Make left lane overtaking legal

Anan1

draffodx wrote: »

Calling for undertaking to be mad legal is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

The idea is to discuss the pros & cons, rather than simply calling ideas 'stupid'.

Maverick Cool Saltwater wrote: »

Motorways should have 3 lanes period

Have you seen how the Irish drive on 3 lane motorways?;)

JCDUB

metzengerstein wrote: »

(i never move for these people )

YOU, my friend, are the problem....

It's not your job to police the motorways and determine what speed other drivers do. It is both dangerous and irresponsible.

metzengerstein

Maverick Cool Saltwater wrote: »

Motorways should have 3 lanes period

our 2 lane motorways have a faster speed limit than our 3 lane ones ,what a bunch of sh**e.how does it make sense .or will they ever lift the 100 on the m50

metzengerstein

JCDUB wrote: »

YOU, my friend, are the problem....

It's not your job to police the motorways and determine what speed other drivers do. It is both dangerous and irresponsible.

how am i a problem when ive overtaken someone ,and a guy comes up behind me trying to break the limit tailgaiting me .

how does that make me the dangerous driver ,ive every right to drive and not be bullied off the road my friend

Anan1

metzengerstein wrote: »

how am i a problem when ive overtaken someone ,and a guy comes up behind me trying to break the limit tailgaiting me .

how does that make me the dangerous driver ,ive every right to drive and not be bullied off the road my friend

Whether or not you stay in the overtaking lane should have nothing to do with what's behind you, it's for overtaking, period.

Zubeneschamali

JHMEG wrote: »

"slow-moving" and "slowly" are not specifically defined, so I would say it's any speed slower than you, up to the limit (of course)

You think anything below the limit is "slow moving"? No chance.

Less than half the limit, maybe you'd get away with it. I think that stop-start traffic in lanes is more the point of this rule.

metzengerstein

Anan1 wrote: »

Whether or not you stay in the overtaking lane should have nothing to do with what's behind you, it's for overtaking, period.

exatly but you could be overtaking many cars in the lane beside you doing the limit ,and then you get this car up your ass who wants too get around you and break the limit why should i move when im overtaking and doing the limit

KamiKazi

metzengerstein wrote: »

the worst for me is people in the overtaking lane doing well under the limit or b**stards who come up behind you while your doing the lilmit and tailgate you to get you out of the way (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

Oh dear God.


GET OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY.


It's not your job to ensure other people abide by the speed limits. People like you are the problem, not the people passing on the left.

metzengerstein

KamiKazi wrote: »

Oh dear God.


GET OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY.


It's not your job to ensure other people abide by the speed limits. People like you are the problem, not the people passing on the left.

doesnt make any sense,im not trying to ensure anything ,im just driving then i get in the overtaking lane still doing the limit overtaking cars goin slower ,and if someone wants to tail me (which is ilegal) and go faster he is breaking the law .why should i move .i think you are the problem if your one of those drivers .it called dangerous driving and road rage

KamiKazi

metzengerstein wrote: »

should be legal ,fact is theres too many morons on our roads and too many cars not too drive in the overtaking lane ,and i dont think people will ever get how to use the motorway properly anyway

the worst for me is people in the overtaking lane doing well under the limit or b**stards who come up behind you while your doing the lilmit and tailgate you to get you out of the way (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

Saying that you never move for these people implies that have the opportunity to move but you choose not to.

metzengerstein wrote: »

doesnt make any sense,im not trying to ensure anything ,im just driving then i get in the overtaking lane still doing the limit overtaking cars goin slower ,and if someone wants to tail me (which is ilegal) and go faster he is breaking the law .why should i move .i think you are the problem if your one of those drivers .it called dangerous driving and road rage

:rolleyes:

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

JCDUB wrote: »

YOU, my friend, are the problem....

It's not your job to police the motorways and determine what speed other drivers do. It is both dangerous and irresponsible.

+ 1. Hate drivers who stick in the overtaking lane doing the speed limit and not moving for faster traffic when they could. Not up to you to enforce the law. Get out of the fcuking way

metzengerstein

KamiKazi wrote: »

Saying that you never move for these people implies that have the opportunity to move but you choose not to.



:rolleyes:

i dont care if someone wants to break the limit or do what they want ,just saying im not gonna move for them if im overtaking and doin the limit ive every right to be where i am without being bullied out of it.its not a fast lane the speed doesnt increase because your in that lane ,and i cant stand tail gaters ,very dangerous and if the car in front has to jam on suddenly itl be the tail gaters fault when he smashes the back of the car in front so its not worth it really

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

metzengerstein wrote: »

i dont care if someone wants to break the limit or do what they want ,just saying im not gonna move for them if im overtaking and doin the limit ive every right to be where i am without being bullied out of it.its not a fast lane the speed doesnt increase because your in that lane ,and i cant stand tail gaters ,very dangerous and if the car in front has to jam on suddenly itl be the tail gaters fault when he smashes the back of the car in front so its not worth it really

Would you move in when possible or stay stubborn?

KamiKazi

Maverick Cool Saltwater wrote: »

Would you move in when possible or stay stubborn?

check my post above, he never moves for people when he's at the limit.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

KamiKazi wrote: »

check my post above, he never moves for people when he's at the limit.

:eek::(:mad:. On another note 1.0's should be banned from overtaking lane.

Del2005

af_thefragile wrote: »

Yup... I know, It was my fault there too. I've got a Ford Puma, so the visibility out of it is a bit poor and I didn't look over my shoulder before I decide to move left.

But still I think overtaking on the left is wrong. It'll really put off a less experienced driver, make them nervous and more prone to mistakes as now they've gotta be looking out for people trying to overtake them from the left as well...

You should always look over your left shoulder when changing lanes to the left. There could be a car joining the motorway from a slip road and in slow moving traffic in town there could be peds, cyclists or motorbikes coming up on your inside.

Maverick Cool Saltwater wrote: »

Motorways should have 3 lanes period

We have lovely 3 lane motorways where you can only, legally, drive in 2 lanes as the lane nearest the left is always empty.

metzengerstein wrote: »

doesnt make any sense,im not trying to ensure anything ,im just driving then i get in the overtaking lane still doing the limit overtaking cars goin slower ,and if someone wants to tail me (which is ilegal) and go faster he is breaking the law .why should i move .i think you are the problem if your one of those drivers .it called dangerous driving and road rage

I'm assuming here that as soon as you've passed the vehicle you are overtaking you move in as soon as it's safe. Otherwise you are also guilty of an offence and causing road rage, as the others have said it's not your job to police the roads.

I vaguely remember a post on this topic from one of our Garda posters where he argued that passing in the left lane wasn't overtaking by definition as there is something about changing lanes to be overtaking. He had good reasoning and I remember saying I must print it out in case I ever got caught, of course I didn't.

metzengerstein

Maverick Cool Saltwater wrote: »

Would you move in when possible or stay stubborn?

oh yes id move in when possible ,of course ,just not when there is no room to ,and a car is doing this has happened a few times stupid people ,you need a chance to overtake and get back in ,there could be a few cars sometimes.

maybe i should have been more clearer,but tailgating is ileagl it cause people to get annoyed and enraged and they should think and have a little patience ,it will only end badly for them and not the car in front but thats a diffrent topic so ill say no more bout that

Theta

metzengerstein wrote: »

i dont care if someone wants to break the limit or do what they want ,just saying im not gonna move for them if im overtaking and doin the limit ive every right to be where i am without being bullied out of it.its not a fast lane the speed doesnt increase because your in that lane ,and i cant stand tail gaters ,very dangerous and if the car in front has to jam on suddenly itl be the tail gaters fault when he smashes the back of the car in front so its not worth it really

Because speeding or not that is the rules of the road.

If someone comes up behind you you move in let them pass then move out and continue to over take the slow moving traffic.

Its also courtesy.

Tipp Man

af_thefragile wrote: »

Leftlane overtaking is downright dangerous!
If someone is trying to overtake you in the leftlane, you won't see them cuz they're in your blindspot, you decide to change lanes, you move left and crash into the car overtaking you.

Almost happened to me once. It was good my mate spotted the car and told me to stop.

Defo agree with this, left lane overtaking is one of the most dangerous things you can do and it downright infuritates me every time i see it

Its something that should be clamped down on not made lawful

metzengerstein

Theta wrote: »

Because speeding or not that is the rules of the road.

If someone comes up behind you you move in let them pass then move out and continue to over take the slow moving traffic.

Its also courtesy.

would you do it if it was a garda car in front of you,do you think he would pull in and let you by,i doubt it ,so what makes it ok to do it to other people ,its road rage

KamiKazi

metzengerstein wrote: »

would you do it if it was a garda car in front of you,do you think he would pull in and let you by,i doubt it ,so what makes it ok to do it to other people ,its road rage

A Garda car wouldn't be hogging the overtaking lane (or at least they should know better).

metzengerstein

KamiKazi wrote: »

A Garda car wouldn't be hogging the overtaking lane (or at least they should know better).

you didnt read my post properly,im not hogging ,im overtaking at the limit no room to get back in yet and a car starts tailing you .

KamiKazi

metzengerstein wrote: »

you didnt read my post properly,im not hogging ,im overtaking at the limit no room to get back in yet and a car starts tailing you .

Well you're telling porkies somewhere you wouldn't have said you never make room for these people if you hadn't got room to move over.

metzengerstein

KamiKazi wrote: »

Well you're telling porkies somewhere you wouldn't have said you never make room for these people if you hadn't got room to move over.

no i just wasnt clear enough ,sorry.i mean im not going to speed up or try to get into the next lane for him ,when i cant anyway if i could i would

JHMEG

Anan1 wrote: »

That's JHMEG's reading of it tooI'd say good luck with that in court, it seems clear to me that 'slow-moving' means the likes of stop-start traffic.

It's obviously open to interpretation, but I've not heard of any Garda ever trying to take it to court despite overtaking on the left on multi-lane roads being a very common occurance in Ireland nowadays.

So court. Well, it won't go to court as the Gardaí know the law doesn't state it's illegal.

And besides. This is just common sense: some tool is driving at 90km/h in the overtaking lane and you are driving at 120km/h in the left lane, with a garda car a few hundred metres behind you. Are you going slow down and stay level with the tool in the overtaking lane as he's not 'slow-moving'?

screamer

Laws and rules for the roads are flouted so much in Ireland, it doesn't matter what is legal and what isn't, people do what they want anyways. I think that it would only serve to make the roads even more dangerous if the traffic weavers could do this legally.... have you ever driven down the N7 on a Friday evening, taking your life in your hands with people who have no patience and no clue how to drive safely rushing down the country.

JHMEG

KamiKazi wrote: »

Oh dear God.


GET OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY.


It's not your job to ensure other people abide by the speed limits. People like you are the problem, not the people passing on the left.

He said he doesn't wimp out to tailgaters trying to barge past when he is overtaking at the speed limit. There is nothing wrong with that.

Atomic Pineapple

Gophur wrote: »

"made legal" I presume?

It's perfectly legal in many locations around the world, and not the hazard you may think.

It frees up motorway space and allows free progress, unlike this God-forsaken hole where ever and any body seems to think he's a lesser being if driving in the LH lane.

Anan1 wrote: »

The idea is to discuss the pros & cons, rather than simply calling ideas 'stupid'.

Sorry I posted in haste and didnt make my point properly.

What I meant is making undertaking legal seems to me to be an easy or lazy way out.

If we had proper driver education and enforcement of the current rules then driving on motorways would be a much better experience for all involved.

Overtaking safely would be possible and progress would be much improved.

While undertaking may be legal in other countries I'd imagine there driver education would mean that they are much more capable to handle a system that allows undertaking.

If you allowed undertaking here then you'll have a spaced out middle lane dawdler pull into the left lane without looking every 2 minutes or so and that could only lead to accidents if you have someone undertaking at a greater speed.

The system we have now is correct, it only needs to be enforced properly, not changed

JHMEG

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

You think anything below the limit is "slow moving"? No chance.

Less than half the limit, maybe you'd get away with it. I think that stop-start traffic in lanes is more the point of this rule.

Anyone familair with the law will tell you the letter of the law is what matters, not the spirit of it (whatever that is exactly)

metzengerstein

yes there is danger in it, but there will always be people going too slow in the overtaking lane or hogging or whatever.theres no point sitting there getting angry about it and trying to punish the driver in front just go around em and get on with your journey.

metzengerstein

draffodx wrote: »

Sorry I posted in haste and didnt make my point properly.

What I meant is making undertaking legal seems to me to be an easy or lazy way out.

If we had proper driver education and enforcement of the current rules then driving on motorways would be a much better experience for all involved.

Overtaking safely would be possible and progress would be much improved.

While undertaking may be legal in other countries I'd imagine there driver education would mean that they are much more capable to handle a system that allows undertaking.

If you allowed undertaking here then you'll have a spaced out middle lane dawdler pull into the left lane without looking every 2 minutes or so and that could only lead to accidents if you have someone undertaking at a greater speed.

The system we have now is correct, it only needs to be enforced properly, not changed

i would agree ,we dont have a good standard of education for our roads ,and the laws are not enforced as much as they should

randomuser77

thebiglad wrote: »

You have a blind spot on both sides - so does your argument apply to people passing on the right too?

Always a quick glance over the shoulder or maintaining a general awareness of what is going on around you will help - a car will be coming up on you for a while before it enters the blind spot.

As has been pointed out, the blind spot is bigger on the left hand side. This is especially true of vans.

I'm currently driving a citroen birlingo van which has no back windows (which is typical). I can look into the window on my right to see the blind spot, but no matter how far out I adjust the left hand side mirror, any car that undertakes me disappears completely for quite a while. I've had some scares when undertaking cars appear out of nowhere as I'm contemplating moving left. I can't imagine how much worse this would be if this was made legal.

Del2005

Tipp Man wrote: »

Defo agree with this, left lane overtaking is one of the most dangerous things you can do and it downright infuritates me every time i see it

Its something that should be clamped down on not made lawful

Undertaking one of the most dangerous things you can do, classic. I'd say it's nearly one of the least dangerous illegal things you can do and a lot safer then some of the legal things you can do. There are plenty of places where the speed limit is 80km/h and the road is barely safe for walking, doing 80km/h is highly dangerous but legal.

draffodx wrote: »

While undertaking may be legal in other countries I'd imagine there driver education would mean that they are much more capable to handle a system that allows undertaking.

If they ever made undertaking legal here there'd have to be plenty of drivers eduction before it's introduced. What is wrong in this country is that most people once they've got their piece of pink think all their learning is over.

Del2005

randomuser77 wrote: »

As has been pointed out, the blind spot is bigger on the left hand side. This is especially true of vans.

I'm currently driving a citroen birlingo van which has no back windows (which is typical). I can look into the window on my right to see the blind spot, but no matter how far out I adjust the left hand side mirror, any car that undertakes me disappears completely for quite a while. I've had some scares when undertaking cars appear out of nowhere as I'm contemplating moving left. I can't imagine how much worse this would be if this was made legal.

It already is legal in the 3 ways outlined before.

metzengerstein

in some circumstances i think its ok ,and if your the car being undertook you should well be able to see where the other car is with your mirrors and windows ,with a van or car van i can understand there are blindspots i could only say in that case wait till you see the car go past ,that is if you saw him behind

Stinicker

Undertaking is illegal although there have been times where I have had to do it unless I wanted my average speed dropping down to 70km/h or 80km/h.

When you overtake a vehicle or many you overtake in the right hand lane and when passed the obstacle you merge back into the Left driving lane. Simple as, driving in the overtaking lane should be only for overtaking and it is not ok to just do 120km/h and stay in it because someone may come up behind you doing 150km/h and they need to overtake you, whether they are breaking the speedlimit or not is none of my business, that is between that driver and the gardai.

This stupid notion of "I'll hold you back now, you asshóle is another version of Irish snobbery" BMW and AUDI drivers often find themselves victims to overtaking lane hoggers who think they have a god given divine right to drive their crappy Toyota at the 120km/h and get a thrill from holding back the faster driver, and then they label the stereotypical BMW and AUDI drivers as "Cocks" "I had this asshole in a BMW driving up my hole today" If you weren't the overtaking lane they could have overtaken you mr. brainiac.

This is the way your average poor skilled Irish driver thinks and I am afraid you may fall into this category metzengerstein (Hopefully I'm wrong!)

after such pearls of wisdom as (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

Since when did you own and police the road?

metzengerstein

Stinicker wrote: »

Undertaking is illegal although there have been times where I have had to do it unless I wanted my average speed dropping down to 70km/h or 80km/h.

When you overtake a vehicle or many you overtake in the right hand lane and when passed the obstacle you merge back into the Left driving lane. Simple as, driving in the overtaking lane should be only for overtaking and it is not ok to just do 120km/h and stay in it because someone may come up behind you doing 150km/h and they need to overtake you, whether they are breaking the speedlimit or not is none of my business, that is between that driver and the gardai.

This stupid notion of "I'll hold you back now, you asshóle is another version of Irish snobbery" BMW and AUDI drivers often find themselves victims to overtaking lane hoggers who think they have a god given divine right to drive their crappy Toyota at the 120km/h and get a thrill from holding back the faster driver.

This is the way your average poor skilled Irish driver thinks and I am afraid you may fall into this category metzengerstein (Hopefully I'm wrong!)

after such pearls of wisdom as (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

Since when did you own and police the road?

defo wrong,i wasnt clear enough the 1st time ,if you read back my posts youll see ,i overtake and get back in when its safe ,but a few times when ive done this ive had a car tail and flash me and that lark me even though id no where to go .and never move meaning not speeding up or trying to get back into the left lane in an unsafe manner

wyrn

Stinicker wrote: »

Undertaking is illegal although there have been times where I have had to do it unless I wanted my average speed dropping down to 70km/h or 80km/h.

When you overtake a vehicle or many you overtake in the right hand lane and when passed the obstacle you merge back into the Left driving lane. Simple as, driving in the overtaking lane should be only for overtaking and it is not ok to just do 120km/h and stay in it because someone may come up behind you doing 150km/h and they need to overtake you, whether they are breaking the speedlimit or not is none of my business, that is between that driver and the gardai.

This stupid notion of "I'll hold you back now, you asshóle is another version of Irish snobbery" BMW and AUDI drivers often find themselves victims to overtaking lane hoggers who think they have a god given divine right to drive their crappy Toyota at the 120km/h and get a thrill from holding back the faster driver, and then they label the stereotypical BMW and AUDI drivers as "Cocks" "I had this asshole in a BMW driving up my hole today" If you weren't the overtaking lane they could have overtaken you mr. brainiac.

This is the way your average poor skilled Irish driver thinks and I am afraid you may fall into this category metzengerstein (Hopefully I'm wrong!)

after such pearls of wisdom as (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

Since when did you own and police the road?

Did you not read these posts?

metzengerstein wrote: »

oh yes id move in when possible ,of course ,just not when there is no room to ,and a car is doing this has happened a few times stupid people ,you need a chance to overtake and get back in ,there could be a few cars sometimes.

maybe i should have been more clearer,but tailgating is ileagl it cause people to get annoyed and enraged and they should think and have a little patience ,it will only end badly for them and not the car in front but thats a diffrent topic so ill say no more bout that

metzengerstein wrote: »

you didnt read my post properly,im not hogging ,im overtaking at the limit no room to get back in yet and a car starts tailing you .

metzengerstein wrote: »

no i just wasnt clear enough ,sorry.i mean im not going to speed up or try to get into the next lane for him ,when i cant anyway if i could i would

Also bad form stereotyping drivers and their cars.

I really think it's a mixture of bad driving/knowledge/education AND bad bad bad attitudes (which leads to road rage)!

I don't think allowing undertaking will lead to a better flow of traffic, I think it'll lead to more accidents and a more cavalier attitude on the motorways (which is something we do not need). Perhaps we should work on getting people using the lanes are they are supposed to first!

metzengerstein

wyrn wrote: »

Did you not read these posts?







Also bad form stereotyping drivers and their cars.

I really think it's a mixture of bad driving/knowledge/education AND bad bad bad attitudes (which leads to road rage)!

thanks wryn,good to see some are actually reading the whole posts

_Kaiser_

To be fair to metzengerstein, a few years back I was outbound on the N4 in heavy traffic and overtaking (doing around 75 in an 80km/h zone) a solid line of cars in the left lane (doing around 60) when this silver Mondeo estate comes flying up behind me and sits so close that I couldn't see any bonnet in the rear view mirror.

Anyway, with nowhere to go I continue on as he still sits in my back seat until (about 60 seconds later) I decide it's hard enough trying to watch for idiots who decide to cut out in front of me AND this guy, so I (while watching him throughout) gradually apply enough pressure on the brakes to bring the car down to 20, then continue back up to 80 having made my point.

Anyway, out he jumps at the next lights and walks up to flash a badge at me. Starts going on about me "hogging" the "fast lane" and he could do me etc etc.. He didn't have an answer though for why he was up my ass (and being a Garda should know better!), nor for my comment that I was perfectly entitled to be in the OVERTAKING lane as I was OVERTAKING slower moving traffic - instead he slunk back to his car muttering about me reading the Rules of the Road, to which I suggested he have a look himself about what it says about tailgating!

Clearly some country cop on his way home for the weekend, but I will not accept crap like that from a fella that thinks a badge gives him the right to do whatever he likes!

TheColl

metzengerstein wrote: »

should be legal ,fact is theres too many morons on our roads and too many cars not too drive in the overtaking lane ,and i dont think people will ever get how to use the motorway properly anyway

the worst for me is people in the overtaking lane doing well under the limit or b**stards who come up behind you while your doing the lilmit and tailgate you to get you out of the way (i never move for these people ) its not a fast lane you cant go over the limit on it ,its an overtaking lane all 3 lanes have the same speed limit

what about when ur finished overtaking???

EDIT: sorry, you answered this already, i missed it.

metzengerstein

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

To be fair to metzengerstein, a few years back I was outbound on the N4 in heavy traffic and overtaking (doing around 75 in an 80km/h zone) a solid line of cars in the left lane (doing around 60) when this silver Mondeo estate comes flying up behind me and sits so close that I couldn't see any bonnet in the rear view mirror.

Anyway, with nowhere to go I continue on as he still sits in my back seat until (about 60 seconds later) I decide it's hard enough trying to watch for idiots who decide to cut out in front of me AND this guy, so I (while watching him throughout) gradually apply enough pressure on the brakes to bring the car down to 20, then continue back up to 80 having made my point.

Anyway, out he jumps at the next lights and walks up to flash a badge at me. Starts going on about me "hogging" the "fast lane" and he could do me etc etc.. He didn't have an answer though for why he was up my ass (and being a Garda should know better!), nor for my comment that I was perfectly entitled to be in the OVERTAKING lane as I was OVERTAKING slower moving traffic - instead he slunk back to his car muttering about me reading the Rules of the Road, to which I suggested he have a look himself about what it says about tailgating!

Clearly some country cop on his way home for the weekend, but I will not accept crap like that from a fella that thinks a badge gives him the right to do whatever he likes!

thats madness.i wouldnt have accepted that either id have take his badge number

Terrlock

I have to say that this is the most fustrating things on the roads today.

I drive on the M50 regularly and it's so annoying to see the 3 and even 4 lanes fully of traffic doing more or less the same speed.

I think a lot of drivers seem to go into the fast lane just so they can enable there cruise control at about 80-90KP/h and not have to turn it off again.

The refuse to move to the left lanes cause this will mean they have to do something.

Also others feel like they are guards and need to enforce the speed limits.

I don't believe that introducing an undertaking law is going to do anything other then cause people to drive even more dangerously then they are already.

We need to adopt a german mentality when it comes to driving.

I'm not sure how we can solve this. But maybe if we all get together we might be able to come up with some solution.

Lets do something as a collective and actually tackle this problem in Ireland

Anan1

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

a few years back I was outbound on the N4 in heavy traffic and overtaking (doing around 75 in an 80km/h zone) a solid line of cars in the left lane (doing around 60) when this silver Mondeo estate comes flying up behind me and sits so close that I couldn't see any bonnet in the rear view mirror.

Anyway, with nowhere to go I continue on as he still sits in my back seat until (about 60 seconds later) I decide it's hard enough trying to watch for idiots who decide to cut out in front of me AND this guy, so I (while watching him throughout) gradually apply enough pressure on the brakes to bring the car down to 20, then continue back up to 80 having made my point.

Without in any way condoning the Garda's driving, was this really the best way to deal with the situation? I find that 99% of the time a few flashes of the hazards do the job.

screamer

A German mentality- some already have it, I call them the "move over I'm driving a BMW, Mercedes or Audi"...... but, the thing is, we don't have German roads, and Germans obey the rules, even at pedestrian crossing, you won't catch them j-walking. Can't say the same for the Irish, and that's why a German mentality will not work.

dudara

I will admit that I regularly undertake when driving on the N7 3-lane section. The driving lane (by which I mean the leftmost lane) is frequently nice and empty (with the two overtaking lanes often quite busy) and I can often drive at the limit there, overtaking in the first and second overtaking lanes as necessary.

I have often wondered about the legality, I'll admit. But driving correctly and using the lanes correctly is often far less stressful.

I have no particular preference about allowing freeway type driving in Ireland - but I would argue that in order for it to happen safely, you would require a well-educated, reasonably competent driving population. As this is Ireland....

P.C.

This thread just got a whole lot shorter very quickely. :P

P.C.

randomuser77 wrote: »

As has been pointed out, the blind spot is bigger on the left hand side. This is especially true of vans.

I'm currently driving a citroen birlingo van which has no back windows (which is typical). I can look into the window on my right to see the blind spot, but no matter how far out I adjust the left hand side mirror, any car that undertakes me disappears completely for quite a while. I've had some scares when undertaking cars appear out of nowhere as I'm contemplating moving left. I can't imagine how much worse this would be if this was made legal.

You would not get those 'scares' if you had moved back into the left land when you had completed your overtaking manover.

CoDy1

JHMEG wrote: »

And besides. This is just common sense: some tool is driving at 90km/h in the overtaking lane and you are driving at 120km/h in the left lane, with a garda car a few hundred metres behind you. Are you going slow down and stay level with the tool in the overtaking lane as he's not 'slow-moving'?

I think i'm with JHMEG on this one, can any one answer this? do you hold your speed and continue to undertake or do you slow down and match the speed of the tool in the overtaking lane because its illegal to undertake?

Doubt it and and definately wouldn't call it illegal. I would class the other driver as 'slow moving'. Pretty sure any sane garda would agree.

Anan1

CoDy1 wrote: »

I think i'm with JHMEG on this one, can any one answer this? do you hold your speed and continue to undertake or do you slow down and match the speed of the tool in the overtaking lane because its illegal to undertake?

Doubt it and and definately wouldn't call it illegal. I would class the other driver as 'slow moving'. Pretty sure any sane garda would agree.

I'd slow to 90 before the other car and see whether the Garda dealt with them. Why bother undertaking in full view of a Garda car?