Driving Fail | Undertaking Problems
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- Опубликовано: 11 мар 2023
- A whole episode dedicated to the dangers of undertaking, and also to what causes it. While recording, I also have a big problem of my own.
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These dash cams hide distance quite well due to the lenses but I thought it was pretty close going back in to lane 2 in front of that white van. Not sure I would have done that tbh. Doesn't excuse the van driver but that's what triggered him.
it was close but the van didn't help things either. it was clearly being driven by someone oblivious to looking ahead and considering why Ashley had stayed in lane 3 a bit longer. I think when drivers like that then pull to the left and sit in your blind spot it's sort of as a reprimand, as if to say you sat out there for too long now i'm going to block you from coming back in.
yep Ash had plenty space ahead and he moves straight front of the van :) smh
I'd go as far as to say it was straight up dangerous pulling in that close, especially with the road conditions.
I agree, I thought Ashley had time to move into Lane 2 prior to reaching the car in Lane 3. Looking at the rear cam at the start of the clip it's clear of traffic, although we might have missed something prior to the clip, so we've no idea how long Lane 2 was clear. We can also see that where the lorries approach the junction it is clear and the lorries wouldn't need to change Lane. I can only guess Ashley only stayed in Lane 3 due to the car in front, but he was quite away ahead at the beginning of the clip.
Still doesn't matter the impatience from the Van driver created a dangerous situation but I do feel it might have been wise for Ashley earlier in the clip to allow the van past.
Agreed but he only just got past the black car he made the situation why not wait in the outside lane
Biggest cause of undertaking is the complete lack of lane discipline, the amount of people who just pottle along at 60 in the middle lane is mind boggling. 4 lane stretch of the A2/M2 near me are pretty much reduced to 2 lanes because there seems to have been a migration of people who decided lane 3 is the new middle lane. I'm absolutely guilty of sitting in the lanes 1 and 2 just gliding past everyone on the left, and lane discipline is the reason behind that.
Problem is that there is practically zero consequences for people not moving back to lane 1.
It's your decision that causes your undertaking. Don't try to excuse poor driving by blaming others.
Ever heard of root cause and effect?
Move left and you can be ruthlessly boxed in
Totally agree with you. Although I'm currently in Vancouver Canada, Canterbury is my UK home and I'm very familiar with the M2 / A2 and can totally relate to what you describe. Especially the Medway bridge area and stretches either side of it, with four lanes in each direction. Rest assured I keep left unless overtaking or helping someone merge onto the carriageway via a slip road...or if there's an upcoming lane drop (though I don't move out too early either). Btw it's rather nice to be all the way here on the west coast of Canada and read a reference to a familiar stretch of road near home in the UK
@@martinhoare9525 If the other vehicle wasnt lane hogging with their mind in neutral and their thumb up their arse, there would be no where to undertake as they would be where they should be. Duh!!!
Poor lane discipline is extremely common these days - just like lack of indicating. Ive heard colleagues complain "I was doing the speed limit in the middle lane". No - you were driving badly by not moving back to the left after overtaking. Many people don't see the issue of hogging an overtaking lane.
"if it wasn't for poor lane discipline, there'd be no lane discipline at all."
The problem starts at "I was doing the speed limit". There's a grey area between doing the posted limit on your indicator and barely getting a ticket which varies day to day.
Idk the exact situation in the UK, but in the Netherlands there's a correction and a threshold before you get a ticket. The correction is there to make absolutely sure the you're doing at least that speed and the threshold is there to allow for better flow. This, combined with the usual margin on the indicator, means that this grey area is about 10% of the speed limit on top of your indicator (100-110 km/h or 60-66mph). Since your indicator and the police equipment may vary day to day, there's no such thing as simply doing the speed limit. Thus there will always be people who want to drive slightly faster than you while trying to barely not get a ticket just like you.
@@nicjansen230 in the US, it's pretty consistently a 5 MPH margin, which, of course, a majority of people abuse. so then you get the amateur speed limit police driving exactly the speed limit in the passing lane, with the intention of forcing obedience; and the ones who add another 5 MPH on top of the 5 MPH.
personally, I think it might be worth a try to have a graduated speed limit on motorways: I.E. cruising lane speed limit at 60 MPH, next lane at 65 MPH, and if there is a third lane, 70 MPH, etc. it might make lane discipline much worse, though.
When I was a fairly new driver, I got a very valuable lesson in lane discipline when I got pulled over by the police in the middle of the night on an empty M62...
👁 👁
👄 for driving in the middle lane!
Keep left unless overtaking… it’s a simple rule yet many don’t seem to understand it to the point many duel carriageways and motorways in my area put it on the overhead gantries. Still no one pays attention to it though.
7:03 I like that you mention the toxic structure of delivery companies pike Amazon. It's no excuse but only encourages dangerous driving.
Yeah - no way the attitudes taken with timekeeping in controlled areas (like warehouses) should be allowed to be transferred to uncontrolled public spaces like roads. Glad my job van driving isn't piece work.
In that case I wouldn't be surprised if the lad or lass was heading back to Avonmouth for shift end as they're going north on the M5 at the Gordano Cut. One day they won't get home if they drive like that. My trainers at Sainsbury's were excellent on this and used to say "It's just groceries, don't put anyone's life at risk for it. Or even the van."
200 drops a day is never going to be conducive to good driving.
@@OkenWS I did some driver training work for Sainsbury years ago, I must agree, the company take their driver responsibility very seriously. Amazon on the other hand, seem not to!
That stretch looks like Clevedon/Portishead section of the M5. It is notorious for people lane hogging, particularly on the 4 lane section that then drops to 3 lanes further up.
I only just found out your father is the Liverpool FC Legend, Phil. Your work on RUclips is great, I gave up watching ‘bad driving’ compilations to instead watch you and other improvement focused driving videos. It’s amazing how driving is a lot more calmer when you realise to care less about the numpties, and focus on improving being a better driver yourself. And I’m a biker too. Thanks, Ashley.
Interesting, TIL. I’ve watched Ashley for many years and never knew about this.
And the fact Ashley was a professional footballer himself. I'd been watching for years till I found that out. 😅
And he is Jason stathams brother
😂@@theequalizer3330
Just driven back from Watford to Liverpool today. Practically zero vehicles using lane 1. Most just sat in lane 3 of 4. Their complete unawareness of anything is absolutely shocking.
The extra lanes are a complete waste of concrete & tarmac if nobody uses them.
I love lane 1. Very few people in it, plus you have the safety net of a hard shoulder on the motorway if you need to avoid anything.
This is it. They've taken root in lane 3 (of 4) on an empty motorway and have switched off their brain. If they're not taking notice of the traffic around them, they're potentially dangerous.
@@patrickhd34 & a much safer stopping distance too.
@@TheRip72 they are not a waste. Just because the traffic is not heavy enough for you to use them at the time you are driving, doesn’t mean they are useless.
Something that I think is important to remember:
If there is enough room to your left for someone to pass you, there's reasonable a chance that you're in the wrong lane.
If you swap over the purpose of the lanes by not keeping left, then there's a chance someone will pass you "on the wrong side".
And finally; if that annoys you, keep to the left and let them pass using the passing lane instead 🙂👍
Some peoples idea of enough room to pass is about two cars length and these idiots will never be appeased.
@@iscmiscmIt is interesting that the most egregious moves in this video have been from unmarked, dirty, old white vans
No idea why these guys overbook themselves and then have to drive like that to get to their clients
That or it’s foot down Friday and they want to have a wank in the shower before going out with their mates to watch footy
"If theres enough space" is bollocks, if you're building a 2 second gap for the vehicle behind you before you move so they can stop without hitting you thats 96m at 70mph! This mindset just encourages dangerous and potentially unnecessary lane changes
Great video highlighting the importance of prediction and observation to keep safe, keep it up.
Thanks again Ashley for a great video. I just wish more and more people would watch your channel and get themselves better educated. Keep up the good work, I always look forward to the next video. As a driver who passed their Motorcycle Test in 1970 and car test a year later and even though I was a driving instructor for approximately 20 years, as well as fleet training and advanced driving coach and assessor, I still beleave I have something new to learn everyday. Once again thank you.
Changing in to another lane cutting in front of the white van as we see here is better education for drivers what NOT to do.
3:30 There is perhaps an argument to be made there Ashley that you eliminated the van's safe braking distance by moving in. Yes, he could have also slowed down to regain that space at the cost of a little progression, but that situation, whilst a pretty non-event, did appear to be caused by yourself, so your movements caused the van to have to change.
There's also an argument to be made that the van driver eliminated his own safe braking distance by accelerating into the space that any "competent and careful driver" would have expected Ash to pull into.
@@ianmason. As I said, Ian. One should always reflect on one's own driving as well as others around them. Assuming everyone is going to drive safe and competently is, ironically, neither.
I’m afraid I have to agree.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that this was an engineered situation.
Ashley is pacing the white car in lane 1 but stays in lane 2!
If I was the white van driver, I’d have seen a driver being bullied into moving and , in the process, cutting me up. (Along with middle lane hoggers, one of my pet peeves)
I would have either accelerated until a safe area was available or allowed the van to undertake me.
I found myself thinking that probably had I been in the same situation, I may well have let the van by, and started indicated as they were passing in order to pull in after they had passed (should there not be anyone too close behind said van).
Of course it's easy for me to say that looking at a video, but I would like to think this is what I would do were such a situation to arise!
@@BionicRusty gotta get those clips I guess
Thanks for your videos. Always makes us better learning about other road users. Even how long we have been driving. Lives are precious. Thank god for dash cams
Great video highlighting the dangers of undertaking! I have learned something from this!
My technique for right hand lane blockers is to undertake only after holding pace with them for a while, then move into the left lane and observe them for a while to be sure they are just going to stick there and follow their lane, then I will proceed past with caution. The most risk you have from this technique is the Audi or BMW behind who wants you to undertake and get out of their way so they can.
Often, a singular flash of the lights before you proceed. Just be careful they don't just wake up and move out of the overtaking lane when you do. DO NOT rapidly flash, that's agressive, but a single flash to say, "Hi! You see me?" can help.
1 flash when it is safe for them to pull over, if not, i move over, let the tailgater behind you irritate them then undertake both :)
Same! I give them a chance. If the lane clears and they dont move over, and then there is traffic in the lane again, then the next time that lane is clear I undertake. Cos why would I expect them to move over when they havent when they had the chance. Only when there is plenty room, unlike some of these clips. And it has happened where the lane hogging was intentional cos having had plenty time to move over in the past, they then indicate and try to move as soon as they see you move over. Or on one occasion, mf tried to speed up to block me returning to the lane having been going well under the limit for like 10minutes.
Why do flash a driver that never looks in the mirror? They won't notice it anyway.
You really shouldn't flash lights too try and communicate. It can often make matters more confusing
I'll only do this if I can't overtake because of traffic conditions. If I can get around them on the drivers side I'll do that instead.
If there is another lane to my left, I'll always use it to keep a bit of distance between us. Obviously not always possible.
If I'm hanging back behind them, I will make sure I can see their face in the mirror which means I'm definitely not in their blind spot.
I try to complete the manoeuvre quickly - not bombing past them unsafely, just minimising the time I'm alongside them - and I'll be watching very carefully for signs that they're about to change lanes in case they do decide to move over.
To me it's a higher risk manoeuvre so I take extra care and only do it if I feel it's necessary
I don't use headlights because I don't want to startle them and cause them to veer over without checking
I undertake regularly, in my defence I do so because I'm driving an articulated truck in lane 1 approaching a slower vehicle (usually a car) in lane 2.
I can only use two of the three lanes on a three lane motorway, so I either slow down to match the speed of the car in lane 2 and thereby create a rolling roadblock, or I pass on the inside.
You'd be surprised how often this happens to me, but this is because I mainly drive at night and very often there are only a handful of vehicles in sight so middle lane hoggers tend to stand out more.
I've even been on stretches of motorway where there are only two vehicles in sight, I'm limited to 56mph and there is some numpty doing 50 in the middle lane. Even the ones going faster disappear off into the distance, as the only vehicle, and still they won't give up the middle lane.
If the police had just one vehicle out at night they could recover the cost of the police officers salary and the running costs of the patrol car in middle lane hoggers fines each night!
I agree with all other comments that Ashley didnt help the situation by not moving into lane 2 early on, when there was space, then moving to lane 2 when van was right behind him.
But I also think Ashley’s unnecessary long double look at the van driver to see him do middle finger was bad. He should keep his eyes on the road ahead, especially at that speed. A small glance is fine but he did quite a head move, a very minor point, but thought id raise it.
Good compilation and analysis as always, Ashley. Thank you. It's my pet peeve when people don't move back into the left lane after overtaking.
Although some people argue changing lanes a lot is dangerous (I guess it depends on how built up the road is), as your video shows, provoking people by hogging any of the overtaking lanes (lanes 2 or 3) is far more dangerous because of the reaction/behaviour of other motorists.
Thank you for all your videos. Even though I don't drive I can tell what people are going to do.
In undertaking I think it's safer when the person in front can't drive safely.
So if you can tell the person in front is probably going to cause an accident, I believe, although not clearly legal, it's the right thing to do.
@@zbf5h89ftb nah I said I think you should undertake in that situation mate. But you can take one for the team if u want :)
I will admit to being a “lane 1 pass on the left progressor” in my previous days of commuting in the M25. Everyone would camp out in lanes 2, 3 and 4 while lane 1 used to be relatively empty. I wouldn’t go past vehicles quickly, usually around 5 mph quicker but never faster than 70 mph.
Then one day I realised that most vehicles I had passed on the left were overtaking me a few minutes up the road once the “lead” vehcle in that lane moved.
Since then I still use lane 1 but keep behind and out of the blind spot of the vehicle in lane 2. Once things speed up I then time the move to lane 2 or beyond to be in keeping with traffic flow. I will still pass on the left safely in queuing traffic on the motorway but that is the only occasion now
Thank you for a good video and thank you to your viewers for their clips 👍
to me there is a difference, I see "undertaking" as making an actual manoeuvre to pass on the left, I don't view passing on the left because some berk is lane camping as the same - though obviously you need to be aware they are not paying attention to anything and use sense
likewise passing in lane one when someone is in lane three seems reasonable
@@aleopardstail Yes, I consider 'undertaking' to be two lane changes (from middle, to inside, and back to middle). If you're in the inside lane catching up with somebody in the middle (or outer) lane, there is no reason to make extra manoeuvres.
Undertaking is the act of lane changing to make progress. If you don't change lanes, don't use your horn in retribution (tempting as it is), pay attention to blind spots, and have an emergency escape (the hard shoulder), then you're not doing anything dangerous. Furthermore, the police won't come down on you.
NGL I feel like my driving as a whole has improved since I started watching your videos, keep it up :)
3:15 "Was I actually doing anything wrong there"? 😂😂😂 Even the emoji's are laughing at that one!
3:05 seems a bit close to pull back in there. Vast majority of the time, Ashley's driving is excellent. Can't agree here though. If someone is determined to undertake, that's on them. I admit, I'm not perfect either, but I don't like small space margins. Some of these typical (though not all) white van drivers though, get close but don't undertake or overtake, but leave scant room when you signal your intention to join their lane. Then scold you with the horn, when you finally do knowing full well you need that lane. More common on roundabouts as well. To be frank, they do it for the lols, so don't worry about it, because they won't.
The worst drivers in my experience, along with delivery drivers, old people and taxis
I agree. As Ashley had decided to pull back into the middle lane, he should have accelerated to at least match the van's speed.
I usually keep 2-3 seconds behind the car in front, and the large separation distance at 70 mph is very triggering for a lot of people. People assume if you're not stacked up 0.5 s behind the guy in front that you're going slow / lane hogging. Also, when they see a gap they just can't help themselves but take it. Very annoying.
Me too. The older I've got the more I hold back at little to give myself some safe space, however idiots see that as in invitation to cut in
I think what you do is GREAT! Keep up the great work! Thank you!
I haven't been riding motorcycles long, but sometimes I feel like the disproportionate deaths of bikers is just because of guys like the ones in these clips....Absolutely insane
Soon you’ll develop your ‘spidey-sense’ where you feel potential incidents occur before they do, and hopefully if you follow Ashley’s advice about positioning on the road, you won’t get the dreaded ‘SMIDSY’. Stay safe out there, mate. 👍
Nothing to do with how bikers lane split and do exactly the same as the undertakers here… some bring it on themselves.
Anticipation it's rare you cannot predict what others are likely to do now or in the very near future.
20% of bike acsdents don't involve another vehicle so not a small %
I was once in the overtaking lane doing somewhere in the region of 85mph, when a superbike overtook me (barrier side) at what must of been approaching 150mph. Scared the absolute crap out of me. Never saw him coming, first I knew of it was the scream of the engine past my window.
Q... When can we overtake on the left hand side?
Ans... When the right hand side is moving slower.
Ashley, in the clip with the middle finger white van, at 4:02 you move to lane 3 in case vehicles moved suddenly from lane 1 to lane 2. At this point, the nearest vehicle in lane 1 was the (admittedly erratically driven) white van, which was about 1 second ahead of you. However, the vehicle approaching from behind in lane 3 was about 2/3rd of a second behind as you changed lane. It seems like the lower risk approach would be to remain in lane 2, ease off the accelerator, and be ready to brake if a vehicle does change lanes at the last second?
If you recall your thinking at the time, was this a near 50/50 call as to which approach you took? If not, i.e. if the lane change was clearly the safest move in your opinion, then I'd be very interested if you would explain your thought process.
The vehicle in lane 3 was barely above Ashley's speed, and was either being cautious or was right lane hogging. Either way it posed no danger. The van however was a proven reckless driver and was likely to cause an incident with a sudden swerve.
Judging by all the problems he caused, it seems like Ashely completely lost the ability to perceive distance in that clip...
@@zbf5h89ftb I generally agree that staying well clear of erratic drivers is a good idea (particularly as a motorcyclist) and I think the second part of the clip around 4:00 is less egregious. However there are still significant problems, especially since this is meant to contribute to a discussion about lane discipline and undertaking!
1) The lane change back to 3 was into the path of a following vehicle which was (slowly) catching. This was (again) without leaving sufficient gap behind and with poor indication.
If you really want to avoid the white van the best way to not impede other road users is to just back off a little from about 3:55 and slot in behind the BMW. But the entire decision to avoid the white van by switching lanes was an imperfect plan formulated about 10s too late.
2) The second part of your point is essentially the usual "I should move to right-most lane because I'm afraid that someone would try to over take me" mentality. Some people can do stupid things at slip roads but hogging lane 3 for no actual reason is not a solution.
@@davidvanderklauw He cut ibn in front of the car in lane 3 leaving less than a half second gap. That is unacceptable, and especially for a driving instructor. Moving out to lane 3 with no traffic behind in either 2 or 3 is acceptable. What he did here is not.
he ust wanted to keep away from the poor driver -- and given the reaction when he passed the van, he made the right choice.
thanks, this is a subject that I have been waiting for.
I was a bit surprised you didn't go into detail about major roads where the overhead gantry tells you to go into specific lanes for different directions.Certainly near me on the A46 Warwick By-pass it gets hairy when people decide to suddenly lane swap or leap between lanes without checking on the surrounding vehicles positioning.
It was obvious that van was closing the gap. In my opinion staying right and letting them undertake or accelerating to build a safe gap were better options than proving a point.
The worst thing to do is try to stop them from doing it.
It's my usual response. Let them be on their way.
Agree, I would much rather keep an eye on them in front than be worrying about what they are doing behind
Always keep the dick in front of you. I can often be heard on my dashcam saying, 'Bye, bye, I'll never, ever see you again.'
Ashley stopped the van from passing in lane 2 by making a dangerous lane change that left about a quarter of a second gap. . He should have stayed in lane 3 and let the van that was gaining speed undertake.
Excellent balanced analysis.
Ashley I think you shouldn’t have moved into lane 2 with the white van being so close. That’s a dangerous lane change in my opinion, regardless of the van being in the wrong.
I agree, ash made the situation develop into what it was.
@@damedusa5107 it looked like he changed lanes to punish the van driver.
I was going to ask that too. Looking at the driver too... just asking for aggravation.
@@ers5920 this is why I don’t rate Ash as high as a lot people do. He does things he advocates against, and as far as I’ve seen, if he gets called out on it, he never admits fault.
I was going to ask exactly the same thing. I did pretty much the same thing yesterday and thought to myself Ashley would probably have told me off for that. Now I'm not sure!
2:55 excellent driving from the black Citroen. They stayed in lane 3 until past the slip road of joining traffic and waited until out of the trucks blind spot before moving to lane 2. Also a nice pause before the move to lane 1. But I would not have moved into lane 2 as Ashley did. The van was catching and there wasn't room. Instead of cutting them up, I would either allow them to undertake, or more likely, briefly exceed the speed limit to get out of the situation.
True I would have gone faster to make a bigger gap in front of the white van before moving left.
There is an oft-repeated myth that if you can be undertaken, you should be in the left lane. It's just not true in many circumstances, probably used to justify their actions by people who routinely undertake. If you are in a middle or outside lane for no good reason, then, yes, you should move over but I've had people go for the gap as I've passed an HGV and am trying to leave a decent gap before pulling back - just like the situation at 5:34.
Another problem occurs when the vehicle being overtaken speeds up to match or even beat the speed of the overtaker, whether side-by-side or as I've had a couple of times, from behind at the point when I've been on the cusp of moving back to the left. These are the ones I just can't fathom, they're clearly not impatient. There seems to be another psychological factor at play there.
You're right, some drivers just don't like you being there, overtaking them after they've driven at 62 on a clear motorway for some time, they decide to go 75, putting you in a tricky position as you pass. Then if you pull in behind them, they slowly revert to 62, I wonder if half the time they're oblivous, just cruising along, not paying much attention to anything...but sometimes they are just being inconsiderate obnoxious dicks.
Nice informative clip. The amount of times recently on either Dual carriageway A roads or motorways I've had people sit in lane 2 (of 3) or 3 (of 4) is rediculous. On the M1 and a mercedes was in lane 2 (of 3) for about 9 miles and then another 5/6 in lane 3 (of 4). Only got into lane 1 about 200yds from his exit. Its just dangerous.
I'm absolutely rolling on the floor laughing - me and Ashley said "Jeeesus" at the exact same time, in exactly the same manner - great minds think alike 🤣🤣
Thank you. It's quite worrying though that three of your viewers were happy to send in videos of themselves so clearly driving in the wrong lane, and presumably they believed this was perfectly fine.
Well said 👏
In this one, Ashley does the same as he winds up the white van driver.
I remember watching an episode of room 101 were the guest put forward "Lane hogging" and i cannot remember who it was but one of the other guests argued that the real problem was the people who continually changed lanes 🤣 Always stuck in my mind this because I still find it hard to figure the mentality of people who sit in there lane when lanes to the left are free.
Another thing I always remember is when I was asked "how many traveling lanes do motorways have?" when I was training for my HGV license.....I answered "three or sometimes two" of course I was wrong because there is just one traveling lane, the other lanes are overtaking lanes
@@WarrenF Breaking the speed limit is fine with you!!?!??
I think it was Bill Turnbull, if I'm not mistaken.
I find it hard to figure the mentality of people who undertake in lane 1 when lane 3 is free.
@@kossfan Totally agree; it is so dangerous as the car being undertaken in lane 2 would not be expecting it and might pull over to lane to avoid lane hogging lane 1 just at the wrong moment and collide with the undertaker.
@@ditch3827 Would you be one of those who would not bother to check if it's safe to move back into lane 1 after an overtake, or would it always be someone else?
Nationally speaking the length of drivers fuses seems to have really shortened over the past few years. Obeying the rules of the road seems to be a red rag to the impatient and the ignorant, woe betide anyone who drives at the speed limit or stops *before* the light goes red. I'm old and boring these days so I generally let people 'get away' with all sorts of entitled manoeuvres.
I'm glad to see that Ashley is promoting the education of drivers beyond his own clients, we need to see more of this awareness on the roads.
Interesting and thought provoking video, thank you Ash. I must admit that when in lane 1 and slowly gaining on traffic in lanes 2 and 3 that really should have have moved over, it is extremely difficult and seems unreasonable not to undertake at slow speed while being ever mindful that the traffic in lane 2 may choose to move back to lane 1 as you are doing so. Poor lane discipline is at the root of this.
I get where you're coming from, sometimes it does feel safer and easier to glide past on the left at a slower speed if you've followed them for some distance then move out across several lanes and back, also sometimes you may not have the choice with cars coming flying behind from nowhere then moving out before you get the chance
Yep agreed. Even more so late at night, empty motorway yet someone is sitting in lane 3.... Why is it safer to move across all lanes, to now sit behind someone who is clearly not very good at driving. I will sit in lane 1 and pass them at a safe distance
@@2462bf2 exactly, think they need to look at certain rules instead of drumming some new rules that let's face it some are stupid and dangerous
@@2462bf2 yes, I agree with you entirely.
I take that view to a point as well, particularly on a 4 lane motorway - you're correctly in lane 1 on a quiet stretch of motorway but you're coming up to an idiot sat in lane 3 out of 4. It seems safer to pass in lane 1 (given that there is still a lane in between you and the lane hogger) than it is to move across across 4 lanes and back again
Sorry to say but you are lane hogging when you leave a long stretch with no one in the left and you're in the middle. If you can be undertaken then you haven't moved over soon enough
Perfect example of yourself not moving over into the left lane. You hogged the middle lane (3 minutes in) 😂🙈
He didn't though, he was slowly overtaking the vehicle in the left lane.
Should have pulled to the left lane behind the bmw until the white lines started to change. That’s why the van driver was pissed off. (Rightly so)
@@w33ksy I actually made an original comment on the video stating this fact, looking into it i actually agree. I do think Ashley could have continued left and waited until the van had cleared the area.
Regardless, the van driver is a danger to other road users and probably does that every day.
It is getting to the stage where is difficult to stay at the speed limit on a dual carriageway.
You are doing 70 in the outside lane while passing slow traffic, you pull back into the inside lane to let the faster cars pass and then get blocked from pulling back out again as you approach the next set of slower traffic.
It pressurises you into either going faster than the speed limit to stay in front of the faster cars, or to refrain from pulling back in because you think that you won’t be able to get back out again.
Or to drive a little slower and more safely in the inside lane
@@ditch3827
Yep, spot on,
I do 2 types of motorway journeys, I often do a 4hr journey across the country. So I get on the road at 4am and because I am in no rush I just cruise at 65MPH all the way.
Other times I am working away and it’s about 1 or 1&1/2 hr journey home, in those situation a need to get to certain areas before the rush hr hits, so drive at 70 all the way so to get through before the traffic jams start.
If you are doing 70mph there shouldn't be any "faster" cars
You stay at 70mph and continue your journey, you don't give way to traffic behind you. If they want to break the speed limit its their problem not your's, its no different to an A road with a 30mph speed limit, they will just have to correct their speed. If the view of them in you rear mirror is a problem move the mirror down and worry about them no more.
@@DynastyHeroes Speedo 70mph or GPS 70mph? Loads of people do under a genuine 70mph.
Question - when approaching, from a side road towards a dual carriageway that has two lanes going left, should I giveaway to both inner and outer lanes or just inner (nearest me)
Ashley, keen to know your opinion of undertaking a vehicle in lane 3 by passing jn lane 1. I observe a lot of people with poor lane disciple in lane 3 of 4, often doing about 60, when traffic levels are medium to quiet. It seems lower risk to pass in lane 1 than move from 1 to 4 and back to 1.
This is absolutely fine, you aren’t even undertaking if you stay in lane 1, undertaking would be to go from lane 3 to 1 to get past someone. If you remain in 1 the whole time this is absolutely fine as long as you’re vigilant.
Excellent video.
It’s such a wide variant of situations that you need to take them individually. Someone slowly and carefully undertaking a slow lane hogger is one thing, and an idiot bombing through on the inside in a dangerous and reckless manor is another.
In the 1st people are succumbing to the natural human nature of impatience.
In the 2nd people are actually using their reckless driving as a statement to everyone around them. [How dare you hold me up, get out of my way]
I see your point but would argue that "slowly and carefully undertaking a slow lane hogger" is a contradiction in terms. Vehicles have a larger blind spot on their near side. If you really "need" to get past, you need to be through the blind spot & into their forward view fairly quickly. By passing them slowly, this is not as careful as what you could be.
this is a perfect clip for Ib S' and my observation that in the state of Washington, the motorway rules are the same as in the UK: cruise in the left lane, pass in the right lane.
Great content as always. I've recently been experimenting with maintaining a position in the outside lane when clear behind to do so. This has, on a number of occasions, permitted vehicles to overtake or emerge. I feel the extra space provides more reaction time and a slightly reduced workload as well as enhancing awareness of vehicular activity further behind. I can work out if a vehicle is approaching and clear the lane well in advance such that they can see I am out of the way allowing them to progress. Also been working on my indication as to whether a signal is of any benefit or not. This has been out in Italy. I would very much like to hear your views on driving in Italy. I personally find that, while they tend to exceed the speed limit and often sit close behind, it feels to me a more predictable and natural flow. I also noticed that, when being tailgated, the act of increasing the gap with the car in front seemed to have a similar effect on the vehicle behind. My experience was mainly on the Autostrada and mountain passes in the north (Rome would be a different matter much like comparing drivers from London vs Cornwall)
I worked as an Amazon delivery driver and the pressure from Amazon and your service provider is immense which usually results in poor driving standards and scrapes and scratches
That's interesting those Amazon vans are always battered to f*%k. Are they monitored? What happens to a driver if he damages one?
@@hydorah I drove the transit, sprinter and other large vans. The van was free as well as fuel. They give you a limit of damage after that insurance will tell them to let you go. That is what happened to me lol 😂
The vans are monitored. the Amazon transit ones have direct link to the police if stolen for example
@@BoskiM Informative comments. I see 3 or 4 Amazon vans a week in my road or adjacent roads (my road in south London virtually a cul de sac since our council shut off access so can't comment on their driving).
@@BoskiM that's frightening. so basically you have free reign to ding up the van until you run out of lives. prime is a brilliant thing but I'd rather pay a bit more for it so drivers didn't have to make as many drops and perhaps be less risky on the roads. Though I suspect the reality of it is they would be told to behave in the same way and Amazon would just cream off more profit.
I worked as an "Amazon" driver. First time they spoke to me about being "slow" they were reminded of the Road Traffic Act, speed limits and the Construction and Use Regs because they were trying to overload the van. I also asked them to put their complaint in writing... They never did put it in writing nor did they take any action. I suppose it helped to be reading the regulations and requirements from a lovely time called The Traffic Officers Companion... They haven't got a leg to stand on.
hey ash, what would your opinion be on this: lets say you have a 4 lane motorway, you have a car in lane 3 doing 60, is undertaking an issue there? imo moving over 3 lanes and then back again seems a lot more risky rhan just passing
Just had a trip up the M5/m6 and back. If I’m travelling at 70mph in lane1, and there’s a vehicle in lane3 (4 lane motorway) travelling at 60mph, I think it’s more dangerous to change from lane 1 to lane 4 and back. Staying in lane 1 gives me a lane width between us…
Undertake in lane one 100%. Do it swiftly and get the heck out of there.
I’d just go past in my lane.
honestly.... no one really cares about undertaking lol, it only happens because people are slow in the "fast" lanes.
My pet hate is when you're passing parked cars as you're approaching an intersection where you're intending to turn left, but unfortunately it seems that the driver behind often appears to see your indicator as a challenge (...or they don't see it at all!) & accelerate into the gap as you move over to the left! This was particularly common when I was driving medium-sized council-buses &/or the street I was entering was narrow, requiring a wider turn!
I do a lot of motorway driving, in the winter months the gritters drive in the middle lane, this allows them to grit all three lanes, most cars will pass in the outside lane but there is nothing wrong with passing in the inside lane, the gritter driver knows this will happen and is quite aware of vehicles doing this, it works quite well.
4:05 Ashley you made a manoeuvre that obstructed the car from behind making progress. If I was your examiner i would fail you on that manoeuvre.
yes but he was driving in a defensive manner, that van driver was unpredictable
You cut the white van up at the 3 minute 21 mark. You can see this in your rear camera. That’s why he swerved into the overtaking lane aggressively and gave you the middle finger. You can’t just cut someone up just because you think they are going to undertake you.
I agree, if it’s not safe to move back to lane 2 you should have held position in lane 3 and kept your left signal on untill there was enough gap to create a safe stopping distance for the van or waited untill he undertook you, poor driving from you ash I believe… with respect I think you could do with some further training and maybe an advanced driving course… all the best
Another good video, Ashley. One thing you didn’t include was where a multi lane dual carriageway or motorway drops a lane at a junction. The lane separation marking goes from 6m/3m to 1m/1m (paint/space) and in that last half mile it is acceptable to pass on the left of traffic committed away from the junction if you are using the junction. As with any other permissible undertaking (or overtaking for that matter) you must be aware of vehicles changing lanes unexpectedly.
It's acceptable to pass on left (undertake) whether your in an auxiliary lane or not.
@@MrJohnny3shoes Acceptable to whom? You?
@@dickyr3295 Until you can prove otherwise yes, it is totally acceptable to pass on left. It's explained in the Highway Code.
Monday mornings and Friday afternoons on the motorways, love ‘em. Just chill, sit back and watch the show. AAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH! 😂😂😂😂😂
So we're gonna just ignore the fact that in the clip at 2:47, the middle lane is completely free, as you can tell from the rear view camera, there's no one in the blid spot either, the lorry to the right of the van is moving over, so creating more space, and there's a good six to eight seconds of time/space where Ashley could have moved over, allowing the white van to stay in the lane and not have to dangerously undertake from you closing the gap and reducing his braking distance.
Bombing it up the third lane and closing in on the black car in front when there's space in the lane beside you to make room for other road users to pass safely isn't exactly the best demonstration of your "make events non-events" philosophy, Ashley. You can't be holier than thou while disregarding your own driving imperfections.
This. Hogs lane 3 then wonders why a van tries to undertake.
Currently learning to drive. When I mentioned under taking to work colleagues that have been driving for 10+ years they didn't know it was a thing.
It shouldn't really be a thing. Passing on the left in circumstances permitted in the HWC is one thing, but mostly when we talk about undertaking we're referring to the knobbish behaviour seen in many of the clips.
@@PedroConejo1939 it really depends on the situation. The left lane is the driving lane so you should always allow drivers to get back into this lane.
Giving enough space to the car in front on the right lane allows them to get back over into the left.
The other issue is driving close or passing cars on the right you could become in the blind spot of that vehicle wanting to get back into the left lane.
@@PedroConejo1939 it's also legal to undertake outside the exceptions in the Highway Code. They are advisory rules. Travelling in congested conditions does not have a certain speed. Vehicle to your right does not have to be taking the next right turn for you to be allowed undertake.
That happens all the time where that amazon van was. Its on the M5 near Bristol, a lane ends and so traffic often bunches up on what is normally quite a fast road. This seems to cause people to jump into small gaps as they don't want to slow with the rest of traffic and also by people sitting in the outside lane. It's always a stunning view though.
Agreed. I know that stretch of road so I know exactly what you mean!
The ever changing road layouts create many the issues you highlighted. Multi lane highways and 'split' roads make it extremely difficult to always be in 'the correct' lane. I decided long ago that safety is more important than being right or wrong rather than try to teach bad drivers a lesson.
In my experience most undertaking happens due to poor lane discipline, as displayed by a good number of the clips in this video. The best part is that delusional dashcammers submit their 'dangerous undertaking' clips to Ashley then he, quite rightly, calls them out on their shit driving.
At 3:13 many commenters on here were right to criticise Ashley when he filmed himself driving without due care and attention.
@@billyporter1389 Yeah I did think that at the time - it wasn't the best lane change from Ash. The van is gaining ground in lane 2 and by Ash changing from lane 3 to lane 2 he forced an unsafe following distance for van.
what does "recklessly" mean? coz im ex blue light trained and can quite safely undertake!
I'm driving in Rio de Janeiro for the next two weeks. These videos, as bad as they are from a UK/European standard, are the height of polite driving in Brazil. To say you've to have your head moving at all times is an understatement. You could have more mirrors than a mods Vespa and still not see enough.
A section of the A1 near me has been altered to add a 3rd lane fairly recently. In this section, the speed limit drops to 60 and the extra lane appears on the left (as a slip road that becomes a lane). This means that traffic already on the road ends up in lanes 2 & 3. It's now created a situation where joining traffic in lane 1 try and race the traffic in lanes 2 and 3 (if they aren't doing that, they hand around the nearside blind spot), preventing them from moving over to the left. More often than not the traffic in lane 1 ends up stuck behind a lorry, but unable to overtake due to the traffic they have trapped in lanes 2 & 3. This often leads to some extremely questionable driving as traffic in lane 1 then tries to force its way into lane 3.
Must admit I'm a serial undertaker of a sort but it's more like the situation of the blue car around 6.30 in the video. I suspect they were travelling much faster than I do however. For me it's most commonly on the M62 as I travel both ways between Liverpool and Manchester on a particular evening each week. I'm usually doing 62mph on cruise control in lane 1 and find I regularly approach, pass and continue past numerous cars in lanes 2 and 3 without ever needing to change lanes or speed myself. I feel this often has less risk than changing from lane 1 to lane 3 or 4 to pass them then back again immediately afterwards.
In the last clip, it might be OK to stay in your lane through the bend. In tight bends, you cannot necessarily see too much in your mirrors, and the blind spots are mostly in the outter lane. This is especially true, when driving a van or some other vehicle, where you might not have a rear view mirror or windows on the side to look through. I think in these situations, it is advisable to avoid changing lanes if possible, more or less the same thing as changing lanes in a roundabout. Was this such a tight bend? Maybe. At least it was tight enough to justify warning sings (maybe even reduced speed limit?), but it's difficult to judge that on the video. Presumably the cammer overtook those vehicles earlier, but why are they catching up now? No matter the reason, it was probably some poor planning.
Brilliant video
I've a question, what if you're in a 3 lane (or more road) and want to travel at or close to the speed limit. What lane should you be in? Is lane 1 used for people who want to exit the road and lane 3 for faster overtaking. Should you keep to lane 2? Or do you always keep left and stay in lane 1? I assumed you keep to lane 1 at all times unless it's blocked or someone is trying to merge from an oncoming road, you then use one of the other lanes before making your way back to lane 1.
I live in the countryside and rarely drive two lane roads let alone three but when driving to cities I'm not 100% certain of the rules.
I'm sure the number of mushroomheads on the road is increasing every day. Not that long ago I was doing 70ish in lane 1 and managed to undertake someone doing 60ish in lane 3 of an empty motorway. These days if lane 1 is empty and I'm doing 70 I'll just go past someone dithering in lane 2 (after holding back to see if they have spotted me).
Selfish and inconsiderate lane discipline should, in my opinion, be a licence-loser or, at the very minimum, 6 points on their licences. I like how Ashley reprimands not only the under-takers but also those causing the reckless drivers to undertake.
One thing the Germans get dead right on the Autobahn is absolutely no undertaking, and giving you no more than 20 seconds to pull back to the right after passing. Both are specific laws and are almost universally observed - and the Polizei will clobber you for it.
I live in Austria and its exactly the same here too. Very few drivers fail to respect our "keep to the right" rule when possible and when they do transgress, they certainly wish they hadn't.
What about the situation where a car is driving well below speed limit in outside lane and no other traffic - would you consider a clear middle lane as sufficient space to allow a "safe' undertake in the nearside lane?
The undertake at 6.30 by the blue car... so if you're the blue car, what should you do there? Hold back for a potentially v long time in lane 1? Or move to lane 3 overtake and then move back to lane 1? Very curious and would appreciate people's thoughts.
Would really appreciate your thoughts on how to deal with passing a car driven at 5mph under the limit and hogging the right hand lane of a dual carriageway. Some advocate flashing their lights, some tailgate, some go directly for the undertake. Happy to be patient but when does it become reasonable to lose that patience? A mile, two miles, ten miles...
Ashley isn’t going to like this but I would weigh up the risk and just undertake. Like he said, it isn’t illegal. Just don’t undertake recklessly. The saying goes, if there is room to undertake, there is room to pull over.
If driving 5mph below the speed limit appears too slow to you then you should vote for a government who will increase the speed limit.
I regularly rev my car engine 30-60% below the rev limit. So why is it that 5%-10% below the speed limit is considered to be a problem by many?
@@davidvanderklauw drive at the speed you want but perhaps not in the over-taking lane.
In my opinion, if they are hogging a lane and going slower, and you pass on their left within speed limit, you are not "undertaking".
@@AlmostLastJedi He gave situations where it's allowed to overtake on the left One of them was *if vehicles are turning right* there's no issue with going pass on left. That's incorrect. Whether a car is turning upright or going straight it is quite legal. Motorways are no different.
My gripe with city timed bus lanes is that people don't look at the lane as free when it's not in use. They still use the outside lane (coz that's where you overtake and it's faster) and can slow down traffic in a 40 limit when they're sitting doing only 30 because they're totally unaware of their surroundings and signage.
There's a traffic light controlled junction near me with full time bus lane + 2 lanes before the junction and part time bus lane + 1 lane after the junction. Lane 2 drivers before the junction all pile into the outside lane after the junction blissfully ignoring the sign that makes it quite clear that they can go directly ahead into the part time bus lane for 20 out of 24 hours. Do the drivers stopped at the traffic lights have *_forever_* to read the sign with the bus lane operating hours on it? Yes, yes they do. Do they read it? No. Indicative of poor situational awareness? Absolutely.
It would help if the hours of operation were in larger characters. I’m usually giving my attention to the other traffic/road layout to try & read 20mm high letters at 25metres. And you have to read the sign for each section of the bus lane - there are some that have different restriction on the same road…
@@colinprice712 Or even a "smart sign", an illuminated or flip sign that is controlled as to time of day. It's not like that kind of technology is exactly hard to do nowadays.
I used to have a situation during morning rush hour traffic taking my daughter to work along the M62. On joining the motorway I would notice that the majority of traffic would immediately move into the second and third lanes, even if the 'slow lane' had no traffic. I would stay in the first lane and literally have it all to myself. The problem that would arise is that both the other lanes would become standing traffic, yet my lane was open, so I would undertake the stationary traffic, obviously using caution in case any of them actually woke up and could see that the first lane was empty. Every morning was the same, yet all they wanted to do was to sit in the middle and outer lane as if they were making imaginary progress !
What are your thoughts on the classic "M25 lane 3 hogger doing 55mph with no other cars about". If I am in lane 1 doing 65 is it reasonable to just carry on in lane 1 or should I try and get over to lane 4 to pass? The law seems to lack clarity here. A video from Black Belt Barrister from a while back seemed to suggest it was OK to do it (as you are not changing speed or lane to do the pass), but it really is not very clear!
It's all a question of balancing risks. There isn't a hard and fast answer, and it's going to depend on the other traffic about. Which, in the particular circumstances, is going to involve higher risk, sweeping from lane 1 to lane 4, or passing briefly through the nearside blind spot of a (probably) inattentive driver with a 1 line buffer between you? If the lane 3 hogging driver is as inattentive as they are realistically likely to be, you're probably going to be a surprise to them whichever side you pass them.
Personally *_if_* I've made the assessment that a lane 1 pass of lane 3 is going to be safe enough to execute I'll often add a blip of speed to minimise the time where I'm in the danger zone. More often than not I'll just hold back and wait for a safer opportunity to pass to present itself in a minute or two. What I won't do is hang about in their blindspot - better to be further back or further forward.
At some point was a passenger in a car on the M1, and we approached a driver sitting in lane 3, and wobbling around.
Passed in lane 1, as it gave more space. As we passed I saw that he was texting.
The offence isn't undertaking, it's careless driving. There's an argument to be made that maximising space during an overtake is being the most careful!
If there are no other cars about, how do you know he was in lane 3 doing 55mph 🙂?
The highway code is quite clear on the matter in that overtaking on the inside is not permitted except in slow moving queueing traffic or if the other car is turning right. The CPS say overtaking is a section 3ZA(2) offence and breaking the highway code immediately makes you liable if there is an accident.
@Ditch wrong again. "In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."
@@ditch3827 You've already been corrected on this, several times by several people. I really don't know why you keep littering the comments here with misconceived and often plain wrong statements about what they law says. Ergo, you say "The CPS say overtaking is a section 3ZA(2) offence" which is clearly arrant nonsense - overtaking is perfectly legal, heck the Highway Code even has a whole section telling you how to overtake. And for the umpteenth time the Highway Code DOES NOT establish strict liability, you can't "break" it, all you can do is fail to follow its guidance which *_may_* establish liability when taken into consideration with the statutory standards set for liability.
Well personally I think the blame should lie with those who choose to sit in the overtaking lanes when it’s not necessary. This is something I deal with in the the M2 almost daily which is massively frustrating, and I’ll never understand the logic behind it. I will hold my hands up and admit that if a car is gonna sit in the right hand lane and refuse to move over even after a polite flash of the lights, I will blow past them in the left hand lane accompanied with a couple of warning taps on the horn.
I used to travel daily on the A1 on a stretch that was then 2 lanes on each carriageway. Regularly traffic was all in the right lane doing about 60mph and I had the left lane all to myself for several miles at a time, although I still had to contend with the odd self appointed policeman who saw my passing on the left as a personal affront. Most people don't seem to realise that lane hogging effectively reduces a 2 or 3 lane carriageway to a single lane.
Are you not supposed to use the furthest left hand lane unless overtaking?
What of situations on 4+ lane motorways, where you’ve people sat in lane 3 doing under the speed limit? Would undertaking in lane 1, going maybe 5mph faster than them be reasonable?
With the speed cameras and epic levels of inattention on the M25 this is often a decision I debate, and it does mean I’m one less car in lane 4 squeezing past.
4 Lane Motorways make me laugh, because middle lane hoggers are unsure which of the two middle lanes they should hog..... Often the left lane is the fastest!
I think you could have waited another couple of seconds before moving into the middle lane. I would have. Be at least two seconds or more behind or in front of another car. You basically cut in front of the van. Not to worry, learn from it, move on.
I want to buy a dash cam what one would you recommend with GPS and large storage?
Ashley You said "So what situations are we ok to pass on the left hand side" Is it illegal to pass on the left outside these situations?
2:40 the car immediately in front of the cammer was going to move into lane 1 - it briefly indicated - but aborted the manoeuvre when the car moved from lane 3.
3:14 Maybe the lens disguises the distance but I would suggest that it was dangerous for you to move back into lane 2 so close to the van.
Well, the van driver clearly didn’t believe it was too close, as he proceeded to close the gap further as soon as Ashley began indicating. It wasn’t a great situation to be in (and it was created entirely by the van driver) but I still think Ashley did the sensible thing.
The alternatives would all just prolong your exposure to the driver you’ve identified as a risk. Better to get over, get them past you and let them continue on towards their next crash.
@@BunkerMentality The van driver is clearly a very aggressive little chap but I totally disagree.
The obscenely small following distance was totally created by Ashley when he changed lanes... and then proceeded to slow down to match the speed of the traffic in lane one!
I absolutely like your videos and analysis, but... 3:35 where your actually doing anything wrong there? not at all? Now I do not know the standards and rules of the UK really well, but in Germany, that by 3:18 would have been absolutely wrong, as you did not respect the minimum spacing while merging in the second lane. There was not place for you to merge in that spot and the white Van driver may have had good reasons to be upset about it. Of course, distances are hard to make out on the wide angle dash cams, but I do believe this was definitely too close. Depending on your speed, in Germany that could lead to one to three months licence suspension. On the flip side, undertaking is also illegal in Germany... maybe, legally speaking, nothing was wrong. Regardless of legalities, that was not the best ;)
I have spoken to several traffic officers on this particular subject. The consensus is if you do it safely they're not going to pull you over but if they see you riding up peoples backsides, cutting it close, not using your mirrors or incessantly flashing your headlights...then they're going to pull you.
It will always be embedded in most people's brains that it's classed as Careless Driving. Even driving instructors think it's CD. They just cannot accept facts.
Is there a difference between undertaking and simply "passing on the left"? Recently I was in a lane about to exit a motorway, about a mile from the exit, but there was a lorry in the lane to my right so I stayed behind it at about 55mph. There was a car behind me flashing to speed me up and I eventually relented but felt uncomfortable. Was I okay to pass the lorry on the left just before an exit?
No difference. The only time it means you have to come from directiy behind a vehicle is when there's only 1 lane in your direction.
Seen this on Twitter, awful bit of driving. Didn't read the situation and forced the van to break and make an aggressive manoeuvre. You should have moved into the inside lane and let the van continue instead of hogging the middle lane. We all makes mistakes but this was poor judgement.
You missed the gantry signs as many did. What would you have done differently?
@Ashley Neal like I said in my comments, moved into the inside lane or waited till the van had passed. To many think the middle lane is there to just sit in.
Which is the view from people who undertake and think it’s acceptable. If you’re correct the van would have pulled the same stunt with a police car.
@Ashley Neal where have I said its acceptable to undertake? I doubt if the police would have made the same manoeuvre as you, and so cause a problem. Traffic needs to flow, and you stopped that flow.
So in your opinion traffic that wants to move back to the left so others can overtake properly and legally is interrupting traffic flow? Genius.
3:10 wasn't the van a little too close to be moving to the left? I would have either sped up to complete the overtake safely or slowed down and let the undertake happen.
You're also a little close, but not as close as before to the black car at 4:05 although they seem to be much more accommodating.
I too though that about the white van. Seems like you were forcing his hand a little.
Or move all the way back to lane 1 (which there was time to do) and the van would have been able to overtake in the middle lane.
@@bushpig6837 Doesn't seem like the best idea, he presumably wants the A5300 to get to Liverpool, he might get 'sucked in' or stuck in the lane heading to the M6 if not careful.
I always appreciate your videos. Sometimes our laws in Victoria differ but the principles of good driving never change. Undertaking is quite lawful here on a multi-laned road or if a vehicle is signalling a right turn. Most often it is on heavily used freeways where sometimes lane A sometimes lane B and sometimes lane C is faster. But overall we are all doing the same speed. In almost all of your clips there was a person changing lanes suddenly and unpredictably while not leaving the minimum safe clearance between themselves and other vehicles. Which breaches our law that "overtaking may be done if it is in a safe manner at an appropriate location".
If the car to your right is not signalling to turn right you can still undertake it.
Did that transporter van have a 2 second gap to front and back to his left to go into? It didn't look like it to me, so he should take someone's braking space or be too close to the car infront?
Going to have to disagree with your critiscism of the Transporter at 6:01. What are they to do, change lanes into the gap in lane 1? Way too close front and back. I make it about 2 lane marker lines. They're perfectly placed, in a staggered position as they are.
In normal situation, I would say you are absolutely right. But the idea here was not to escalate. The merc driver was already giving all signs of impatience (approaching at high speed, flashing lights, tailgating). If the transporter van used his left indicator it would be a signal for the black car behind to widen the gap. Much safer than what we actually see in the video.
I hadn't appreciated the camera compression when I viewed the video, but you are quite correct. The vw transporter would've caused another problem whilst trying to solve the impatient-Mercedes problem. Best option is exactly what they did, sit tight & not be intimidated into a manouvre that inconvenienced the lane 1 traffic whilst rewarding the aggressive merc behaviour.
Have to agree, think Ashley missed the bigger picture on that one
If you stick to Ashleys idea of a staggered position then all the outside lanes would be lane hogging.
our reactions and thoughts as to why drivers do things are partly due to our own perception and experience which could be way off the mark. I followed your reasoning for the white van incident but why did you then make eye contact with him giving him the opportunity to give you the finger, surely this gives the driver the impetus to escalate. As a driver, it is vital that we just let things go and not encourage further contact or reaction.
4:14 - Very amazed how calm you are. Fair play.
Question about Clip at 6:30 . Assuming that the blue car has been going at a steadty 68 mph in the left lane for the last few miles and is not accelerating as it goes past the middle lane hogger cam car, is it doing anything wrong / illegal by passing how it does, or should it have overtaken the cam car using the outside lane and the returned to the left lane?
I'm fairly sure that, legally, it's fine to continue on your journey in your lane. That's what I do. Although you should be vigilant of people changing to the left lane to exit the motorway because they might not be paying much attention in your direction.
Nothing wrong with undertaking in these circumstances, just make sure you pass quickly rather than sit in their blind spot for too long, and also be conscious of drivers also overtaking (in lane 3) the lane hogger at the same time as you, as they may try to quickly move from lane 3 to lane 1 to visually reprimand the lane hogger, and they oftentimes won't check their mirrors properly so won't see you in lane 1.
Ash, I love your videos and actively watch them to make myself a better driver but you absolutely cut that white van driver up. At the point you said you were going to move back across, you could see that he was already reasonably close and the little swerve shows he wasn't expecting you to move across. I've seen some rebuttals to this that the driver of the van should have left clear space to anticipate you moving, but at that point there was nothing in front of the driver of the white van, he had a clear lane and then you cut in. And trust me, defending white van drivers isn't something I do lightly!
Personally I’d have indicated earlier so the van could plan. He thought you were staying out.
4 lane motorway. 1 car in lane 3 with no intention of moving anywhere plus me going faster in. Lane1. (Within speed limit). Is it ok to undertake? Or should I move to lane 4 ?
I'm often moving back to lane 1 when driving one of my vehicles, heavy slow moving, typically 50-60 mph. Frequently i find lane 1 empty even when the middle and right lanes are busier resulting in logical undertaking.
So Ashley and Jon, the question everybody wants to know the answer is - If a vehicle is in lane 1 doing 70mph and the other lanes are moving slower, is it legal for that vehicle to stay at 70mph to pass on inside? Yes or No
Yes
@@MC-fj1me 👍
Yes it is legal. Don't expect Ashley or Jon to reply to that question. They will never admit to being wrong.
Yes, Ashley even says undertaking in the UK is not illegal in itself.
@@keith6400 He also said "so what situations are we ok to pass on the left hand side"?
When vehicles are turning right.
So what he's saying is if a car is not turning right, which would be any road with two or more lanes on the side you are travelling on is going straight it's not acceptable.
He also said "If there's a queue of traffic" it's acceptable. If there's only two cars in the description I gave is it legal?
Temporary speed limits concern speed rather than undertaking.
On a one way street. He's saying If the car to your right is not turning right it's acceptable to undertake but is not on a dual carraigeway.
What he's saying is it's not acceptable to overtake a hogger on the left at 70mph. That is incorrect.