Middle lane hogging is the motorist behaviour of consistently driving in the middle of the highway when they should have moved to the inside lane (Lane 1) where that is clear thereby causing annoyance, constituting nuisance, causing accident by this ridiculous behaviour.
Motorist indulging in this kind of behaviour are called middle lane hoggers. They can be likened to Road trolls, Highway hogs, Slowpokes, Passing lane plodders, and of course, Middle-lane malingerers.
In the UK, it is a violation of traffic regulations to indulge in middle lane hogging and offenders when caught by speed cameras or Police, would be stamped with £100 fine plus three penalty points endorsement on their driving license,
Only 2,012 drivers fell foul of “careless driving” spot fines in 2016 according to Freedom of Information data.
This is despite one in five drivers saying they had a near miss as a result of being tailgated and one in 10 have had a similar experience with middle lane hoggers.
According to the research 37 per cent of UK drivers were unaware that hogging the middle lane was a punishable offence.
This is perhaps due to the fact that many motorists were not taught how to drive on motorways, when learning to drive. This is set to change with allowing learner drivers to use motorways from 2018.
“Tailgating and middle lane hogging, are not only punishable with points and a fine, but can increase your car insurance premiums.
Image Credit: BT
Interesting post!