Drivers furious as motorist hogs middle lane of empty motorway – but who is in the right? | The Sun
DRIVING along an empty motorway should be quite uneventful – but this motorist has somehow managed to stir up quite a row.
The BMW driver was spotted skirting solo down the M5 at 5am on Wednesday morning, while hogging the middle lane.
The unidentified person behind the wheel has been slammed for driving in the middle lane, despite having no one to overtake.
Traffic should stick to the left-hand lane, also known as lane one, at all times unless overtaking.
But many Brits are guilty of spending too long dawdling in the middle and fast lanes, which drives some drivers insane.
Traffic officer Dave Harford, 43, shared a snap of the white BMW, claiming the motorist had been in the middle lane for over a mile.
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He wrote in a tweet: "5am on a Wednesday morning. The M5. Not much traffic. And this happens. Oh my god – why why why??"
The road safety advocate says he constantly sees cars "lane hogging" and reminded drivers it is in fact "illegal".
Since 2013, police have been able to hand out fines and penalty points to drivers who set up camp in the middle lane.
Once you have overtaken a vehicle, you must move back into the left-hand lane or may face a fine and points on your licence.
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It is classed as careless driving and means you are breaking the same law as you would if you were tailgating or running a red light.
Dave, from Worcester, continued: "Traffic was behind this vehicle and said traffic had to move to lane 3 to go past him – causing more risk.
"Yes. The car was a BMW, but they aren't the only ones who do it.
"People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming others and finding excuses.
"It's lane hogging. It's illegal & causes congestion when lots of traffic is around."
Penalties include a fine of £100, three penalty points, and a driver awareness course.
'ANNOYING'
Many social media users were quick to call out the BMW driver's foolishness, with some branding their road etiquette "annoying".
One wrote: "The lanes to the right are overtaking lanes. If you're not overtaking, you shouldn't be in it. The clue is in the name."
Another added: "Middle Lane hoggers are just poor drivers with no confidence to change lanes confidently, shouldn't be on the motorway."
And a third chimed in: "As someone who drives a vehicle that can't go into lane three, I find middle lane hoggers really annoying.
"Especially when they then sit at 55-60 and won't pull over so you have to hang back since I can't undertake or undertake since both are illegal."
But others were more sympathetic towards the driver, defending their choice to keep in the middle lane on the empty motorway.
One person said: "This is not an example of hogging as there are no other vehicles wanting/needing to occupy that lane."
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Another leaped to the motorist's defence, commenting: "Why not?
"Empty road, so not causing a problem and if they were to get a puncture allows more space to control the car."
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