Nabbed in the outside lane of 3 lane motorway.

Aug 14, 2019
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Not me I might add. My son just phoned asking what the law is about this. I said it wasn’t allowed unless circumstances deemed you had no option. His FIL was nabbed on the A1M between Boroughbridge & Dishforth seemingly not aware of the rule. He has years of towing experience including towing abroad.

I’m sure the law states all manner of examples when you can/should/have to use that lane but me, I just keep out of it!
What would be the penalty?
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I found myself unavoidably in the outside lane on the M6 heading south. I was on a two lane section in the outside lane but after a serviced the slip road became lane 1. There was so much interaction between joining traffic and traffic what had been the inside lane I deemed it safer to stay out until the HGVs had sorted themselves out. Didn’t feel comfortable wrt infringing the law.
 

Tux

Mar 17, 2024
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It's illegal to be in the outermost lane with a trailer on a motorway with three or more lanes. Found myself accidentally in lane 3 / 3 before. Sometimes you get a stretch with is just two lane when suddenly you go past a slip road and another lane suddenly appears on the inside ;) I always get back over ASAP when that happens. Of course you often get a twit refusing to leave a gap for you to pull back into or undertaking.
 
Feb 13, 2024
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Not me I might add. My son just phoned asking what the law is about this. I said it wasn’t allowed unless circumstances deemed you had no option. His FIL was nabbed on the A1M between Boroughbridge & Dishforth seemingly not aware of the rule. He has years of towing experience including towing abroad.

I’m sure the law states all manner of examples when you can/should/have to use that lane but me, I just keep out of it!
What would be the penalty?
Penalty! I think they will hang him at dawn.
 
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Mel

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Mar 17, 2007
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Also recently found ourselves in lane 3 when lane 2 unexpectedly became lane 3. Pulled over asap. However on two occasions on the same recent journey, there was an abnormal load plus its escort vehicle straddling lanes 1 and 2 on a 3 lane motorway. (Twice). This put all of us including everyone towing and the HGVs in the outside lane. No idea what the law says in this circumstance but we just followed the HGVs.
Mel
 
Nov 16, 2015
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One would hope common sense and discretion would prevail in the minds of any traffic plod witnessing the above unfold.
I would hope so if you were passing at say 40 mph, but if you were having to pass at 60 then that might be different.
 

JRT

May 5, 2024
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Sometimes very occasionally and very briefly I find myself not using the outside lane......

Forgetting that I can use it when I haven't got the 'van on the back...... :ROFLMAO:
 
Jan 3, 2012
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i just come back from our break i was in the outside lane today on the M56 saw a caravan towed by a car he had his foot down at the time i was overtaking him i was touching 77mph .
 
Jul 18, 2017
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i just come back from our break i was in the outside lane today on the M56 saw a caravan towed by a car he had his foot down at the time i was overtaking him i was touching 77mph .
I always thought that the speed limit on UK motorways was 70mph? Were you on the autobann in Germany? :ROFLMAO:
 

JRT

May 5, 2024
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i just come back from our break i was in the outside lane today on the M56 saw a caravan towed by a car he had his foot down at the time i was overtaking him i was touching 77mph .

I think I would have left him or her to it and just pulled in behind and let them get on with it rather than create an additional hazard by exceeding the speed limit just to overtake them.
 

Tux

Mar 17, 2024
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I think I would have left him or her to it and just pulled in behind and let them get on with it rather than create an additional hazard by exceeding the speed limit just to overtake them.

I’m pretty confident Beachball didn’t create a hazard by doing 77mph rather than 70 mph.
 
Last edited:
Jul 19, 2021
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It's illegal to be in the outermost lane with a trailer on a motorway with three or more lanes. Found myself accidentally in lane 3 / 3 before. Sometimes you get a stretch with is just two lane when suddenly you go past a slip road and another lane suddenly appears on the inside ;) I always get back over ASAP when that happens. Of course you often get a twit refusing to leave a gap for you to pull back into or undertaking.
been in that situation too, it's not nice
 

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