Is it legal....

oleras · 21-01-2008 5:41pm

Not as far as i am aware OP. On reading your reply i see you were not lane hogging but overtaking and some twat came up behind you expecting you to go even faster !

Do what i do and ignore your rear mirror till you are back in the driving lane.

I think we should start a campaign !!

The more i think about the debate with overtaking lane and right hand lane and fast lane i have an idea.

I think anyone in the right hand lane should have their indicator on. Fullstop. If you are driving in it it should only be to safely overtake a slower driver in front.(or turning right ). When it is safe to do so, get back in the leftmost driving lane and turn the indicator off.

This should be enforced by cops and points awarded to people who do not comply !

kkontour · 21-01-2008 5:43pm

Chief--- wrote: »

Everybody here is mentioning the right hand lane/fast lane/overtaking lane.

I presume ye are all referring to the BMW lane :rolleyes:

Or the MAN's lane, as Ive heard it called:D

D_murph · 21-01-2008 5:46pm

im sure we've all been there

. only one thing for it really. a quick look around for anyone that "might object"

and just pass em where you can really and do it fast just in case the bolix does change lanes.

most times they dont even move over after being passed on the left lane FFS :rolleyes:.

slow in more ways than one...........

MuffinsDa · 21-01-2008 5:51pm

oleras wrote: »

I think anyone in the right hand lane should have their indicator on. Fullstop. If you are driving in it it should only be to safely overtake a slower driver in front.(or turning right ). When it is safe to do so, get back in the leftmost driving lane and turn the indicator off.

Which -to my surprise- is what I observed everybody doing in France this summer: right lane strictly for overtaking, keep the indicator on while on that lane, sneak back as soon as the maneuver is over. No messing about, and for once I forgot to get back immediately (hoping to overtake another car a couple of hundred meters ahead in the same go) and had someone (rightfully) flashing the arse out of me!

However, there's absolutely no justification for flashing someone when they are actually overtaking someone else (or a line of traffic) and can't do anything else other than completing their maneuver. Or when they are stuck behind some one else. Which is what majority of "flashers" do here

WHITE_P · 21-01-2008 7:11pm

dillon1 wrote: »

Well now you ask, no one seemed interested in the facts, just got the opinion that because I was in the overtaking lane when I got flashed I must be a "lane hug" or some other form of parasite that doesn't deserve to live!!

Story is I was passing a line of approx. 8 cars, I was doing about 155k at the time, when a car came up behind me and started flashing his lights like a nutter as soon as he caught up to me which I thought was a bit over the top and lead me to start this thread to find out if he was legally allowed to flash his lights in this situation.

Don't worry though I've learned my lesson, boards is for rants, not asking fairly simple questions.

P.S. I know I was speeding so thanks in advance for all the impending comments on this....

Unless it was an emergency vehicle on its way to an emergency, I would say you had every right going by what you have posted here to complete your overtaking without this kind of abuse from some muppet. I'm sure if you can get a look at the road Traffic Act you will find he broke some section of the law. Not that the gardai would actually do anything about it unless they witness it for themselves. far easire to nick people for speeding in 50 zones than to police the roads properly.

Sandwich · 21-01-2008 8:09pm

Rory123 wrote: »

The official line we were given in an advanced driving course was the the outside lane was strictly an OVERTAKING lane. Even if you are doing 120kph and a car comes up behind you doing 150kph, you are still supposed to get out of the way and let him pass.

Very surprised at that one. Who gave the course and what was the rationale?

I would regularly find my self on the M1 doing 120, overtaking slower traffic (even if they're only doing 115) on the inside lane. I never move over if it means I would have to slow my progress overtaking those in the inside lane - even when vehicles are getting mad behind me and trying hard to blow a headlight bulb. Reasining? I am doing the speed limit, so they cannot (legally) overtake me so therfore no reason to move over. It is also satisfying to think that i am doing my bit to reduce speeding on our rounds. When there is no vehicle within a reasonable distance in the inside lane that would hold me up, then I pullover and let the blighter by.

Rory123 · 21-01-2008 10:15pm

Hibernian Ignition course... not an advanced driving course per say. The rationale was that its absolutely not your responsibility to enforce the speed limit laws on others. And staying in lane 2 with some bonehead 6 inches behind you blowing his horn is just as dangerous or even more so than him doing speeds in excess of 120kmh.
Then you can pull back out and continue overtaking if you so wish.

I never move over if it means I would have to slow my progress overtaking those in the inside lane

... Be the bigger man and slow your speed by 5kmh every so often, and some day you might save a life! Don't worry about giving the boneheads what they want, they will eventually get what's coming to them (only hopefully they won't take any lives or injure any others)... Karma.

D_murph · 21-01-2008 10:24pm

well IMO if you claim to be a better driver than the person stuck up behind your bumper then you should have the common sense to not incite his/her anger and possibly cause the situation to get worse.

let em off. shur you might even have a laugh a few miles up the road when you see em pulled over

but at least you wont be escalating a possible road rage incident.

if theyre that mad for road let em off

sinzinc · 21-01-2008 10:54pm

Sandwich wrote: »

Very surprised at that one. Who gave the course and what was the rationale?

I would regularly find my self on the M1 doing 120, overtaking slower traffic (even if they're only doing 115) on the inside lane. I never move over if it means I would have to slow my progress overtaking those in the inside lane - even when vehicles are getting mad behind me and trying hard to blow a headlight bulb. Reasining? I am doing the speed limit, so they cannot (legally) overtake me so therfore no reason to move over. It is also satisfying to think that i am doing my bit to reduce speeding on our rounds. When there is no vehicle within a reasonable distance in the inside lane that would hold me up, then I pullover and let the blighter by.

How is this reducing speeding on our roads, this sort of behavior can only insight anger in a driver who legally or not wishes to continue in the overtaking lane. It would be unreasonalbe to expect you to to slow down and speed up everytime you pull in to let the other driver by, but common sense should prevail here, I'm not familiar with traffic on M1, I would of thought it reasonably feasible to pull over to let cars by without impeeding your progress. Why not use hazard light to acknowledge the motorist behind so they can back off your tail, probably a far greater service to road road safety in Ireland.

Just to add to the indicator suggestion, this is my chosen method followed by flashing headlights and lefthand lane as an absolute last resort. Flashing indicator would appear to much less offence, does not statle/blind other drivers and has excuse that it did not cancel when you quite rightly indicated from the lefthand lane to the overtaking lane.

Whether its legal or not flashing headlights, my line if ever stopped would be I was just checking that they were working, as if I carry out an ongoing DOE on the road.

S

Esel · 22-01-2008 2:49am

Sandwich wrote: »

I never move over if it means I would have to slow my progress overtaking those in the inside lane - even when vehicles are getting mad behind me and trying hard to blow a headlight bulb. Reasining? I am doing the speed limit, so they cannot (legally) overtake me so therfore no reason to move over. It is also satisfying to think that i am doing my bit to reduce speeding on our rounds.

Is this the kind of thing that goes through the tiny minds of all the other drivers who behave like this?

D_murph · 22-01-2008 9:07am

esel wrote: »

Is this the kind of thing that goes through the tiny minds of all the other drivers who behave like this?

^X2 a perfect example IMO :mad:. these people actually think they are doing this for "our own good" as well :rolleyes:

Jumpy · 22-01-2008 9:20am

port wrote: »

Why do you think its legal? I recently read that a motorist was fined in court for flashing another driver.

It isnt legal. C_breeze had a guess and was wrong.

Although it could be taken up another way. It is legal to flash your lights for other reasons, but to intimidate another driver it is an offense.

oleras · 22-01-2008 10:13am

Jumpy wrote: »

It isnt legal. C_breeze had a guess and was wrong.

Although it could be taken up another way. It is legal to flash your lights for other reasons, but to intimidate another driver it is an offense.

Do you think that by bringing to the driver in fronts attention that there is someone behind them this is intimidatind behaviour ? They should be using their mirrors and have an awareness of what is going on. Its basically bad driving skills and habbits to sit in the right hand lane, plain and simple.

WHITE_P · 22-01-2008 6:16pm

Its not up to the public to police the roads. In fact you could be breaking the law, not sure but check the road traffic act if you like. Great reading if you are suffering from insomnia.

Sandwich: I am doing the speed limit, so they cannot (legally) overtake me so therfore no reason to move over. It is also satisfying to think that i am doing my bit to reduce speeding on our rounds. When there is no vehicle within a reasonable distance in the inside lane that would hold me up, then I pullover and let the blighter by.

D Murph is right, except there never seems to be a traffic cop around when you want one.

D Murph: let em off. shur you might even have a laugh a few miles up the road when you see em pulled over but at least you wont be escalating a possible road rage incident.

Sandwich · 22-01-2008 8:15pm

esel wrote: »

Is this the kind of thing that goes through the tiny minds of all the other drivers who behave like this?

I hope it is (tiny mind or not), although I do encounter far more drivers doing less than 120kph and not pulling over, so maybe there is nothing at all going through their minds.

Sandwich · 22-01-2008 8:26pm

Rory123 wrote: »

Hibernian Ignition course... not an advanced driving course per say. The rationale was that its absolutely not your responsibility to enforce the speed limit laws on others. And staying in lane 2 with some bonehead 6 inches behind you blowing his horn is just as dangerous or even more so than him doing speeds in excess of 120kmh.
Then you can pull back out and continue overtaking if you so wish.
... Be the bigger man and slow your speed by 5kmh every so often, and some day you might save a life!

Intersting. The motivation to maintain 120kph when overtaking others rather than facilitate the speeders is : 1) obey the speed limit, 2) no reason i should delay my own progress to facilitate those who arnt (slowing them down is just a bonus side effect). I am driving according to the ROTR, although I take the line about safety being paramount and overriding both of the above.

Would the same reasing from your course apply to the following variation of the same situation:

You are in the inside lane. You come up to a car in the outside lane doing 60kph. You move to the outside lane to overtake them but they dont move. A long queue forms behind you as the whole motorway is held up by this one one car - all except the first car are following the law. The safety first idea from above would suggest to me that you should move to the inside lane and overtake them - despite breaking the rotr.

Sandwich · 22-01-2008 8:29pm

WHITE_P wrote: »

Its not up to the public to police the roads. In fact you could be breaking the law, not sure but check the road traffic act if you like. Great reading if you are suffering from insomnia.

Am not doing it to police the roads. Havent read the RTA, but have passed my test unlike much of the driving population. Would appreciate it you could refer me to the section that explains our resposibility to facilitate those who want to break the RTA. And I will stand corrected.
Or a Gaybo press conference urging drivers to : Be Nice to Speeders - Move Out of Their Way.

colm_mcm · 22-01-2008 8:37pm

Have you taken into account that your speedo is probably overstating your speed? Maybe my speedo says you're doing 115 and I want to do 120. you still won't get out of my way, which makes you as bad as the idiot doing 60kmpg that is oblivious to the angry queue behind him.

Sandwich · 22-01-2008 9:15pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Have you taken into account that your speedo is probably overstating your speed? Maybe my speedo says you're doing 115 and I want to do 120. you still won't get out of my way, which makes you as bad as the idiot doing 60kmpg that is oblivious to the angry queue behind him.

Yes, am aware of that. Dont have cruise control, but generally keep the needle between 123 and 126kph

colm_mcm · 22-01-2008 9:18pm

I'm not one for speeding myself anymore, but am always aware of what's going on behind me, and would let someone by even if doing so let them break the law.

Rory123 · 22-01-2008 9:28pm

Sandwich wrote: »

1) obey the speed limit, 2) no reason i should delay my own progress to facilitate those who arnt (slowing them down is just a bonus side effect). I am driving according to the ROTR, although I take the line about safety being paramount and overriding both of the above.

Obviously I know its a rule of the road not to break the speed limit, but I read the rules of the road regarding motorways and overtaking last night and I found nothing either in favour of or against getting out of the way of drivers who want to get past you in the overtaking lane (regardless of their speed). Maybe I'm missing something.

Would the same reasing from your course apply to the following variation of the same situation:

You are in the inside lane. You come up to a car in the outside lane doing 60kph. You move to the outside lane to overtake them but they dont move. A long queue forms behind you as the whole motorway is held up by this one one car - all except the first car are following the law. The safety first idea from above would suggest to me that you should move to the inside lane and overtake them - despite breaking the rotr.

Didn't ask, but in fairness if someone is stupid enough to do 60kmh in the overtaking lane when the inside lane is more free (it would have to be for you be able to "come up to" them if you're in the inside lane), then I am not quite sure that they wouldn't be too pig-ignorant to be able to turn the ignition key, push the clutch, and put a car in gear... let alone pass a driving test.

Mr.Boots · 23-01-2008 5:24am

Sandwich wrote: »

Am not doing it to police the roads. Havent read the RTA, but have passed my test unlike much of the driving population. Would appreciate it you could refer me to the section that explains our resposibility to facilitate those who want to break the RTA. And I will stand corrected.
Or a Gaybo press conference urging drivers to : Be Nice to Speeders - Move Out of Their Way.

I hate people flashing me even if i cant move over.......
I hate people who wont move over even though they can....
I think your a PC wally....

cpoh1 · 23-01-2008 11:21am

Sandwich id love to see you over in the uk behaving like that on the motorway. You wouldnt be too long in the waiting before being set straight by a motorway copper for your poor driving skills.

Driving on public roads isint just about suiting yourself, a basic skill/requirement on our roads these days is the ability to make progress and allow progress to be made. This means being as inobtrusive to other drivers on the road while making your own journey, i.e. pulling in and not getting in the way of faster moving vehicles.

Sure you are at the speed limit but think of the other road users behind you who wish to travel at a greater speed that are being held up, a stay in the overtaking lane of 5mins at 120kph without pulling in can lead to tailbacks of over 50 cars waiting to move past you. Its an ignorant attitude to have to think its ok to hold others up not to mention very poor driving skills.

Del2005 · 23-01-2008 12:06pm

I'll always let someone faster past me and stay in visual range depending on how much faster they are going, they get to the speed trap before me and get caught:D

Tea drinker · 23-01-2008 1:46pm

I also will get out of the way of a guy going faster than me if I am doing 120, but only if it is possible for me to do it without slowing down!
Why would I inconvenience myself for someone to break the law?
Shorely he could incovenience himself a little to allow time for people to get out of the way? I guess not if he is more important than me though :rolleyes:

It's different if it's emergency services, I'm always first to out get out of the way for that, in any circumstance. I have a feeling that self important people would not do so quickly.

Morlar · 23-01-2008 2:00pm

D_murph wrote: »

^X2 a perfect example IMO :mad:. these people actually think they are doing this for "our own good" as well :rolleyes:

Its an overtaking lane not a cruise lane for selfish pricks. If someone behind you wants to get past move across and let them pass for ****s sake. Idiots who hog the overtaking lane regardless of what speed they are doing are sanctimonious selfish idiots.

MuffinsDa · 23-01-2008 2:36pm

Morlar wrote: »

Its an overtaking lane not a cruise lane for selfish pricks. If someone behind you wants to get past move across and let them pass for ****s sake. Idiots who hog the overtaking lane regardless of what speed they are doing are sanctimonious selfish idiots.

What if you're in the middle of overtaking a line of 8 cars yourself? Dive in in the small gap between those in the slow lane, putting everyone in danger so that the impatient pri*k behind you can pass? No. In that case I'll ignore the eejit behind (if he can't see that I have no room to change lane and am overtaking myself), finish my overtaking, and when I'm safe to go back to slow lane then I'd do so.

Morlar · 23-01-2008 2:43pm

MuffinsDa wrote: »

What if .....

Hypothetical scenarios aside in my experience when this happens its down to selfish drivers who have no impediment to moving across - its simply their selfishness /stubbornness and pc arseholery. If someone was genuinely blocked obvioulsy it would be a different story.

Jeapy · 23-01-2008 2:54pm

Sandwich wrote: »

It is also satisfying to think that i am doing my bit to reduce speeding on our rounds

I think you have no right to impose your morals regarding speeding on anybody else and if anything, you are only causing road rage in others. I think you shouldnt be so smug next time you are driving, like how are you to know if the car behind you is in a serious rush (child in hospital, woman in labour)? We all just need to be a little more considerate towards others on the road. OP, if i were you, i would have finished my overtaking and moved in regardless of the person flashing you (within reason of course!)

D_murph · 23-01-2008 3:26pm

Morlar wrote: »

Its an overtaking lane not a cruise lane for selfish pricks. If someone behind you wants to get past move across and let them pass for ****s sake. Idiots who hog the overtaking lane regardless of what speed they are doing are sanctimonious selfish idiots.

exactly the point i was making and these do gooders that try to enforce the speed limits by holding up the right lane are not going to change anything. if anything road rage will be more common because people dont always do things the legal way and these moral idiots will cause more harm than good :rolleyes:

Is it legal....

Comments