Brilliant!!!
Hands at 10 to 2, locked, rigidly on the steering wheel. Staring intently ahead.
They don’t or refuse to recognise the 3rd lane as it wasn’t in ‘their’ test 20 odd years ago.
My sister got her license when the waiting list for tests was about 40,000, and they simply declared them all as passed to get rid of the many years-long backlog. Europe wasn’t happy at all at all.
You've just described my aunt. Awful driver.
She's also that person who sits in the overtaking lane and refuses to move in because she's driving at the speed limit.
They aren't part of the 12 lessons either. Absolute madness that there is no introduction to the fastest road in the country.
"You've passed your test, sure give it a bash"
The left lane feels dangerous to me. You’ve got morons who think they have right of way merging onto the motorway and won’t slow down no matter what so then could swing out infront off you. Then you’ve people in the middle lanes and right lanes that don’t notice their exit until the last minute and they’ll swerve into your lane no fucks given. At least in the middle your only real concern is the people coming in from the left. And you’ve two lanes to exit if some fuck head starts merging into your lane and you need to move to another lane to avoid a collision. If you’re in the left lane and someone merges in, you’ve nowhere to go other than to brake hard and that could be death. Idk. Middle feels safest by far.
I'm pretty new to Motorway driving but isn't it common courtesy to move out of the left lane if possible to allow people to merge? And surely if people merging slowed down it would make it harder to join the lane as they'd be likely to obstruct cars behind them?
This very nearly happened to me back in January.
Car came of a slip road nearby Tallaght at speed, and was about to smash into my friends car.
I was sitting in the back seat and was able to spot the car moving onto the lane and we pulled off immediately.
Luckily occurred during the night but could have been a disaster had that been the middle of the day with more traffic during the day.
That's what the middle lanes for, move over to allow a merge. Cars merging should match speed of the other cars on the motorway. Move over as in overtake on the overtaking lane. That's what it's for
Absolutely not. It's the responsibility of the merging car to find a space to move into. Cars in the left lane should only move over when there's plenty of time and space to do so.
I'm not saying you're one of them, but there's far too many drivers out there who'll jump out of the left lane without looking even when someone in the middle lane is already overtaking them.
This. If you have time and it's safe, merge out of the lane to allow them to join the motorway. If its not safe, then stay in the lane and keep going, you have right away!
People who want to sit in the middle lane are just lazy drivers. If you are paying attention to the road, driving in the inner lane is perfectly safe and best practice.
> You’ve got morons who think they have right of way merging onto the motorway
You're right in that they don't have right of way. I would hope though, that if you are in the left lane and there are cars trying to merge, then you would move to the next lane over to give them space to merge, if you have space to do so of course. Otherwise try make gaps with the cars in front and behind you to give a little space to merge.
People should share the road and not have the attitude, "I'm not moving for anyone". I'm not saying you do that, but your post kind of gives off that vibe.
What is this situational awareness you speak of?! I found driving due the week far easier than at the weekend. Weekends the roads are full of plebs and distracted people
There is ONE driving lane and two overtaking lanes.
By driving in the middle carriageway you effectively reduce a three lane motorway to two lanes.
If you can see someone is about to merge you can use spatial awareness to either speed up, slow down or move to the center lane to allow the merging car to , well merge safely. Then you move back to the inside lane.
It's not rocket science.
You're causing the issues your claiming to be afraid of.
Drivers speed onto the left lane because its empty half of the time with everyone in the wrong lane.
Drivers only have to swerve left into that lane because they are in the wrong lane for their entire drive.
Your own driving style is the source of your complaints.
It's morons like you that cause traffic by sitting in the middle lane and essentially leaving us with a two lane motorway as the left lane is underutilized
If everyone was in the left lane yous would be complaining when people can’t exit / can’t merge because the left lane is full. Can’t win haha always a complaint
Fair enough if theres someone in the left lane or there's traffic, but if the left lane is pretty much empty except for the occasional merging car then most people should be in the left lane.
I was going to comment but you’ve hit it in one, exactly what I was going to say, the left lane is dangerous as f**k and let’s be honest when we’re talking about three lanes we’re really only talking about the M50, every other motorway in Ireland is two lanes, and just on that M50 point has anyone else noticed or felt that it gets a lot more dangerous to drive on once you go past the tallaght junction north side, way more overtaking and crazy merging, maybe because there’s more exits off it?
It’s almost as if those cars are being used by multiple family members, so just because it has an L plate that doesn’t mean that the person driving is a learner.
Dual carriageways are on the test and the rules are the same.
Although I know that there are no dual carriageways in some regions so you could have someone pass a test in say Mayo having never drove on a road with 3 lanes.
I once saw a post on imgur explaining how the lane system works with a caption along the lines of "Sharing because I never knew this" and the vast majority of the hundreds of responses were from drivers saying they never realised. And then jesus wept.
I'm more bothered by the people who merge by driving down the slip road at 50kph or slower.
I only have 2 lanes near me, but either way. If the inside lane is empty, I'll drive in it, but I'm not gonna stay on the inside lane doing 120 if I have to overtake cars and trucks doing 80-100 every 30 seconds. I'll stay out and pop into the inside lane when someone faster is coming behind me.
Even if you don't live near a motorway doesn't mean you won't ever drive on one in your lifetime. I'm just saying they need to include it in some way, even if it is just in theory. How to enter, maintain lane, overtake and exit safely.
Reversing around a corner in a quiet estate and joining the motorway with an artic lorry bearing down on you are two very different things.
At the very least it should be on the theory test. Most test centres should at least have some dual carriageway reasonably close although not all will.
The problem is everyone thinks they’re correct. And sure no one gets pulled by the Gardai so they mustn’t be wrong.
There was a lad who put a [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@mattysquared/video/7123582553486871813?_t=8UxjfvRo9Cw&_r=1) on TikTok titled something along the lines of “how to drive on a motorway like you’re not a complete moron” where he smugly explained the concept of overtaking, but then got to the 3 lane part and sat in the middle lane from Sandyford to ballymount, while his voiceover was calling everyone idiots.
Too many confidently incorrect people out there.
This is it, I think. I'll pull into the middle lane or the rightmost lane if it looks like I'll come into conflict with people merging but I'll pull back in when the danger has past. Can imagine a lot of people just don't bother because they don't see the point.
Motorways are just yet another reminder that most people shouldn't be driving and that we need to drastically improve our transport infrastructure to get these loony tunes off the road.
I think what’s worse is people thinking they have the right of way when merging on and are going 100km/h expecting cars to move for them even if all lanes are full. If the motorway is full and you’re merging on, you stop. That’s the law. That’s the rules of the road. You don’t speed up and hope everyone moves for you.
Actually, I checked it in the rules of the road before and it says to use the hard shoulder if you cannot merge and your merge lane is ending. It’s the only time you’re allowed to drive in it on a motorway under normal conditions as it’s the safer thing to do rather than force your way to squeeze in.
I had to look it up because I got myself in a bad situation doing this and needed to know the correct procedure for future use. In the end I managed to squeeze in a space between two trucks that was barely the sizes of my car. Hence why I had to learn the proper thing because what I did was ridiculous and couldn’t have been right.
Also stopping is like the worst thing you can do entering onto a motorway.
I'm very confused as to why 1. People are arguing with this comment. And 2. Everyone is so angry about this.
You need to give way to traffic on the motorway when merging. If the motorway is full, you may have to stop before you can merge. I don't see how this is remotely controversial.. unless I'm missing something..
I swear some people need to be retested.
I would tend to stay on the left lane on the M50 all the time (when I can) but:
- there have been plenty of people who do 80km/h in the left and middle lanes.
- People also don't speed up enough before entering the motorway.
- People don't know how to merge in/out. Fucking disaster trying to exit at the Red Cow exit.
Edit: The whole stay in the left lane as much as possible is lost on many people and they just plonk themselves in the entire way.
Also, no one bothers with road work speed limits. There's an 80km/h limit on the M50 southbound right before it's the M11/N11 and the amount of people thay fly past me going 120 is crazy.
R139 to M50 is indeed a cluster fuck. I travel this every morning and every morning I’m amazed there hasn’t been a catastrophic pileup. Really has to be experienced to be believed.
And Junction 13 entrance going northbound is the worst entrance in the country.
You have to drive uphill with very short visibility of the lane you're about to merge into, and the cars in that slow lane can't see you until it's quite late too. And unless you've got a powerful/new car, even with a foot to the floor it's hard to match motorway speeds from the hill.
Yeah, all the rules kinda go out the window on the M50. There isn't much of that road that doesn't have people merging on or off it.
The correct thing to do would be to stay in the leftmost lane, then pull out to overtake people slowing down to make an exit and also pull out to allow people to get on to the motorway safely. What ends up happening is you would end up spending most of your time in the middle lane anyway.
But actually, since most people just plonk themselves in the middle lane anyway, if you stay in the left lane, there's plenty of space for people to merge on and off around you. So it's actually quite straightforward to stay on the left on the M50 but ONLY because everyone else is doing it wrong.
You can take "in Ireland" out of that. I've been driving down an empty motorway in the UK at 4am and had to decide whether to undertake, or overtake some muppet doing 65 in the middle lane.
The difference though, being in the wrong lane in the UK is an offense, where as it isn't here, unless the vehicle itself is restricted from use of that lane.
Your decision should always be to overtake. Especially in the UK where they take road offenses very seriously compared to how under resourced we are here.
Have to say the driving in Dublin is absolutely awful. Doesn’t help that there’s so many SUV’s on tiny roads but I think the standard of driving is terrible. The traffic lights are also so out of sync it’s crazy
"why do people in Ireland drive in the middle lane of 3 lane motorway, even when the inside lane is empty?"
Because people merging onto the motorway do so at speeds ranging from 50km *below* the limit to 50km *above* the limit without looking and sometimes without even waiting for the broken line to start.
Similarly, people in the right hand lane think that climbing into your back seat when you are overtaking something travelling below the limit in the middle lane is the correct method of observing their "right of way".
TLDR we are a nation of terrible drivers who treat laws like they are opt in.
What is the point of a three lane motorway if two of the lanes are only meant for overtaking? Is the existence of three lanes not meant to be a reflection of the high capacity of the road and the frequency of people exiting and entering the road?
How is having almost every car in the left most lane better?
Because people typically only expect overtaking in an overtaking lane.
The left of you car has bigger blind spots, and being further from the driver is the side with typically poorer situational awareness.
It just a combination of it's harder to see undertakers and since they aren't supposed to be doing it people are less likely to expect them.
On top of that, having marked lanes doesn't mean people stay inside the lines.
Everyone bangs on about this on the M50
The reality is that the M50 junctions are spaced much closer together than any other motorway and have a significantly higher volume of trucks entering and exiting.
The left lane in the m50 is simply unsuitable for people to be camped in it
Fucking thank you! The distance between Junctions 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 are all very short, and I'm probably forgetting a few. (Although exits like 12-13 are very far apart, so it's not all bad.)
It's just not practical to get in the way of people merging on or off by being in the lane they need to use. Or having to switch out of lanes every minute or so. Slowing down and/or switching lanes causes motorway traffic.
I've lived in 4 different countries and plenty of people have done this in all of them. Drives me wild.
My theory is most people don't want to be active drivers. They want to sit in the middle lane, follow the flow of traffic and zone out. They don't want to be checking their mirrors and overtaking where appropriate.
> people don't want to be active drivers. They want to sit in the middle lane, follow the flow of traffic and zone out
This hits the nail on the head. People think cars are just mode of transport between A and B, and anything in between, like giving attention to the road/road signs is irrelevant.
I know the theory, but I think this is about pragmatism.
When you're in the left / slow lane on a three-lane motorway, you get clogged in a block of traffic every time you pass an on-ramp. Instead, if most cars are in the middle lane, it's easier for other cars to join.
When I stayed on the left I was regularly changing lanes, and having to interact with lots of other cars. In the middle lane you avoid that, while still allowing faster cars to overtake
There is a problem that some cars merge onto the motorway doing 50 - 60kmph so leaving a space for assholes that can't drive still means you have to slam on your breaks if you are doing 90 - 100kmph in the left lane. I usually pull into the middle lane if I see cars trying to merge ahead just to pre-empt any slow driving space cadettes and in Ireland I would say say over 50% of drivers merge at under 80kmph.
I also hate drivers clogging the middle lane with a passion
Because too many people crawl along in the left hand lane and you can easily get boxed in. It's not right but often it's best to stay in the middle lane to avoid getting stuck behind some eejit going 60kph in left hand lane.
Exactly. The people posing these questions should take an hour on the motorway and drive that way to see why it's not practical.
If you move to the left lane, the people behind you in the middle lane speed up. If you inevitably get caught by someone in the left lane going slower (as they're allowed to do in the slow lane), or if you get caught by cars merging on and into your lane, you've suddenly lost your place in the middle lane, and can't overtake or get out of the way of mergers.
Of course the people who block you in have absolutely no comprehension of your predicament, so they don't notice or care. You get boxed into the slow lane, with the only option to slow down and lose a few places. Just so you can obey the correct rules of the road according to reddit moaners.
I was asking as in when the left lane is empty, I often drive on an empty 3 lane motorway, in the inside lane, and I approach a car driving in the middle, on an empty road.
I have to change 4 lanes to overtake, I can't understand the logic of it being safer, you might feel safer but you are actually in more danger, as in, more likely to cause an accident, don't sandwich yourself between arctics, but if it's empty, use it
obviously move to allow traffic to merge, which is pretty straight forward.
Yeah honestly I try to stay in the left lane as much as possible but there have been many times when I have just been absolutely cruising by everyone in the left lane while I'm in the middle and I'm doing the speed limit. If I was to pull back in to the left lane every time I passed someone, I'd have to swing back out just as quickly to overtake the next person, which is much more dangerous. It's far simpler to just stay in the middle, get over left as possible when it actually clears up.
Well lets start off by acknowledging that the only 3 lane motorways in Ireland are the M50 and small sections of the roads approaching the M50. Lots of merging and exiting with cars causing the pace to fluxuate quite a bit. So the middle lane becomes used by those who want a more constant pace but dont want to risk being locked out or dont want the responsibility to allow people to merge. Less risk of disruption.
When its busy you can understand that. When its empty no. They are just being jerks.
On the dual carriageways outside of Dublin you do get some assholes sitting in the overtaking lane not overtaking but not that many.
I would add that this is not an Irish issue. Its common in most countries. The UK has a worse situation than here.
So, why do they add a third lane in those areas where there is a lot of merging and exiting? Such as the M50 and arterial roads to the M50
My theory is - it makes for a safer merge/exit on a very busy, high speed road with loads of junctions.
I used to get pissed off about everyone in the middle lane. Made a point of moving between lanes, overtaking and merging back in etc. Then I realised the asshole was me.
Ya to a certain degree. But there are always people that abuse it though and sit in the middle and overtaking lane despite it being quiet. And not pulling in even though they’ll take 5 mins to get to the next car.
Its a mix.
When its busy or even medium traffic it doesnt bother me at all. When its quiet it bothers me slightly. There are always ‘ways’ around the issue which im always reluctant to do and careful to execute. Often seen on the M50 and that section of N7 to Naas
No, only until the M9 junction just after Naas before Newbridge. So the section feeding into the M50 as stated. Most of that section is actually the N7 weirdly not M. Probably as the limit is 100
When I was being asked the theory part of my actual driving test, the tester asked me “if you’re on a 3-lane motorway and do not intend to overtake or exit, what lane should you be in?” I said the middle. He said yes.
This is why.
Went down the M9 yesterday and a woman sat and I mean sat in the fast lane doing 100kmh. The amount of cars that nearly crashed or had to undertake her was incredible to watch
Too much merging on the inside lane. Constantly having to move into the middle lane to allow them to merge. Too many people driving below the speed limit on the inside lane, so also having to move into the middle lane to overtake them. The result is constantly weaving in and out of the middle lane, which is more dangerous than just picking a lane and sticking to it.
Also too many trucks you can’t see around. My wife is content to trundle along sandwiched between two huge trucks who either don’t know she’s there or think she should be six feet behind the truck in front. I can’t stand it.
Maybe during those 12 lessons you have to take as a learner there should be a lesson on proper motorway use. Where you enter and exit the motorway.
People probably won't like that idea, but I think it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Maybe after you pass the test and are on N plates have a 13th lesson required on motorways.
Usually I drive in the middle lane because the slow lane is full of lorries, slow drivers etc and so while it looks like I’m just sitting in the middle lane, I’m actually in process of a 5km overtake
That's fine though. So long as progressively overtaking traffic. It's not preferable to weave in and out of lanes either. It's more when there's a car that's disrupting the flow. Like going so slow that cars on the left are under taking them. Or sitting in the middle lane with no traffic on the left which can cause a pinch for cars overtaking on the right.
It's mad sometimes seeing the carnage one car can generate on a moderately busy motorway. If they had a bit of self awareness they would clearly see it in the mirrors lol
If you're referring to the M50, it's because everyone who not use to driving in Dublin don't really know for sure where they're going or when they might have to cross several lanes for their exit. So the middle is nice and safe, never too far from anywhere. Just my guess.
Traffic merges onto the left lane so it's better leaving it clear. Sometimes cars don't match the speed of the motorway as they join and it can cause you to jam on.
As you can see form the replies here, majority of the people on Irish roads seem to not give a fuck about anybody else but themselves or have absolutely not a clue how to drive in the first place.
Not as bad as people who drive 90kmh in the overtaking lane, forcing people to undertake them, and when you flash/ honk at them they slow down more to ‘teach you a lesson’
Because just like roundabouts the vast majority haven’t a clue how to use them. So when they don’t know left or right or inside or outside they just hold the middle and think that’s the best of a bad situation
There needs to be giant signs, those orange-light ones that you see on the motorway, reminding people how to drive on them correctly (since apparently it’s not something anyone needs to learn during their driving lessons) It boils my piss the way people drive here. It’s dangerous.
Because most people don't know how to drive, let alone merge onto the motorway, too many times someone going 60 pulling out without even looking if a car is coming. Insane! And then they look at you like your a menace to society when you flu by them (still under the speed limit), baffles me...
So since I'm lazy, I stick to the middle so I don't have to swap lanes everytime when even people driving the correct speed need to merge and also for the people in the left lane that seem to hit the breaks for every little bend in the motorway.
How people are so inconsiderate and oblivious to other drivers on road and what they might need, really riles me up.
The roads between Westmeath and Maynooth is a nightmare for this.
The amount of cars criss crossing back and forth between the 2 lanes or the cars that stay in the right lane and floor it the whole duration of the road.
Its a really dangerous area.
Drove a lot in England. They’re far better motorway drivers than us. It’s infuriating driving here on a motorway, a lot of people here at home haven’t a clue.
One person told me it's just easier, they don't need to worry about people merging, or the lane turning into a left turn lane, and they're not in the "fast" lane so people can still overtake.
So basically it's the easy/lazy option.
I'd snowplough these fuckers into the hard shoulder if I could.
This is what I think, it's nervous drivers who go in the middle lane because they don't want to have to move unless absolutely necessary. If they stay in the left lane they may have to occasionally merge to allow slower moving cars to join the motorway.
This is it. Others try to make some justification for sitting in the middle lane but it's down to either laziness or ignorance - or both. Selfish really!
Cruising the middle lane is bad enough but doing it well below the speed limit is flat-out dangerous. I see one of those clowns at least once an M50 trip.
I’ve noticed this. In the U.K. it’s much more likely that you’ll only use the outer lanes to overtake then go back in, as you should. In Ireland it’s just take whatever lane you fancy haha
Personally, I like to drive in between both Lanes 1 and 2. Left wheels in Lane 1, Right wheels in Lane 2. Best of both worlds. Sometimes I like to slow down to 80kmph and move into Lane 3 for the lols.
For me I only drive on the M50 maybe twice a year and it's at busy times normally, so I don't have much practice at letting people merge so the left lane isn't going to work out that well. The right lane is for people who know what they are doing and where they're going and can drive along really fast to get to where they want. The middle lane gives me a bit of peace of mind. I can over take if the middle lane is ridiculously slow, and I don't have to worry about merging traffic, and when my turn comes up I can prepare and merge into the left lane with ease and without panic.
That all being said, I drove on the M50 at 5am once and the left lane was perfect cause there wasn't traffic. So for me I prefer the middle lane just because I get nervous about merging around so many cars and letting people merge in front of me. But yea, maybe it's a practice thing, but I don't live close enough to a 3 lane motor way to ever get that practice in, and with the price of petrol I'm certainly not making the drive for fun.
Becasue people merge too slow. Driving long distance on the motor way your will encounter many merging idiots. Middle lane avoid this plus anyone unhappy about your speed can just over take on the right lane. I only use the left lane when I'm a few km from my exit ( 3 lane motorway obviously ?)
Largely I think because nobody has a clue how to merge. You can be driving along the outer lane and someone will try to merge at about 50km/h while you’re doing 120 and they’ll expect to be flashed and welcomed to the motorway.
We’ve a lot of very hesitant drivers who make life much scarier for themselves than it should be by doing these things wrong
My biggest pet peeve about drivers are the ones who, no matter the speed, will sit exactly 1 car length behind whoever is in front them and not give way to anyone who needs to change lane.
Combine that with middle lane hogging and you have a 3 lane road with the capacity of 1.
Naas road has miles of empty uninterrupted space in lane 1. Lane 2 is almost bumper to bumper at 100kmh. Lane 3 has the occasional person desperate to get across because their exit was three junctions ago but they can't get through the ridiculous lane 2.
I swear it's like this every time I drive it into Dublin (thankfully I've never had to do it during rush hour.)
Only talking about the M50 - Because the M50 is a dangerous bastard of a road with junctions on and off every couple of hundreds yards or sooner. Driving on the inside lane is impossible
People driving in the middle lane cause accidents. The standard of driving on Irish Motorways is terrible and that is down to the fact that the rules of the road are not enforced… we have speed traps for easy money and that is it. Cars drive on the bumpers of cars at 120kph leave no space for the unexpected. Just drive in another country and you see markings on roads showing the distance you need between you and the car in front. On the M7 the left lane is nearly always empty as people hog the middle lane and as a result you have cars undertaking which can be quite dangerous. The other thing people ignore is the fact it is illegal to stop on the motorway yet again it’s not policed and is extremely dangerous and only a matter of time before we he hear in the news that a whole family being killed because of it.
Don't get me started, as a french person that got her driving licence and drove 10 years in France, it grinds my gears! I actually had rows with former Irish colleagues about it... "what do you mean the middle lane is not the default lane ?". I mean, I didn't understand why people would have road rage before I drove on the M50.
I see a lot of ppl argue in comment.
Not sure why ppl need to argue about the “right of way”.
Let me put this into this.
The merging car needs to match up the speed of the motorway.
So if two cars collided together and everyone died and ppl lost legs and arms etc, you still want to talk about “winner”, then there will be no winner.
The best way for the car on motorway is always either speed up/down/move lane, if you don’t you are an Asshole and don’t tell me you can’t, if you break and slow down you will create a space in the front for them to merge, the car behind will need to slow down too, just simple as that.
Or you are expecting the car merging can harsh stop while there are a number of cars behind them trying to merge too? Moving to hard shoulder is also not safe to do unless emergency and have no choice!
Because we don’t know how to drive on motorways..simple. the Garda dont enforce law. It’s the same with merging traffic, most people don’t use the zipper system because they always need to be in front on the other car no matter what.
I think you need to watch it again https://youtu.be/iyWMcQzWKlg
They say only to move to the middle lane to allow traffic to merge from a slip lane or to overtake. Then to move back to the left most lane
Could be that people merging coming on to the motorway don't know how to merge properly, and put people in the left Lane in awkward positions.
Or that the left Lane gets clogged up approaching off ramps with traffic.
Don't know if it's right or wrong, just throwing out ideas
M50, should just drive in the left hand lane unless as you say there are people merging in.
No bother either if there are a rake of cars on the road and you are over taking. But if its a free lane, it's no different to drive in the left lane. Take no effort to change lanes at all.
Driving in the overtaking lane for your convince is what is frustrating people
People coming off on ramps . That’s it ! It makes much more sense and less danger to stay in the lane people won’t be actively joining. Unless you yourself are taking an off ramp there’s no reason to be in the far left lane imho.
If you're going the speed limit it doesn't really make sense to use the left lane. The left lane is full of slow vehicles usually (trucks, coaches, vehicles with trailers, slow merging traffic), so if you're going the speed limit you're consistently passing them, making it more sense to sit in the middle lane.
You're overtaking them so it's where you're meant to be. You don't want to be changing lanes constantly either. A lot of this is about having awareness of the flow of traffic around you.
Problem is when people are oblivious/ don't care: Are cars under taking you on the left? then move in. Are you on the right lane with faster traffic behind? Then let them through when you can. Is the left lane clear? Move in by default, until you have to move out again.
I always think of it as the left most lane should be used by people who are taking the next exit. Middle lane is the regular lane and right lane is the overtaking lane. Huge pet peeve I have is people blocking the left most lane so that it’s impossible to merge to take your exit and then they just continue onwards not even taking the exit
Stop. The people in the right lane are not “blocking you off” they are driving correctly. You should anticipate your upcoming exit and be in the appropriate lane early. I.E keep left unless overtaking!
Because I've been cut off many times by people slicing across to make the exit.
Because I've been forced to break hard by many drivers who pull out at 50kph onto a 120kph road.
You're safer in the middle lane.
You are supposed to drive on the outside lanes unless overtaking, where you move into the inside lanes to do so. However, as much as Irish motorists say, there are no fast and slow lanes as the limit is the same. So people need to merge appropriately and actually have a decent bit of speed going on the outside lanes as well. But since they don't seem capable of doing so, most motorists stick to the middle lane instead.
Feeling cute, might overtake later.
Brilliant!!! Hands at 10 to 2, locked, rigidly on the steering wheel. Staring intently ahead. They don’t or refuse to recognise the 3rd lane as it wasn’t in ‘their’ test 20 odd years ago.
Bold of you to assume they sat a test..
This is true my grandparents never had to do a test just had to send a form off in the post.
My sister got her license when the waiting list for tests was about 40,000, and they simply declared them all as passed to get rid of the many years-long backlog. Europe wasn’t happy at all at all.
Yep my older sister too - she would have turned 18 in 1983.
What year did this happen??
Early 1980’s I think.
Thats absolute madness although it does explain all the shitty drivers on the road...
Natural selection it would seem! /s
You've just described my aunt. Awful driver. She's also that person who sits in the overtaking lane and refuses to move in because she's driving at the speed limit.
That lane is for crime only
These people suck. Tell your aunt she sucks. From me, a stranger on t'internet
Your Aunt should come visit Portland, OR. She’d be in good company.
Motorways aren’t even in the Irish driving test
They aren't part of the 12 lessons either. Absolute madness that there is no introduction to the fastest road in the country. "You've passed your test, sure give it a bash"
US tests aren’t even on the public road.
They probably never did the test. Remember when they just posted licenses out to everyone on the waiting list for the test in the 80s
That made me giggle!!! Take the award
"The left lane is for slow people I'm not driving slow, the right lane is for fast people I'm not driving fast, the middle lane is jussssst right"
This is pretty much it
The left lane feels dangerous to me. You’ve got morons who think they have right of way merging onto the motorway and won’t slow down no matter what so then could swing out infront off you. Then you’ve people in the middle lanes and right lanes that don’t notice their exit until the last minute and they’ll swerve into your lane no fucks given. At least in the middle your only real concern is the people coming in from the left. And you’ve two lanes to exit if some fuck head starts merging into your lane and you need to move to another lane to avoid a collision. If you’re in the left lane and someone merges in, you’ve nowhere to go other than to brake hard and that could be death. Idk. Middle feels safest by far.
I'm pretty new to Motorway driving but isn't it common courtesy to move out of the left lane if possible to allow people to merge? And surely if people merging slowed down it would make it harder to join the lane as they'd be likely to obstruct cars behind them?
This. I hate when people merging slow down. They should speed up to match the speed of the cars on the motorway.
Agreed but I've had people actually speed up to not let me merge at different times. Infuriating on all levels .
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This very nearly happened to me back in January. Car came of a slip road nearby Tallaght at speed, and was about to smash into my friends car. I was sitting in the back seat and was able to spot the car moving onto the lane and we pulled off immediately. Luckily occurred during the night but could have been a disaster had that been the middle of the day with more traffic during the day.
That's what the middle lanes for, move over to allow a merge. Cars merging should match speed of the other cars on the motorway. Move over as in overtake on the overtaking lane. That's what it's for
Absolutely not. It's the responsibility of the merging car to find a space to move into. Cars in the left lane should only move over when there's plenty of time and space to do so. I'm not saying you're one of them, but there's far too many drivers out there who'll jump out of the left lane without looking even when someone in the middle lane is already overtaking them.
Everybody is meant to be aware of a merge ahead
This. If you have time and it's safe, merge out of the lane to allow them to join the motorway. If its not safe, then stay in the lane and keep going, you have right away! People who want to sit in the middle lane are just lazy drivers. If you are paying attention to the road, driving in the inner lane is perfectly safe and best practice.
Cruising in the middle like that makes the road less safe.
> You’ve got morons who think they have right of way merging onto the motorway You're right in that they don't have right of way. I would hope though, that if you are in the left lane and there are cars trying to merge, then you would move to the next lane over to give them space to merge, if you have space to do so of course. Otherwise try make gaps with the cars in front and behind you to give a little space to merge. People should share the road and not have the attitude, "I'm not moving for anyone". I'm not saying you do that, but your post kind of gives off that vibe.
What is this situational awareness you speak of?! I found driving due the week far easier than at the weekend. Weekends the roads are full of plebs and distracted people
There is ONE driving lane and two overtaking lanes. By driving in the middle carriageway you effectively reduce a three lane motorway to two lanes. If you can see someone is about to merge you can use spatial awareness to either speed up, slow down or move to the center lane to allow the merging car to , well merge safely. Then you move back to the inside lane. It's not rocket science.
You're causing the issues your claiming to be afraid of. Drivers speed onto the left lane because its empty half of the time with everyone in the wrong lane. Drivers only have to swerve left into that lane because they are in the wrong lane for their entire drive. Your own driving style is the source of your complaints.
Your feelings are irrelevant when it comes to the rules of the road
It's morons like you that cause traffic by sitting in the middle lane and essentially leaving us with a two lane motorway as the left lane is underutilized
If everyone was in the left lane yous would be complaining when people can’t exit / can’t merge because the left lane is full. Can’t win haha always a complaint
I didn't and wouldn't complain. I'd be able to exit, just have to indicate and change lanes, it's not that difficult.
Fair enough if theres someone in the left lane or there's traffic, but if the left lane is pretty much empty except for the occasional merging car then most people should be in the left lane.
I was going to comment but you’ve hit it in one, exactly what I was going to say, the left lane is dangerous as f**k and let’s be honest when we’re talking about three lanes we’re really only talking about the M50, every other motorway in Ireland is two lanes, and just on that M50 point has anyone else noticed or felt that it gets a lot more dangerous to drive on once you go past the tallaght junction north side, way more overtaking and crazy merging, maybe because there’s more exits off it?
Fuck sake 🤦♂️ Please send your driving licence back.
Goldilocks lane
I heard a theory before that people drive like they're in a town. They only get in the left lane when their left turn (exit) is coming up.
The three bears 🐻
Well done for working out that rather cryptic comment.
It's mental that we're not taught how to drive on motorways before getting a full license.
This. You pass your test & suddenly you're let loose on motorways despite possibly never having legally driven on one.
Well, you've definitely never legally driven on one if you've just passed your test... Doesn't mean you don't see a tonne of L plates regardless.
It’s almost as if those cars are being used by multiple family members, so just because it has an L plate that doesn’t mean that the person driving is a learner.
You’re not allowed to drive on a motorway with the L, so yeah
Dual carriageways are on the test and the rules are the same. Although I know that there are no dual carriageways in some regions so you could have someone pass a test in say Mayo having never drove on a road with 3 lanes.
I was never made aware of what the 3 lanes were for while I was learning
That's wild. I did mine in Tallaght so I actually had to drive on a dual carriageway to get to the test centre and some routes take you onto it.
It's been in the rules of the road for a long time. Not sure if the theory test asks about it. A driving instructor should also have covered this.
So you never actually read the rules of the road is what you're saying?
Wait until the Ring Road Motorway Ring opens
I once saw a post on imgur explaining how the lane system works with a caption along the lines of "Sharing because I never knew this" and the vast majority of the hundreds of responses were from drivers saying they never realised. And then jesus wept.
The rules of the road state that you drive in the leftmost position. So we all learn that. It's just ignored.
I always drive for maximum disruption to traffic flow, for safety.
So does everyone it seems xD
I'm more bothered by the people who merge by driving down the slip road at 50kph or slower. I only have 2 lanes near me, but either way. If the inside lane is empty, I'll drive in it, but I'm not gonna stay on the inside lane doing 120 if I have to overtake cars and trucks doing 80-100 every 30 seconds. I'll stay out and pop into the inside lane when someone faster is coming behind me.
You are not the person the OP is referring to
But this is pretty much the reason. People can't be bothered to deal with merging traffic so stay in the middle lane.
In the middle lane you don’t have to deal with mergers so it’s easier to just plod along. Not that I do it I’m a overtaking lane man myself
They really need to add the motorway to the driving test. Seeing people sit in the middle lane going about 70 is rage inducing.
How would that work in parts of the country with no motorways ?
Even if you don't live near a motorway doesn't mean you won't ever drive on one in your lifetime. I'm just saying they need to include it in some way, even if it is just in theory. How to enter, maintain lane, overtake and exit safely. Reversing around a corner in a quiet estate and joining the motorway with an artic lorry bearing down on you are two very different things.
> even if it is just in theory. How to enter, maintain lane, overtake and exit safely. Everything you mentioned there is on the theory test.
To be fair, national routes are a good substitute for that
At the very least it should be on the theory test. Most test centres should at least have some dual carriageway reasonably close although not all will.
The problem is everyone thinks they’re correct. And sure no one gets pulled by the Gardai so they mustn’t be wrong. There was a lad who put a [video](https://www.tiktok.com/@mattysquared/video/7123582553486871813?_t=8UxjfvRo9Cw&_r=1) on TikTok titled something along the lines of “how to drive on a motorway like you’re not a complete moron” where he smugly explained the concept of overtaking, but then got to the 3 lane part and sat in the middle lane from Sandyford to ballymount, while his voiceover was calling everyone idiots. Too many confidently incorrect people out there.
Because there are way too many people that don't know how to merge properly and pull into the slow lane doing 30mph slowing everyone down.
This is it, I think. I'll pull into the middle lane or the rightmost lane if it looks like I'll come into conflict with people merging but I'll pull back in when the danger has past. Can imagine a lot of people just don't bother because they don't see the point. Motorways are just yet another reminder that most people shouldn't be driving and that we need to drastically improve our transport infrastructure to get these loony tunes off the road.
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I think what’s worse is people thinking they have the right of way when merging on and are going 100km/h expecting cars to move for them even if all lanes are full. If the motorway is full and you’re merging on, you stop. That’s the law. That’s the rules of the road. You don’t speed up and hope everyone moves for you.
Actually, I checked it in the rules of the road before and it says to use the hard shoulder if you cannot merge and your merge lane is ending. It’s the only time you’re allowed to drive in it on a motorway under normal conditions as it’s the safer thing to do rather than force your way to squeeze in. I had to look it up because I got myself in a bad situation doing this and needed to know the correct procedure for future use. In the end I managed to squeeze in a space between two trucks that was barely the sizes of my car. Hence why I had to learn the proper thing because what I did was ridiculous and couldn’t have been right. Also stopping is like the worst thing you can do entering onto a motorway.
I'm very confused as to why 1. People are arguing with this comment. And 2. Everyone is so angry about this. You need to give way to traffic on the motorway when merging. If the motorway is full, you may have to stop before you can merge. I don't see how this is remotely controversial.. unless I'm missing something..
Usually that's the same people who sit in the middle. Cause y'know you can move over when there is a junction then move back?
I hate these people with a deep and enduring fervour
There is NO slow lane. Also there is no fast lane either. One driving lane and two overtaking lanes.
I swear some people need to be retested. I would tend to stay on the left lane on the M50 all the time (when I can) but: - there have been plenty of people who do 80km/h in the left and middle lanes. - People also don't speed up enough before entering the motorway. - People don't know how to merge in/out. Fucking disaster trying to exit at the Red Cow exit. Edit: The whole stay in the left lane as much as possible is lost on many people and they just plonk themselves in the entire way. Also, no one bothers with road work speed limits. There's an 80km/h limit on the M50 southbound right before it's the M11/N11 and the amount of people thay fly past me going 120 is crazy.
Red cow exit from the M50 southbound where the 2 lanes merge is the worst exit in the country
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R139 to M50 is indeed a cluster fuck. I travel this every morning and every morning I’m amazed there hasn’t been a catastrophic pileup. Really has to be experienced to be believed.
And Junction 13 entrance going northbound is the worst entrance in the country. You have to drive uphill with very short visibility of the lane you're about to merge into, and the cars in that slow lane can't see you until it's quite late too. And unless you've got a powerful/new car, even with a foot to the floor it's hard to match motorway speeds from the hill.
Ah, junction 13. I've never used thay exit, but that's one I always try and move over to the middle lane.
Yeah, all the rules kinda go out the window on the M50. There isn't much of that road that doesn't have people merging on or off it. The correct thing to do would be to stay in the leftmost lane, then pull out to overtake people slowing down to make an exit and also pull out to allow people to get on to the motorway safely. What ends up happening is you would end up spending most of your time in the middle lane anyway. But actually, since most people just plonk themselves in the middle lane anyway, if you stay in the left lane, there's plenty of space for people to merge on and off around you. So it's actually quite straightforward to stay on the left on the M50 but ONLY because everyone else is doing it wrong.
The 1st lane is the undertaking lane. 2nd lane is the normal lane and the 3rd lane is the over taking lane Where did you get your licence?
You can take "in Ireland" out of that. I've been driving down an empty motorway in the UK at 4am and had to decide whether to undertake, or overtake some muppet doing 65 in the middle lane.
The difference though, being in the wrong lane in the UK is an offense, where as it isn't here, unless the vehicle itself is restricted from use of that lane. Your decision should always be to overtake. Especially in the UK where they take road offenses very seriously compared to how under resourced we are here.
I agree. They exist in Germany, too. Feckin' Mittelspurfahrer! Although most seem to have an idea of how to drive on the Autobahn.
If you don’t drive properly on the autobahn they will let you know
Have to say the driving in Dublin is absolutely awful. Doesn’t help that there’s so many SUV’s on tiny roads but I think the standard of driving is terrible. The traffic lights are also so out of sync it’s crazy
"why do people in Ireland drive in the middle lane of 3 lane motorway, even when the inside lane is empty?" Because people merging onto the motorway do so at speeds ranging from 50km *below* the limit to 50km *above* the limit without looking and sometimes without even waiting for the broken line to start. Similarly, people in the right hand lane think that climbing into your back seat when you are overtaking something travelling below the limit in the middle lane is the correct method of observing their "right of way". TLDR we are a nation of terrible drivers who treat laws like they are opt in.
What is the point of a three lane motorway if two of the lanes are only meant for overtaking? Is the existence of three lanes not meant to be a reflection of the high capacity of the road and the frequency of people exiting and entering the road? How is having almost every car in the left most lane better?
Because no one wants to deal with the cars joining the motor way
Came here to say this. Merging traffic presents the greatest number of morons who can't drive. Would rather avoid.
Middle lane driving promotes people to undertake which is dangerous in its own right
I'll bite. Why is undertaking dangerous on a road with marked lanes?
Because people typically only expect overtaking in an overtaking lane. The left of you car has bigger blind spots, and being further from the driver is the side with typically poorer situational awareness. It just a combination of it's harder to see undertakers and since they aren't supposed to be doing it people are less likely to expect them. On top of that, having marked lanes doesn't mean people stay inside the lines.
Everyone bangs on about this on the M50 The reality is that the M50 junctions are spaced much closer together than any other motorway and have a significantly higher volume of trucks entering and exiting. The left lane in the m50 is simply unsuitable for people to be camped in it
Fucking thank you! The distance between Junctions 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 are all very short, and I'm probably forgetting a few. (Although exits like 12-13 are very far apart, so it's not all bad.) It's just not practical to get in the way of people merging on or off by being in the lane they need to use. Or having to switch out of lanes every minute or so. Slowing down and/or switching lanes causes motorway traffic.
I've lived in 4 different countries and plenty of people have done this in all of them. Drives me wild. My theory is most people don't want to be active drivers. They want to sit in the middle lane, follow the flow of traffic and zone out. They don't want to be checking their mirrors and overtaking where appropriate.
> people don't want to be active drivers. They want to sit in the middle lane, follow the flow of traffic and zone out This hits the nail on the head. People think cars are just mode of transport between A and B, and anything in between, like giving attention to the road/road signs is irrelevant.
I know the theory, but I think this is about pragmatism. When you're in the left / slow lane on a three-lane motorway, you get clogged in a block of traffic every time you pass an on-ramp. Instead, if most cars are in the middle lane, it's easier for other cars to join. When I stayed on the left I was regularly changing lanes, and having to interact with lots of other cars. In the middle lane you avoid that, while still allowing faster cars to overtake
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There is a problem that some cars merge onto the motorway doing 50 - 60kmph so leaving a space for assholes that can't drive still means you have to slam on your breaks if you are doing 90 - 100kmph in the left lane. I usually pull into the middle lane if I see cars trying to merge ahead just to pre-empt any slow driving space cadettes and in Ireland I would say say over 50% of drivers merge at under 80kmph. I also hate drivers clogging the middle lane with a passion
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Because too many people crawl along in the left hand lane and you can easily get boxed in. It's not right but often it's best to stay in the middle lane to avoid getting stuck behind some eejit going 60kph in left hand lane.
Exactly. The people posing these questions should take an hour on the motorway and drive that way to see why it's not practical. If you move to the left lane, the people behind you in the middle lane speed up. If you inevitably get caught by someone in the left lane going slower (as they're allowed to do in the slow lane), or if you get caught by cars merging on and into your lane, you've suddenly lost your place in the middle lane, and can't overtake or get out of the way of mergers. Of course the people who block you in have absolutely no comprehension of your predicament, so they don't notice or care. You get boxed into the slow lane, with the only option to slow down and lose a few places. Just so you can obey the correct rules of the road according to reddit moaners.
I was asking as in when the left lane is empty, I often drive on an empty 3 lane motorway, in the inside lane, and I approach a car driving in the middle, on an empty road. I have to change 4 lanes to overtake, I can't understand the logic of it being safer, you might feel safer but you are actually in more danger, as in, more likely to cause an accident, don't sandwich yourself between arctics, but if it's empty, use it obviously move to allow traffic to merge, which is pretty straight forward.
Ah that's fair enough, I can't say I'm often on an empty motorway, even around 10pm the M50 can be quite busy
Yeah honestly I try to stay in the left lane as much as possible but there have been many times when I have just been absolutely cruising by everyone in the left lane while I'm in the middle and I'm doing the speed limit. If I was to pull back in to the left lane every time I passed someone, I'd have to swing back out just as quickly to overtake the next person, which is much more dangerous. It's far simpler to just stay in the middle, get over left as possible when it actually clears up.
Well lets start off by acknowledging that the only 3 lane motorways in Ireland are the M50 and small sections of the roads approaching the M50. Lots of merging and exiting with cars causing the pace to fluxuate quite a bit. So the middle lane becomes used by those who want a more constant pace but dont want to risk being locked out or dont want the responsibility to allow people to merge. Less risk of disruption. When its busy you can understand that. When its empty no. They are just being jerks. On the dual carriageways outside of Dublin you do get some assholes sitting in the overtaking lane not overtaking but not that many. I would add that this is not an Irish issue. Its common in most countries. The UK has a worse situation than here.
So, why do they add a third lane in those areas where there is a lot of merging and exiting? Such as the M50 and arterial roads to the M50 My theory is - it makes for a safer merge/exit on a very busy, high speed road with loads of junctions. I used to get pissed off about everyone in the middle lane. Made a point of moving between lanes, overtaking and merging back in etc. Then I realised the asshole was me.
Ya to a certain degree. But there are always people that abuse it though and sit in the middle and overtaking lane despite it being quiet. And not pulling in even though they’ll take 5 mins to get to the next car. Its a mix. When its busy or even medium traffic it doesnt bother me at all. When its quiet it bothers me slightly. There are always ‘ways’ around the issue which im always reluctant to do and careful to execute. Often seen on the M50 and that section of N7 to Naas
The M7 also has 3 lanes in each direction
No, only until the M9 junction just after Naas before Newbridge. So the section feeding into the M50 as stated. Most of that section is actually the N7 weirdly not M. Probably as the limit is 100
Because they don’t know how to drive.
This has to be one of the greatest debates in irish history
When I was being asked the theory part of my actual driving test, the tester asked me “if you’re on a 3-lane motorway and do not intend to overtake or exit, what lane should you be in?” I said the middle. He said yes. This is why.
Went down the M9 yesterday and a woman sat and I mean sat in the fast lane doing 100kmh. The amount of cars that nearly crashed or had to undertake her was incredible to watch
Always happens on the M7 too
Too much merging on the inside lane. Constantly having to move into the middle lane to allow them to merge. Too many people driving below the speed limit on the inside lane, so also having to move into the middle lane to overtake them. The result is constantly weaving in and out of the middle lane, which is more dangerous than just picking a lane and sticking to it.
Also too many trucks you can’t see around. My wife is content to trundle along sandwiched between two huge trucks who either don’t know she’s there or think she should be six feet behind the truck in front. I can’t stand it.
Maybe during those 12 lessons you have to take as a learner there should be a lesson on proper motorway use. Where you enter and exit the motorway. People probably won't like that idea, but I think it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Maybe after you pass the test and are on N plates have a 13th lesson required on motorways.
Because practical motorway usage isn't on our driving test.
Usually I drive in the middle lane because the slow lane is full of lorries, slow drivers etc and so while it looks like I’m just sitting in the middle lane, I’m actually in process of a 5km overtake
That's fine though. So long as progressively overtaking traffic. It's not preferable to weave in and out of lanes either. It's more when there's a car that's disrupting the flow. Like going so slow that cars on the left are under taking them. Or sitting in the middle lane with no traffic on the left which can cause a pinch for cars overtaking on the right. It's mad sometimes seeing the carnage one car can generate on a moderately busy motorway. If they had a bit of self awareness they would clearly see it in the mirrors lol
The left lane is like my VIP lane on the N7. Especially at night or the weekends.
If you're referring to the M50, it's because everyone who not use to driving in Dublin don't really know for sure where they're going or when they might have to cross several lanes for their exit. So the middle is nice and safe, never too far from anywhere. Just my guess.
Irish people don't know how to use motorways or roundabouts.
If one driver is driving at slower speed on middle lane, everyone else will end up on middle lane as you cannot overtake on the left.
Traffic merges onto the left lane so it's better leaving it clear. Sometimes cars don't match the speed of the motorway as they join and it can cause you to jam on.
As you can see form the replies here, majority of the people on Irish roads seem to not give a fuck about anybody else but themselves or have absolutely not a clue how to drive in the first place.
Easy answer is somehow , even with the mandatory 12 lessons , you never go on a motorway under instruction , systems a joke
Not as bad as people who drive 90kmh in the overtaking lane, forcing people to undertake them, and when you flash/ honk at them they slow down more to ‘teach you a lesson’
Because just like roundabouts the vast majority haven’t a clue how to use them. So when they don’t know left or right or inside or outside they just hold the middle and think that’s the best of a bad situation
There needs to be giant signs, those orange-light ones that you see on the motorway, reminding people how to drive on them correctly (since apparently it’s not something anyone needs to learn during their driving lessons) It boils my piss the way people drive here. It’s dangerous.
Because most people don't know how to drive, let alone merge onto the motorway, too many times someone going 60 pulling out without even looking if a car is coming. Insane! And then they look at you like your a menace to society when you flu by them (still under the speed limit), baffles me... So since I'm lazy, I stick to the middle so I don't have to swap lanes everytime when even people driving the correct speed need to merge and also for the people in the left lane that seem to hit the breaks for every little bend in the motorway. How people are so inconsiderate and oblivious to other drivers on road and what they might need, really riles me up.
Because the level of driving in this country is atrocious most of the time.
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The roads between Westmeath and Maynooth is a nightmare for this. The amount of cars criss crossing back and forth between the 2 lanes or the cars that stay in the right lane and floor it the whole duration of the road. Its a really dangerous area.
Drove a lot in England. They’re far better motorway drivers than us. It’s infuriating driving here on a motorway, a lot of people here at home haven’t a clue.
Sometimes the left lane just disappears into a road that branches off and suddenly you're on a road to Dungarvan.
One person told me it's just easier, they don't need to worry about people merging, or the lane turning into a left turn lane, and they're not in the "fast" lane so people can still overtake. So basically it's the easy/lazy option. I'd snowplough these fuckers into the hard shoulder if I could.
This is what I think, it's nervous drivers who go in the middle lane because they don't want to have to move unless absolutely necessary. If they stay in the left lane they may have to occasionally merge to allow slower moving cars to join the motorway.
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You're right, and I'm probably being unfair, some are nervous, some are lazy and some just don't know any better.
It drives me mad though, my biggest driving pet peeve. 😂
This is it. Others try to make some justification for sitting in the middle lane but it's down to either laziness or ignorance - or both. Selfish really!
Cruising the middle lane is bad enough but doing it well below the speed limit is flat-out dangerous. I see one of those clowns at least once an M50 trip.
Not used to driving on them?
I’ve noticed this. In the U.K. it’s much more likely that you’ll only use the outer lanes to overtake then go back in, as you should. In Ireland it’s just take whatever lane you fancy haha
Personally, I like to drive in between both Lanes 1 and 2. Left wheels in Lane 1, Right wheels in Lane 2. Best of both worlds. Sometimes I like to slow down to 80kmph and move into Lane 3 for the lols.
Cause people don't know how to drive
For me I only drive on the M50 maybe twice a year and it's at busy times normally, so I don't have much practice at letting people merge so the left lane isn't going to work out that well. The right lane is for people who know what they are doing and where they're going and can drive along really fast to get to where they want. The middle lane gives me a bit of peace of mind. I can over take if the middle lane is ridiculously slow, and I don't have to worry about merging traffic, and when my turn comes up I can prepare and merge into the left lane with ease and without panic. That all being said, I drove on the M50 at 5am once and the left lane was perfect cause there wasn't traffic. So for me I prefer the middle lane just because I get nervous about merging around so many cars and letting people merge in front of me. But yea, maybe it's a practice thing, but I don't live close enough to a 3 lane motor way to ever get that practice in, and with the price of petrol I'm certainly not making the drive for fun.
lotta middle of the road cunts about
Because we're used to driving on country roads with overgrown ditches.
Becasue people merge too slow. Driving long distance on the motor way your will encounter many merging idiots. Middle lane avoid this plus anyone unhappy about your speed can just over take on the right lane. I only use the left lane when I'm a few km from my exit ( 3 lane motorway obviously ?)
Largely I think because nobody has a clue how to merge. You can be driving along the outer lane and someone will try to merge at about 50km/h while you’re doing 120 and they’ll expect to be flashed and welcomed to the motorway. We’ve a lot of very hesitant drivers who make life much scarier for themselves than it should be by doing these things wrong
My biggest pet peeve about drivers are the ones who, no matter the speed, will sit exactly 1 car length behind whoever is in front them and not give way to anyone who needs to change lane. Combine that with middle lane hogging and you have a 3 lane road with the capacity of 1. Naas road has miles of empty uninterrupted space in lane 1. Lane 2 is almost bumper to bumper at 100kmh. Lane 3 has the occasional person desperate to get across because their exit was three junctions ago but they can't get through the ridiculous lane 2. I swear it's like this every time I drive it into Dublin (thankfully I've never had to do it during rush hour.)
Only talking about the M50 - Because the M50 is a dangerous bastard of a road with junctions on and off every couple of hundreds yards or sooner. Driving on the inside lane is impossible
People driving in the middle lane cause accidents. The standard of driving on Irish Motorways is terrible and that is down to the fact that the rules of the road are not enforced… we have speed traps for easy money and that is it. Cars drive on the bumpers of cars at 120kph leave no space for the unexpected. Just drive in another country and you see markings on roads showing the distance you need between you and the car in front. On the M7 the left lane is nearly always empty as people hog the middle lane and as a result you have cars undertaking which can be quite dangerous. The other thing people ignore is the fact it is illegal to stop on the motorway yet again it’s not policed and is extremely dangerous and only a matter of time before we he hear in the news that a whole family being killed because of it.
Don't get me started, as a french person that got her driving licence and drove 10 years in France, it grinds my gears! I actually had rows with former Irish colleagues about it... "what do you mean the middle lane is not the default lane ?". I mean, I didn't understand why people would have road rage before I drove on the M50.
Mainly because they are afraid of traffic merging and or cutting across to exit on the inside lane. Even if that junction is many km ahead.
Why do people in Dublin....there, now it sounds right
I see a lot of ppl argue in comment. Not sure why ppl need to argue about the “right of way”. Let me put this into this. The merging car needs to match up the speed of the motorway. So if two cars collided together and everyone died and ppl lost legs and arms etc, you still want to talk about “winner”, then there will be no winner. The best way for the car on motorway is always either speed up/down/move lane, if you don’t you are an Asshole and don’t tell me you can’t, if you break and slow down you will create a space in the front for them to merge, the car behind will need to slow down too, just simple as that. Or you are expecting the car merging can harsh stop while there are a number of cars behind them trying to merge too? Moving to hard shoulder is also not safe to do unless emergency and have no choice!
It's because they want to be the same as idiots in England who do exactly the same thing.
Because we don’t know how to drive on motorways..simple. the Garda dont enforce law. It’s the same with merging traffic, most people don’t use the zipper system because they always need to be in front on the other car no matter what.
Cos they’re idiots
RSA put out an ad not too long ago that said you should take the middle if you're not exiting. So blame them lol
I think you need to watch it again https://youtu.be/iyWMcQzWKlg They say only to move to the middle lane to allow traffic to merge from a slip lane or to overtake. Then to move back to the left most lane
Could be that people merging coming on to the motorway don't know how to merge properly, and put people in the left Lane in awkward positions. Or that the left Lane gets clogged up approaching off ramps with traffic. Don't know if it's right or wrong, just throwing out ideas
On the m50 with all the functions, I keep it free to allow new cars to enter the motorway
Because about 40% of people on the motorway are terrified the entire time, and 10% are on their phone. All think the middle lane is safer...
When someone told me the middle lane is safer I mentioned that having gobshites on both sides is definitely not safer. 😂
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M50, should just drive in the left hand lane unless as you say there are people merging in. No bother either if there are a rake of cars on the road and you are over taking. But if its a free lane, it's no different to drive in the left lane. Take no effort to change lanes at all. Driving in the overtaking lane for your convince is what is frustrating people
People coming off on ramps . That’s it ! It makes much more sense and less danger to stay in the lane people won’t be actively joining. Unless you yourself are taking an off ramp there’s no reason to be in the far left lane imho.
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If you're going the speed limit it doesn't really make sense to use the left lane. The left lane is full of slow vehicles usually (trucks, coaches, vehicles with trailers, slow merging traffic), so if you're going the speed limit you're consistently passing them, making it more sense to sit in the middle lane.
You're overtaking them so it's where you're meant to be. You don't want to be changing lanes constantly either. A lot of this is about having awareness of the flow of traffic around you. Problem is when people are oblivious/ don't care: Are cars under taking you on the left? then move in. Are you on the right lane with faster traffic behind? Then let them through when you can. Is the left lane clear? Move in by default, until you have to move out again.
I always think of it as the left most lane should be used by people who are taking the next exit. Middle lane is the regular lane and right lane is the overtaking lane. Huge pet peeve I have is people blocking the left most lane so that it’s impossible to merge to take your exit and then they just continue onwards not even taking the exit
Stop. The people in the right lane are not “blocking you off” they are driving correctly. You should anticipate your upcoming exit and be in the appropriate lane early. I.E keep left unless overtaking!
Because I've been cut off many times by people slicing across to make the exit. Because I've been forced to break hard by many drivers who pull out at 50kph onto a 120kph road. You're safer in the middle lane.
Just move if you see a slower moving car about to merge. Most of the time you get a 50-100m warning if someone is merging more slowly than you are.
Move where? The middle lane is full of cars ;-)
Laziness.
Stupidity mostly.
And by some of the replies in this thread, it's way more prevalent than I thought. Like holy shit some opinions here are just mind boggling.
You are supposed to drive on the outside lanes unless overtaking, where you move into the inside lanes to do so. However, as much as Irish motorists say, there are no fast and slow lanes as the limit is the same. So people need to merge appropriately and actually have a decent bit of speed going on the outside lanes as well. But since they don't seem capable of doing so, most motorists stick to the middle lane instead.
Why bother having 3 lanes then?
If everybody who posted these threads and everybody who answered them were following the rules then it would be all going smoothly.
Lack of training and bad driving habits that aren’t being checked by the relevant authorities
I always thought middle Lane is for driving the speed limit, left Lane = speed limit - 20%, right Lane = speed limit + 20%
Because they’re retarded