3-4 Lane Motorways: Rules?

zuutroy

Ok, my local motorway is a 4-laner. I generally treat it as: far right for trucks and exiters. Middle 2 a la an Irish motorway. Far left for Germans in a hurry home at 150+. Is this close to correct?!

qazz

when the right lane is free - drive always right!!! if there's any truck just overtake it and come back to the right. this is the rule!!!

Seth Brundle

Taking into account that the OP is in Belgium they should be in the leftmost lane doing between 70 and 80% of the speed limit.

a la an Irish motorway!

DeBeere

kbannon wrote:

Taking into account that the OP is in Belgium they should be in the leftmost lane doing between 70 and 80% of the speed limit.

a la an Irish motorway!

Do the Germans not drive on the 'wrong' side?

Guy:Incognito

DeBeere wrote:

Do the Germans not drive on the 'wrong' side?

2 flaws with your post. 1) Belgians are not German (and vice versa) and 2) your humour/sarcasm/kbannon detector is broken.;)

DeBeere

Ever wish you could take back a post? :rolleyes:

Cause I do..

Tony Danza

qazz wrote:

when the right lane is free - drive always right!!! if there's any truck just overtake it and come back to the right. this is the rule!!!

Really? I always thought on a 4 lane motorway, the middle ones where for driving, as the OP said. The only time ever being on one was in America, and I noticed people only really used the right lane for when they're exit was coming up.

seamus

Without having a rules of the road to hand, any "good practice" driving book I've ever seen, advocates using the driving lane (i.e. closest to the edge of the road) for slower vehicles - trucks, cars pulling trailers, slow bikes, etc, using the centre lane for normal driving, and the outside lane for overtaking only. More-or-less the same as a two-lane carriageway, except that you now have a tertiary lane for slow-moving vehicles.

Victor

Stekelly wrote:

1) Belgians are not German (and vice versa) and

Actually, Belgium does have a German community.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-speaking_Community_of_Belgium

Tony Danza

seamus wrote:

Without having a rules of the road to hand, any "good practice" driving book I've ever seen, advocates using the driving lane (i.e. closest to the edge of the road) for slower vehicles - trucks, cars pulling trailers, slow bikes, etc, using the centre lane for normal driving, and the outside lane for overtaking only. More-or-less the same as a two-lane carriageway, except that you now have a tertiary lane for slow-moving vehicles.

I'm fairly certain for the American roads (I know the OP is talking about Belgium) that trucks are recommended to stay in the middle lanes, can't remember why but I remember reading that somewhere and it gave a reason just can't remember it.

Although I agree with what your saying, it does make sense to have all slow traffic on the inner lane.

Tony Danza

Victor wrote:

Actually, Belgium does have a German community.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-speaking_Community_of_Belgium

But obviously Belgians are Belgians???

Stark

They drive on the right in Belgium.

Tony_Danza wrote:

But obviously Belgians are Belgians???

Well there are different subcultures depending on what country you're nearest. Like there's "French Belgium" to the South where they all speak French, and there's "Dutch Belgium" to the North where they all speak Flemish, a variant of Dutch.

The rules for a 3 lane motorway are that the lane nearest the centre is for overtaking only, just like a 2-lane motorway. You should be in the lane furthest the edge if it's clear and you don't have to overtake anyway in the middle lane. If there are slow vehicles in the "slow lane", then you can remain in the middle lane; you don't have to be moving in and out of the slow traffic like you would if there was only 2 lanes.

Tony Danza

Stark wrote:

Well there are different subcultures depending on what country you're nearest. Like there's "French Belgium" to the South where they all speak French, and there's "Dutch Belgium" to the North where they all speak Flemish, a variant of Dutch.

I don't know why I'm replying to this since it's going completely off topic. I'm aware of how the Belgian culture is made up, but Belgians are Belgians, obviously there are some German Belgians and so on, as there is Irish Americans, but I'd imagine the vast majority consider themselves Belgian and nothing else!! They just happen to speak German, French, Dutch, whatever!

Alun

Tony Danza wrote:

I don't know why I'm replying to this since it's going completely off topic. I'm aware of how the Belgian culture is made up, but Belgians are Belgians, obviously there are some German Belgians and so on, as there is Irish Americans, but I'd imagine the vast majority consider themselves Belgian and nothing else!! They just happen to speak German, French, Dutch, whatever!

Still off topic, but there are actually quite some cultural differences between people from the different areas of Belgium, despite them all being Belgian. You'd be hard put to distinguish a Belgian from the German speaking part from a real German if you met them. You can even tell when you get to the German speaking part, since all the houses 'look' German somehow. And try to convince someone from the Vlaams Blok (a right wing Flemish political party) that he's 'just a Belgian' and I wouldn't fancy your chances

DeBeere

What have I started!

If Ireland gets a 4 lane motorway(presumming there already isn't one!), it is going to be chaotic.