The problem with the 'not wanting to change lanes too often' reasoning is you push those lane changes onto other people who need to make multiple lane changes to get around you.

I personally have no issue with people in lane 2 or 3 going on or over the speed limit. The real problem are the people who think it's ok to sit in the middle lane at 50/60 overtaking nothing, can move over and are forcing people who aren't going 70 into the outer lanes which we all know is the lane for the Range rovers and German cars, and they get aggressive and tailgate and flash people who dare cross their path

A friend used to be a traffic cop in the Greater Manchester area. One night on a very quiet M62 she was following a car sticking to the middle lane even though there was virtually nothing else on the road. Eventually she pulled the vehicle over and asked the driver why he wasn't using the left hand lane. His answer was: "I like to be in charge of the highway". She booked him for careless driving but said if there was a law about being a prat she'd have booked him for that as well!

It mostly boils down to "skill issue" then, because it demonstrates they're unable to observe, plan ahead and change lanes safely, and shows a casual disregard for others. As for the M25, I once did this experiment in the late evening after dropping someone off at Heathrow. I set the cruise to 80 and just sat in lane 1, and I covered approximately the distance from Gerrards Cross to Chandlers Cross without once having to change lane to overtake. I passed so much traffic idly sitting in lanes 3 and 4 at 60 mph or less while lanes 1 and 2 went completely unused.

4:57 Maybe it's just me but I think it would be more conducive to road safety if more attention was paid to taking lunatics like that red car off the road than beginner drivers committing minor errors like "signalling a bit too early"

I hate it when you go and over take and the car on the left speeds up and wont let you over take. or they over take you and then slow down in front, motorways is not a game of chicken!

Lane-hogging is very selfish driving. Even if any of these reasons are valid from an individual perspective, it collectively makes the motorway much more congested and more dangerous.

I once got a taxi from Southampton to Portsmouth because of rail strikes. As soon as we reached the M27 the taxi driver immediately went into the middle lane and stayed there at 60mph the whole time, cars were passing us right and left. We also straddled the lanes for almost every multilane roundabout, went round one roundabout twice. Some drivers are shockingly bad.

I have been learning to drive since February, I passed today with 2 minors. I watched ALL of your videos. They helped so much and saved so much time and money! Thank you!!!!

It’s just LAZY driving when they refuse to return to lane 1

Half way through and my collected thoughts are that most of the reasons are part of describing a driver who needs to drastically improve their standard of driving, especially observations and planning.

An old boy told me he drove from Manchester to Birmingham in the middle lane. He scolded me for too many lane changes while trying to keep left.

I remember seeing elderly couple, 3rd lane doing 60, with long line of cars behind. Me on motorbike, lane 1 and 2 empty, so pulled from 2 to 1 and under took them all. Get away as quick as possible from that potential disaster.

I was on the M25 and M1 last Saturday. It is comical how many times there are no vehicles in lane 1 on a 4 lane stretch for miles. and yet drivers are all lined up in lane 2, usually doing around 60 and driving too close. This forces drivers catching in lane 1 to either drive slower than them, make two lane changes to drive around them (and then two back when possible), or undertake. I saw several drivers take advantage and dangerously move from lanes 3 and 4 to undertake at speed and move back to their slightly busier lanes. Now, I think that moving out to lane 2 at junctions, especially if they have short slip roads (I'm looking at you, M1 J5 Southbound), can be helpful to joining traffic, and I gather in some countries that it's mandatory, but that is the only reason I can see to move out of a clear lane that is continuing ahead.

i passed my test yesterday first try and i just wanted to say thank you for all your help, your videos taught me a lot

My favourite thing about our roads is unless it's 2am you won't touch the speed limit once during a journey. And even at 2am you'll get caught in roadworks without a single person in them doing any work.

Another good video. Middle or outside lane hogging bugs me a lot. What also bugs me is the lack of general bad driving offence enforcement in this country. People only ever seem to get fined for speeding. While I don't condone speeding I do strongly feel that often other traffic offences are even more dangerous than speeding. That's why in my opinion people constantly ignore basic highway code rules as there is no (apparent) deterrent.

Passed my test today first time with only 5 minors 🎉 must admit I've watched your videos every day for weeks and they have helped me no end so thank you and will most definitely keep watching your amazing videos 👍

I've passed my driving test last week with just 3 minors! Thank you so much for the videos Richard, they really helped a lot, especially the videos with Emily when I just started my lessons few months ago

Your videos helped me to pass my driving test yesterday! Thank you Richard!

My father in law does it because he believes crossing cats eye's too often will damage his tyres. He's managed to pass this wisdom on to my wife as well, and she brings it up constantly when I'm driving on the motorway with her as a passenger and she sees me returning to the left hand lane.

Changing lanes should be a normal motorway behaviour it keeps you aware of what's going on around you infrount and behind it gives you a focus instead of daydreaming watch the movement of cars ahead look for brake lights lighting in rapid succession indicating a hazard yet hundreds of yards in front gives you a one up to avoid a problem.

That red car at 4:53 should be reported for careless/Dangerous driving.

When three lane motorways were first introduced we were told by the latest Highway Code that the inside lane was the slow lane, the middle lane was the fast lane and the outside lane was for overtaking. With traffic levels relatively low compared with today that worked. If you are driving with those distant memories take heed of this video.

This is a very timely video for me. I’m a North American visiting the UK for six weeks and though I have driven here extensively in the past, I am amazed at the amount of lane-hogging and lack of return to lane 1 after overtaking that I am seeing these days. Once upon a time, most everyone drove smaller, less powerful cars, and drove more sedately, but now that almost all vehicles can practically drive themselves, everyone has their boot down. Speed is king.

The biggest problem on our motorways is large lorries overtaking large lorries, taking miles and miles to do it. Thus pushing everyone out to the outside lane to get around them, THERE IS NO MIDDLE LANE - of course depending on the time of day. I think unless a lorry can overtake within a certain distance\or time, THEY SIMPLY SHOULDN'T. This is an issue I've never seen discussed.

Passed my test today, thank you so much for these videos, I literally could not have passed without them.

People overtake a vehicle in lane one see there is another vehicle in lane one further ahead but what they don't see is the big massive gap in lane one in between those vehicle's.

The reason some people lane hog is because they are lazy, or can’t forward plan lane changes and in some cases uneducated regarding the correct use of lanes. One of my biggest pet hates, is drivers who charge down the slip road, indicator on go straight into lane 2 or 3 without check first.

Try driving a lorry as a job for 6 months and see if it changes your opinion.

One thing that drives me potty are cars in lane one going slower than the lorries, going 50 when the lorry is travelling at 60. They unnecessarily force the lorries out into lane 2 to overtake which causes congestion as all the drivers going 70 now have to go into lane 3.

Went on a road trip through Germany last year and have to say the way they deal with the elephant races is much better. Most of the time particularly around junctions lorries are not allowed to overtake one another. When the road becomes less complicated they are allowed to overtake this makes much more sense to me as it helps keep the flow.

Having driven a lot on motorways in France, they almost religiously move back to the outside lane over there. Makes driving on the motorways so much more pleasant, efficient and less stressful compared to here in the UK

I agree with the keep to the left lane rule simply because it is one rule. Everyone has a different opinion and play by their own rules which is more dangerous. One rule for everyone. Simple and safer.

I did asked one of those traffic officer about undertake. I did explained that the middle lane hogger was doing 50-55 miles and i was doing 60 miles, do i have the right to undertake them because I do not wish to go out onto the fast lane as I am not going that fast. His replies was as followed... There is no speed restriction as to how fast anyone have to go on any given lane. If I am undertake a slower car, I can do so under 2 conditions 1, I must not weaving in and out to over take cars 2, I must make sure that the slower outside car not starting to move back to the inside lane. In another words, be prepared to slow down and even brake if needed. I hope that make sense. Lol

Thanks for your videos. I went to a driving instructor who told me I don't know what I am doing and will need months to learn how to drive in the UK and I need so many lessons for me to pass my driving test. I have already booked my driving test which was 10 days after my theory. I decided to dump that instructor and then started watching your videos 24/7 and Went for my driving test and passed for the first time with 2 minors. Thanks for all you do.

Same with Germany, I was reading up on the theory tests there (to actually help a friend there), I'm not certain whether it's strictly illegal or their equivalent of our Highway Code "should not" but they teach you that you're not allowed to overtake unless you're going "appreciably faster" than what you're overtaking. So no elephant races.

And on a 4 lane motorway, they hog lane 3 :( Observations are very important when driving and many drivers don't look beyond their bonnet unfortunately so don't plan ahead Motorway lessons should be mandated

Hi Richard, I passed my driving test today only with 3 minor faults for the first time. Your videos helped me immensely to prepare for the test. Especially me being a very nervous driver. Probably you don’t know how much difference you make in others lives but you do. You are an amazing person 😊

I just passed my test in January and drive from London to Southampton often to see my boyfriend. I usually drive around 9-10pm, and although the M25, M3 and M27 are fairly empty at that time, I still see so many middle lane hoggers!! I always stick to the speed limit and try not to undertake, so it can be really annoying, especially when there aren't many cars in the normal driving lane to overtake, so I end up having to overtake all these middle lane drivers, moving all the way to the outside lanes! I've had several people driving at least 50-60mph in the middle lanes too 😕Thank you for this video!! ❤

Whenever I stick to the speed limit (jk I always do) I end up undertaking so many vehicles, because the left lane is free and there's a pile up in the right lane. Sometimes people will even go 5-10 miles under the speed limit in the right (third or fourth) lane and won't change lanes for miles even if it's free...

I am probably biased because I have been driving for nearly 50 years, and my father taught me, and followed the same instruction, exactly as you described: the driving lane and the overtaking lanes, and to always return to the driving as soon as you have finished overtaking and it is dafe to do so. Yes, there was less traffic in the 1970's,, and fewer dual-carriageways/motorways, but it is something I do without needing to think about it (noticed recently by a Latvian friend of mine) and have ended up undertaking accidentally when I passed a vehicle three lanes to my right before realising how slow they were driving in the 4th lane! Thanks for an interesting video.

Over the last 6 months I have watched many of your videos despite having passed my test before you were born (1986) ! Driving, like life, is a constant learning experience so I have been able to catch up on highway code changes as well as further driving tips, for which I would like to say thank you for your detailed and informative instruction. Over all the quality of drivers on the road seems have gone down over the last couple of decades which, IMO, coincides with the reduction of law enforcement vehicles on the road . Thank you for your continued quality content.

I use to be a middle lane hogger, but after watching this video i now actively try to move back lanes when i can. Now i hate middle lane hoggers oh my god you guys were right its a terrible way to drive. Nothings worse than the mandatory lane 3 60mph van.

I have a coworker that sometimes leaves before me (at least 20 min), and we both take the M4 towards Reading. He drives carefully in the left lane, while I don’t mind changing. We usually meet up half way through the journey into Reading. And I think it’s only seconds of improvement by lane switching, and you will only feel a difference in journey times if you make a light that you wouldn’t have otherwise. I drove left when tired because I know my responses may be low and the risk of lane change is higher (not sleepy tired, more like, can’t be bothered switching).

If you are worried about the risk associated with manoeuvres (such as changing lane), just stay in the left lane and get where you are going a little later. All risks need to be balanced against the benefits. Life is short, but not short enough to be worth risking it ending it in a pile of plastic and metal to get to work 2 mins faster.

Thanks Richard for the video. Hearing other people debating over middle-lane hogging is really interesting😂

There is also a middle-lane hogging version where you are in lane 1/slow lane, and something lane-hogging sits behind you, in your blind spot, using you as an excuse to be there. They also speed up if you want to change lanes to overtake a lorry. Since you can't overtake them now, you slow down to let them pass. They slow down as well. The next time, I usually speed up and aggressively cut in front of them, causing massive offence ... obviously, I am the rubbish and aggressive driver who doesn't know what he is doing.

This vdeo is great because it actually shows some of the reasons why it LOOKS LIKE people are lane hogging but they are not.

One good thing when driving in the inside lane is that, in busy motorway traffic, you have the extra option of an "escape lane" on the left (i.e., the hard shoulder) if something goes drastically wrong blocking the way in front of you and you have misjudged your safe stopping distance - when you are in the outside lane, all you have is the crash barrier or some neat driving skills to skip safely into an inside lane and whizz by the situation. Therefore always best to move into the left hand lane after overtaking. p.s. Mid lane hoggers = mobile road blocks.

One thing that doesn't help is when the signs say lane one is an exit lane and lane two is a forward lane, but you get to the junction and lane one ends up being both. Only those that drive through those junctions regularly know the correct lane. The M6 near Birmingham is a prime example where lane 3 and 4 become forward lanes and that encourages lane hogging.

Thanks, Richard. Those details are useful for me as always ❤

There’s a simple way to prevent these so-called elephant races. In Abu Dhabi, they have this system where they imposed a speed camera enforced minimum speed of 120 km/h on the left 2 lanes (right hand traffic) on 4 lanes or more highway. Highways with that restriction have a very high speed limit though (140 or 160 km/h). I think that such a restriction would reduce elephant races to only 2 lanes of the motorway. I think this would also maybe have the side effect of reducing the number of people that would lane hog at slow speeds as I noticed most lane hoggers are usually slow.

Some times it makes a bit of sense, but most of the time, people are just selfish and trying to look for an excuse to do whatever they want.

It’s funny how passionate people get about following the rules when it comes to lane usage but not when it comes to speed limits 🤔

As a motorcyclist I stay in lane 3 when it’s busy, too many cars swapping lanes from 1 to 2 , I stay out of their way because one touch and I’m history, no matter what the law says I think people should use 3 lanes just because of the volume of traffic on the roads these days, it’s just chocka block in some areas 🤨

I'm a lorry driver and I like it when cars spread out across the lanes. It gives me better opportunities to move to lane 2 if I need to overtake. I think it's stupid when lorries go to lane 3 to overtake at 1 mph but if it's slow traffic and they're queueing to overtake, or if lane 1 is becoming a slip road and lane 2 an unofficial slip road then that's fine. It seems these days that even the outside lane is becoming an unofficial slip road though. The only problem with middle lane hoggers is when they're not doing the correct speed and holding everyone up.

All I can really add to this is what happened on my first driving lesson on the motorway. I moved out to the mile lane to begin an overtake. My instructor had been telling me how far in the distance the driver should be looking on the motorway in particular, and told me I should plan around what I can see in the distance. I finished my overtake and signalled left, moved back in when it was safe. My instructor asked "Why did you do that?" I responded "I thought the idea was to move back to the left as soon as the overtake is complete and it's safe to do so." He said "But now you're behind a truck which you are still catching. You'll need to move back to the right soon." I promptly did, in fact, need to move out again. I did so, and completed the overtake. This time my instructor said, "Now look far ahead. How many slow vehicles are in lane one?" There were three more trucks, with a gap large enough for the car. I said "Three, and I can move back to the left after the second." He said "No, don't do that, stay out in lane 2 until you're past the last one." "What about the gap? Aren't I lane hogging if I don't move back?" He said "It's only lane hogging if you have no reason to be in lane 2. You're overtaking a vehicle, and even though it's far in the distance, you'll only have to move back out if you move in. Accidents happen at junctions and in lane changes, so minimise changes with good planning." I've continued with this mentality in my own driving and it largely serves me well. I will ocasionally get aggro from drivers behind who want me to break the speed limit (they were doing so either as they approached me, or as I moved into their lane with plenty of space), or just want to bully me out of the way. Some have undertaken, but to be honest I don't really think there's a way to stop people undertaking if they feel they need to. It seems there is no proper agreement between instructors as to what actually constitutes middle lane hogging, and what constitutes a large enough gap that moving to the left should be the decision.

I am 66 now, and 'back in the day', we were taught NEVER to pass on the left in moving traffic. The saying was, "Overtake on the right, Overtaker, overtake on the left, Undertaker". It was considered to be the worst and most dangerous thing you could do. But now, everyone seems to 'Undertake' all the time! My own view on this contentious subject is that there should be flexibility. Drivers should be taught to be more willing to let drivers move into their lane from the left. That would make centre-lane stickers less common if they knew they would be permitted to pull out again from the lefthand lane. I have a LOT of sympathy with the view that a car doing an (indicated) 70 mph is not really 'hogging' the lane, it is only really hogging if they are doing *significantly* less than 70 with nothing in front of them. But the rule is you should return to the left if not overtaking. Like I said, flexibility is the word, IMHO.

I just passed my test on Friday. Thank you for all your tips and advice, Richard. It’s always so helpful and I will continue to use it as a full license driver. 😅

Great video😊

As an American, I was explicitly taught in drivers ed that the "slow" lane (the rightmost lane in the US) is only for entering and exiting, and the safest place to drive on the highway is the middle lane. The "fast" lane (the leftmost lane in the US) is only for passing.

Similar in South Africa. Hogging the lane requires two things, you are in the right lane, AND you are going slower than someone who wants to overtake. If you're driving along blocking no one and you're faster than the traffic to the left of you, generally nobody gets upset with you. If you're going at the speed limit and the left lane is full of slow going lorries, the guy behind you needs to accept that traffic is a bit more intense than usual. But failing to move over when there is room to do so (even if the overtaker is speeding) is considered wrong.

I remember the late John Peel complaining about middle lane hoggers and describing his practice of "sarcastic overtaking" where he would be in the first lane and come across a slower hogger (often wearing a hat he noticed) in the middle lane - so, he would match the speed having come as close as was safe to then indicate, pull behind, indicate again then pull into the third lane, accelerate then slow down to match the speed again, indicate, pull in front, then indicate and return to the first lane then resume normal speed. I once came across such a middle lane hogger wearing a Trilby hat I noticed. The motorway was empty enough for me to employ a modified version of the "sarcastic overtaking" manoeuvre whereby having completed the overtake, instead of resuming normal speed, instead decelerate and let the hogger overtake you, whereupon you can delight in "sarcastically overtaking" all over again. I did this, encircling him three times in all. He didn't take a blind bit of notice and stayed in the middle lane - probably puffing away on his pipe.

Tramlining can be a valid reason if they are full of rainwater. Of course those roads need to be fixed. On the case of slow lanes, they exist in Germany on particularly steep inclines, and they are added on the outside, are well signed, and stop on the top of the hill.

4:44 20 seconds of Ratville begins

My late father was given a driving license and also HGV and PCV when he was a 17+ year old in the army and worked as a driver. He had all the licences but never took proper tuition or a test. He was a great army driver, using tillers vs steering wheels on troop carriers in Germany and Hong Kong, as 1960's vehicles were like that. He got the driving job because the hoity toity Officers liked him being the lapdog driving them from the NAAFI after they got well fed and pissed up on all the beer. I do miss my dad but all his life he was a middle lane driver on the motorway. He also used to flash his indicators 2 junctions before needed.

Over here this is normal, because the (right hand country) right side often exits the motorway, and the left lane often exits the motorway on the other side or turns around (and also you can't legally hog it outside of intense traffic), so the middle lane is for going straight for a long time

first excuse is silly.. and not really lane hogging.. if you are quickly catching the vehicle ahead, theres 0 point moving back over (within reason ofc) otherwise youd just be zig-zaging up the motorway. ofcourse if your miles away form the slow vehicle, move back over... but if its gona be seconds I think we all understand staying out. but the road quality cracked me up.. makes me think of the M62. especially between bradford and leeds.. its pot holed like crazy... but in the middle lane.. when it was quiet I have more than once overtaken a truck by going to the outside lane to skip the pot holes, because lets face it no car its shaking off pot holes at 70 mph without doing some sorta dmg.

Most roads in my city have three lanes and I totally understand why drivers tend to treat the middle lane as a cruising lane, the left lane as the overtaking/turning left lane and the right lane as the slow/turning right lane. To begin with, on most junctions right turn on red is allowed and drivers try to be curteous and leave the right lane free for people to turn on red. However in my opinion it can make it so fewer vehicles make it throught the green phase, but that's besides the point. Then, the right lane is almost always busy with bus stops, buses themselves, parked cars, vehicles entering and exiting and so on. Even if you wanted to, there wouldn't be many chances for you to drive in the right lane for long periods of times. However. People then take these habits to expressways where middle lane hogging can cause issuse and make roads less efficient.

Yes it’s very important to drive in the left lane unless overtaking.

Can you imagine if every driver coming out of London on the M4 during rush hour pulled over to every gap in the inside lane? Lunacy and far more chance of an accident happening. There has to be a balance.

All of these reasons basically boil down to "I don't like changing lane", which probably means you're not confident enough of a driver to use a dual carriageway safely (maybe you did your driving test before dual carriageways were part of it). In this case there are plenty of other roads for you to use without all these difficult lane changes, and you might find it even less stressful to take the train!

It's the lighter vehicle drivers that do 52.731 mph that cause problems, particularly to us HGV drivers trying to make progress. I see it all the time.

Lane hogging seems to be down to the misconception that the outer most (right) lane is 'the fast lane', and the left lane is the 'slow lane', so most people will sit in lane 2 of a 3-lane motorway, or lane 3 of a 4-lane motorway. Travelled numerous times on the Heathrow section of the M25 in the driving lane, with lane 2 being empty and lanes 3 and 4 completely stationary! Same kind of stupid that makes people drive around with their prat, sorry fog lights on because they think it's cool or safer. It's illegal unless there is actual thick fog, NOT a bit of mist, or rain, or sun, or because it's dark!

The worst is when I'm driving on the motorway in lane one at 70mph with miles of clear road in front of me. On numerous occasions there are drivers in the middle lane lane doing 60mph. It forces me to slow down and overtake. They have no idea I'm there. They have no awareness of their surroundings and only have tunnel vision of what's directly in front of them. It baffles how they passed their test. Awareness is one o the most important parts of driving.

The motorway for Warrington has 4 lanes. Lanes 2, 3 & 4 are always occupied. I can set my cruise control at 72mph to not activate the plethora of speed cameras and safely undertake dozens upon dozens of cars because no one ever travels in lane 1, and it isn't a major route for lorries. When you observe the drivers, they all look gormless and look to have the inability to be educated in any manner possible, even after the massive hint of being undertaken.

4:53 why'd you blur the psycho's plates? These people aren't worth defending lol

Whilst not a justification for middle lane hogging, the behaviour of some motorists who fail to yield to a vehicle wanting to pull out to overtake, is a significant cause of people basically staying in lane 2, especially in mildly heavy traffic conditions. In my experience these selfish motorists are by far the greater issue. Sometimes when pulling into lane 1 to allow vehicles to overtake, an ignorant driver will “level” you, meaning I either need to accelerate to get out or slow to go behind them, this is especially frustrating with drivers who cannot maintain a constant speed for whatever reason. Many a time at a GPS correct constant 70mph on cruise control, I have overtaken and been overtaken by the same car numerous times. Such behaviour encourages sitting in lane 2 when there are vehicles to overtake spread over the next few miles.

Thanks for an actual nuanced take! I've been guilty of "pushing" inner lane hoggers despite doing the same myself in the past. It really doesn't seem to be clear in California, especially when the freeways are congested half of the time, so it's unreasonable to expect people to understand by tailgating or aggressively undertaking them.

I wish you taught me driving

In Germany these people are called "Mittelspurschleicher" (middle lane creeper)

You pretty much summarised all valid points. There is really no reason you should constantly manoeuvre in and out into the lane with significantly slower traffic. Something to learn from Europe.

One group of middle laners I'm curious about. I try to maintain a steady speed on motorways, usually 65/70mph and do try to keep left. But often if I move to the middle lane to overtake a lorry a car will catch me up, slow down to my speed and stay behind, even if lane 3 is empty. Only when I move back to lane 1 do they zoom past and on their way still in lane 2 (or lane 3 if it's a 4 lane road - they never use lane 2 on those). Sometimes for fun I stay in lane 2 to overtake another lorry in the distance, but still they wait patiently until I move back to lane 1 begore passing. I think they move to lane 2 as soon as they join and don't leave it until they come off again!

4:53 why are people doing 4 lane changes in one cutting people off, why?

I think the fast lane if they had one should be the farthest out & keep the middle lane as an overtaking lane. As if its between the slow lane & overtaking lane it doesn't really help anyone & is just what we have now change it around & you can fix this with a middle lane.

Rules need to change. On a three lane carriageway, left lane for lorries max 60mph/ merging/exit. Middle lane to be used by 65-70mph vehicles for long trips. Right lane to overtake. Less distractions, more order.

I used to love driving in France. Their lane discipline was a joy to behold.

That wasn't safe! (Car nearly has collision with Tesla)

You just gave me 6 valid reasons to Hog the middle lane 😂

This topic was on the news in Belgium today actually; last year the police have caught +2000 people doing this

In The Czech Republic, we sometimes have a lane for slow-moving vehicles on steep inclines of the motorway (only sections with 3 lanes, and rare to come across). It is only an "additional lane" so you're not required to use it. But from my experience, people are just confused about the purpose it has and rarely use it.

The amount of undertakers & lane hoggers in this video is crazy. I understand an undertaker if someone is lane hogging & going under the limit but otherwise it’s just stupid

In my opinion, there is no such thing as lane hogging. I prefer the term "poor situational awareness" The difference I'm trying to highlight is that, if you are in lane 2 and there's a car 10, 20 or even 30 seconds ahead which you anticipate the need to overtake, it depends on the context as to if you should move over: If there is a line of cars behind you and you are doing 65, you should absolutely move over If it is a quiet duel carriageway and there is nothing waiting behind you, then fine, stay in that lane. There's a lot in between and I think lane hogging is only really an issue when other people are affected, but at the end of the day, each case is different. It would be nice if more folks could look in their rear view mirrors every now and again and drive accordingly

There IS a reason to hog the middle lane... because the left lane is so full of potholes, probably caused by a combination of heavy lorries and lack of maintenance.

When overtaking continental (left hand drive) HGVs on UK roads, if the lanes and traffic allows, I try to overtake 2 lanes over to the right, leaving a buffer lane between myself and the HGVs massive blind spot.

My husband hates middle lane hogging. So I monitored his driving over about 80 miles on the motorway. 2% inside lane, 3%middle lane, 95% outside lane. Yep - a bloke's logic !

Biggest reason is the smart motorways. People are scared of coming up to a stopped vehicle round a corner, so they avoid lane 1. Thanks smart motorways!

Love how you picked to go on the M25 😅 that is the classic lane hogging motorway since its typically got 4 lanes across most of its entirety, even 5/6 lanes around the M4/Heathrow. People see all those lanes and often stick themselves on lane 2 or 3 even if lane 1 is empty.

I drive up to 1000 miles a week for work and I always try to keep to the left as this is the legal definition of driving in the UK whatever your speed. Nowadays it's not just tram lines on the inside lane it's really dangerously deep potholes. While the councils and HIghways England fail to maintain these you will find even more people will hog the centre lane.