Poor lane discipline, or 'middle lane hogging' as it is often known, can and does cause lots of accidents, according to Highways England.
Roads Policing Officers are constantly highlighting via social media outlets offenders of middle-lane obsession, and reminding them that keeping left unless overtaking is the rule of the motorway.
Highways England (HE) has said: 'People hogging the middle Lane is one of the biggest complaints we get from the public and we are constantly asked to do more to tackle it.
'We have stepped up patrols to stop and directly deal with vehicles when possible.'
Motorway users are reminded that there are no 'slow' or 'fast' lanes. All lanes within a road (unless clearly marked otherwise in rare instances) have the same speed limit for that vehicle type, and all traffic should be in Lane 1, with the other lanes being used only for overtaking.
Highways England said they often receive complaints about taxi and private hire vehicles who hog the middle lane and hold other road users up.
Commenting on this issue, a spokesperson for HE said: 'As Roads Policing officers we are always disappointed to see professional drivers who should know better doing this, and will, where we feel appropriate, make referrals to taxi licensing offices (we regularly refer to TfL) or transport commissioners.'
The latest incident highlighted by Essex Roads Policing Unit was when an officer witnessed a silver Toyota Prius lane hogging on the M25 between J28/A12 and J27/M11. That driver can now expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) in the post sometime soon.
To conclude, the advice on keeping left during motorway driving is: 'Middle lane hogging causes delay and frustration. Keep left whenever possible otherwise you could be hit with a £100 fine and 3 points on your licence.'
