News

Police starting to take action over middle lane hoggers on motorway

Two vehicles were pulled over on Sunday for sitting in the centre of the motorway - and both drivers protested they always used the middle lane.

The Manc - 19th July 2021

Greater Manchester Police officers have been stepping up their mission to tackle middle lane hoggers on motorways this past weekend – pulling over vehicles seen deliberately avoiding road signs instructing them to keep left.

Traffic police spotted a Toyota Yaris sitting in the centre of the M60 on Sunday (July 18) evening – with the driver clearly disregarding road signs telling cars to “use left lane”.

After pulling the vehicle over, police found the driver had no insurance.

The car was seized at the scene.

Earlier that same afternoon, police also pulled over a Ford that was spotted riding across two junctions in the middle of the motorway – despite matrix warnings urging drivers not to do so.

The car was pulled over and reported – with the driver also found to be wearing his seatbelt incorrectly.

In both instances, the drivers protested that they “always used the middle lane” and didn’t recognise the problem in doing so.

GMP, however, argues that “lane hogging causes frustration to other road users and prevents traffic from flowing”.

Seeing other cars sitting in the middle lane for long periods of time is among some drivers’ biggest pet peeves.

Last year, one disgruntled road user took things into their own hands by scrawling messages to lane hoggers across bridges on the M6.

The messages read: “Keep left unless overtaking,” and “Why are you a middle lane moron?”