The driver was stopped by the police in April 2014 for consistently failing to move out of the middle lane while driving his van on the M62. According to the police, six drivers had to brake sharply before being able to overtake the van. Failing to turn up to court, the driver was given five penalty points and fined £500, ordered to pay £400 in costs and a £40 victim surcharge.
The conviction is believed to be the first made since the law for the incorrect use of middle lanes was introduced in 2013 to combat the dangerous nuisance – research has shown that middle-lane hogging causes a third of motorway capacity to be wasted, leading to congestion and traffic jams:
"[Lane hogging] reduces the capacity of roads and motorways, and can lead to dangerous situations where other drivers ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front to try and get the lane hogger to move over. Members of the public regularly tell the Road Policing Unit that lane hogging and tailgating are real problems on our roads and this conviction shows that the police and the courts understand the public’s concerns and take this offence seriously.”
– PC Nigel Fawcett-Jones, Road Policing Unit, West Yorkshire.
Incorrect use of lanes not only causes loss of road capacity and potentially dangerous tailgating and undertaking situations, but is a major cause of driving test failure. The bypass routes around Gloucester are predominantly dual carriageway, and are naturally used on driving tests. Obey the rules! Drive in the left (inside) lane, unless you are overtaking or turning right. When you have completed your overtaking manouevre, check your mirrors and return to the left lane.
Get some proper training in these procedures if you are not sure. All of our driving instructors at John Lowe Driving are on these routes on a daily basis with students, and are only too happy to coach anybody through the correct procedures.
Driving Lessons Gloucester.
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