Police unleash truck trap

It doesn't exist!

And there it is again, reference to the mythical "fast lane" from a motoring correspondent.

By Chris36963 on 5 January, 2010, 9:15am

Well said Chris. But what chance do any of us "enlightened" drivers, and the police,have when the D.O.T. issue road closure warnings etc with the exact same phrase? There is the inside lane, and then one, and sometimes two, OVERTAKING lanes. Just for the uninitiated. But what do you expect when our wonderful D.O.T. can't even get speed limits correct on their website.

By justeddie on 5 January, 2010, 10:14am

Lane discipline

The M74 to me is one of the safest and where lane discipline is better than any other I've driven. Re "mythical fast lane" too right there isn't one, but why do so many people treat the MIDDLE and OUTSIDE lanes as their own space. GET BACK INTO INSIDE LANE its 70mph there too.

By feusag on 5 January, 2010, 4:51pm

Ok feusag, when can you drive at 70mph in the inside lane for more than a few hundred yards??
Assuming the lane is clear for about half a mile then its fine, OK, and the right thing to do, but I have watched car and van drivers using this lane during the daytime and when the motorway is busy they are in and out changing lanes every 30 or 40 seconds and it’s very dangerous practice.
Cruising in the middle lane while keeping an eye on the mirror and not holding any body up I feel is ok, but there is still a mentality that some drivers have, that says I am driving at the legal limit of 70mph on this motorway so no one should pass me.
The problems start when young girls in small cars, and old men in Volvo's and Jaguars with this mentality hog the outside passing or overtaking lane at a fixed speed of 70mph (and I have seen it lower) and just will not look into their mirrors or move over.
It is these drivers that cause the problems for others, and unfortunately the cops are not interested in lane discipline and are themselves as much use as a chocolate fireguard, as it is easier, and more importantly to them ( safer ) to sit behind a screen and photograph someone who is doing a few mph over the speed limit
Only education will solve the problems on motorways, and checking the mirror every ten seconds should be a requirement for driving on a motorway, and a major major part of the driving test.

By Bobbybev on 6 January, 2010, 5:38pm

So Bobbybev, you consider that someone using the motorway properly is dangerous, then go on to rant about using mirrors? If EVERYONE used the lane proceedure properly, AND used their mirrors, there would be no danger. It's not just Volvo and Jag drivers, although you seem to have a thing about them, nor is it just older drivers. In my 55 to 60 k miles a year experience it tends to be younger Ford, Vauxhall and BMW drivers who seem to think with the development of modern safety fittings on cars that they are bullet proof, and have forgotten everything they, and obviously you were taught in this country's inadequate driving test. Even when I sat mine 44 years ago, CONSTANTLY CHECK YOUR MIRRORS!!!!! It has always been a part of the test, but unfortunately, practical experience on motorways is not, as yet a compulsory constituent of said farce. Unfortunately, road traffic officer numbers have been reduced by police authorities who consider cameras more cost effective. But perhaps you would like to accompany a police officer to visit a family who have lost someone to a driver who was driving "just a few miles over the limit." I very much doubt it.

By justeddie on 7 January, 2010, 12:21pm

Yes Eddie I do. One has to drive to the conditions at the time, and dodging in and out of lanes every 30/40 seconds is dangerous, nobody has answered where 70mph can be maintained in the nearside lane when the motorway is busy.
The point about using the mirrors every 10 seconds was not a rant, I was merely pointing out, that I believe that regularly using the mirrors is the absolute most important discipline on a motorway, or any other road, which most drivers nowadays combined with the lack of indication when moving out, do not seem to see the need for.
I think we agree that the driving test is woefully inadequate, and I think I said that checking the mirror every 10 seconds should be the major part of the driving test, and I agree with you that practical motorway experience should be compulsory.

Until retirement I like you, drove in excess off over 100.000 miles a year, nearly all of it on the motorway, and I stand by my statement that some drivers still have a mentality of ( I am driving at the legal limit so nobody should pass me ) and they sit in the outside lane at 70mph, even when the middle lane is empty, and will not move over for faster traffic, it just happens that I was held up by Jag drivers more than any other car, and on one occasion a girl driving at 40mph in the outside lane who refused to move over, and continually gave V signs.

It is not up to these people to pre judge and regulates the speed of other motorway traffic; speed in itself does not kill, [ But bad driving and bad judgement combined with inappropriate speed does.]

It is the job of the police to make sure that traffic flows safely and without hindrance, and regulate driving standards on the motorway, unfortunately they can't do that from a desk, and as far as I am concerned the system is wrong and they should be out on the road doing the job that they are paid handsomly to do.

By Bobbybev on 7 January, 2010, 3:28pm

Bobby, please point out to me where at any point in my comments I promoted "dodging in and out of lanes". I , as a member of the I.A.M., and as a qualified P.C.V. instructor, I do not advocate irresponsible driving by any driver, be they casual or proffessional. Before I was involved in teaching, I experienced a number of occasions when driving a modern Volvo coach, fitted with a speed limiter, at that time to 70mph, accurate to + or - 2 kph, on trying to overtake a car on the motorway, the car would accelerate to leave me stuck on the offside. Car speedometers need only be accurate to 10%, so at 70mph, could be doing as low as 62/63mph. On one occassion, the driver of the FORD was pulled by Essex traffic police and charged. But that was in the days when we did have road traffic cars. Believe me, those, who you think are handsomely paid, and I don't, would rather be out on the road, and not filling in the 27 bits of paper required every time some smart a**e thinks it is ok to break the law. Road traffic law is the same as any other law, it is LAW. You break it, you pay the price. Your licence is not a right, it is something you worked for, and should be looked after.

By justeddie on 7 January, 2010, 9:18pm

Hi again Eddie
You inferred that my query of Feusag's point, that we as drivers should all return back to the nearside lane after overtaking, that I was advocating that it was dangerous practice.
QUOTE [ So Bobbybev, you consider that someone using the motorway properly is dangerous]

We all know that in theory (Feusag) is correct, and that returning promptly to the nearside lane is indeed using the motorway properly, but also unworkable and impracticable if travelling long distance.
I still maintain my point is valid.
Unless you are driving in the nearside lane during certain quiet hours of the night maintaining a decent forward speed in the nearside lane during busy periods is impossible, due to the slow moving vehicles using that lane, and it is that which promotes frequent lane swapping and in my book it is that which is dangerous, even when done correctly, because doing things correctly does not guarantee safety.
My point was it's safer to cruise in the middle lane as long as you do not hold up faster traffic, I did not say it was correct, just safer.
And of course there is always the outside overtaking lane for vehicles travelling faster than you to use, unless that lane is occupied by a Jag doing the maximum motorway speed of 70 mph, with a great reluctance to move over for faster traffic. :-)
Of course I base my thesis on driving a vehicle that is not governed to a fixed speed.

By Bobbybev on 8 January, 2010, 8:10pm