@ last

[jimmybhoy]

Not Before time, Heard today, that they are bringing in fines for all the idiots who sit in middle & outside lanes, ambling down the road in LAh LAh land.
Driving along, in their own wee planet, without a care in the world.

[philaldred]

I agree am glad to hear this news but have doubts about them enforcing it, shame we can't pull them over and give them a ticket!

[MG Autos (Mark)]

Great idea but who's left to actually dish out the tickets and enforce the new legislation ?

The last government all but destroyed the Police Service (in all fairness they did the same to the Fire-brigade, NHS, Armed Forces, etc) and as such the legacy is that there are now next to no traffic officer's left in existence and the current government has cut the budgets of every force in the UK even further thus officer numbers have dropped again and there aren't enough left to realistically have the ability to respond to the most serious of calls but hey, it will give the national press another good opportunity to have a pop at a service that's already on it's knees as it will just become another lot of unachievable targets set by the government

[Wilberforce]

Sadly, I have to agree with you Mark.
The idea of ticketing motorists who tailgate or lane-hog is a good one, but there's nobody to do it. I've not seen a traffic cop in weeks; it's rare enough to see any police car except the ones who fly past because they're already on a shout.

Perhaps if we reallocated the vast sums the Highways Agency spends on their infernal traffic officers, we could fund a pretty decent number of actual Police traffic officers.

[fudge]

i think they are going to use the cameras that are on most moterways do do alot of it.

but i agree it is going to be hard enforce it

[gregster]

Use of cameras is good in one respect, as it doesnt tie up resourses...but they are indisciminate buggers them cameras...

What I mean is, I hate lane hogs who sit in the middle lane oblivious to the world around them, and personally wish that nudging would be made legal, but sitting in the middle lane is only a problem if something is approaching from behind (although the highway code does say you should move back in after overtaking).
Having spent most of my life driving either slammed cars, or jacked up 4x4's with huge offset rimmage I find life in the heavily rutted inside lane is most unpleasant, with tramlining and veering from rut to rut being something that makes long journeys very tiresome. So where possible I tend to sit in the middle lane, moving to the inside only when something is approaching from behind. Granted this isnt really how motorways were designed to be used, but I would guess the furrows in the inside lane werent part of the design remit either.
I would like to think a police officer would not stop me for this, as I am not causing an obstruction whatsoever, but a camera with no brain would probably flash away...
I always move out a lane too when approaching a junction, to let cars join if they want to, but would a camera interpret this as sitting in the middle lane when not overtaking, as not always does something join?
And even with "normal" cars, on an empty bit of motorway I tend to drive in the centre lane unless something is approaching from behind...firstly because its safer if something goes wrong, as you have more space to sort yourself before hitting barriers, secondly because it gives the hard shoulder and anything that might be broken down on it a wide berth...but would this be counted as lane hogging to a brainless camera???

Driving standards in this country are cr4p, and getting worse...
lets face it almost every car for sale almost has "parking knocks" but surely someone who cant get out of a carpark at 5mph without hitting something shouldnt be allowed on a road where they might do 70.
"Accidents" are almost accepted, without people realising that what an accident really means is "one or more people driving a potential killing machine without paying sufficient attention"...driving seems to some to be the secondary action, the primary one behind talking to their mates, playing with their hair or makeup, texting, phoning etc...
I admit I am bad and sometimes still use my phone when driving, but my concentration is on driving, the phone is secondary...
also (without meaning to sound big-headed) I am a very competant driver, so even if distracted to the point I only had 50% ability, I would still be far better than most of the divs on the road.
I think everyone who takes driving a step further, ie Racing, offroading, HGV etc all are far better drivers, not only due to the addition skills gained but also because they are the ones who have an interest in driving to start, unlike most who are clueless and just learn a little bit to pass a test, then forget the little they learnt and dont improve their skills or knowledge with time as they arent interested. Hence why when it snows they all crash, when it rains they all slide/aquaplane and crash, and whenever they come near another div like them who hasnt got the brains/interest to be able to predict or react to their sh1t driving then they crash....and then always act all surprised about whats happened, and of course look to find something/someone else to blame...

Just think for many working hours are wasted every year, because thousands of people get stuck in jams on motorways, because these divs cant even drive down a straight bit of road where everything is going in the same direction...No wonder this countries economy is screwed...and what about the enviremental impact??? 10,000 cars all achieving sub-10mpg in this jams for hours on end---and yet our 4x4's are the treated like they are the sole destroyers of the planet....

GRRRRRRRR

[4x4 bobby]

Nice rant Gregster!!!I came home from work last night at 23:15 up the M6 to be greeted with 4 or 5 idiots miles apart who thought it was great to sit in the middle lane causing all driver wanting to overtake into the outside lane!! Not seeing the problem they were causing to other road users. Its about time the government took a look at the real world and new that cutting budgets does not improve standards but kills them!!!!!!!

[gregster]

No probs sitting the middle lane so long as they move over as someone approaches in the distance behind...but that means using their mirrors more than annually and being aware/interested in whats going on around them...so they wouldnt have a clue...
This I find a huge problem when towing a trailer, as I cant use the outside lane, and sods law is if I undertake them they will then pull across causing an accident which I would probably get the blame for.


Easiest cheapest way is to make "nudging" legal....that would sort it....

Anyone for a Gregster special bullbar???

[Gazeddy]

i feel this is a daft bit of legislation taking away yet more of our freedom as this gov will use it to stealth in another bit of legislation. i sit on the left but i almost always do around 60 mph on the motorway. i live in fear of conrod escape. people should be taught to use motorways properly and not fined this needs to be in the driving test. i went on the motorway with the wife for the first time (her first time) last weekend and it was honestly the most scary time ive been through in a long time.


the other one that annoys me is when im overtaking a lane hog i get flashed by a non descript saloon/estate almost always a german marque because im in his/her way and they try to force you out of the way

[drinksoptional]

I hope they enfore it middle lane hogging is dangerouse stupid lazy people do my head in. Your inside lane and some idiot doing 55-60 in middle. With no intenrion of overtaking

[gregster]

[Wilberforce]

[4x4 bobby]

ALL IN FAVOR OF NUDGING SAY I !!!!!!!! ""I""

[Wilberforce]

Oooh, I wish. I sooooo wish....
Especially through the damn roadworks on the M6 at Birmingham, the number of times I think my truck would be brilliant with a 'dozer blade on the front. Move faster, or move the feck over, muppets!

[Gazeddy]

I

now greg i need a serious "nudge" bar

[gregster]

Do I do anything other than serious?????

I rigourously test them to...

Here is my patrol beater, and my old forklift performing "the test"..

[Drift]

How fecking old is that FLT
Ive scrapped younger and better

[fudge]

I

and greg didnt you crash in a car park.... or that is why my bonent is bent...
and would be soo much fun nudging.... and i allready have the bullbars to suit

[gregster]

Yep I crashed the duck...it bounced off a 6" square steel gate post, all 4 wheels off the ground....33-12.50's and loose gravel on top of tarmac make it like walking on marbels...Had my wee bullbar not been on it the car would have been totalled...as it was the bonnet got a minor scathing, and a cage upright bent, which straightened easy enough.

Yes Ste...she was a relic of a FLT...
1950's conveyancer...the first auto flt to be made apparantly...
I bought it for £150 off a mate who got it from sheerness docks where it had spent its whole life...
It had issues...didnt idle, which was not good with an auto as it got exciting, it had no brakes, no powersteering and it weighed about 6 tonne and had 2 spikes on the front...
I acted in the interest of safety by weighing it in......when scrap prices hit £250 a tonne for frag, and £350 for clean which a FLT is....
you do the maths...they collected it to, all I had to do was follow them and go collect my money!!!
Obviously safety was the paramount thing though...

[Drift]