Why do Brits Drive so Slowly in the Bloody Passing Lane??

Sounds like you don't even leave the States. The fast lanes around here are all filled with mini-vans with mothers talking on their cell phones driving 10 mph under the speed limit.

American Bad Boy wrote:

Every time come to England, a country I otherwise love to visit, I am so frustrated driving on your highways. Your right lane is supposed to be the fast lane, right?? Get moving or get your arses out of the way!! Why is that so hard to understand??

1. They are not highways. They are motorways.

Dick Turpin rode the highways.

but he ain't about so much now..

Its our way or the highway....

dont talk sh£t mate,

I drive the motorways everyday and thats not the case. maybe up north, but I wouldnt know.

what's worth discussing is whether 77mph is too slow for the middle lane? What are the 3 lanes for because at the moment I dont know

Lane 1 (inside lane) is the lane you're supposed to drive in under normal conditions. Lanes 2 and 3 are for overtaking.

When you have passed a slower vehicle return to the inside lane as soon as it is safe to do so.

DO NOT sit in the middle lane if the inside lane is empty (unless of course you are a cell-phone wielding Audi / BMW driving middle management scumbag, yummy mummy in a ridiculous 4x4 or - and without prejudice here - from RSA or Poland. Come on guys, if you are driving in a different country look the rules up before you do so.)

Bustabloodvessel wrote:

Come on guys, if you are driving in a different country look the rules up before you do so.)

You're asking a lot here. I mean you're talking to people from a country where the majority of people can't be bothered to know the rules of driving in their own country.

Lane 1 (inside lane) is the lane that you are supposed to drive in under normal conditions. Lanes 2 and 3 are for overtaking.

When you have passed a slower vehicle return to the inside lane as soon as it is safe to do so.

DO NOT sit in the middle lane if the inside lane is empty unless of course you are a cell-phone wielding Audi / BMW driving middle management scumbag, yummy mummy in a ridiculous 4x4 or - and without prejudice here - from RSA or Poland. Come on guys, if you're driving in a different country look the damned rules up before you do so)

The M25 is up to 5 lanes at some juntions (6@ M4?). Etiquette for leaving at a junction is to dive from the outside lane to the inside lane at the last possible moment. Bonus points for squeezing in between the last and the penultimate car in a queue just to show what a nice person you are (seriously, WTF?)

Nobody appears to have a clue as to how to manage driving the bits in between.

Special rules apply all over the national road network for clapped-out white Bedford/Transit vans.

Driving at 77mph is over the speed limit of 70 and thus ILLEGAL. Unless of course you are on the westbound M4, the M40 or A42, in which case this is far too slow in any lane.

[quote]

On those lastmentioned motorways, are the cameras more forgiving or do the drivers just know exactly where they are? What speed can you do on these without getting fined?

Also, I'm not so sure about your RSA drivers comment. In SA drivers regularly use the motorways at average speeds of 130km, and a lot more at times, so I doubt theyd be sitting in the middle lane slowing everyone down. Do you you happen to just know one SA person who does this and are thus generalising?

Anyway, your whole post starts off with sensible info which becomes a semi rant towards the end which indicates to me that driving in the UK is a c_ckup generally.

So the rules are, drive 70 in the left lane and thus enter the middle lane every 10 secs because everyone in the left lane is doing 60, and re-enter the left lane having passed?

Or drive 77 in the right lane which is apparently illegal, but too slow so you keep having to make way for faster drivers anyway. So you move into the middle lane which is a no-no apparently if there's space in the left lane, so you move into that one and youre stuck behind mrs gubbins on her way to visit her dole son and his asbo kids up north.

I smell c_ck up

Actually it was all meant to be slightly facetious (the middle lane RSA thing certainly applies to those I know, admittedly they're not always slow)

The A42 DC between the M25 and Aylesbury is a racetrack, while the M40 to Banbury at least is equally mad just after the evening rush. The answer to your 'how fast' question on this evidence would be bloody fast, certainly when Mr Policeman isn't about.

If you commute you know where the cameras are, are likely to be, or if a laser may be toted from a bridge.

If anything driving is possibly slightly better than it was a few years ago. Perhaps they're all watching Police, Camera, Public Enemy No1 and its ilk on telly.

Yes the middle lane thing really gets on my t##s, especially off peak.

As for my ranting - it's Letsrun - anything goes!