The Invisible Lane

What is it about lane one of the Motorway that makes it virtually invisible to many drivers? They seem intent on making what should be a fabulous 3 or even four-lane road into a dual carriageway.

I was recently horrified to read an article written by a journalist called Allison Pearson, the title of which is “Why I’m proud to be a middle lane hogger”.

In my opinion, she should have her licence revoked and she certainly needs some further driver education, not least because what she advocates is against the law. I really can’t get my head around the idea that she thinks that middle lane hogs are the “safest drivers on the motorway”. I guess that she thinks that by putting every genuinely good driver at risk, they will somehow crash all over the place and avoid her and the other hogs in the middle lane.

She suggests that the middle lane is safest because it’s a lane full of average speed drivers who are simply avoiding maniacs. Maybe if she realised that people appear to be maniacs because they end up having to make suicidal manoeuvres because of those very plonkers who sit in the middle lane.

She is quite simply looking at the situation from completely the wrong place…literally.

I completely agree however that lane three, the outside lane or better still one of the overtaking lanes is often inhabited by the BMDI (pronounced Bumdi) brigade who do seem to think that because they have big cars and small, um, brains that are kept in their trousers, they somehow have the right to bully people out of their way. I always wonder if it’s an actual requirement to have an IQ of 30 to be allowed to buy those cars. Anyway, I know it’s not just BMDI drivers, but simply a very high percentage.

I’m also amused in a rather terrified way, that Ms Pearson also believes that a safe distance is 3 car lengths at 70mph in the outside lane! Maybe she’s used to driving at say 10mph in London and thinks this distance applies across the board. She also refers to “the random psychopaths, who swerve in and overtake you on the inside…” I wonder if it’s ever occurred to her that if she were in the correct lane, then those “random psychopaths” otherwise known as normally decent law-abiding drivers, would just pass her in lane two without issue. It’s a very simple concept to grasp. If there is room for a vehicle to pass you on the left, then there is room for you to be in the left lane and be passed on the right.

Interestingly a Direct Line poll of more than 2000 drivers found that 43% of middle lane hogs said they drove in the middle lane because it was “an easier way to drive” and “saves me changing lanes”. In other words, those people are just plain lazy, and it seems that driving is just another victim of laziness.

Laziness and ignorance of the law are two really important ingredients for crashes. So, how about next time you’re on the motorway network, you just try doing as the law states, and keeping left except when overtaking. You might just find out that you have a less stressful journey, and I’ll put money on it that you’ll not have random psychopaths overtaking you on the inside because you’ll be in their way.