OMG!!1 WTF!! THE FOG IS BAX0R

a lane,

Yes I know, it can be very frustrating, though I'm a bit more laid back about these situations than I used to be - maybe it's old age or something! :-( Being retired (apart from my driving jobs) I don't really have much need to rush about, unlike working people who have places to go, people to see etc., so it is easier for me to be patient. To try and answer the question though:

Is he sitting in lane 3 with nothing preventing him from moving over into lane 2 and letting you go past? If so, hang back a reasonable distance and try a few flashes of RH indicator and see if that is taken as a polite reminder that you would like to overtake. If that doesn't work try a headlamp flash or two and see if that promotes any co-operation. If that still doesn't work I would go past in lane 2 with a modest speed differential, keeping a wary eye on him in case he does move over while you're doing it.

With regard to overtaking people, I think there is a happy medium with regard to speed differentials. Some people advocate blasting past as fast as possible 'before the blighters wake up' but I'm not happy with that approach. In many cases it might be quite satisfactory - at least from your point of view - but what if they do move over just as you're shooting past? With a high speed differential your prospects of taking safe evasive action are more limited, and even if they don't move over into you, you still run the risk of startling the lane 3 hogger. Some overtakers may not care about that, but I feel it is something we should bear in mind. If you blast past successfully you may be OK, but what if you startle them into suddenly doing something wierd and having an accident all by themselves, or perhaps involving other vehicles? I don't think we would like to find ourselves in the position of having caused that, so as thinking drivers it is up to us to make due allowance for those that may be inexperienced, lacking in certain skills, generally nervous about driving etc.

Just as too much speed differential is (I think) ill advised, so too is pbutting with too little speed differential, which means you are spending too much time in the other driver's blind spot, or being alongside another vehicle for too long.

On the other hand if the guy has no gap in lane 2 that he can get into and out of your way, and he has traffic in front of him in lane 3, there's not much he can do anyhow, so there is no point in pushing him. People do need to have at least a chance of getting out of your way. HTH.

Incidentally, pbutting on the left on motorways or DC roads (or undertaking as some call it) does seem to be happening more, and while according to the Highway Code we should not do it, if done with care it might be better than sitting behind a lane hogger and building up a head of steam for a road rage incident.

Best wishes all, Dave.