerous driver and anything that you did would have resulted in the same over reaction by them.

Irish Steve

It really is very simple. The rightmost lane of a motorway is the overtaking lane, so the only valid reason for staying there after overtaking a vehicle to the left is if there are other slower moving vehicles in that lane that prevent moving left. If the lane to the left is clear, even if travelling at the speed limit, move left. On a 4 lane motorway, the same applies to any of the lanes other than Lane 1. It couldn't be simpler or easier, but it seems to elude many on a regular basis.

The only exception I'm aware of is the very specific situation on some of the M50 intersections, where there are exit slips from the connecting roads that are on the right of the carriageway, in that situation, remaining in the right most lane in order to access the exit slip is a valid use of that lane.

dodderangler

Del2005 wrote: »

The flash wasn't dangerous though. You meet a dangerous driver and anything that you did would have resulted in the same over reaction by them.

Yes that is true but my situation was at 11:30 at night with little or feck all other motorists on the road. He also had his high beams on after I got by him. I then stayed in far left lane as I knew he was prïcking around. He was in a 520 d BMW and luckily I had a garage car that had the power to get by him. If I had my kids in the car with me I would've stayed well clear.

bear1

The Germans are a great example of how to properly use a motorway.
We should throw our version of the rules of the road and use theirs.

Marcusm

bear1 wrote: »

Undertake.

Overtake on the left.

Del2005

bear1 wrote: »

The Germans are a great example of how to properly use a motorway.
We should throw our version of the rules of the road and use theirs.

The French are great as well.

Our law is fine, keep left unless overtaking, it's the complete lack of enforcement that's the problem. ROTR isn't law.

s15r330

If the thread title was a finish the sentence thing i'd finish it with...should be shot with a ball of their own sh1te

RMDrive

Is it illegal to undertake?

sydthebeat

RMDrive wrote: »

Is it illegal to undertake?

No

exaisle

I'd generally give a couple of quick flashes and if that works, hit the hazards after I've passed them.

If the flashes don't work, I'd undertake (as safely as possible).

Quite often, I might as well moon them as flash the headlights for all the good it does, but occasionally, it's just somebody who will move back to the driving lane when I've passed, in which case I'll flash the hazards as a thank you.

Politeness goes a long way and being outwardly rude to somebody who's acting the eejit is only going to inflame/worsen the situation. Give them the benefit of the doubt in the first instance, and if that doesn't work, undertake and ignore.

sydthebeat

A few years ago I was traveling south on the m7 and came across a guy in a people carrier, full, driving in the overtaking lane, alongside a rigid truck. He kept matching the speed of the truck so that no space was left to over take him. The guy in the truck tried everything from speeding up and slowing down to get him to move on and he wouldn't.
Pure belligerent fecker....
He had about 2 Kms of traffic jammed behind him.

colm_mcm

RMDrive wrote: »

Is it illegal to undertake?

Yes, with exceptions

realdanbreen

Feisar wrote: »

What does one do when a fellow motorist is in the overtaking lane on a motorway doing a lot less than the speed limit and flashing doesn't encourage them to pull in?

Relax.

FishOnABike

RMDrive wrote: »

Is it illegal to undertake?

Yes, except in very limited circumstances listed in the legislation, being behind an idiot is not one of them. I think there was a whole thread on this before but here goes

S.I. No. 182/1997: ROAD TRAFFIC (TRAFFIC AND PARKING) REGULATIONS, 1997

(5) A driver may only overtake on the left—

( a ) where the driver of the vehicle about to be overtaken has signalled an intention to turn to the right and the driver of the overtaking vehicle intends, after overtaking, to go straight ahead or to turn to the left,

( b ) where the driver of the overtaking vehicle intends, after overtaking, to turn left at the next road junction and has signalled this intention,

( c ) in slow moving traffic, when vehicles in the traffic lane on the driver's right are moving more slowly than the overtaking vehicle.

Heres Johnny

I just pass on left. Don't ever get involved in flashing lights unless someone is driving side by side with a car in inside lane resulting in both lanes blocked.
Usually when you pass on left they cop on and pull in.
It's just daydreamers not having a clue which lane they are in most of the time.

I agree sometimes it ends up with the undertaken or flashed driver thinking they are mad max all of a sudden.

marvin80

sydthebeat wrote: »

A few years ago I was traveling south on the m7 and came across a guy in a people carrier, full, driving in the overtaking lane, alongside a rigid truck. He kept matching the speed of the truck so that no space was left to over take him. The guy in the truck tried everything from speeding up and slowing down to get him to move on and he wouldn't.
Pure belligerent fecker....
He had about 2 Kms of traffic jammed behind him.

Something similar happened me on the M7 a while back - I was behind a van in the overtaking lane and we were overtaking a truck - just after the van passed the truck he matched the speed of the truck so I was left in the overtaking lane, truck on my inside and then cars building up behind me.
After a few minutes of flashing etc.. the van eventually sped up and moved into the inside lane - idiot.

Jawgap

Carefully pass on the left is my usual response.

If they show no signs of shifting I don't tailgate or flash, I just move in to the left lane and ease pass them.......while watching to make sure they don't try to move back to the left lane.

Isambard

Flashing the headlights is warning them of your presence and I can't for the life of me see how it's dangerous.

My preferred method is to put on the right indicator as a gentle hint, followed by a headlight flash or two and if all else fails overtake on the left, although that is by far the most dangerous choice. I don't tailgate at all, I try to keep well away form folk like that

dar83

bloodless_coup

FishOnABike wrote: »

Yes, except in very limited circumstances

( c ) in slow moving traffic, when vehicles in the traffic lane on the driver's right are moving more slowly than the overtaking vehicle.

So it's legal all the time then.

TheChizler

doylefe wrote: »

So it's legal all the time then.

Aarrrggghhhh!!!!

antiskeptic

Reminds me of a time on the M50 motorway in rush hour on my motorcycle. 6 cars ahead in the fast lane (slow van at the head of the queue).

Car up my arse, flashing and pressing close. "Feckin nob" I thought but in keeping with my hard-learned philosophy of keeping calm no matter what, I simply ignored him.

I mean, the inside lane was packed and I wasn't in the mood for squeezing myself in between cars there, already packed too tight. Normally, I'd just zip through between the lanes and find a spot further up but I wasn't in the mood..

Flash, Flash..

The guy is a metre from my rear end, backing off a bit .. then right back in to my tail, doing 60mph or so. I'm starting to get well irritated now..

As it happens, I'd a pint of milk under a cargo bungee net on the pillion seat. I reached around and plucked it out, hands off the bars momentarily to break the seal on the cap and loosen it a turn. The idea was to lob it up over my head, watch it explode on his bonnet, then zip away through the traffic..

"Are you mad?" I thought as the red mist receded "you could end up killing someone"

So I looked for a gap in traffic up ahead, zipped through the lanes and into it.

The guy presses up against the next car in line, flashing flashing .... then he decides to turn on his blue lights

:eek:

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

bear1 wrote: »

The Germans are a great example of how to properly use a motorway.
We should throw our version of the rules of the road and use theirs.

No, no they are not. The Germans are terrible at motorway driving. It's as if some people think middle lane hogging and the likes are specifically Irish things. They are not, they are Human things, and where you find humans you will find shít driving.

km991148

Wait a few mins, couple of flashes, wait some more, occasionally undertake if I think safe (but often crapping myself as I do so in case the ****er moves in at that moment).

When back in front I sometimes can't help myself from the petty washing of the windscreen..


Never tailgate. Never indicate (as it can be confusing to those behind).

Sometimes I move back into the driving lane at a safe distance, but what pisses me off is then you can easily be trapped in behind some slower moving traffic as you wont get back out easily (as there will be a 1km build up of frustrated drivers in the overtaking lane)

bear1

Journee Many Value wrote: »

No, no they are not. The Germans are terrible at motorway driving. It's as if some people think middle lane hogging and the likes are specifically Irish things. They are not, they are Human things, and where you find humans you will find shít driving.

Ok I'm convinced...
It's my own opinion, I've driven there so many times that i believe they are well disciplined with how the motorway is supposed to be used.
No one is saying this is simply an Irish thing, you see it a lot in Italy and Poland for example.

granturismo

Rig up this on your drivers side mirror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVho5SnRSIw

Xcellor

I expect this has already been covered but if I'm traveling the speed limit in the left lane and some muppet is in the overtaking lane traveling under the speed limit what then? At some point I am going to undertake.