Undertaking. NSFW.

[Rajagra]

Have I mentioned how much I hate people overtaking on the wrong side? Oh yes, I have.

I see it. A lot. And usually it's completely unnecessary.

It's saying something when I get angry about it before it's even happened. These people are just a-holes, and you can spot them and predict their actions before they know themselves what they will do.

Some swearing left unedited...

P.S. I was doing exactly the speed limit, going by GPS (so speedo indication was higher.) So undertaking was even more unjustified. Though the fact he could have so easily overtaken properly is the main issue here.

 

[Error7]

He was probably dropping a subtle hint to the middle lane hogger. He moved back into the middle lane after the undertake, was that to overtake the car ahead I wonder. Also notice the VW didn't move over after passing you.

 

[DAP]

Perfectly legal in California

 

[mollydog]

thats the thing, its not over here, it is in fact illegal to under take

now thank goodness there is a law, the police can use if they wish and fine you a £100 (or more) for hogging the middle/ outside lane if you could of moved over to the near side lane. there are people who do this hogging the outside lane on a 2 lane starch of road so the only way to pass them is to undertake

 

[Aero]

Funny vid, love the commentary , I sensed some frustration .

I know it's not safe to undertake in the UK, but those middle lane hoggers drive people to despair, they are so ignorant, oblivious, pig-headed or all three

 

[kamkar]

Yeah i think he was making a statement with that move, but you cant beat stupid with more stupid so it was a dumbass move.

 

[Rajagra]

I know it's not safe to undertake in the UK, but those middle lane hoggers drive people to despair

But the irony is that those who undertake very often go on to lane hog. The left hand lane isn't 'fast enough' for them, you see.

 

[DAP]

US english: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/undertaker
British vs US English leads to some interesting confusion.

Overtaking here means passing, be it on the right or the left.
I very much prefer it to be legal to pass right or left since no effort is expended to prevent lane hogging.

I did not see that the person in the video did anything that forced anyone else to react. It would be just ordinary traffic here. I would not be bothered by someone passing me like that.
I do not mind when people drive faster than me regardless of how fast I am driving. It keeps any cops ahead of me busy

 

[Nigel]

But the irony is that those who undertake very often go on to lane hog. The left hand lane isn't 'fast enough' for them, you see.

It is quite possible they did it because the right lane is too fast for them and they felt more comfortable passing in the "slow" lane - the same reason a lot of people never leave the middle lane.

US english: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/undertaker
British vs US English leads to some interesting confusion.

Overtaking here means passing, be it on the right or the left.
I very much prefer it to be legal to pass right or left since no effort is expended to prevent lane hogging.

I did not see that the person in the video did anything that forced anyone else to react. It would be just ordinary traffic here. I would not be bothered by someone passing me like that.
I do not mind when people drive faster than me regardless of how fast I am driving. It keeps any cops ahead of me busy

That is not the issue. The problem is that if the slower car had decided to move into the left lane for some unpredictable reason, like wanting to leave at the junction 3 miles ahead, then they would have changed lanes without checking to see if anyone was passing since nobody ever is passing on the left as it is illegal to do so. The faster car would then have executed a PIT manoeuvre on the slower car. It is a dangerous thing to do on UK roads. The no passing on the left rule does make things safer for everyone as long as everyone follows the rules, the UK does have some of the safest roads in the world.

 

[Rajagra]

Yes. In the UK the Highway Code states clearly to overtake on the right except in specific circumstances which make it unavoidable. (Getting past a lane hogger is absolutely not the intent of the exception clause.)
So the point is that even though lane hoggers SHOULD check before moving left, they may not do so because they aren't expecting someone to be overtaking on the inside. They have already shown that they are aren't great drivers. Why would you expect them to be diligent?

So... Overtaking on the inside is more dangerous. It's that simple. Add in the fact that you'll be overtaking in the blind spot of the mirrors, and it's crazy stupid.

In this instance I was going at exactly the speed limit and the lane hogger seems to be too. The overtaker was breaking the speed limit. Traffic was light, there was nothing to stop him using the right hand lane.

P. S. "Undertaking" is more of a play on words than than a US vs UK thing. Americans won't see the pun right away because it is normal there to overtake on either side. It is not normal here. It is explicitly against the rules. Most people here see it as a bad thing. In recent years many people have started to think it's acceptable.

Can you guess what happens when different groups of people follow different protocols on the road?

Sent from my tap-to-talk using Tapatalk

 

[Aero]

The fact that in the UK it is explicitly against the rules to overtake on the left is why it riles people so much when they are faced with an ignorant, lazy middle lane hogger.

 

[Bobcat101]

I dont think it's illegal, just best avoided.

See here
http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthre...ea3861bdcecdb93311998cf6f4e&p=76891#post76891

 

[Nigel]

I dont think it's illegal, just best avoided.

See here
http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthre...ea3861bdcecdb93311998cf6f4e&p=76891#post76891

There are situations where it is both legal and expected, such as when lanes are marked to turn in different directions at an approaching junction and when the lane to the right has a queue in it, although in that case the police will still give you a fine if you change lanes to the left in order to overtake traffic in your lane. For the situation in post #1 it is definitely illegal and the police would choose to stop you and give you a fine for doing it in preference to stopping and fining the middle lane hog.

Remember that it is doing things that are unexpected that causes accidents, if everyone behaves predictably, even if incorrectly, then accidents rarely happen.

 

[Error7]

I prefer this definition of 'accident' An event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause:

If it could have been avoided, then it's not an accident.

 

[kamkar]

You cant ( overtake ) on the right here, but it is offcourse allowed to pass by a car in the left lane or keeping left slowing down to make a left turn, but in this case its called passing here and not overtaking, and it too have its own set of rules offcourse.

Pretty murky rules, but we seem to collect things like that here.
I am pretty sure you can still find a valid law from 1600 somthing that state somthing like, "within the citylimit of Copenhagen its not allowed to wear your underwaer on the head if its not saturday or tuesday" or " is someone have insulted your honor you can only challenge him to a duel every second tuesday of the month"

I sort of get what prompt some weaker ppl to hog a lane, its cuz they have a hard time figuring out how to merge in traffic, though a lane change is somthing all together different. But these ppl have given up, acknowledging their own shortcomings, or offcourse it could allso just be ignorant A-holes as there is a lot of those driving around too.

And if they are up to the max speed i personally cant see the problem as i cant legally pass by them without braking the law in the case thy did keep right, and my argument is if we all keep right here and to the speed limit, then we would have a lot of surplus lanes as only EMG vehicles can pass / go faster than the posted MAX speed.
And the right lanes we do have would be gridlocked LA style, cuz while you are allowed to pass slower or stopped cars on the left, then it is illigal to innitiate a overtaking without beeing sure you can finish it in a safe manner, and it cant be done safe ( or with the "mutual consideration" that so often figure in our traffic codes ) when traffic in the right lane is bumper to bumper.

Catch-22

And i am not quite sure if its safer if we all kept right by default, at least with the Danes problems of keeping a distance witch have lead to a increase of fatalities and injuries over the past years due to ppl tailgating.

But if ppl keep left and drive slow or are slow off the line at intersections or just plain old lazy, then i will honk my horn and flash my lights at them.
And i will do my "out of the way dopey" routine

 

[Rajagra]

with the Danes problems of keeping a distance witch have lead to a increase of fatalities and injuries over the past years due to ppl tailgating.

I have often thought that on motorways and similar roads they should scrap speed limits and replace them with minimum safe distance laws. (e.g. according to the Highway Code braking distance charts.)
It would prevent more accidents, and I think the technology exists to enforce it.
Driving at 50mph only a car length away from the car in front is more dangerous than doing 100 with empty road ahead.

 

[Nigel]

I am pretty sure you can still find a valid law from 1600 somthing that state somthing like, "within the citylimit of Copenhagen its not allowed to wear your underwaer on the head if its not saturday or tuesday" or " is someone have insulted your honor you can only challenge him to a duel every second tuesday of the month"

Your law about driving on the right only dates to 1793, there can't be many Danish driving rules going back to 1600!

 

[kamkar]

maybe not traffic rules

The ppl in PA better be carfull now who they text and when
http://www.vocativ.com/314646/texting-and-driving-punished/