more people have become middle lane hoggers simply because of the way drivers attitudes have changed over the last few decades, for example when you drive in the left hand lane it become extremely difficult to get back into the next lane because most other drivers are speeding and won't let you out! so you end up stuck in your lane behind a slow moving vehicle all because others are driving too fast and won't let you out into the next lane, this is why 90% of the time drivers hog the middle lane, it's far easier to get to where you are going and not have to keep waiting to be let out.
Motorway driving is not even explained in the learners exam or even practised once. So most drivers don't bother reading upon motorway driving etiquette and laws after passing their test.
The more lanes there are, the more lane discipline breaks down and even flips into reverse where the left lanes are freer and faster then the right lanes. I see this on the M25 a lot.
Even in the middle of the night, I find the M25 full of people doing 60 in lane 3 of 4. I don't know why they're so strongly attracted to that lane, but it seems dangerous crossing 3 lanes to overtake them, then 3 lanes back to the inside lane where they should have been all along.
@@jchadd I agree -- if approaching with due caution, fully aware that you're in the other driver's worst blind spot. Not that those drivers ever look in their mirrors anyway.
There are far too many middle-lane hoggers these days. To be fair, there is little chance that these lane hoggers will suddenly move back into lane 1. When there is a bit of congestion, I just carry on in lane 1 regardless because almost everyone is in lane 2 and 3+.
Honestly it's shocking. On the 4 lane roads some of the lane 2 hoggers turn into lane 3 hoggers. What do I do? become a lane 3 hogger myself? Perform 6 lane changes? or just undertake them?
In my city if there are three lanes on the road people drive in the middle lane by default. It's not unjustified though because the right lane is usually parked up, there are bus stops almost everywhere, most crossroads have legal right turn on red and people try to keep the right lane clear to help people turn, and much more. However, people tend to carry these habits over to expressways and other roads where the right lane is clear for miles. People have a wrong idea that the middle lane is the default cruising lane unfortunately, and it causes problems on fast roads. I believe it contributes to higher congestion as well.
@@TheKeirsunishi I sometimes encounter the lane hoggers on lane 3 of 3 lanes, I just undertake in lane 2, not having any other choice. That's not our fault if we can do it safely. You don't want to stay in lane 3 doing 65 while you can do 68-70 in lane 2. Just feel safer to undertake than to follow them.
@@TheKeirsunishi If you're having to do six lane changes, then they're almost certainly Indians, as in India the speed limit drops 10 mph per lane, and that's why they're doing 60 mph in lane 3. I saw it on a documentary on India.
The way I see it, as per Rule 268. "In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right." If people are hogging lanes 2/3/4 and are moving below the designated speed limit(usually a Prius driver on the M25), I can safely pass them on the left (whilst maintaining the speed limit) as it is congested and the traffic is moving slower than lane 1.
This video is so underrated. The description and examples used are so well put together and so easy to understand. Watched it a few days ago and right before a long journey on the M1 and due to it I started seeing clearer my past mistakes, helped avoid them ever again and of course see the mistakes of so many drivers hugging the 2nd or 3rd lane when the left one was clear for a long period/space.
Many years ago i was driving along a dual carriageway, i was in the left hand lane and in the right hand lane was a marked police car who was doing approx. 45-46 mph, the speed limit was 60 mph and it was daylight with dry road and no wind, as i drove along this road it became apparent the officer was not going to move over to the left, or speed up a little, another few miles gone i had enough of this so slowly and cautiously undertook him just a few mps faster than what he was doing, all seemed fine for a minute or two, then i see blue flashing lights in my rear mirrors, he pulled me over and asked "what that was for"? i politely but firmly told him of his behaviour while driving which was causing unnecessary tailbacks, and asked him what his reason for doing so was, he then became aggressive so i told him i was recording it for evidence of any wrongdoing, he then just said "well don't do that again" and got back into his car and drove off, this time in the correct "left lane"
If that happened again then just ask him to point out to you what rule in the highway code are you breaking. He won't be able to give you a true answer and he'll try get you for something else.
You should not have undertaken, you should have sent you dashcam footage to the internal affairs (corresponding) of the police as well as some TV station.
When you say you undertook do you mean you then moved over so that you were directly in front of the police car? Or literally just passed them but remained in your lane, because in the latter the cop was 100% wrong
I think it's a bit of an exaggerated. If a vehicle in lane 3 is a short distance in front a car in lane 1 surely the driver in lane 1 could see that vehicle. He said if a car in an outside lane gets a puncture then lanes to the left should all slow down. That's not what you'd expect from a driving instructor. I might have said that before I started driving over 40 years ago.
In Australia, the law is written as "Keep left unless overtaking". The left is considered left half of the lanes (rounded up) and applies to all roads where the speed limit is iver 80 km/h OR signed as such. This is a much better way to represent the concept and those who cruise in the right lane commit the offense if they get passed on the left (e.g. they travel in the right lanes below the speed limit). As there is greater opportunity to be committing the offense, mist people do the right things.
Thankfully we can legally do the speed limit in any lane, and the only thing potentially illegal is dangerously driving around right turning traffic. On the M4 lights on and 110 km/h in the left lane past the bogans in the centre lane and whatever is going on in the right is often the fastest option, watching out for someone heading off.
If you’re having to dart off to exit last minute. That just screams of piss poor forward planning. If you’re going to miss it, carry on to the next junction and turn around.
@@fukyutube2279I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, driving in the country has gone to shit, I don’t have one drive without incident now. Frequently people pull into the right lane to go 20 under the limit it seems.
I prioritise my lane choice based on space. If I have a clear lane with good vision and traffic conditions, a lane hogger and busier lanes to my right, I'll continue in the left lane. Lane hoggers are generally lacking awareness, usually on cruise control with lane assist and quite often distracted by phones or deep in conversation. They have no idea where other road users are.
The most important skills to learn for motorway driving are controlling the space and spatial awareness. When you only have wing mirrors and limited visibility over your shoulder you soon learn the constant mirror scanning technique to build up 360 degree of awareness over the whole road and who's on it, knowing who's inside your blind spots is not just critical for safety but also your sanity.
@@darthwiizius absolutely, by keeping aware of the situation behind you as well as in front you make the entire process of motorway driving safer and less stressful. Just one more thing: take regular breaks. We all process the incoming information differently, so it can cause us to fatigue at different speeds, but I find that after a couple of hours on a reasonably busy motorway I need to have a time-out. I usually pre-plan longer journeys around rest stops for this very reason.
@@badcrumble1 You are clearly an aware driver mate. Non-professional drivers have a 2 hour concentration limit so should look to stop for 15 minutes out of the car after 2 hours of constant driving. Professional drivers can go up to 4.5 hours but are required to take at least half an hour away after such a stint, when you're on a tac and driving solo you're required to take a 15 minute break after 2 hours by law and you should also factor a lunch break after 4 hours with another break after 2 more hours driving after that. I've oft been forced to literally pull over for an extended period following random bouts of unexpected drowsiness. One tip I give is to down a red bull then nap, after about 45 minutes the caffeine kicks in and you wake up refreshed, at that point get out, use a lavatory, get a coffee and you're good to go nice and alert and awake.
Pretty sure it's generally accepted that undertaking requires you to change lane to pass then return to the lane. It's not overly explained well in law but that's the usual case that actually gets accepted in courts.
@@RickyT15 nonsense, it is never safe to undertake in free flowing traffic. It literally says you should not change lanes to undertake. The only time you can undertake is in average speed zones and slow congested traffic.
Thanks for that very succinct, precise and helpful video. I sometimes see drivers, in congested situations, aggressively undertaking, just to get one car ahead.
mariabrii9564 - Well done, now you begin learning how to drive. Tragically they don't teach you motorway driving apart from a little theory. Take my advice when you drive on a motorway take an experienced motorway driver with you and they will give you advice and help you feel at ease on a busy motorway which can be terrifying to a new driver.
The reality is that on UK roads these days you have to be proficient, competent and safe passing on the left. If a lane hogger has no intention of moving left and you would have to cross two lanes to pass on the right, and there is nothing that would make you move right after passing the hog (a HGV or junction / exit / merge point for example), a friendly toot-toot on the horn before being in the blind spot and passing at a sensible speed difference is acceptable in my opinion.
I had my first proper accident a couple days ago and had my first experience with insurance companies. The other party was entirely at fault and admitted as much fairly quickly, but my car was still written off. All things considered, I got a fairly decent evaluation and didn’t have to fight the insurance anywhere near as much as I was expecting. But there were a lot of things that could’ve been different and that would’ve made the whole ordeal a lot worse. It made me realise that there really aren’t a lot of videos or public guidance about what to do in these situations and how to deal with insurance or difficult third parties when something DOES go wrong. Would be great to see some videos with clear advice and guidance on how to deal with insurance claims, disputes, and write offs. Especially for new drivers
Nice video - but in your criticism of the Highway Code you seem to ignore rule 163 “If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left. “ This covers Dual Carriageways.
Very interesting point. I have undertaken about 50 cars everyday for 30 years usually at about 20kph speed difference as slower takes a long time and faster gives them less chance to see me. The argument against undertaking that those being undertaken find it hard to switch lanes to left because they can't see out window is less of an issue these days with modern features like blind spot monitors, cameras, automatic steering intervention, semi-fisheye mirrors, brighter turn signals etc as well as more knowledgeable driving techniques like switching lanes gradually.
I passed my driving test last week. Your videos are so helpful, therapeutic too after being put down by my instructors. These videos kept me going, I have learnt a lot and gained confidence to actually start driving. Camping on your channel from Uganda, thanks Richard!
Last week I passed my test in UK. Thanks to you and all other youtubers who do a great job with driving instructions. I only took a couple o lessons from a driving instructor because I have some driving experience in my country.
Learning off UA-cam and passing your driving test without any proper tution ? No wonder insurance premiums are so expensive in the UK with so many uneducated dangerous drivers on the road 😂
@@use-oc4mj6n If anyone come to uk knows how to use the clutch, signals and know their car and go through the highway code pass the test and get some familiarity with the road with an instructor, you can't complain they are uneducated and dangerous.
Well said! Undertaking drives me nuts and is very much more common now. People blatantly take advantage of other drivers keeping a safe distance in fast, heavy traffic. Now one has to allow for idiots accelerating up on the left in steady traffic when one is trying to drop back into the left lane, especially those who suddenly drop into the left to do so, thus appearing "out of nowhere". This prolongs the time it takes to assess what's going on and safely move over - thus extending the time one spends in the middle/right lane.
I drive to work using the M25 almost everyday, it's ridiculous how often I see drivers hogging the 2nd and 3rd lane so much, worse yet - they're going about 60-65 on those lanes. Lane 1 I find to be almost empty half the time, gotten to the point where I'm undertaking quite a bit. I realise now how dangerous that is, so definitely going to stop this. Crazy how post driving test we can pick up bad habits quickly, but something needs to be done about this lane-hogging nonsense.
But you're not undertaking. Your obligation is to move back to the leftmost lane after overtaking any vehicle, so that's what you're doing. That you're then moving faster in the leftmost lane than the other traffic to your right is irrelevant, you're not undertaking.
@@specialcircs That's still undertaking or rather overtaking on the left. Rule 286. "Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."
11:42 Lane 3 is frequently subject to lane hoggers that are not paying any attention to their mirrors, blind spots, other drivers or even the indicated speed of their own car. Futile though it may be, I still choose to do exactly as you say; remain a safe distance behind the driver in question, observe the road ahead of them where I can and if they are simply travelling in the third lane, flash the highs to signal my intentions. Only after a few opportunities to move down a lane(with accompanying bumps of the high beams) will I begin to consider alternative action. In some cases, that involves moving down to lane 2 or even 1 and proceeding as normal at the speed limit. Often times these drivers are so inattentive they are incapable of maintaining a consistent speed. I don't want to be in the proximity of such a driver, under any circumstance.
I always undertake immediately, I see absolutely no reason not to. Have undertaken (in empty lane 1 of motorway) about 16 cars in one go before. No chance I’m gonna sit behind people doing 60mph for no reason.
If they're doing 70 mph in the lane, they're technically not hogging though. This is where so many drivers with their misplaced self-entitlement go wrong and are actually stressing themselves out over nothing. Technically, the car you're so eager to overtake is doing you a favour.
A situation that I have experienced quite often on a 2 lane dual carriageway is: A vehicle moved to the right hand lane to overtake then vehicle they are overtaking speeds up to prevent being overtaken. This is particularly annoying with lorries and vans which have a fixed top speed of 60 or 70 mph. It is not undertaking as such but it causes major issues for the following vehicles and causes many people to drive dangerously. In these kinds of situations you need to have your wits about you and it takes some skill and judgement to be safe for yourself and other road users. Good driving is about doing what you can to make the road safe even if others make mistakes or behave recklessly. No one is perfect and we all drive badly at some time so prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected from other drivers !
Rule 168 of the Highway Code covers this. It specifically says that speeding up when someone is trying to overtake you is dangerous. People doing that could certainly get themselves a ticket.
this is the thing that scared me the most when I first started driving. People did this ALL the time. Ironically it ended up with me middle lane hogging because I got scared of moving lanes back and forth to overtake people! Thankfully I've gained a lot of experience and of course people don't speed up when I overtake them as often now that I don't have P plates on...😊
Conquer Driving Undertaking is Not only done on a dual carraigeway. Undertaking can be done on single carraigeway that hat 2 plus lanes in the same direction. Even if one lane is a bus lane and the other for normal traffic.
You’re absolutely right, it’s crazy how many driving instructors and people get this wrong but it’s so easy and so simple, rule 163, which applies to non-motorways, which includes single carriageways, dual carriageways that are not motorways and non-motorway special roads, states, “only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right and there is room to do so, stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues, if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left”, rule 268, which only applies to motorways states “do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake, in congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right, in these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right”, also, rule 267, which applies to motorways states “overtake only on the right”, it’s that easy and that simple, I feel like some people bend the rules to suit their needs.
Another great video Richard. Between yourself and Ashley Neal you have cornered the market in the best. informative and educational You Tube videos for drivers out there.
@@JohnFarrell-bc8gtIt's one of those where there's no specific traffic law to forbid it (plenty think there is), but doing it could be classed as careless driving etc. if you cause issues. There's also the 'didn't follow Highway Code advice so is liable' issue to be aware of.
@@TheCatBilbo Any manouver could be classed as careless driving if and only if it is done carelessly. If you cut in front of another car whether it be right or left that would be classed as CD and not what's done after that like overtaking, or turning right or left.
My advice is get away from them ASAP. I almost got rear ended because the guy in front of me was crawling for no reason in the fast lane People don't realise driving slowly on the motorway can be just as dangerous as driving fast
This is one of the reasons I mostly do motorways at 65mph now on cruise control. It's fast enough to justify overtaking trucks, but slow enough to extract yourself from the world of the angry tailgaters.
Last year driving up the M6 in Cumbria I caught up with a camper van that was only doing 40 in the middle lane, forcing me to slow down and try to change lane twice quickly, which you aren't supposed to do. I don't like the Motorway on a good day! So I had to do the big manoeuvre, get behind check and move across again. Then I tried to overtake, they started going faster. Then I didn't know what to do. So I slowed down and moved middle, then checked again and moved to the left, then floored it shot past the inside of them.
Once you get used to "undertaking" in places like the US where it's legal the mind boggles why we have such a restriction in the UK especially with the emergence of lane hoggers.
There's a lot more lanes in the US than the UK. It makes less sense to have that law there. Imagine switching 4 lanes to overtake a car by 4mph (in order to legally be below the speed limit). The UK generally accepts that the inner lane is for faster people while outer lanes are for slower driving. Yeah I know the whole overtaking rule but they can't say what I said in the driving handbook now can they? If you want to speed, go to the first lane, if you want to go slow, drive in the lorry lane. I stick with the overtaking switch rule and I like it but I also undertake slowly when I need to for a car here and there. If you're about to take an exit coming up, undertake slowly and carefully by all means. Otherwise go to the inner lanes. Undertaking is not a law that's enforced unless you crash while undertaking quite rapidly. 30mph also means 30 to 40mph (unless speed camera is approaching) and 70mph means 79mph. They have to warn you of an upcoming speed camera in the UK. 50% of them outside of the city don't work and are there to threaten you.
You explained this much better than my driving instructor after I failed my driving test, for attempting to undertake a guy who was driving 30 mph on the right hand lane of a dual carriageway. I just didn't understand why I was blocking up traffic on the left hand lane because of him as I had to then keep my speed down. I thought that it was more of an offence/fail to make other drivers slow down behind me! It was an instant fail 😩 beware of this fellow learners!!
How did that driving instructor ever get to hold a qualification to instruct. You should have challenged him and ask him to point out to you where in the Highway Code is there anything to give him the right to fail you. If every bus driver was to do what he thinks there would be none left on the road. He failed you because someone else might do something carelessly. What an idiot
In my test I kept saying out loud 'why is he driving so slow? I don't know if I should go past him? I'm not sure, us this right?' I then sped up and he held his hand up and said 'no, you can't undertake' and used the dual brake. I knew it was a fail. In the last 5 minutes of the test as well 😭 my instructor driving me home said just always stay back. If I doubt stay behind. I just never got it! Why should someone be allowed to just go 30 mph in the fast lane on a dual carriageway! I'm starting to understand experienced drivers number one frustrations! 😂
Good advice about waiting a few moments to give the other driver chance to show what they intend to do. Some drivers expect others to move out of their way even when it is unsafe to do so, eg. when passing HGVs and pulling into their braking space. Some of these bullies will quickly go for an undertake before the car in front has a proper chance to safely pull back.
Had that a few times. Until I see both headlights of a truck or van in my rear view mirror I won't move back over. Both headlights ensures you have left enough space for the truck you've just overtaken to stop in an emergency.
@PedroConejo1939 a lot of my driving standards and thinking comes from driving a truck. It's amazing how much more aware and considerate you become when you learn to drive a truck. Another example of this is that I ALWAYS hang back behind the trailer of a truck if I'm in the outside lane at a roundabout. It's common sense, respect for the driver and makes his or her life that little bit easier. I once saw the outcome of not doing it. It was the opposite and a car had tried to squeeze between a truck turning right at a roundabout and a crash barrier. He failed and the trailer crushed his car, so much so he popped out the sunroof like a jack in the box! 🫣
I always try not to undertake as vehicle from further lanes can get into my front without seeing me, that is my worst fear as I had many near-miss with someone undertaking. But your in-depths explanations got me to think about more hazards I never think about, especially that undertaking trapped people from able to exit and was one of the reason people panic exit and cutting people off at the last moment, and now I feel that aggressive driver that got mad at lane hogger is maybe worst than hogger, because they made the problem worst instead of trying to make it safe. Because now I realized that many of lane hoggers might do it because they are sick of aggressive undertaking drivers, so they just stay there and then they couldn't exit and got more punished for being afraid. People need to cool down, it's faster to be safe than save a few seconds and lost it all. Thank you for your service.
You have to have spatial awareness and control the space around your vehicle. Part of that is controlling the space that others may need to access, look for people positioning to move left and open the gap and let them in with a flash of the lights. It not only helps them but it makes your journeys less stressful. If a [Audi] driver chops in front of your bumper instead of concentrating on the twat reopen your braking space instead, it'll destress you faster and you'll be controlling the space around your vehicle. This is why I believe that motorway tuition should be a legal requirement after passing the test and before a license is issued, the first thing I did in Jan 1990 after my test was book motorway tuition as I had never driven on one before, I have never stopped doing what I was taught.
@@darthwiizius Yea, after learning more from observing and trying to predict what others are doing, it became easier to plan ahead to leave room and be ready to avoid or evade potential conflicting moves from others. The more I learnt, the more I felt that this need to be make aware more to new drivers, just following the rule is not enough. And the more I learnt from this channel, the more I feel sad at the state of driver's mentality in my country, most people just don't think about what others are doing and they ended up in road rage or dangerous undertaking or just mindlessly following the rule without taking human factors into account.
@@worawatli8952 It ain't just in your country mate, it's everywhere. People in general drive blind because their short term "needs" are "more important" than just concentrating on what they are doing in real time. You seem like a very thoughtful driver, it'll help you keep your sanity methinks.
Legal in Oz, S makes perfect sense if you really think about it. Parking in the UK is also a good idea, whereas in Oz you must park your vehicle in the same direction of the lane you park in.
Here in the uk at night time you must not park on the road at night time facing against the traffic flow, you must also park with your sidelights on if you’re parked on a road or lay-by with a speed limit of over 30mph.
I would add a tip I took from motorcycling, which I apply where possibly in the car too. "Don't sit in someone's blind spot." It doesn't matter if you are on their left, right or whatever, just don't sit in people's blindspots. This one tactic will save you many accidents that you otherwise could not have avoided.
Conquer Driving. Undertaking can be unsafe because someone in the lane to your right may do something unsafe. Doesn't that also apply to overtaking where someone to your left may do the same? And if undertaking is unsafe why is there no signs on left hand side of the motorway saying " Must Not Overtake On The Left"? AMOF of the years I've been driving I have never came across such a sign.
Great video. What really nailed point home for me is the broken-down vehicle needing to access the hard shoulder in an emergency. I'm a recent car test passer as of December and still haven't driven alone yet since I own a motorcycle but still find myself better equipped in both driving and riding from these videos. Keep it up!
hardly ever a car just breaks down and stops. it often gives symptoms first. so what is a driver with breaking down car doing in the middle lane in the first place? all the examples scrutinizing undertaking are results of other party's careless driving. it's like saying, do not overtake on the right because someone might swerve into your lane without looking and you'll be to blame!
Over/undertaking and passing was explained to be by my instructor (a police advanced instructor, qualified in teaching pursuit tactics) back in the 80’s as ; an over/undertake is deviating from your lane for the purpose of passing a slower vehicle in your lane, driving past is driving past a vehicle not in your lane. I find the left lane usually quiet so can proceed at the speed limit and pass traffic on the left. Many times I have been followed by a cop who you can see working it out then they pull the lane hog
I agree. I welcome vlogs like this but I think they can blind people with information. It’s all very well quoting the Highway Code sections but as we all know, the codes are not necessarily a definitive statement of the law (rather often best practice), even though their non-observance could be used as possible evidence of careless/dangerous driving. I think the summary given by the police instructor is straightforward and simple - and let’s face it, most of us can identify a deliberate over/undertake when we see it (versus passing slower traffic on our right which thanks to drivers’ infatuation with staying in lane 3 means that 9/10 times there’s less traffic in lane 1). If you can’t identify that then you’re probably the problem and won’t take any notice of this vlog anyway
"Do not overtake on the left OR move to a lane on your left to overtake" - this gives equal weight to both of your scenarios. The distinction made by your police driver in the 80s is not supported by the Highway Code. The only scenario in which the HC supports passing on the left is in congestion. Rightly or wrongly, according to the HC you should always pass on the right if you can, otherwise you're opening yourself up to the careless driving law.
@@Dayboot33 or you can be doing 70 in lane 1 and come up to the masses in lanes 2 & 3 one after another at 60 (as they often tend to be as people think lane 1 is for lorries) and slow down all the traffic behind you to 60 to avoid passing them. Arguably driving without consideration to those behind you then !! Arguably up to the point you catch them up, you’re the only one driving as you should be - if the traffic is amassed at a slower speed in lanes 2 & 3, many are probably not complying with the HC by being there in the first place as they should only be in those lanes if overtaking …..
I'm so glad I saw this - a friend did some undertaking and I told her that it wasn't necessarily illegal, just not something you should do. I'll be sharing this video with her.
@@saundersdachicken6197 sadly yes, and try to overtake them on the right ...they are a right pain and they are not following the rules as they should move left and get out of the way....
Conquer Driving 1:54 Because you are on a single carraigeway you said passing the mini is not undertaking. To undertake is to pass another vehicle on it's left hand side. It doesn't state this only applies to a road with a central reservation.
You’re totally right, he’s wrong to say that, it doesn’t matter what kind of road you’re on, single carriageway, dual carriageway or motorway, if 2 lanes are going in the same direction and the vehicle isn’t signaling to turn right and lane 2 or both lanes are free flowing and you pass a vehicle in lane 2 using lane 1 then you are wrongly undertaking.
The issue about passing a lane hogger on the left is that they're probably in their own world, not checking mirrors, as they've probably not noticed you behind. So they might just move left into your lane as you're passing them, with no mirror checks or indication. I do wonder if its people just not being observant or people just not knowing the rules. A lot of people seem to think of lane 2 as "the fast lane", and just sit there doing 65-70mph. Sometimes you see an emergency service vehicle on a dual carriageway and some people just do not move over, even with sirens and lights flashing, must hold them up a bit. Lane discipline seems to be so much better in other countries.
I used to think that lane hoggers were merely careless but there also exists a coterie of "rule enforcers" who want to stop any other car going faster than they are willing to go and block everyone that attempts to make good time on the road. On one glorious occasion I saw one of these clowns being pulled over by the roads police for doing well below the speed limit in the outside lane holding up a long line of traffic in the process. Some drivers even game the system by matching speed with a car in the inner lane, forming a rolling road block to slow down following traffic. Ireland has a big problem in that no testing or training on motorways is carried out and many passed drivers as a result have minimal experience or knowledge of motorway driving at relatively higher speeds than urban roadways allow. Another disease is drivers merging at well below the posted or prevailing speed of traffic on the motorway or multilane roadway, slowing down cars already on the motorway, this practice encourages drivers to immediately enter and stay in the centre or outer lane of such roads leaving the inner lane almost empty and wasted as a result.
In the Netherlands undertaking (in this case passing on the right side) and lane hogging also is illegal and you get a fine when doing it. There are few exceptions where undertaking is allowed: 1. during traffic jams/congestions, 2. block markings on the road alongside sliproads where traffic enters/leaving the main carriageway. 3 Roundabouts with more lanes. About number 2, its not allowed to change to the on/off sliproad undertake and move back to the main lanes. When changed to the sliproad lane with directional arrows you must follow the arrow markings on the road and from that point on you're not allowed to change back.
A viewer from Russia reporting in. We don't have any specific laws concerning undertaking. And no instructor ever talks about the potential dangers thereof. This video is a lot of food for thought.
While some may argue the UK approach is better, what it produces are drivers that make assumptions and thus don't check their surroundings more. In Russia, and many other countries, youre forced to be more aware of everything around you. I'd rather be an alert driver than one who assumes.
@@fatkev1983 UK driving standards are orders of magnitude better than Russia. UK standards are probably one of the highest in the world and Uk drivers are far more aware than most motorists in other countires. In Europe drivers drive way too fast, and in the US very few people indicate when changing lanes despite the culture of undertaking.
@@hencole Places like Germany are generally better than us. They are quick but typically very aware. Speed in itself isn't an issue if people are concentrating/aware.
Bloody mental that keeping up with faster left hand traffic in a two/three/four lane dual-carriageway is still technically against the highway code. Hopefully that will be updated soon. Where I live the dual carriageway goes for 3 miles with one lane for left hand turn at the roundabout and the other for forwards/right, so it's vital that people use the right hand lane for the full three miles (the signs say "get in lane" early on). But the left lane is way faster because it's not the main route. I'd get honked at and flashed at if I drove slowly in that lane just to avoid techincally breaking the highway code. Who even wrote or reviewed it? (It's the A249 southbound from Sittingbourne if you're interested.)
The A249 is synonymous for lane hoggers as well high speed drivers. I know the stretch you’re referring to. I don’t like that bit of road. Same with the junction to Maidstone. It’s awful.
You can pass on the left for cars turning right, or in any case if the cars on your right are going slower. Rule 163. In the scenario you described it would be not be breaking the highway code. Similarly exit lanes on motorways, you are not expected to slow down below the traffic in lane 2 going straight on.
Totally agree with many of the comments below, why should I be prosecuted because the person in the middle lane just wants to sit there, as you said once you have overtaken your vehicle pull back into the left lane The police need to start pulling over and fining them even issuing them 1 point for lane hogging. I've lost count the number of times I've had to undertaken even blasting the horn as I do so, yet they still sit there It's also annoying when many of the lane hoggers are NOT doing the same speed but sat a very low speeds, many also don't know how to use cruise control as they overtake and remain at the same speed instead of increasing their speed afterwhich if they take their foot off after pulling back the car will resume at the set speed. Not difficult
I don't care. If I go in the first lane and it's clear and there's a bellend hogging the middle I just carry on. If police don't police lane hogging I doubt they would be bothered to police undertaking (unless it's actually careless) ie. jumping lanes and driving aggressively. I once witnessed a police car on a motorway in the night time going in 1st lane, getting up to a middle lane hogger, moving to middle lane behind them, staying there for a few seconds, turning their blue becons on (not in the flashing mode, just their solid blue dimmed lights), they were ignored. so they overtook in the 3rd lane, moved back to 1st and carried on. the hogger stayed where they were XD
It's a nonsense "rule" that is never enforced, and rightly so. If I'm driving along at 60 on a 60 limit road, and someone in the lane to my right is sitting there, hogging the lane at 50mph, I'm not going to slow to his speed just to maintain this ridiculous logic. I have no intention of over or undertaking him, I simply want to continue my jourmey, in the left lane, at a legal speed, and with no-one in front of me who might require me to enter the hogged lane in order to pass them.
@@Teeb2023 What's even more stupid about it is all driving instructors tell their students its only allowed in slow moving/congested traffic. They in turn tell younger drivers this rubbish. The law on illegal undertaking was removed from the Statue Books in 1972. No excuse for not knowing this.
This is an excellent video, I liked the part about noticing road signs because they may cause other drivers to suddenly change lanes. This is the sort of thing that would gain you extra points on the Police advance course if you included it in your commentary
Not excellent where he says you shouldn't undertake as a car may get a puncture and may want to get onto the hard shoulder. He's saying if that car slows down in lane 4 then lane 3 should also slow down, then lane 2 and 1. How are those left of that car supposed to know it's because of a puncture? It may be a hoggers. Just bad advise from a driving instructor.
1:53 "This is a single carriageway, and therefore me passing this mini [on the left] is not considered undertaking." In this case, it has nothing to do with it being a single carriageway. Highway Code rule 163: "[S]tay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left." Rule 268 says essentially the same thing for motorways. You quote this rule in the video but it's a bit misleading that you don't mention until a little while later that it only applies to motorways.
I don't think he understands the what to undertake means. Doesn't matter what kind or road it is. It is the passing of another vehicle on it's left hand side. It's speed is irrelevant.
You’re absolutely right, it doesn’t matter what kind of road you’re on, single carriageway, dual carriageway or motorway, you’re only allowed to undertake if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right and there is room to pass on its left hand side, if you’re in congested conditions and lane 2 is congested and slow moving or stationary, apart from that, you shouldn’t undertake on any road.
@@WayneTulip-zm9gw Lanes 2 and 3 may be unable to reach 70mph due to congestion. With lane 1almost empty a car or biker in that lane can legally travel at 70mph.
I love how unbiased you are on this subject, a lot of people try to bend the rules of the highway code to suit their own opinion, it's so great that you just say the facts with no agenda, I'm a great believer in that too.
The instructor was right, but this video is also correct that you need to be very aware that others might move into your lane. Reduce speed, be watchful - but yes, pass the slower traffic. What if it slows even more and stops? Are you going to halt in the sliproad too?
Something I learnt recently on a drivers course and refresher is that the "dual carriageway" is not a duel carriageway if it has a grass seperation in the middle( it will be regarded in the same manner as single lane carriageway). It must have a physical seperation barrier( similar to what you see on the motoway). This impacts what speeds you can have as well.
@@rogerstone3068 wrong again... this drivers course is given on behalf of the police.. try again perhaps you should reading again. im reffering to what is NOT a duel carriageway
Thanks for the video! The only small point I'd like to add regarding the dangers of undertaking is that the view of the road is also limited since you sit on the right side of the car and you are positioned closer to the vehicles that you overtake. It is a very common crash in my city where reckless drivers undertake trucks in middle lane and don't see parked cars or pedestrians in the inside lane because their view opens up very late. Following closely doesn't help them either.
Great video, especially the description of what a dual carriageway is as many don't understand that. But I had to lol at how few f*cks green car gave at 4:45
Just failed first time for undertaking on the duel carriageway! I was gutted because I didn't even know it was a thing, but at least now I'm aware. No other serious faults
I like your point about not responding to someone doing something a bit wrong by doing something dangerous. A UA-cam video I saw recently suggested that a mild bit of tailgating as a form of communication to tell people to move faster or get out of the way is okay. This injects a bit of common sense into proceedings.
Police use such techniques to usher lane hoggers out of the way. They will pull right up behind you and drop back. They will do this a few times. If the driver doesn't pull over, they'll flash their headlights while doing it. Failing to notice that, expect the blue lights, getting pulled over and getting a serious talking to. Traffic cops have no time for slow drivers that create dangerous situations on fast roads.
Whoever the driver is, tailgating is unsafe and should not be used for communication. If by magic everyone stopped tailgating for a whole year, it would be interesting to see how the accident figures on high speed roads change.
@@ConquerDriving I hear you and I agree. But, lets me honest, the worst tailgaters aren't the bullying ones that choose to tailgate on occasion to send a point across (not condoning their actions either)... its those people who habitually tailgate at all times regardless of conditions. A lot of people need re-educating and sadly those people only get it when they bump into the back of someone else. I dread to think how fast they wear down their tyres, brakes, and waste petrol driving so close. It promotes anything but smooth efficient driving. The number of times people get close to the back of me when I am driving a manual car and using engine braking... and its not young or new drivers... its those of us with a decade and more under our belts. I think everyone would benefit from periodically being made to drive a vintage car for a reminder, hahaha! Doesn't even need to be THAT old - my 2004 MR2 would reinstate the fear and respect people should give to driving!
A big problem on motorways is that many drivers don’t indicate when changing lanes. It seems to be quite tied to vehicle type and model. Drivers of faster cars tend to not bother indicating. (I like to tease friends who drive BMWs, or Range rovers, and ask why, given the high cost, their cars didn’t seem to come with those flashing orange lights called indicators!)
It's very simple, unless overtaking you should be on the inside lane. I only indicate when overtaking, no requirement to indicate when returning to the inside lane as it should be done automatically.
In regards to the Less safe place to undertake section, this happened to me joining the M6 fairly shortly after passing. Although I wasn't undertaking, the car in the right of me, not on the "exit lane" was a bit further a head and suddenly moved over into me without even indicating. They clearly didn't check the mirror, and even when I beeped at them they didn't even bother to look at me. So that was a very early lesson I learned and luckily was able to avoid it.
OMG, someone who can film while watching the road instead of the camera! Also, I was just thinking "that road looks familiar!" and then the sign at 1:28 confirmed that you were exactly where I thought you were.
I sometimes use the left lane to undertake slow moving traffic to my right when on motorways and dual carriageways, more people have become middle lane hoggers simply because of the way drivers attitudes have changed over the last few decades, for example when you drive in the left hand lane it become extremely difficult to get back into the next lane because most other drivers are speeding and won't let you out! so you end up stuck in your lane behind a slow moving vehicle all because others are driving too fast and won't let you out into the next lane, this is why 90% of the time drivers hog the middle lane, it's far easier to get to where you are going and not have to keep waiting to be let out.
Cruise control means more lane hogging too. Just pass them on the left, it's not illegal, lane hogging is. If you come up against a slow vehicle in the left lane, overtake it on the right as usual and pull back in. That's not weaving, that's using the motorway correctly as we've always been told :Keep left! If others refuse to do so, that's their look out.
@@markl8740 Yup, unless otherwise indicated by markings/signage you should always move left if the lane is open and a safe space is available. It's acceptable to move right to avoid obstacles, examples include moving out to open the left lane to traffic coming down a slip road.
If you're in the middle lane and you're doing 70 mph, you're not driving too fast and you're technically doing nothing wrong. If you can't get out of Lane 1, you are doing something wrong, maybe you don't trust the power of your vehicle? I personally have no problems accelerating and switching lanes, but if I had a sluggish motor, I can see what the concern would be. People lack assertiveness on motorways and their indecisiveness is what actually makes them dangerous. I see this on motorway entry from the slip road nearly every day, people slow right down when they should be maintaining their speed at the fork and just be ready to cover the break, it's extremely dangerous and winds me up. Many of them should just stick to the B roads.
It’s so easy and so simple, as per Highway Code rule 160, keep to the left, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise, the exceptions are when you want to overtake, turn right or pass parked vehicles or pedestrians in the road, it’s that easy and that straight forward.
I had the other week someone overtake me, stay in lane 2 then slow right down. I slowed down so i wouldn't undertake, if i would have overtaken they might have sped up and started a battle. It was only us on the motorway at the time. Probably just someone looking for trouble.
I think you should do an M25 video and then see how your advice fairs. The law is the law, and I didn't disagree with anything you said, I just feel that new drivers, especially ones from quieter locations, are stunned at what real traffic is like on the motorway. I have stuck in the left hand lane and driven past so many drivers who have held so many people up because they decide how fast they want to go. It makes undertaking the only solution. With the same mirror, signal move steps, you will avoid hitting someone, the drawings of the blind spot are not that sharp and direct, you can see in your peripherals which expands those sharp blind spot edges.
Yeah, I stick to the left lane unless overtaking, however if while I'm driving in the left lane I come across someone driving way under the speed limit in the right lane, I'm passing them on the left. Their wits are congested and slower moving I'm good. :)
Good presentation. I agree on all points. But you might have mentioned indicators. These are meant to used before you start to move, not after the fact. Also, indicating left to change lane is not usually required, but if you aware of the possibility of faster traffic to your left then this is a must.
I am curious about what to do if the lane hogger in the right lane really just doesn't move out of the way. Say on a regular two-lane dual carriageway, where they're perhaps only doing 50 or so. No-one ahead of them, no-one blocking them to their left. I think as per the letter of the law, you need to just slow and go at their speed, which seems completely ludicrous.
@conquerdriving is wrong. In those circumstances, as long as you maintain your speed and the car in left hand land is going slower than you, then you can undertake them.
@@ian6451 Well, by the letter of the law you can keep up with traffic in your lane, even if it means passing slower vehicles to the right, but what if you're the only car around apart from the one going slowly in the overtaking lane? You're not so much keeping up with traffic as deciding which speed to drive.
@@KindredBrujah AS long as youb are not changing spped then just carry on. You are driving 70mph, you eventually encounter middlelane hogger, carry on doing 70 in your lane. Thats the law.
I live in Canada and will be driving in the UK this spring. I'm doing what I can to familiarize myself with the differences. Have you considered doing a video on what we interlopers need to focs on? Cheers.
Good suggestion. Driving in the UK is straightforward, just busier than some areas, other countries. Do not ignore marked pedestrian crossings. You can download the UK Highway Code.
Be extra careful at roundabouts and junctions. The traffic on the driver's side will be coming from the left instead of the right. You just need to concentrate a bit more at first. A few years ago, there was an unfortunate case of an American woman who drifted onto the wrong side of the road and killed an oncoming motorcyclist. Even worse, she claimed (dubious) diplomatic immunity and ran off back to America without facing the consequences of her action.
If you're in traffic then i dont think it's an issue. If the person in the overtaking lane is under the speed limit i dont see an issue either. Its just if you're blocking people around you or getting in the way then it can be dangerous i think
@@SamOwenI Eventually no-one's making any progress if you do that though, and it's _far_ more likely to have impatient drivers doing something _really_ dangerous instead of the just slightly risky undertake.
@@SamOwenI not in an impatient way. Yes you're in their blind spot but I'm not talking about speeding up to purposely undertake. I'm talking about if I'm in the left hand lane doing 70 and someone in the overtaking lane is doing 60 (for some reason). I don't do it but I don't see it's a big deal to keep going at 70 past them. Especially if they show no intentions of moving back over as you should. They would see me approaching them in their mirror before the blindspot.
@@scottishSloth I don't know, I think I would move to the right lane if I really wanted to overtake someone going at 60. Otherwise I would drop back and stay at 60
In America on the freeway it's legal and no problem passing on either side of a car. It's easy, not dangerous because everyone has done it all the time they have driven. It actually evens out the speed everyone drives.
It's also legal in UK . It's just that those in UK don't know it. Why do all UA-cam driving instructors say it can only be carried out in congested traffic??
At 4:25 A driver in that situation would be the cause that last second decision themselves. It's not always safe for those to the left to slow down to let that car move into their lane to exit the motorway.. Advising motorists to do what you said would be causing a high risk of a collision.
Last person that undertook me when I was doing the legal speed limit ended up totaling his car on the center lane. It is a dumb move that many inexperienced drivers tend to make. Do it at your own risk
@@gerrylast i think in this instance Gerry, one has to ask themselves “why someone would be willing to undertake them?” What situation had you created that made that person want to willingly undertake you? I don’t create the opportunity to be undertaken. I keep left. Especially as there is always going to be a faster person wanting to pass and I’m not going to hold them up over a small minded principle. You want be to in front or get passed. Be my guest. I drive at my own risk every day Gerry. Everyone around me is as much a moron as me when on the road. I just don’t entertain moving from lane 1 to lane 3 and back to lane 1 just to overtake someone on lane 2. Especially when cruising at the speed limit. Which I purposely do when undertaking. As that’s what we all should be doing on a motorway. Lorries don’t want to leave lane 1. But they will if you’re not doing the speed limit. I witnessed someone be pulled over for lane hogging this week funnily enough. They only moved over to lane 1 when the cop car approached them. Funny that!
"legal speed limit" is such a great way of saying you were hogging the lane. It's obvious if someone undertook you that you had room to get back into the left lane and choose not to. Probably because you were, as you say it, "doing the legal speed limit" and refused to believe you were doing anything wrong.
@@gerrylast Doesn't matter what speed you were doing. If someone passed you on your left hand side and it wasn't heavy traffic then you were in the wrong lane.
Have not even started driving yet (have my theory test at the end of this month), but I am enjoying binging through all your videos so much. It's incredibly useful knowing a lot of these tips before getting behind the wheel!
I drive a HGV, on motorways we’re only (usually) allowed to use lanes 1&2. My speed is limited to 56mph, but the ammount of people I see doing 50mph in lane 2 every day is quite unbelievable. My approach is now simple, I’ll stay in lane 1 observing if any of the things in this video about exits etc are coming up, if not I’ll flash the lights once or twice to alert them of my presence. Once it’s obvious they are lane hogging, I’ll just pass them in lane 1 (and stay in lane 1 after). I’ll then usually have a look at them in the mirror to see if my passing on the left has triggered them to realise they are lane hogging…….and 9/10 times they just continue pottering along in lane 2 (probably cursing me for undertaking). Thank you for this video, as a professional driver I’d like to think I know the traffic laws pretty well but it’s nice to see someone else explaining it properly for those that don’t. Oh and just to be clear, this also happens on duel carriageways and I’ll take exactly the same course of action.
I got pissed off with a HGV driver yesterday on the inside lane because he was doing about 65 mph when there was an on the fly speed warning for all traffic to slow to 50 mph due to something going on ahead, and my exit was about half a mile to the left of him; I was in the middle lane. I started slowing down and signalled left well in advance and was looking for him to slow down so I could go infront and turn off, but he wasn't slowing and was now illegally blocking the left lane I needed to get onto by virtue of the speed he was still going at. He left it really late to start slowing down enough for me to overtake at legal speed, literally right before the slip road, so I sped up and went infront of him (still legally at the advised speed) and he repeatedly flashed me as though I'd somehow done something wrong, which just really irritated me. HGV and Commercial Van drivers are amongst some of the worst on the road, I hate being behind or around any of them.
@@Longlostpuss well I can assure you he wasn’t doing 65……all limited to 56. Secondly your car speedo will be reading 2 to 5mph UNDER the actual speed. So your speedo said 50 but you’re actually doing 45 to 48. Speedos in trucks are accurate because they are calibrated due to the tachograph, so his speedo would indicate 50 mph and he’s doing 50 mph. Thirdly he’s under zero obligation to slow down to allow you to take the exit because your poor planning now means that you’re approaching the exit you want and you having moved to the left behind the truck, absolutely nothing to stop you from slowing down and slotting in behind the truck. Fourthly it’s not YOUR exit as you called it, it’s an exit that everyone is entitled to use and it’s their own responsibility to plan for the conditions and get themselves into the correct lane. So before you criticise anyone else on the road I’d take a serious look at your own driving ability if you’re incapable of positioning yourself in the correct lane and expect everyone else to give way to you, that’s not how the Highway Code works. What is quite unbelievable is the lack of knowledge and self importance from people such as yourself. Hope this helps 👍🏻
@@Longlostpuss I really fail to see why you thought slowing down more and going behind the truck wasn’t an option for you. You actually think you’re that important that others should give way to you when they have no legal requirement to do so.
@@aquanick2001 I know exactly how speedos are calibrated thanks and trucks can definitely go faster than 60 mph (most can hit 80 mph), they're just not allowed to do it and not allowed to move outside of Lane 1. You're basically suggesting every single HGV out there has a limiter chip in them???? Right away you've lost this debate just on that, it's invalidated your argument. But again, he didn't slow down to 50 mph, that was clear, because I was slowing down from 70 mph in the middle lane to 50 mph and he was ahead of me when I dropped to 50 mph. I also already told you the slip road was half a mile ahead, that's more than plenty of time to plan and manoeuvre, what are you talking about???? If the truck had slowed down to 50 mph as he was supposed to, I could have moved lanes infront without an issue, because I was already going faster. However, I couldn't do it because he wasn't slowing down after the sign like I was, so I ended up going slower than the truck and therefore he was definitely still maintaining closer to 60 mph. It's not safe to slow down in the middle lane below 50 mph when there's cars behind you, I don't know what you're talking about. I couldn't gamble on what speed the truck was doing, I had no clue what the driver was doing, but he was not driving at the instructed speed, that was for sure. neither of us knew what was up ahead, so he was dangerous for not slowing a flippin truck down, there could have been an accident ahead for all we knew. Either way, I was forced to overtake right at the last, that's not my problem, I'm not missing the only slip road I could take for the next 20 miles just because of some moron who can't read a clear road sign nor see someone signalling because he can't move his head 45 degrees to look to his right. I didn't say it was my road as in it belongs to me, I meant I needed to take that slip road and some dick was blocking me off when the motorway wasn't even busy, he could have just slowed down in Lane 1 and let me go in front, going behind was not an option with a car behind me, he had nothing behind him. Without that 50 mph sign, there probably wouldn't have been an issue, but the fact is it applies to everyone, the driver thought it didn't apply to him. So don't try to condescend me as if I don't know the rules of the road, I've been driving for well over 20 years.
00:04 sorry to say this but you’re wrong, it’s not only on a dual carriageway where you can undertake, you can undertake on any road, including motorways and single carriageways, if 2 or more lanes go in the same direction and you pass a vehicle on its left hand side then you’re undertaking them, as per rules 159 to 203 under the “using the road” rules of the Highway Code, rule 160 of the Highway Code states “once moving you should keep to the left, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise, the exceptions are when you want to overtake, turn right or pass parked vehicles or pedestrians in the road”, as per rule 163 of the Highway Code, which applies to non-motorways, “only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signaling to turn right and there is room to do so, stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues, if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left”, Highway Code rule 267 which applies to motorways states “overtake only on the right”, as per rule 268 of the Highway Code, which applies to motorways, “do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake, in congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right, in these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right, do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.”
If you’re doing the speed limit on the left lane and there’s a car in the second lane going slower it’s fine to pass them as you’re just staying in your lane.
It amazes me that overtaking in the slower lanes is commonly called "undertaking". Grammatically, undertaking is when you slow your pace such that a vehicle previously steady behind you overtakes you just by virtue of you slowing down. To me, it's a bit like calling a shade of grey "pink"
They spent many years, and many millions of pounds to put a 4th lane on the M25. Most of the time the two inside lanes are empty. I have always undertaken, and will continue to do so.
Where i live it's a bit simpler: Drive on the right, pass only on the left. Exceptions are when the other vehicle is undoubtedly turning left, congestion or when you are in a connecting lane on a highway. You can drive faster than another vehicle on your left on urban roads and it's not considered overtaking
I have been flashed by a car while overtaking a lorry at 50 mph in a 50 mph section of 2 lane motorway. even when unable to move to the left, and averaging speed cameras. and that is without pulling out on someone to make a point that they were driving too fast the vehicle wasn't even visable when I changed lanes to overtake.
Pass when safe to do so, if you’re moving into a lane where an approaching car is moving faster than you are and the manoeuvre can’t be completed safely without hindering the flow of traffic wait for them to pass. I can’t believe that in the space it takes to overtake a single HGV safely a shoulder check wouldn’t have resulted in you seeing the approaching car before manoeuvring into lane 2 unless they were going 30-50 mph over the speed limit or visibility was extremely poor. Additionally, based on your comment; the HGV was travelling at ~50mph and so were you, the speed difference meant you weren’t in fact performing an overtaking manoeuvre and were instead hogging the lane, keeping a similar (perhaps minutely faster) pace for a prolonged period. You said it yourself “while overtaking a lorry at 50 in a 50mph section of 2 lane motorway”. To quote the Highway Code and an increasing number of highway gantry’s and roadside dot matrix signs aimed at drivers such as yourself “keep left unless overtaking”. I’m afraid you’re part of the problem. A four mile overtake is unnecessary and hindering the flow of traffic. Don’t assume your speedo is accurate, there is a valid reason for the 10% + 2 leniency with speeding fines, your speedo may say 50 where the driver behind may perceive you travelling at 43 based on their own speedo. The only accurate speedo on U.K. roads which is tested and certified are those in police vehicles. More over If they were speeding and are travelling through an average speed check zone they will get a ticket.
@@TheRg191 the motorway is on several bends in succesion to go around mountains here in Wales, the HGV was doing between 45 to 50 because of the hill we were also climbing. yes on a normal motorway at 70 mph speed limit then it would be classed as lane hogging, and I wouldn't disagree but when there is a speed difference and you are already alongaide an HGV you are overtaking it is not lane hogging. snd it is not lane hogging when there was enough of a speed difference between car and truck, and the car is going at maximum speed for the road/conditions/speed limit no gantry signs. it is an enforced speed limit sign with a MASSIVE RED CIRCLE.
as for the speedo it is around 2mph out if you look at a sat nav. and also speed check signs at 30. but when you value your licence like holding a licence for your job like I don't know being a truck driver then I would rather keep it thank-you, so no not speeding up for a tit in a fast car. because the camera catches both cars speeding if the speedo is out the wrong way. things like tyre pressures, distance around bends, heat of the cable, tyre sizes can all make the difference over a couple of hundred metres.
@@michaelthomas3646 GPS speed measurement isn’t accurate, UK courts view GPS recorded speeds for the purpose of evidence as up to 80% inaccurate, by U.K. law as with all speedometer devices no GPS speed can legally underreport, most over estimate: “This is a huge problem and the same error can develop in both directions: The Tracker Report can also report very high speeds that are inaccurate. Our own analysis of actual Tracker Reports, in real-world cases, revealed errors that are as high as 80%” so no device in your car is giving an accurate reading and by all accounts is more likely to be reporting a higher speed than lower.
@@michaelthomas3646 if the speed limit is restricted to 50 and you’re overtaking at 50 you are not making sufficient progress; there is not a sufficient difference in speed. If you were passing a truck doing 50 on a motorway at 70mph you’re making sufficient progress, if you’re reaching the indicated speed limit which is within range of the speed the HGV is travelling you aren’t overtaking anything. You can’t agree with the principal and then contradict yourself a sentence later. You were lane hogging, impeding the flow of traffic and someone was frustrated by it. No driver is perfect and we all make mistakes. He was overly aggressive and you were impeding the flow of traffic unnecessarily. Your attitude to other drivers on the road speaks volumes “not speeding up for a tit in a fast car” says it all. You aren’t expected to speed up for other road users, you are however expected to think ahead and drive defensively and not to impede the flow of traffic, if your overtake is going to be done at a handful of MPH higher than lane one traffic and is slow enough to have to consider traffic over successive bends on the M4 don’t even begin to move into lane 2 without expecting to annoy someone.
Thank-you! The standard of driving these days is appalling. The message, basically from 10:28 onwards is 'Be civil', then you will be safe. This is why your closing remark, I think, is better not as 'Be safe' but rather, 'Be civil'. This, I know, is hard to do in practice!
The police need to get a lot more serious about lane-hogging. It effectively turns a 3-lane motorway into just a 2-lane motorway.
more people have become middle lane hoggers simply because of the way drivers attitudes have changed over the last few decades, for example when you drive in the left hand lane it become extremely difficult to get back into the next lane because most other drivers are speeding and won't let you out! so you end up stuck in your lane behind a slow moving vehicle all because others are driving too fast and won't let you out into the next lane, this is why 90% of the time drivers hog the middle lane, it's far easier to get to where you are going and not have to keep waiting to be let out.
@@ptaylor5014 Middle-lane hogging is what causes the middle lane to be overly congested, not speeding
@@ptaylor5014speeding my arse! With all the cameras and average speed cameras everywhere, yeah right.
@@PointNemo9100%
Motorway driving is not even explained in the learners exam or even practised once. So most drivers don't bother reading upon motorway driving etiquette and laws after passing their test.
The more lanes there are, the more lane discipline breaks down and even flips into reverse where the left lanes are freer and faster then the right lanes. I see this on the M25 a lot.
Even in the middle of the night, I find the M25 full of people doing 60 in lane 3 of 4. I don't know why they're so strongly attracted to that lane, but it seems dangerous crossing 3 lanes to overtake them, then 3 lanes back to the inside lane where they should have been all along.
@@rabidpbreally feel that. Honestly don’t know what the solution could be at this point.
If you can pass a car on the inside with a clear lane inbetween, that is probably safer than crossing 3 lanes and back again.
@@jchadd I agree -- if approaching with due caution, fully aware that you're in the other driver's worst blind spot. Not that those drivers ever look in their mirrors anyway.
Everyday, quicker to get home on lane 1 which is completely clear lol, it's just cringe to see
There are far too many middle-lane hoggers these days. To be fair, there is little chance that these lane hoggers will suddenly move back into lane 1. When there is a bit of congestion, I just carry on in lane 1 regardless because almost everyone is in lane 2 and 3+.
That's true. On motorways, I find about 80% of the time that lane 1 with lots of heavy vehicles move faster than 2/3+ when it is congested.
Honestly it's shocking. On the 4 lane roads some of the lane 2 hoggers turn into lane 3 hoggers. What do I do? become a lane 3 hogger myself? Perform 6 lane changes? or just undertake them?
In my city if there are three lanes on the road people drive in the middle lane by default. It's not unjustified though because the right lane is usually parked up, there are bus stops almost everywhere, most crossroads have legal right turn on red and people try to keep the right lane clear to help people turn, and much more.
However, people tend to carry these habits over to expressways and other roads where the right lane is clear for miles.
People have a wrong idea that the middle lane is the default cruising lane unfortunately, and it causes problems on fast roads. I believe it contributes to higher congestion as well.
@@TheKeirsunishi I sometimes encounter the lane hoggers on lane 3 of 3 lanes, I just undertake in lane 2, not having any other choice. That's not our fault if we can do it safely.
You don't want to stay in lane 3 doing 65 while you can do 68-70 in lane 2. Just feel safer to undertake than to follow them.
@@TheKeirsunishi If you're having to do six lane changes, then they're almost certainly Indians, as in India the speed limit drops 10 mph per lane, and that's why they're doing 60 mph in lane 3. I saw it on a documentary on India.
The way I see it, as per Rule 268. "In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right."
If people are hogging lanes 2/3/4 and are moving below the designated speed limit(usually a Prius driver on the M25), I can safely pass them on the left (whilst maintaining the speed limit) as it is congested and the traffic is moving slower than lane 1.
@@marshmellow377
If there's only 1 car in lane 2,3 or 4 moving below the speed limit it can be undertaken.
@@DaronOHare Yes, exactly what I am saying. Or even if lanes 2,3 and 4 are full of morons driving at 65, you can pass in lane 1 at 70.
@@marshmellow377 Hard to believe all the UA-cam driving instructors think it can only be carried out in "congested" traffic, or on a one way street.
This video is so underrated. The description and examples used are so well put together and so easy to understand.
Watched it a few days ago and right before a long journey on the M1 and due to it I started seeing clearer my past mistakes, helped avoid them ever again and of course see the mistakes of so many drivers hugging the 2nd or 3rd lane when the left one was clear for a long period/space.
Many years ago i was driving along a dual carriageway, i was in the left hand lane and in the right hand lane was a marked police car who was doing approx. 45-46 mph, the speed limit was 60 mph and it was daylight with dry road and no wind, as i drove along this road it became apparent the officer was not going to move over to the left, or speed up a little, another few miles gone i had enough of this so slowly and cautiously undertook him just a few mps faster than what he was doing, all seemed fine for a minute or two, then i see blue flashing lights in my rear mirrors, he pulled me over and asked "what that was for"? i politely but firmly told him of his behaviour while driving which was causing unnecessary tailbacks, and asked him what his reason for doing so was, he then became aggressive so i told him i was recording it for evidence of any wrongdoing, he then just said "well don't do that again" and got back into his car and drove off, this time in the correct "left lane"
If that happened again then just ask him to point out to you what rule in the highway code are you breaking. He won't be able to give you a true answer and he'll try get you for something else.
You should not have undertaken, you should have sent you dashcam footage to the internal affairs (corresponding) of the police as well as some TV station.
Acab
When you say you undertook do you mean you then moved over so that you were directly in front of the police car? Or literally just passed them but remained in your lane, because in the latter the cop was 100% wrong
He had no right to pull you over, he was the one in breach of the law.
I like how your animations show the vehicles keeping a safe distance from one another. If only it happened in reality.
I think it's a bit of an exaggerated. If a vehicle in lane 3 is a short distance in front a car in lane 1 surely the driver in lane 1 could see that vehicle. He said if a car in an outside lane gets a puncture then lanes to the left should all slow down. That's not what you'd expect from a driving instructor. I might have said that before I started driving over 40 years ago.
Safe distance ?? It should be 1 yard for every mph you are travelling at
@@richardjeffery1473 You really didn't pay attention to your physics master did you? pmsl
All common sense after years of driving, but so many people drive badly and lose their calm. Excellent video.
In Australia, the law is written as "Keep left unless overtaking".
The left is considered left half of the lanes (rounded up) and applies to all roads where the speed limit is iver 80 km/h OR signed as such.
This is a much better way to represent the concept and those who cruise in the right lane commit the offense if they get passed on the left (e.g. they travel in the right lanes below the speed limit).
As there is greater opportunity to be committing the offense, mist people do the right things.
Thankfully we can legally do the speed limit in any lane, and the only thing potentially illegal is dangerously driving around right turning traffic. On the M4 lights on and 110 km/h in the left lane past the bogans in the centre lane and whatever is going on in the right is often the fastest option, watching out for someone heading off.
Amazed by your skill as a teacher! Very clear language, bunching relevant concepts! Great examples! Well done
been driving 35 years, everything in this video is good advice
If you’re having to dart off to exit last minute. That just screams of piss poor forward planning. If you’re going to miss it, carry on to the next junction and turn around.
and most of the times indication of a lane hogger too 😆 actually, that's their regular behaviour.
Commit to your mistakes. A few extra minutes to correct safely is always better than a dangerous manoeuvre. Same on round abouts.
Yes, obviously. Never heard of driving defensively?
You have to drive defensively. The majority of people on the road are thick.
@@fukyutube2279I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, driving in the country has gone to shit, I don’t have one drive without incident now. Frequently people pull into the right lane to go 20 under the limit it seems.
I prioritise my lane choice based on space. If I have a clear lane with good vision and traffic conditions, a lane hogger and busier lanes to my right, I'll continue in the left lane.
Lane hoggers are generally lacking awareness, usually on cruise control with lane assist and quite often distracted by phones or deep in conversation. They have no idea where other road users are.
The most important skills to learn for motorway driving are controlling the space and spatial awareness. When you only have wing mirrors and limited visibility over your shoulder you soon learn the constant mirror scanning technique to build up 360 degree of awareness over the whole road and who's on it, knowing who's inside your blind spots is not just critical for safety but also your sanity.
@@darthwiizius absolutely, by keeping aware of the situation behind you as well as in front you make the entire process of motorway driving safer and less stressful. Just one more thing: take regular breaks. We all process the incoming information differently, so it can cause us to fatigue at different speeds, but I find that after a couple of hours on a reasonably busy motorway I need to have a time-out. I usually pre-plan longer journeys around rest stops for this very reason.
@@badcrumble1
You are clearly an aware driver mate. Non-professional drivers have a 2 hour concentration limit so should look to stop for 15 minutes out of the car after 2 hours of constant driving. Professional drivers can go up to 4.5 hours but are required to take at least half an hour away after such a stint, when you're on a tac and driving solo you're required to take a 15 minute break after 2 hours by law and you should also factor a lunch break after 4 hours with another break after 2 more hours driving after that. I've oft been forced to literally pull over for an extended period following random bouts of unexpected drowsiness. One tip I give is to down a red bull then nap, after about 45 minutes the caffeine kicks in and you wake up refreshed, at that point get out, use a lavatory, get a coffee and you're good to go nice and alert and awake.
Pretty sure it's generally accepted that undertaking requires you to change lane to pass then return to the lane. It's not overly explained well in law but that's the usual case that actually gets accepted in courts.
@@RickyT15 nonsense, it is never safe to undertake in free flowing traffic.
It literally says you should not change lanes to undertake.
The only time you can undertake is in average speed zones and slow congested traffic.
Passed my driving test 12 years ago and still learning from your channel 🤙
Thanks for that very succinct, precise and helpful video. I sometimes see drivers, in congested situations, aggressively undertaking, just to get one car ahead.
Just passed my driving test today first time with no minors, your videos have been so helpful!!! Thank you ❤
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Well done and congrats.
I’ve read “with no mirrors!” at first
@@amateusz2137 LOL the opposite was definitely needed 😅
mariabrii9564 - Well done, now you begin learning how to drive. Tragically they don't teach you motorway driving apart from a little theory. Take my advice when you drive on a motorway take an experienced motorway driver with you and they will give you advice and help you feel at ease on a busy motorway which can be terrifying to a new driver.
Passed my test first time on Tuesday last week but here I am, still watching.
Keep up the good work Richard !
Congratulations on passing!
Same here, passed today. Still finding advice and tips to better myself
@@ayowhat6139 Keep trying on that licence you'll get it someday kid
8 years since I passed my test and I still watch videos like this. It's always good to refresh everything you have learned.
@ayowhat6139 and who asked for your opinion. Keep scrolling if you don't like it. No one carse about your sad opinion.
The reality is that on UK roads these days you have to be proficient, competent and safe passing on the left.
If a lane hogger has no intention of moving left and you would have to cross two lanes to pass on the right, and there is nothing that would make you move right after passing the hog (a HGV or junction / exit / merge point for example), a friendly toot-toot on the horn before being in the blind spot and passing at a sensible speed difference is acceptable in my opinion.
I had my first proper accident a couple days ago and had my first experience with insurance companies.
The other party was entirely at fault and admitted as much fairly quickly, but my car was still written off.
All things considered, I got a fairly decent evaluation and didn’t have to fight the insurance anywhere near as much as I was expecting. But there were a lot of things that could’ve been different and that would’ve made the whole ordeal a lot worse.
It made me realise that there really aren’t a lot of videos or public guidance about what to do in these situations and how to deal with insurance or difficult third parties when something DOES go wrong. Would be great to see some videos with clear advice and guidance on how to deal with insurance claims, disputes, and write offs. Especially for new drivers
Same with me. Was the other guys fault and his insurance (admiral) were brilliant. I had the money in three days over the weekend
Clearly and thoroughly explained. Bottom line - be safe and kind ❤
Nice video - but in your criticism of the Highway Code you seem to ignore rule 163 “If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left. “ This covers Dual Carriageways.
Very interesting point. I have undertaken about 50 cars everyday for 30 years usually at about 20kph speed difference as slower takes a long time and faster gives them less chance to see me. The argument against undertaking that those being undertaken find it hard to switch lanes to left because they can't see out window is less of an issue these days with modern features like blind spot monitors, cameras, automatic steering intervention, semi-fisheye mirrors, brighter turn signals etc as well as more knowledgeable driving techniques like switching lanes gradually.
Even if its moving 1mph slower that you, you can still undertake. Rule 163 is advisory and not law.
@@saundersdachicken6197must is law, should is advisory.
@@stuartcraigon2003 So is "do/do not" advise. The only words written in The Highway Code that are legal requirements are Must and Must Not.
@saundersdachicken6197 no that's not true. Do/do not are law as well, same as must/must nor.
I passed my driving test last week. Your videos are so helpful, therapeutic too after being put down by my instructors. These videos kept me going, I have learnt a lot and gained confidence to actually start driving.
Camping on your channel from Uganda, thanks Richard!
That's great news! Congratulations on passing!
Last week I passed my test in UK. Thanks to you and all other youtubers who do a great job with driving instructions. I only took a couple o lessons from a driving instructor because I have some driving experience in my country.
Congratulations!
Learning off UA-cam and passing your driving test without any proper tution ? No wonder insurance premiums are so expensive in the UK with so many uneducated dangerous drivers on the road 😂
@@use-oc4mj6n If anyone come to uk knows how to use the clutch, signals and know their car and go through the highway code pass the test and get some familiarity with the road with an instructor, you can't complain they are uneducated and dangerous.
Thanks for clarifying what a dual carriageway is. Very helpful.
Well said! Undertaking drives me nuts and is very much more common now. People blatantly take advantage of other drivers keeping a safe distance in fast, heavy traffic. Now one has to allow for idiots accelerating up on the left in steady traffic when one is trying to drop back into the left lane, especially those who suddenly drop into the left to do so, thus appearing "out of nowhere". This prolongs the time it takes to assess what's going on and safely move over - thus extending the time one spends in the middle/right lane.
I drive to work using the M25 almost everyday, it's ridiculous how often I see drivers hogging the 2nd and 3rd lane so much, worse yet - they're going about 60-65 on those lanes. Lane 1 I find to be almost empty half the time, gotten to the point where I'm undertaking quite a bit. I realise now how dangerous that is, so definitely going to stop this. Crazy how post driving test we can pick up bad habits quickly, but something needs to be done about this lane-hogging nonsense.
But you're not undertaking. Your obligation is to move back to the leftmost lane after overtaking any vehicle, so that's what you're doing. That you're then moving faster in the leftmost lane than the other traffic to your right is irrelevant, you're not undertaking.
Agreed!
@@specialcircs That's still undertaking or rather overtaking on the left.
Rule 286. "Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."
Yeah, I love the M25 and that all the drivers seems to leave lane 1 clear just for me 😁
11:42 Lane 3 is frequently subject to lane hoggers that are not paying any attention to their mirrors, blind spots, other drivers or even the indicated speed of their own car.
Futile though it may be, I still choose to do exactly as you say; remain a safe distance behind the driver in question, observe the road ahead of them where I can and if they are simply travelling in the third lane, flash the highs to signal my intentions.
Only after a few opportunities to move down a lane(with accompanying bumps of the high beams) will I begin to consider alternative action. In some cases, that involves moving down to lane 2 or even 1 and proceeding as normal at the speed limit.
Often times these drivers are so inattentive they are incapable of maintaining a consistent speed. I don't want to be in the proximity of such a driver, under any circumstance.
I always undertake immediately, I see absolutely no reason not to. Have undertaken (in empty lane 1 of motorway) about 16 cars in one go before. No chance I’m gonna sit behind people doing 60mph for no reason.
@RobJT I mean, that's fine if you don't care about your wellbeing or the wellbeing of anyone else.
Excellent video. Would be nice if you mentioned motorcycles lane splitting and promote more car drivers awareness?
If they're doing 70 mph in the lane, they're technically not hogging though.
This is where so many drivers with their misplaced self-entitlement go wrong and are actually stressing themselves out over nothing.
Technically, the car you're so eager to overtake is doing you a favour.
@@Vic13thRacing how does it affect anyone’s wellbeing?
A situation that I have experienced quite often on a 2 lane dual carriageway is: A vehicle moved to the right hand lane to overtake then vehicle they are overtaking speeds up to prevent being overtaken. This is particularly annoying with lorries and vans which have a fixed top speed of 60 or 70 mph. It is not undertaking as such but it causes major issues for the following vehicles and causes many people to drive dangerously. In these kinds of situations you need to have your wits about you and it takes some skill and judgement to be safe for yourself and other road users. Good driving is about doing what you can to make the road safe even if others make mistakes or behave recklessly. No one is perfect and we all drive badly at some time so prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected from other drivers !
Rule 168 of the Highway Code covers this. It specifically says that speeding up when someone is trying to overtake you is dangerous. People doing that could certainly get themselves a ticket.
this is the thing that scared me the most when I first started driving. People did this ALL the time. Ironically it ended up with me middle lane hogging because I got scared of moving lanes back and forth to overtake people! Thankfully I've gained a lot of experience and of course people don't speed up when I overtake them as often now that I don't have P plates on...😊
Conquer Driving Undertaking is Not only done on a dual carraigeway. Undertaking can be done on single carraigeway that hat 2 plus lanes in the same direction. Even if one lane is a bus lane and the other for normal traffic.
You’re absolutely right, it’s crazy how many driving instructors and people get this wrong but it’s so easy and so simple, rule 163, which applies to non-motorways, which includes single carriageways, dual carriageways that are not motorways and non-motorway special roads, states, “only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right and there is room to do so, stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues, if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left”, rule 268, which only applies to motorways states “do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake, in congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right, in these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right”, also, rule 267, which applies to motorways states “overtake only on the right”, it’s that easy and that simple, I feel like some people bend the rules to suit their needs.
Thank you. I thought flashing your headlights was illegal as it was seen as aggressive driving but now I know what I will be doing tomorrow!
Another great video Richard. Between yourself and Ashley Neal you have cornered the market in the best. informative and educational You Tube videos for drivers out there.
Ashley Neal said undertaking is legal but is classed as careless driving. When questioned what he meant by this he didn't or just couldn't answer.
@@JohnFarrell-bc8gtIt's one of those where there's no specific traffic law to forbid it (plenty think there is), but doing it could be classed as careless driving etc. if you cause issues.
There's also the 'didn't follow Highway Code advice so is liable' issue to be aware of.
@@TheCatBilbo Any manouver could be classed as careless driving if and only if it is done carelessly. If you cut in front of another car whether it be right or left that would be classed as CD and not what's done after that like overtaking, or turning right or left.
10:55 onwards - More drivers need to hear this, VERY well said, the amount of road rage drivers is crazy. Great video as usual mate.
I’m guessing you’ve been on the receiving end of an angry undertaking car?
My advice is get away from them ASAP. I almost got rear ended because the guy in front of me was crawling for no reason in the fast lane
People don't realise driving slowly on the motorway can be just as dangerous as driving fast
This is one of the reasons I mostly do motorways at 65mph now on cruise control. It's fast enough to justify overtaking trucks, but slow enough to extract yourself from the world of the angry tailgaters.
@@system11yt you're part of the problem, the speed limit is 70.
@@sameoldshit745 You can use the lanes to the right of me, plenty of people for you to tailgate there.
Last year driving up the M6 in Cumbria I caught up with a camper van that was only doing 40 in the middle lane, forcing me to slow down and try to change lane twice quickly, which you aren't supposed to do. I don't like the Motorway on a good day! So I had to do the big manoeuvre, get behind check and move across again. Then I tried to overtake, they started going faster. Then I didn't know what to do. So I slowed down and moved middle, then checked again and moved to the left, then floored it shot past the inside of them.
Once you get used to "undertaking" in places like the US where it's legal the mind boggles why we have such a restriction in the UK especially with the emergence of lane hoggers.
Isn't it the same in UK?
There's a lot more lanes in the US than the UK. It makes less sense to have that law there. Imagine switching 4 lanes to overtake a car by 4mph (in order to legally be below the speed limit). The UK generally accepts that the inner lane is for faster people while outer lanes are for slower driving. Yeah I know the whole overtaking rule but they can't say what I said in the driving handbook now can they? If you want to speed, go to the first lane, if you want to go slow, drive in the lorry lane. I stick with the overtaking switch rule and I like it but I also undertake slowly when I need to for a car here and there. If you're about to take an exit coming up, undertake slowly and carefully by all means. Otherwise go to the inner lanes. Undertaking is not a law that's enforced unless you crash while undertaking quite rapidly. 30mph also means 30 to 40mph (unless speed camera is approaching) and 70mph means 79mph. They have to warn you of an upcoming speed camera in the UK. 50% of them outside of the city don't work and are there to threaten you.
You explained this much better than my driving instructor after I failed my driving test, for attempting to undertake a guy who was driving 30 mph on the right hand lane of a dual carriageway. I just didn't understand why I was blocking up traffic on the left hand lane because of him as I had to then keep my speed down. I thought that it was more of an offence/fail to make other drivers slow down behind me! It was an instant fail 😩 beware of this fellow learners!!
How did that driving instructor ever get to hold a qualification to instruct. You should have challenged him and ask him to point out to you where in the Highway Code is there anything to give him the right to fail you.
If every bus driver was to do what he thinks there would be none left on the road. He failed you because someone else might do something carelessly. What an idiot
In my test I kept saying out loud 'why is he driving so slow? I don't know if I should go past him? I'm not sure, us this right?' I then sped up and he held his hand up and said 'no, you can't undertake' and used the dual brake. I knew it was a fail. In the last 5 minutes of the test as well 😭 my instructor driving me home said just always stay back. If I doubt stay behind. I just never got it! Why should someone be allowed to just go 30 mph in the fast lane on a dual carriageway! I'm starting to understand experienced drivers number one frustrations! 😂
Conquer Driving or Ashley Neil would agree that, he doesn't know the wording and what it means of the highway code. Like ihim to come on here.
Good advice about waiting a few moments to give the other driver chance to show what they intend to do. Some drivers expect others to move out of their way even when it is unsafe to do so, eg. when passing HGVs and pulling into their braking space. Some of these bullies will quickly go for an undertake before the car in front has a proper chance to safely pull back.
Had that a few times. Until I see both headlights of a truck or van in my rear view mirror I won't move back over. Both headlights ensures you have left enough space for the truck you've just overtaken to stop in an emergency.
@@stuartcraigon2003 This, exactly.
@PedroConejo1939 a lot of my driving standards and thinking comes from driving a truck. It's amazing how much more aware and considerate you become when you learn to drive a truck. Another example of this is that I ALWAYS hang back behind the trailer of a truck if I'm in the outside lane at a roundabout. It's common sense, respect for the driver and makes his or her life that little bit easier. I once saw the outcome of not doing it. It was the opposite and a car had tried to squeeze between a truck turning right at a roundabout and a crash barrier. He failed and the trailer crushed his car, so much so he popped out the sunroof like a jack in the box! 🫣
I always try not to undertake as vehicle from further lanes can get into my front without seeing me, that is my worst fear as I had many near-miss with someone undertaking.
But your in-depths explanations got me to think about more hazards I never think about, especially that undertaking trapped people from able to exit and was one of the reason people panic exit and cutting people off at the last moment, and now I feel that aggressive driver that got mad at lane hogger is maybe worst than hogger, because they made the problem worst instead of trying to make it safe.
Because now I realized that many of lane hoggers might do it because they are sick of aggressive undertaking drivers, so they just stay there and then they couldn't exit and got more punished for being afraid. People need to cool down, it's faster to be safe than save a few seconds and lost it all.
Thank you for your service.
You have to have spatial awareness and control the space around your vehicle. Part of that is controlling the space that others may need to access, look for people positioning to move left and open the gap and let them in with a flash of the lights. It not only helps them but it makes your journeys less stressful. If a [Audi] driver chops in front of your bumper instead of concentrating on the twat reopen your braking space instead, it'll destress you faster and you'll be controlling the space around your vehicle. This is why I believe that motorway tuition should be a legal requirement after passing the test and before a license is issued, the first thing I did in Jan 1990 after my test was book motorway tuition as I had never driven on one before, I have never stopped doing what I was taught.
@@darthwiizius Yea, after learning more from observing and trying to predict what others are doing, it became easier to plan ahead to leave room and be ready to avoid or evade potential conflicting moves from others. The more I learnt, the more I felt that this need to be make aware more to new drivers, just following the rule is not enough.
And the more I learnt from this channel, the more I feel sad at the state of driver's mentality in my country, most people just don't think about what others are doing and they ended up in road rage or dangerous undertaking or just mindlessly following the rule without taking human factors into account.
@@worawatli8952
It ain't just in your country mate, it's everywhere. People in general drive blind because their short term "needs" are "more important" than just concentrating on what they are doing in real time. You seem like a very thoughtful driver, it'll help you keep your sanity methinks.
Legal in Oz, S makes perfect sense if you really think about it. Parking in the UK is also a good idea, whereas in Oz you must park your vehicle in the same direction of the lane you park in.
Here in the uk at night time you must not park on the road at night time facing against the traffic flow, you must also park with your sidelights on if you’re parked on a road or lay-by with a speed limit of over 30mph.
I would add a tip I took from motorcycling, which I apply where possibly in the car too. "Don't sit in someone's blind spot." It doesn't matter if you are on their left, right or whatever, just don't sit in people's blindspots. This one tactic will save you many accidents that you otherwise could not have avoided.
Agree. But these are the people that dont USE their mirrors anyway and have absolutely no roadcraft skills besides.
@@MS-tm2yz Those people exist. Therefore it matters not what others do, it matters what YOU do to avoid getting caught in their inevitable accident.
I have been driving since I passed my 2nd test in 1971, but still find your clear comments and observations very useful. Thank you so much!
Conquer Driving.
Undertaking can be unsafe because someone in the lane to your right may do something unsafe. Doesn't that also apply to overtaking where someone to your left may do the same?
And if undertaking is unsafe why is there no signs on left hand side of the motorway saying " Must Not Overtake On The Left"? AMOF of the years I've been driving I have never came across such a sign.
Great video. What really nailed point home for me is the broken-down vehicle needing to access the hard shoulder in an emergency.
I'm a recent car test passer as of December and still haven't driven alone yet since I own a motorcycle but still find myself better equipped in both driving and riding from these videos. Keep it up!
yeah but how often does anyone genuinely break down, it's a ridiculous example
@@specialcircs not really ridiculous though is it. If people follow the rules everyone wins here
hardly ever a car just breaks down and stops. it often gives symptoms first. so what is a driver with breaking down car doing in the middle lane in the first place? all the examples scrutinizing undertaking are results of other party's careless driving. it's like saying, do not overtake on the right because someone might swerve into your lane without looking and you'll be to blame!
Over/undertaking and passing was explained to be by my instructor (a police advanced instructor, qualified in teaching pursuit tactics) back in the 80’s as ; an over/undertake is deviating from your lane for the purpose of passing a slower vehicle in your lane, driving past is driving past a vehicle not in your lane. I find the left lane usually quiet so can proceed at the speed limit and pass traffic on the left. Many times I have been followed by a cop who you can see working it out then they pull the lane hog
Just about the only accurate and correct comment here
There is a difference between PASSING on the left, ie: maintaining speed, and UNDER taking.
I agree. I welcome vlogs like this but I think they can blind people with information. It’s all very well quoting the Highway Code sections but as we all know, the codes are not necessarily a definitive statement of the law (rather often best practice), even though their non-observance could be used as possible evidence of careless/dangerous driving. I think the summary given by the police instructor is straightforward and simple - and let’s face it, most of us can identify a deliberate over/undertake when we see it (versus passing slower traffic on our right which thanks to drivers’ infatuation with staying in lane 3 means that 9/10 times there’s less traffic in lane 1). If you can’t identify that then you’re probably the problem and won’t take any notice of this vlog anyway
"Do not overtake on the left OR move to a lane on your left to overtake" - this gives equal weight to both of your scenarios. The distinction made by your police driver in the 80s is not supported by the Highway Code. The only scenario in which the HC supports passing on the left is in congestion. Rightly or wrongly, according to the HC you should always pass on the right if you can, otherwise you're opening yourself up to the careless driving law.
@@Dayboot33 or you can be doing 70 in lane 1 and come up to the masses in lanes 2 & 3 one after another at 60 (as they often tend to be as people think lane 1 is for lorries) and slow down all the traffic behind you to 60 to avoid passing them. Arguably driving without consideration to those behind you then !! Arguably up to the point you catch them up, you’re the only one driving as you should be - if the traffic is amassed at a slower speed in lanes 2 & 3, many are probably not complying with the HC by being there in the first place as they should only be in those lanes if overtaking …..
I'm so glad I saw this - a friend did some undertaking and I told her that it wasn't necessarily illegal, just not something you should do. I'll be sharing this video with her.
If nobody should undertake should they all slow down to the hogger whose doing 50mph in lane 4?
@@saundersdachicken6197 sadly yes, and try to overtake them on the right ...they are a right pain and they are not following the rules as they should move left and get out of the way....
Maintain your speed in the left hand lane and undertake.
Conquer Driving
1:54 Because you are on a single carraigeway you said passing the mini is not undertaking. To undertake is to pass another vehicle on it's left hand side. It doesn't state this only applies to a road with a central reservation.
You’re totally right, he’s wrong to say that, it doesn’t matter what kind of road you’re on, single carriageway, dual carriageway or motorway, if 2 lanes are going in the same direction and the vehicle isn’t signaling to turn right and lane 2 or both lanes are free flowing and you pass a vehicle in lane 2 using lane 1 then you are wrongly undertaking.
@@WayneTulip-zm9gw Wrongly or illegally?
The issue about passing a lane hogger on the left is that they're probably in their own world, not checking mirrors, as they've probably not noticed you behind. So they might just move left into your lane as you're passing them, with no mirror checks or indication.
I do wonder if its people just not being observant or people just not knowing the rules. A lot of people seem to think of lane 2 as "the fast lane", and just sit there doing 65-70mph.
Sometimes you see an emergency service vehicle on a dual carriageway and some people just do not move over, even with sirens and lights flashing, must hold them up a bit.
Lane discipline seems to be so much better in other countries.
I used to think that lane hoggers were merely careless but there also exists a coterie of "rule enforcers" who want to stop any other car going faster than they are willing to go and block everyone that attempts to make good time on the road. On one glorious occasion I saw one of these clowns being pulled over by the roads police for doing well below the speed limit in the outside lane holding up a long line of traffic in the process. Some drivers even game the system by matching speed with a car in the inner lane, forming a rolling road block to slow down following traffic.
Ireland has a big problem in that no testing or training on motorways is carried out and many passed drivers as a result have minimal experience or knowledge of motorway driving at relatively higher speeds than urban roadways allow.
Another disease is drivers merging at well below the posted or prevailing speed of traffic on the motorway or multilane roadway, slowing down cars already on the motorway, this practice encourages drivers to immediately enter and stay in the centre or outer lane of such roads leaving the inner lane almost empty and wasted as a result.
Thanks Richard! Very helpful and sensible. Please keep up the good work, believe it or not, I think your efforts can save lives!
He said undertaking is only allowed in congested traffic. Ask him to explain up to what speed is congested traffic. That would be very helpfull.
4:46 - You have a lot of courteous drivers in the UK. That green car is so nice to help the stranded blue car get to where he is going.
😂
In the Netherlands undertaking (in this case passing on the right side) and lane hogging also is illegal and you get a fine when doing it. There are few exceptions where undertaking is allowed: 1. during traffic jams/congestions, 2. block markings on the road alongside sliproads where traffic enters/leaving the main carriageway. 3 Roundabouts with more lanes. About number 2, its not allowed to change to the on/off sliproad undertake and move back to the main lanes. When changed to the sliproad lane with directional arrows you must follow the arrow markings on the road and from that point on you're not allowed to change back.
A viewer from Russia reporting in. We don't have any specific laws concerning undertaking. And no instructor ever talks about the potential dangers thereof. This video is a lot of food for thought.
While some may argue the UK approach is better, what it produces are drivers that make assumptions and thus don't check their surroundings more. In Russia, and many other countries, youre forced to be more aware of everything around you. I'd rather be an alert driver than one who assumes.
@@fatkev1983
Russia has much much higher car crash rates per 100 drivers than UK.
So much for muh alertness.
Rules >>>> Alertness
@@fatkev1983 UK driving standards are orders of magnitude better than Russia. UK standards are probably one of the highest in the world and Uk drivers are far more aware than most motorists in other countires. In Europe drivers drive way too fast, and in the US very few people indicate when changing lanes despite the culture of undertaking.
@@hencole Places like Germany are generally better than us. They are quick but typically very aware. Speed in itself isn't an issue if people are concentrating/aware.
do you have a specific law in russia concerning invading other countries?
Bloody mental that keeping up with faster left hand traffic in a two/three/four lane dual-carriageway is still technically against the highway code. Hopefully that will be updated soon. Where I live the dual carriageway goes for 3 miles with one lane for left hand turn at the roundabout and the other for forwards/right, so it's vital that people use the right hand lane for the full three miles (the signs say "get in lane" early on). But the left lane is way faster because it's not the main route. I'd get honked at and flashed at if I drove slowly in that lane just to avoid techincally breaking the highway code. Who even wrote or reviewed it? (It's the A249 southbound from Sittingbourne if you're interested.)
The A249 is synonymous for lane hoggers as well high speed drivers. I know the stretch you’re referring to. I don’t like that bit of road. Same with the junction to Maidstone. It’s awful.
You can pass on the left for cars turning right, or in any case if the cars on your right are going slower. Rule 163. In the scenario you described it would be not be breaking the highway code. Similarly exit lanes on motorways, you are not expected to slow down below the traffic in lane 2 going straight on.
You are not breaking any law by overtaking on the left (undertaking). Undertaking hasn't been illegal for over half a century.
@@MyMednas
You can pass on the left whether the car to your right is turning right or not. Undertaking can legally be done up to the speed limit.
Undertaking has never been the right word, simply going faster in one lane than someone in another isn't undertaking.
Totally agree with many of the comments below, why should I be prosecuted because the person in the middle lane just wants to sit there, as you said once you have overtaken your vehicle pull back into the left lane
The police need to start pulling over and fining them even issuing them 1 point for lane hogging. I've lost count the number of times I've had to undertaken even blasting the horn as I do so, yet they still sit there
It's also annoying when many of the lane hoggers are NOT doing the same speed but sat a very low speeds, many also don't know how to use cruise control as they overtake and remain at the same speed instead of increasing their speed afterwhich if they take their foot off after pulling back the car will resume at the set speed. Not difficult
You won't be prosecuted. Rules 163 and 268 allow for passing on the left. Motorcyclists are allowed to filter for the same reason.
@@MyMednas 👍
I don't care. If I go in the first lane and it's clear and there's a bellend hogging the middle I just carry on. If police don't police lane hogging I doubt they would be bothered to police undertaking (unless it's actually careless) ie. jumping lanes and driving aggressively. I once witnessed a police car on a motorway in the night time going in 1st lane, getting up to a middle lane hogger, moving to middle lane behind them, staying there for a few seconds, turning their blue becons on (not in the flashing mode, just their solid blue dimmed lights), they were ignored. so they overtook in the 3rd lane, moved back to 1st and carried on. the hogger stayed where they were XD
It's a nonsense "rule" that is never enforced, and rightly so. If I'm driving along at 60 on a 60 limit road, and someone in the lane to my right is sitting there, hogging the lane at 50mph, I'm not going to slow to his speed just to maintain this ridiculous logic. I have no intention of over or undertaking him, I simply want to continue my jourmey, in the left lane, at a legal speed, and with no-one in front of me who might require me to enter the hogged lane in order to pass them.
@@Teeb2023 What's even more stupid about it is all driving instructors tell their students its only allowed in slow moving/congested traffic. They in turn tell younger drivers this rubbish. The law on illegal undertaking was removed from the Statue Books in 1972. No excuse for not knowing this.
Very well explained , I like the way you come across on camera , direct , fair confident and educational 👍👍
This is an excellent video, I liked the part about noticing road signs because they may cause other drivers to suddenly change lanes. This is the sort of thing that would gain you extra points on the Police advance course if you included it in your commentary
Not excellent where he says you shouldn't undertake as a car may get a puncture and may want to get onto the hard shoulder. He's saying if that car slows down in lane 4 then lane 3 should also slow down, then lane 2 and 1. How are those left of that car supposed to know it's because of a puncture? It may be a hoggers. Just bad advise from a driving instructor.
1:53 "This is a single carriageway, and therefore me passing this mini [on the left] is not considered undertaking."
In this case, it has nothing to do with it being a single carriageway. Highway Code rule 163: "[S]tay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left." Rule 268 says essentially the same thing for motorways. You quote this rule in the video but it's a bit misleading that you don't mention until a little while later that it only applies to motorways.
I don't think he understands the what to undertake means. Doesn't matter what kind or road it is. It is the passing of another vehicle on it's left hand side. It's speed is irrelevant.
You’re absolutely right, it doesn’t matter what kind of road you’re on, single carriageway, dual carriageway or motorway, you’re only allowed to undertake if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right and there is room to pass on its left hand side, if you’re in congested conditions and lane 2 is congested and slow moving or stationary, apart from that, you shouldn’t undertake on any road.
@@WayneTulip-zm9gw Lanes 2 and 3 may be unable to reach 70mph due to congestion. With lane 1almost empty a car or biker in that lane can legally travel at 70mph.
I love how unbiased you are on this subject, a lot of people try to bend the rules of the highway code to suit their own opinion, it's so great that you just say the facts with no agenda, I'm a great believer in that too.
Why does it matter whether it’s a single carriageway or dual?
Thank you for speaking about exit lane undertaking. My driving instructor was adamant that this was fine to undertake. I refused to believe him
The instructor was right, but this video is also correct that you need to be very aware that others might move into your lane. Reduce speed, be watchful - but yes, pass the slower traffic. What if it slows even more and stops? Are you going to halt in the sliproad too?
Something I learnt recently on a drivers course and refresher is that the "dual carriageway" is not a duel carriageway if it has a grass seperation in the middle( it will be regarded in the same manner as single lane carriageway). It must have a physical seperation barrier( similar to what you see on the motoway). This impacts what speeds you can have as well.
Correct
Wrong. A grass separation makes it two separate carriageways. Just painted lines, or even a stripe-painted 'island', does not.
@@rogerstone3068 wrong again... this drivers course is given on behalf of the police.. try again
perhaps you should reading again. im reffering to what is NOT a duel carriageway
The car who change lane should check before moving
Thanks for the video! The only small point I'd like to add regarding the dangers of undertaking is that the view of the road is also limited since you sit on the right side of the car and you are positioned closer to the vehicles that you overtake.
It is a very common crash in my city where reckless drivers undertake trucks in middle lane and don't see parked cars or pedestrians in the inside lane because their view opens up very late. Following closely doesn't help them either.
There's a major difference between undertaking and undertaking recklessly. The same applies to undertaking.
Great video, especially the description of what a dual carriageway is as many don't understand that. But I had to lol at how few f*cks green car gave at 4:45
Just failed first time for undertaking on the duel carriageway! I was gutted because I didn't even know it was a thing, but at least now I'm aware. No other serious faults
Your driving examiner is a fool. Another one of those who cannot tell the difference between Must Not and Do Not.
"Flashing the lights is a visual version of the horn" I like that analogy, thanks 👍
I like your point about not responding to someone doing something a bit wrong by doing something dangerous.
A UA-cam video I saw recently suggested that a mild bit of tailgating as a form of communication to tell people to move faster or get out of the way is okay. This injects a bit of common sense into proceedings.
Police use such techniques to usher lane hoggers out of the way. They will pull right up behind you and drop back. They will do this a few times. If the driver doesn't pull over, they'll flash their headlights while doing it. Failing to notice that, expect the blue lights, getting pulled over and getting a serious talking to. Traffic cops have no time for slow drivers that create dangerous situations on fast roads.
Whoever the driver is, tailgating is unsafe and should not be used for communication. If by magic everyone stopped tailgating for a whole year, it would be interesting to see how the accident figures on high speed roads change.
@@ConquerDriving I hear you and I agree. But, lets me honest, the worst tailgaters aren't the bullying ones that choose to tailgate on occasion to send a point across (not condoning their actions either)... its those people who habitually tailgate at all times regardless of conditions. A lot of people need re-educating and sadly those people only get it when they bump into the back of someone else. I dread to think how fast they wear down their tyres, brakes, and waste petrol driving so close. It promotes anything but smooth efficient driving.
The number of times people get close to the back of me when I am driving a manual car and using engine braking... and its not young or new drivers... its those of us with a decade and more under our belts. I think everyone would benefit from periodically being made to drive a vintage car for a reminder, hahaha! Doesn't even need to be THAT old - my 2004 MR2 would reinstate the fear and respect people should give to driving!
A big problem on motorways is that many drivers don’t indicate when changing lanes. It seems to be quite tied to vehicle type and model. Drivers of faster cars tend to not bother indicating. (I like to tease friends who drive BMWs, or Range rovers, and ask why, given the high cost, their cars didn’t seem to come with those flashing orange lights called indicators!)
You will probably find they don't actually own the car,often being on some sort of hire or bank loan.
@@jablot5054 Most people who aren't using their blinker are the one driving piece of trash, probably like you.
It's very simple, unless overtaking you should be on the inside lane. I only indicate when overtaking, no requirement to indicate when returning to the inside lane as it should be done automatically.
Undertaking is not only done on a dual carraigeway. It can be done on a single carriageway.
In regards to the Less safe place to undertake section, this happened to me joining the M6 fairly shortly after passing. Although I wasn't undertaking, the car in the right of me, not on the "exit lane" was a bit further a head and suddenly moved over into me without even indicating. They clearly didn't check the mirror, and even when I beeped at them they didn't even bother to look at me. So that was a very early lesson I learned and luckily was able to avoid it.
OMG, someone who can film while watching the road instead of the camera! Also, I was just thinking "that road looks familiar!" and then the sign at 1:28 confirmed that you were exactly where I thought you were.
I sometimes use the left lane to undertake slow moving traffic to my right when on motorways and dual carriageways, more people have become middle lane hoggers simply because of the way drivers attitudes have changed over the last few decades, for example when you drive in the left hand lane it become extremely difficult to get back into the next lane because most other drivers are speeding and won't let you out! so you end up stuck in your lane behind a slow moving vehicle all because others are driving too fast and won't let you out into the next lane, this is why 90% of the time drivers hog the middle lane, it's far easier to get to where you are going and not have to keep waiting to be let out.
Cruise control means more lane hogging too. Just pass them on the left, it's not illegal, lane hogging is. If you come up against a slow vehicle in the left lane, overtake it on the right as usual and pull back in. That's not weaving, that's using the motorway correctly as we've always been told :Keep left! If others refuse to do so, that's their look out.
@@markl8740
Yup, unless otherwise indicated by markings/signage you should always move left if the lane is open and a safe space is available. It's acceptable to move right to avoid obstacles, examples include moving out to open the left lane to traffic coming down a slip road.
@darthwiizius All entirely correct
If you're in the middle lane and you're doing 70 mph, you're not driving too fast and you're technically doing nothing wrong.
If you can't get out of Lane 1, you are doing something wrong, maybe you don't trust the power of your vehicle?
I personally have no problems accelerating and switching lanes, but if I had a sluggish motor, I can see what the concern would be.
People lack assertiveness on motorways and their indecisiveness is what actually makes them dangerous. I see this on motorway entry from the slip road nearly every day, people slow right down when they should be maintaining their speed at the fork and just be ready to cover the break, it's extremely dangerous and winds me up.
Many of them should just stick to the B roads.
It’s so easy and so simple, as per Highway Code rule 160, keep to the left, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise, the exceptions are when you want to overtake, turn right or pass parked vehicles or pedestrians in the road, it’s that easy and that straight forward.
I had the other week someone overtake me, stay in lane 2 then slow right down. I slowed down so i wouldn't undertake, if i would have overtaken they might have sped up and started a battle. It was only us on the motorway at the time. Probably just someone looking for trouble.
I think you should do an M25 video and then see how your advice fairs. The law is the law, and I didn't disagree with anything you said, I just feel that new drivers, especially ones from quieter locations, are stunned at what real traffic is like on the motorway. I have stuck in the left hand lane and driven past so many drivers who have held so many people up because they decide how fast they want to go. It makes undertaking the only solution. With the same mirror, signal move steps, you will avoid hitting someone, the drawings of the blind spot are not that sharp and direct, you can see in your peripherals which expands those sharp blind spot edges.
well said
Yeah, I stick to the left lane unless overtaking, however if while I'm driving in the left lane I come across someone driving way under the speed limit in the right lane, I'm passing them on the left. Their wits are congested and slower moving I'm good. :)
Good presentation. I agree on all points. But you might have mentioned indicators. These are meant to used before you start to move, not after the fact. Also, indicating left to change lane is not usually required, but if you aware of the possibility of faster traffic to your left then this is a must.
I am curious about what to do if the lane hogger in the right lane really just doesn't move out of the way. Say on a regular two-lane dual carriageway, where they're perhaps only doing 50 or so. No-one ahead of them, no-one blocking them to their left. I think as per the letter of the law, you need to just slow and go at their speed, which seems completely ludicrous.
Yeah, not a chance I’m doing that, especially if I’m on the motorbike.
Then go back into the left hand lane & do the speed limit. Pretty simple really.
@conquerdriving is wrong. In those circumstances, as long as you maintain your speed and the car in left hand land is going slower than you, then you can undertake them.
@@ian6451 Well, by the letter of the law you can keep up with traffic in your lane, even if it means passing slower vehicles to the right, but what if you're the only car around apart from the one going slowly in the overtaking lane? You're not so much keeping up with traffic as deciding which speed to drive.
@@KindredBrujah AS long as youb are not changing spped then just carry on. You are driving 70mph, you eventually encounter middlelane hogger, carry on doing 70 in your lane. Thats the law.
I live in Canada and will be driving in the UK this spring. I'm doing what I can to familiarize myself with the differences. Have you considered doing a video on what we interlopers need to focs on? Cheers.
Good suggestion. Driving in the UK is straightforward, just busier than some areas, other countries. Do not ignore marked pedestrian crossings. You can download the UK Highway Code.
Be extra careful at roundabouts and junctions. The traffic on the driver's side will be coming from the left instead of the right. You just need to concentrate a bit more at first. A few years ago, there was an unfortunate case of an American woman who drifted onto the wrong side of the road and killed an oncoming motorcyclist. Even worse, she claimed (dubious) diplomatic immunity and ran off back to America without facing the consequences of her action.
@rjeffm1 One thing to remember is the Gas station pump handle colours are different, in the UK green is *unleaded petrol* and black is *diesel.*
One thing that's going to come as a surprise is that it's legal to pass a school bus when it stops to let children off - but do it carefully!
If you're in traffic then i dont think it's an issue. If the person in the overtaking lane is under the speed limit i dont see an issue either. Its just if you're blocking people around you or getting in the way then it can be dangerous i think
Undertaking just because the person to the right is not driving the speed limit is dangerous. He explained this in the video.
@@SamOwenI Eventually no-one's making any progress if you do that though, and it's _far_ more likely to have impatient drivers doing something _really_ dangerous instead of the just slightly risky undertake.
@@KindredBrujah a polite flash of the lights should be all that's required. Again, this is mentioned in the video...
@@SamOwenI not in an impatient way. Yes you're in their blind spot but I'm not talking about speeding up to purposely undertake. I'm talking about if I'm in the left hand lane doing 70 and someone in the overtaking lane is doing 60 (for some reason). I don't do it but I don't see it's a big deal to keep going at 70 past them. Especially if they show no intentions of moving back over as you should. They would see me approaching them in their mirror before the blindspot.
@@scottishSloth I don't know, I think I would move to the right lane if I really wanted to overtake someone going at 60. Otherwise I would drop back and stay at 60
In America on the freeway it's legal and no problem passing on either side of a car. It's easy, not dangerous because everyone has done it all the time they have driven. It actually evens out the speed everyone drives.
It's also legal in UK . It's just that those in UK don't know it. Why do all UA-cam driving instructors say it can only be carried out in congested traffic??
At 4:25
A driver in that situation would be the cause that last second decision themselves. It's not always safe for those to the left to slow down to let that car move into their lane to exit the motorway.. Advising motorists to do what you said would be causing a high risk of a collision.
I undertake on a regular basis. No one has ever reacted to it. They still don’t move over either 🤦🏼♂️
Last person that undertook me when I was doing the legal speed limit ended up totaling his car on the center lane. It is a dumb move that many inexperienced drivers tend to make. Do it at your own risk
@@gerrylast i think in this instance Gerry, one has to ask themselves “why someone would be willing to undertake them?” What situation had you created that made that person want to willingly undertake you?
I don’t create the opportunity to be undertaken. I keep left. Especially as there is always going to be a faster person wanting to pass and I’m not going to hold them up over a small minded principle. You want be to in front or get passed. Be my guest.
I drive at my own risk every day Gerry. Everyone around me is as much a moron as me when on the road. I just don’t entertain moving from lane 1 to lane 3 and back to lane 1 just to overtake someone on lane 2. Especially when cruising at the speed limit. Which I purposely do when undertaking. As that’s what we all should be doing on a motorway. Lorries don’t want to leave lane 1. But they will if you’re not doing the speed limit.
I witnessed someone be pulled over for lane hogging this week funnily enough. They only moved over to lane 1 when the cop car approached them. Funny that!
"legal speed limit" is such a great way of saying you were hogging the lane. It's obvious if someone undertook you that you had room to get back into the left lane and choose not to. Probably because you were, as you say it, "doing the legal speed limit" and refused to believe you were doing anything wrong.
If there is room for someone to undertake, then there is room for the idiot sat in the outer lane to move in.
@@gerrylast Doesn't matter what speed you were doing. If someone passed you on your left hand side and it wasn't heavy traffic then you were in the wrong lane.
Dont lane hog and i wont undertake. Lane 1 is like kryptonite to a lot
I had no clue about this, I should probably brush up on the highway code 😂
Or hand your licence back
@@richardclarke9966 can't hand something I don't own, I'm still a learner driver but nice assumption though
@@Pvm_enthuasist people love spouting out "hand ur licence" as if they are perfect drivers themselves 🤣🤣
@@testval Basic laws of the road 🙄
@@richardclarke9966 recite me the entire highway code otherwise I think u should hand ur licence mate
Have not even started driving yet (have my theory test at the end of this month), but I am enjoying binging through all your videos so much. It's incredibly useful knowing a lot of these tips before getting behind the wheel!
I drive a HGV, on motorways we’re only (usually) allowed to use lanes 1&2. My speed is limited to 56mph, but the ammount of people I see doing 50mph in lane 2 every day is quite unbelievable.
My approach is now simple, I’ll stay in lane 1 observing if any of the things in this video about exits etc are coming up, if not I’ll flash the lights once or twice to alert them of my presence. Once it’s obvious they are lane hogging, I’ll just pass them in lane 1 (and stay in lane 1 after).
I’ll then usually have a look at them in the mirror to see if my passing on the left has triggered them to realise they are lane hogging…….and 9/10 times they just continue pottering along in lane 2 (probably cursing me for undertaking).
Thank you for this video, as a professional driver I’d like to think I know the traffic laws pretty well but it’s nice to see someone else explaining it properly for those that don’t.
Oh and just to be clear, this also happens on duel carriageways and I’ll take exactly the same course of action.
I got pissed off with a HGV driver yesterday on the inside lane because he was doing about 65 mph when there was an on the fly speed warning for all traffic to slow to 50 mph due to something going on ahead, and my exit was about half a mile to the left of him; I was in the middle lane.
I started slowing down and signalled left well in advance and was looking for him to slow down so I could go infront and turn off, but he wasn't slowing and was now illegally blocking the left lane I needed to get onto by virtue of the speed he was still going at. He left it really late to start slowing down enough for me to overtake at legal speed, literally right before the slip road, so I sped up and went infront of him (still legally at the advised speed) and he repeatedly flashed me as though I'd somehow done something wrong, which just really irritated me.
HGV and Commercial Van drivers are amongst some of the worst on the road, I hate being behind or around any of them.
@@Longlostpuss well I can assure you he wasn’t doing 65……all limited to 56.
Secondly your car speedo will be reading 2 to 5mph UNDER the actual speed. So your speedo said 50 but you’re actually doing 45 to 48. Speedos in trucks are accurate because they are calibrated due to the tachograph, so his speedo would indicate 50 mph and he’s doing 50 mph.
Thirdly he’s under zero obligation to slow down to allow you to take the exit because your poor planning now means that you’re approaching the exit you want and you having moved to the left behind the truck, absolutely nothing to stop you from slowing down and slotting in behind the truck.
Fourthly it’s not YOUR exit as you called it, it’s an exit that everyone is entitled to use and it’s their own responsibility to plan for the conditions and get themselves into the correct lane.
So before you criticise anyone else on the road I’d take a serious look at your own driving ability if you’re incapable of positioning yourself in the correct lane and expect everyone else to give way to you, that’s not how the Highway Code works.
What is quite unbelievable is the lack of knowledge and self importance from people such as yourself.
Hope this helps 👍🏻
@@Longlostpuss I really fail to see why you thought slowing down more and going behind the truck wasn’t an option for you.
You actually think you’re that important that others should give way to you when they have no legal requirement to do so.
@@aquanick2001 I know exactly how speedos are calibrated thanks and trucks can definitely go faster than 60 mph (most can hit 80 mph), they're just not allowed to do it and not allowed to move outside of Lane 1. You're basically suggesting every single HGV out there has a limiter chip in them???? Right away you've lost this debate just on that, it's invalidated your argument.
But again, he didn't slow down to 50 mph, that was clear, because I was slowing down from 70 mph in the middle lane to 50 mph and he was ahead of me when I dropped to 50 mph.
I also already told you the slip road was half a mile ahead, that's more than plenty of time to plan and manoeuvre, what are you talking about????
If the truck had slowed down to 50 mph as he was supposed to, I could have moved lanes infront without an issue, because I was already going faster. However, I couldn't do it because he wasn't slowing down after the sign like I was, so I ended up going slower than the truck and therefore he was definitely still maintaining closer to 60 mph.
It's not safe to slow down in the middle lane below 50 mph when there's cars behind you, I don't know what you're talking about. I couldn't gamble on what speed the truck was doing, I had no clue what the driver was doing, but he was not driving at the instructed speed, that was for sure. neither of us knew what was up ahead, so he was dangerous for not slowing a flippin truck down, there could have been an accident ahead for all we knew.
Either way, I was forced to overtake right at the last, that's not my problem, I'm not missing the only slip road I could take for the next 20 miles just because of some moron who can't read a clear road sign nor see someone signalling because he can't move his head 45 degrees to look to his right. I didn't say it was my road as in it belongs to me, I meant I needed to take that slip road and some dick was blocking me off when the motorway wasn't even busy, he could have just slowed down in Lane 1 and let me go in front, going behind was not an option with a car behind me, he had nothing behind him.
Without that 50 mph sign, there probably wouldn't have been an issue, but the fact is it applies to everyone, the driver thought it didn't apply to him.
So don't try to condescend me as if I don't know the rules of the road, I've been driving for well over 20 years.
I'd like to know where's the evidence that motorists are less likely to check to their left before they make the lane change.
Just keep left and undertake everything. So much quicker.
00:04 sorry to say this but you’re wrong, it’s not only on a dual carriageway where you can undertake, you can undertake on any road, including motorways and single carriageways, if 2 or more lanes go in the same direction and you pass a vehicle on its left hand side then you’re undertaking them, as per rules 159 to 203 under the “using the road” rules of the Highway Code, rule 160 of the Highway Code states “once moving you should keep to the left, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise, the exceptions are when you want to overtake, turn right or pass parked vehicles or pedestrians in the road”, as per rule 163 of the Highway Code, which applies to non-motorways, “only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signaling to turn right and there is room to do so, stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues, if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left”, Highway Code rule 267 which applies to motorways states “overtake only on the right”, as per rule 268 of the Highway Code, which applies to motorways, “do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake, in congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right, in these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right, do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.”
If you’re doing the speed limit on the left lane and there’s a car in the second lane going slower it’s fine to pass them as you’re just staying in your lane.
Correct. You can also do it if you've just moved into a lane on your left to complete an overtake.
It amazes me that overtaking in the slower lanes is commonly called "undertaking". Grammatically, undertaking is when you slow your pace such that a vehicle previously steady behind you overtakes you just by virtue of you slowing down. To me, it's a bit like calling a shade of grey "pink"
Richard should be given an MBE for his service to driving!
How's Emily doing? Did she found another instructor or something?
Emily has had other commitments and been unable to do lessons. We plan to start lessons again in the future.
@@ConquerDriving I see, looking forward to her coming back!
@@ConquerDrivinglol she couldn’t learn
Brootal!
Who cares. I undertake after doing a risk assessment.
Expect a letter from HR😀
They spent many years, and many millions of pounds to put a 4th lane on the M25. Most of the time the two inside lanes are empty. I have always undertaken, and will continue to do so.
If you were to ask the same idiots do they hog the outside lanes they'd all say no and criticise others.
Where i live it's a bit simpler:
Drive on the right, pass only on the left. Exceptions are when the other vehicle is undoubtedly turning left, congestion or when you are in a connecting lane on a highway. You can drive faster than another vehicle on your left on urban roads and it's not considered overtaking
Oh dear I am worried, what have I been doing the last 44 years 😂
I have been flashed by a car while overtaking a lorry at 50 mph in a 50 mph section of 2 lane motorway. even when unable to move to the left, and averaging speed cameras. and that is without pulling out on someone to make a point that they were driving too fast the vehicle wasn't even visable when I changed lanes to overtake.
Pass when safe to do so, if you’re moving into a lane where an approaching car is moving faster than you are and the manoeuvre can’t be completed safely without hindering the flow of traffic wait for them to pass.
I can’t believe that in the space it takes to overtake a single HGV safely a shoulder check wouldn’t have resulted in you seeing the approaching car before manoeuvring into lane 2 unless they were going 30-50 mph over the speed limit or visibility was extremely poor.
Additionally, based on your comment; the HGV was travelling at ~50mph and so were you, the speed difference meant you weren’t in fact performing an overtaking manoeuvre and were instead hogging the lane, keeping a similar (perhaps minutely faster) pace for a prolonged period.
You said it yourself “while overtaking a lorry at 50 in a 50mph section of 2 lane motorway”.
To quote the Highway Code and an increasing number of highway gantry’s and roadside dot matrix signs aimed at drivers such as yourself “keep left unless overtaking”. I’m afraid you’re part of the problem.
A four mile overtake is unnecessary and hindering the flow of traffic.
Don’t assume your speedo is accurate, there is a valid reason for the 10% + 2 leniency with speeding fines, your speedo may say 50 where the driver behind may perceive you travelling at 43 based on their own speedo.
The only accurate speedo on U.K. roads which is tested and certified are those in police vehicles.
More over If they were speeding and are travelling through an average speed check zone they will get a ticket.
@@TheRg191 the motorway is on several bends in succesion to go around mountains here in Wales, the HGV was doing between 45 to 50 because of the hill we were also climbing. yes on a normal motorway at 70 mph speed limit then it would be classed as lane hogging, and I wouldn't disagree but when there is a speed difference and you are already alongaide an HGV you are overtaking it is not lane hogging. snd it is not lane hogging when there was enough of a speed difference between car and truck, and the car is going at maximum speed for the road/conditions/speed limit no gantry signs. it is an enforced speed limit sign with a MASSIVE RED CIRCLE.
as for the speedo it is around 2mph out if you look at a sat nav. and also speed check signs at 30. but when you value your licence like holding a licence for your job like I don't know being a truck driver then I would rather keep it thank-you, so no not speeding up for a tit in a fast car. because the camera catches both cars speeding if the speedo is out the wrong way. things like tyre pressures, distance around bends, heat of the cable, tyre sizes can all make the difference over a couple of hundred metres.
@@michaelthomas3646 GPS speed measurement isn’t accurate, UK courts view GPS recorded speeds for the purpose of evidence as up to 80% inaccurate, by U.K. law as with all speedometer devices no GPS speed can legally underreport, most over estimate: “This is a huge problem and the same error can develop in both directions: The Tracker Report can also report very high speeds that are inaccurate. Our own analysis of actual Tracker Reports, in real-world cases, revealed errors that are as high as 80%” so no device in your car is giving an accurate reading and by all accounts is more likely to be reporting a higher speed than lower.
@@michaelthomas3646 if the speed limit is restricted to 50 and you’re overtaking at 50 you are not making sufficient progress; there is not a sufficient difference in speed.
If you were passing a truck doing 50 on a motorway at 70mph you’re making sufficient progress, if you’re reaching the indicated speed limit which is within range of the speed the HGV is travelling you aren’t overtaking anything.
You can’t agree with the principal and then contradict yourself a sentence later.
You were lane hogging, impeding the flow of traffic and someone was frustrated by it. No driver is perfect and we all make mistakes. He was overly aggressive and you were impeding the flow of traffic unnecessarily.
Your attitude to other drivers on the road speaks volumes “not speeding up for a tit in a fast car” says it all.
You aren’t expected to speed up for other road users, you are however expected to think ahead and drive defensively and not to impede the flow of traffic, if your overtake is going to be done at a handful of MPH higher than lane one traffic and is slow enough to have to consider traffic over successive bends on the M4 don’t even begin to move into lane 2 without expecting to annoy someone.
If you don't like being undertaken, don't hog the middle and outside lanes...
Thank-you! The standard of driving these days is appalling.
The message, basically from 10:28 onwards is 'Be civil', then you will be safe. This is why your closing remark, I think, is better not as 'Be safe' but rather, 'Be civil'.
This, I know, is hard to do in practice!
If the vehicles in the outside lane it travelling slower than that in your lane you are allowed to keep going Undertake.