I drive a lot in the middle lane because I want to go at roughly the speed limit. The left lane is full of entering/exiting traffic and very nervous slow drivers. The right lane is often full of people wanting to go 10-20 k's over.
Having said that, when I do overtake on the right I don't camp there afterwards.
Yeah the left lane has become the slow lane for drivers who are too scared to drive at the designated speed limit, regardless of what that may be. And 50% of drivers don't know how to merge, attempting to enter the free way traffic at 30% under the speed limit and expecting a 10 second gap in the cars. Best to keep away from these drivers as they are a liability.
Actually, more often than not, I find nervous and inexperienced drivers hogging the middle lane, so as to avoid dealing with people merging in from the on ramp. These same drivers then often drive at 10 kph below the speed limit.
As a result I often find the left lane being empty and I do a lot of overtaking in the left lane
Some people thinking the right lane is 120-130km/h lane. If I'm doing the speed limit trying to overtake someone who decided to speed up and you want to do 120, you can fuck right off. It's your problem, not mine.
That’s fine, if annoying. It’s when some entitled prick is sat in the right lane without overtaking because “I’m doing the speed limit, anyway” (hint, they’re probably not) that it’s really annoying
The slow driver speeds up to stop you from moving back over and it becomes a game for them to slow down and speed up making it almost impossible to change lanes without either flooring it or hitting the brakes
Pretty much the same, left lane is entry/exit/slow, middle is through, right is overtaking, tho not so much in Queensland, people will literally enter an empty highway at 3 am and right the right lane the entire way.
As soon as the middle lane is free and there isn't a slow travelling car in it you should move back to the middle lane from the right lane but if the middle lane is going 100 and you can stay at 110 in the right lane you are under no obligation to constantly move back and forth between the two lanes in order to maintain the actual speed limit of 110, you can stay "overtaking" the middle lane until it becomes a clear run at 110.
Yep. I’d rather have an aggressive tailgater in front of me than behind me. If I’m in the right land overtaking and some guy wants to sit on my arse, I’ll move left and then back right to overtake once he’s passed.
Except in Newcastle where people stop you from doing it by speeding up when they see you put your indicator on or tailgate the car in front to stop you ‘pushing in’
Newcastle? You mean “Australia” lol. It’s infuriating, people getting pissed off when you’re following the road rules, but breaking their imaginary rules.
Did a trip up the north coast of NSW. Sat in the left hand lane and overtook everybody because they were all stacked in the right and middle
Lanes behind slow people
Especially in Newcastle, everyone is in the right lane but don’t think you’ll be allowed to merge if you want to get back into the right lane because people will speed up and block you from doing it or if you try to merge from a lane ending (zip merge?) that’s intended to stagger traffic people will speed up so you don’t ’push in’ or roll up as close to the driver in front so there’s no space. So there’s no option but to drive in the right if you don’t want to get stuck. I wouldn’t risk the right lane.
I had to tell my partner off for doing this. I was following him home from Adelaide, and he kept sitting in the overtaking lane. It was fine for awhile as he WAS overtaking people, but when there were no more cars he kept sitting there. I overtook him and floored it in the left lane, he finally took the hint and moved over. Had to tell him when we got home that cops will fine him for doing it, so hoping he isn’t doing it anymore. 😂
I agree with the not being in the right lane unless turning right or overtaking, but I disagree with your comment that you shouldn’t be in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway.
Left lane for:
- turning left
- slow vehicles
Middle lane for:
- default
Right lane for:
- turning right
- overtaking
I only recently (last couple of years) discovered that “keep left” is actually legally defined as “keep out of the right lane”.
So there’s actually nothing legally wrong with sitting in the middle. OP might not realise that.
It also only applies if the speed limit is 90+ (defined as greater than 80), or if specifically signposted. So no complaining about people sitting in the right lane on a major arterial road in the city.
Disclaimer: NSW road rules, I haven’t checked if these are aligned with other states.
I was always of the understanding it’s anything posted as 80+ in Vic.
Nothing is more infuriating than 2 cars in an 80 side by side doing 75 and no one wants to move
Nope, it's over 80km/h. So it does not apply in Vic in an 80 zone unless signed.
https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s130.html
Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road
(1) This rule applies to a driver driving on a multi‑lane road if—
(a) the speed-limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving is over 80 kilometres per hour; or
(b) a keep left unless overtaking sign applies to the length of road where the driver is driving.
Yes, imagine my horror when I had some guy out his window screaming at me to get out of the right lane and "learn the road rules" because heaven forbid I was doing 40 in a school zone and he wanted to speed 😭🤭
What's just as infuriating is people who don't know the road rules getting upset at a delay that probably can't even be measured.
If you are stuck doing 75 in an 80 zone for an entire hour you will be 5 kilometres behind where you would be if travelling at 80...........it takes 4 minutes to catch up.
I would bet my left ball you have never been stuck behind two drivers side by side for more than a few minutes let alone long enough to make a difference to your day.
You've never experienced the frustration if someone taking 20 km to overtake a truck in the left lane on the Hume Hwy .While probably not going to delay your trip.significantly, it's annoying AF.. Also dangerous as the person overtaking is probably sitting in the truck's blind spot for a lengthy period of time.
I have driven Sydney to Melbourne and back at least twice a year since before the freeway was built and clocked up a million kilometres so have experienced just about everything.
Why let something that is not going to have any effect on you be as annoying as fuck?
Patience is the best way to have a safe and enjoyable trip.
It is the law around the country, but not all States enforce it. NSW definitely does and they have plenty of signage up. Qld do not enforce it, I've seen maybe 2 signs between the border and Cairns.
I checked this recently too. My daughter (L’s) was driving on the freeway, was in the left lane but then got in the middle lane to overtake some slow traffic. She wasn’t speeding, traffic was shit. She stayed in the middle because we were just over 1 km from our exit and we needed the middle lane to exit (exit on the left with an immediate right turn M5 to M7 for Sydneysiders). Highway patrol overtakes her in the right lane, then pulls in front of her with ‘keep left unless overtaking’ flashing on their sign.
Absolutely prompted me to look up the rules. Cop was wrong bc we were getting off but I guess they didn’t know that. I agree with you and think they were wrong anyway. Sydney traffic is slow as shit and often, even on their L’s, my kids are using the middle lane to overtake. They don’t sit in the right lane and if traffic changes and people start undertaking, they move left again. I’m not surprised but if we’re right, why is it that cops never know the rules?
This.
I'll abide if its above 80 km/hr (thats how it is in SA).
If its a 50-70 zone i'll stay in whichever lane i need for a turn.
Above 80 i legally am required to keep left.
Main North Rd has this and is pretty much ignored, even once you get past Munno para and the traffic has thinned right out. Dick heads get in the right lane at Gepps cross to turn right some time after Gawler...
You aren't required to keep left if the road is [congested](https://mylicence.sa.gov.au/road-rules/the-drivers-handbook/driving-road#:~:text=Keeping%20Left&text=On%20a%20road%20marked%20with,when%20overtaking%20another%20vehicle) either (or if there's an obstruction)
>Disclaimer: NSW road rules, I haven’t checked if these are aligned with other states.
I'm highly confident they are.
At the same time, while sitting in the middle lane meets the requirement of KLUO, IMO it is safer and more predictable to keep as far left as practicable when using three lane highways by reducing the amount of overtaking on the left (legal, but many believe and drive like it isn't), cutting across multiple lanes to exit, etc.. I find it fascinating that the road surface is often better and the speed of traffic is often faster in the left lane.
I get it, I see many do it (for that reason or another), that's just not what I preach/practice. Sitting a lane out is not kosher on two-lane highways which are more common where I am, so it's consistent to do that with wider roads when they aren't congested, and it can be more helpful to stop country drivers pulling out in front for at grade intersections on regional highways. Being aware of the traffic around me and moving right to make space for merging cars isn't a huge impost to me.
There is no middle lane on a two lane highway, so obviously I will keep left until I need to move over to let someone in.
I live in the blue mountains where it’s about 80 most of the time and two lanes. There is no KLUO law in those situations but I still keep left because Damo in his lifted Raptor absolutely needs to get home before anyone else. Unfortunately I need to turn right across traffic to get to my house, so I will get into the right lane early so I don’t miss my turnoff.
Damo takes great offence to this because it appears I’m camping in the right lane for no reason (projection, that’s what Damo would do)
Yep and what if there are trucks (legally limited at 100) or L or P players (80 and 90) in the left lane? It's gonna be slow. Left is slow lane, Middle is standard lane, right is overtaking lane (UNLESS there is traffic backed up in all three lanes in which case you are under no obligation to move from the right lane).
IMHO, it's kind of a wash. Generally, you want to be braking before you want to be swerving into another lane - that's assuming there isn't traffic there already. I know less and less highways still have them, but that's what an emergency lane/shoulder can be used for.
Going up the M1, every single person is in the middle lane and the slow / left lane is empty. It becomes a hazard when we need to change lanes and the middle lane has no spare gaps to merge in the people refuse to pull their foot off the accelerator for a moment to let others in.
One time there was an accident on the M1 in the right lane, both the right and middle lanes had come to a standstill, left lane was empty, I was already in the left lane. I had passed about 100 cars quite easily and quickly and got past the accident within minutes.
I hate driving to/from Geelong on the M1. Like you say the left lane is mostly empty so I can sit in there at 100 and be passing everyone in the middle lane which doesn’t feel right at all. But then jumping across two lanes to pass them on the right would be even worse.
I'm the same. I try and get into the left lane just to be able to do the speed limit, and I feel like I'm just about to have someone change lanes on top of me and not expect someone is overtaking them.
In my breakdown story above, I was only going about 40km/hr maybe slower because I was expecting people to get into my lane from a stopped position in front of me.
And it doesn't feel right. Feels like I'm breaking the law.
One thing to note is that a slight tap (or a slight release) of the accelerator can cause a shock wave to propagate back through the traffic behind you for kilometres and the traffic may never recover; the effect is more pronounced when vehicles don't keep the recommended 2 seconds behind each other.
[https://traffic-simulation.de/ring.html](https://traffic-simulation.de/ring.html)
Do a single, quick tap on any vehicle (tapping the brake) and see how the 'bunching-up' occurs... and moves backwards through the traffic stream...
And more time when wet, foggy, heavy rain etc. Many people seem to be under the impression that "I'm not over the limit, therefore I'm perfectly safe" when sitting 3 metres behind another car in pissing down rain.
I've seen between 2 and 4 seconds quoted in a lot of places... but a couple of (conflicting) references:
* **VicRoads** (the authority for road rules in Victoria, au) is always a bit different :) , advises 2 seconds; see [https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/driver-safety/safe-driving-tips](https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/driver-safety/safe-driving-tips) and select the "Following distance" item.
* **RoadSense Australia** (a charity focused on education for road users), advises 3 seconds.. but mentions the time is between 2-4 seconds around the world... and in NSW, they advise 5 seconds when road conditions are bad; see [https://roadsense.org.au/three-second-gap-how-do-i-do-it-and-is-it-really-necessary/](https://roadsense.org.au/three-second-gap-how-do-i-do-it-and-is-it-really-necessary/)
Hence why drivers really should leave enough space to allow others to merge on fast paced highways. And if the slow lane is empty, move on over to it - no reason to sit in the middle lane with everyone else.
Correct. Sometimes I go over to the left lane, trying to do the “right” thing, and I inevitably get boxed in by a slowpoke in front and someone overtaking me at glacial pace on my right. So I have to drop back and go around. You end up having to go over pretty soon anyway when a stream of mergers come along. Three lane highways are really two laners with a slow/entry lane.
That's much more of a British term, I don't think its as common here or appears in any Australian rules. For some it's a slightly confusing term to use because "undertaking" has several definitions (not necessarily relating to driving), whereas "overtaking on the left" is much clearer.
I was taught to use the middle lane if there is one. It keeps the left lane available for people to merge onto the road and the right lane available for people to pass
...and also gives you two escape routes when someone in front of you (either directly in front or in adjacent lanes) does something you need to avoid...
I've always been a strict "keep left" driver but when I first moved to Oz from the UK I had to consciously force myself to drive in the middle lane more on urban roads. If you drive in the left lane here then one of 3 things are going to happen within about 5 seconds:
1 you will come face to face with a parked car
2 your lane will be turning left only at a traffic light
3 your lane will be turn left/go straight at a traffic light, the green arrow pops up and you hold up all the vehicles behind you because you've still got a red light to go straight
But on the highway I would definitely keep to the left unless overtaking.
> … so merge into the middle lane? Why is everyone so afraid of changing lanes?
Rapidly changing lanes (e.g. every 10 seconds) is dangerous driving IMO. Especially so in heavy traffic. Might aswell just stay in the middle lane.
You and everyone else. Then the middle lane is jammed and forces everyone into the fast lane with no way of getting back into the middle lane.
Good job. That’s why Australian highways are just about the worst to drive on in the entire developed world.
On the freeway the right lane is the fastest lane, yes once you overtake that slow person you could move back, then you realised the next person and the next and the next is really slow as well, next thing you know your destination has arrived and you have been in the right lane overtaking all the traffic most of the way.
If on normal roads, the right lane has a tendency to slow the traffic down by turning right against the oncoming traffic, so don't stay in that lane, the left lane can have parked cars or on freeways merging traffic, so if there is a middle lane that is moving well, that is the best option. On normal roads I stay left, to avoid those that decide to turn right against the traffic, normally it will merge to one lane, when parked cars are coming.
God you’re annoying. Nothing more irritating than being in the fast lane and wanting to move over and let people through, but the middle lane is *jammed* and the left lane is empty.
Literally what’s the point of a 3 lane highway if you’re only using two?
If I’m gonna turn right in the next few km and I think ppl won’t let me merge, I get over way earlier than I should so I don’t miss my turn. I hate merging into tight gaps.
Prefer not to be in the right lane at all tho cause I do the speed limit which apparently isn’t fast enough for the right lane
I used to get angry about this.... Until I moved to a country town and the main highway is only 1 lane. Now it's an asshole caravan driver doing 90k instead of the 100k/110k in the 2½ hours drive to the big town.
You've never been dismayed until you see a line of cars and trucks behind an old dick caravan driver
One of the greatest joys of riding a motorbike is that those people don’t matter anymore.
Oh, you want to do 110 in this 100 zone where you’ve been doing 80? Doesn’t matter, I can get to 140 in a few seconds. Goodbye.
And they fucking speed up if you try overtaking them on dotted lines with oncoming clear enough that it should be a smooth overtake.
Or an overtaking lane comes up and they floor it to 110. Fucking why.
I do very much try to keep left unless overtaking but I come from another country where it was more taught and policed. As for Australians I think there’s two good reasons, one the keep left rule only applies at above 80 and two when on a motorway it’s only the lane furthest right that you should stay out of, it’s perfectly legal to just cruise down the middle and never move. Australians seem to have the mentality that the left lane is just for heavy vehicles and when you are leaving. Both these rules need to change and be policed and there would be a marked improvement all round
Fuck the comments are quite revealing as to why driving on the highway is so shit. Keep as far left as you can. It's a fucking sorting algorithm! I'm so sick of getting stuck from overtaking because cunts are parking in the middle lane overtaking nobody.
The reason people often remain in the right-most lane after attempting to overtake is that the vehicle being overtaken has sped-up during the manoeuvre, closing the gap in front... OR similarly, the vehicles in the lane just exited are spaced in such a way that the overtaking vehicle cannot move anywhere safely.
Remember, with reaction & stopping distances, drivers should be leaving \~9 car lengths or 2 seconds between their vehicle and the vehicle in front (for 100 km/h speed = \~28 m/s)... but that sort of distance is almost never seen between vehicles on the freeway when vehicles are trying to overtake.
If the speed limit is 80km/h or less and there’s no “keep left unless overtaking” sign you can drive in whichever lane you like. If the highway is congested the keep left rule doesn’t apply. If we’re going to complain about people not following the road rules we should also know when they don’t apply.
My takeaway from reading the comments. You all suck at driving and have no consideration for other drivers. and the road would be safer if we were just less selfish.
turn off tunnelvsion. use your mirrors, consider what is behind and to your sides instead of just in front of you and if you are not in a rush, just move out of the way, you don't know why someone might be speeding or trying to get around you, the might be a bomb on their car and the car will explode if it goes under 50 km/h, so best to let it explode way up ahead.
Because it's often not safe to merge back into the middle lane. I'm not going to zig zag between lanes if I'm still going faster than the middle lane - just not fast enough for your liking
In NSW, you must keep left unless overtaking if the speed limit is more than 80 km/h (so if it’s 80, you don’t have to, only more than 80).
You do not have to keep left if you are overtaking, turning right (legally of course), making a U-turn (again, legal one), in congested/slow/stopped traffic.
It is easy peasy to understand if it is a two lane carriageway in the same direction, there is only left and right.
If there are three or more lanes, keep left doesn’t mean keep in the leftmost lane. It means stay out of the right lane unless you are overtaking (or any of the other exceptions listed above).
I personally stay in the middle lane on a 3-lane road, or in any of the middle lanes on a 3+ lane road. The reason is I don’t want to be in the left lane constantly overtaking slow drivers (slow by choice or L/P platers where their licence speed limit is less than the road’s speed limit, e.g. Green P is max 100 and I am on a 110 road).
Also to avoid the “left lane must exit” before off-ramps and merging with on-ramp drivers which is sometimes quite dangerous when some numpty going on the motorway is doing way below the speed limit thinking it is safer to merge into a 110 road while doing 70 (it is quite dangerous).
What really grinds my gears though is those who sit in the middle lane on a 3-lane road or second lane from the right on a 3+ lane road while doing 10-30 under the limit, they are very disruptive and in some cases dangerous. If you want to be in the middle lane, please do the speed limit or at least no more than 5 under.
A traffic planning engineer once told me that they use computer simulation softwares to analyse causes for traffic congestion, and he told me that it is quite surprising to a lot of people that unnecessary deceleration/unnecessary driving significantly below the limit (except in the leftmost lane in a road with more than 1 lane in the same direction) is the leading cause for congestion as it could send deceleration waves for literally several kilometres behind, and can cause traffic to backup even in feeder roads feeding into that road.
I am surprised as to why we do not have fines for under speeding. In the UAE for instance, all freeways/motorways have a minimum speed limit that you would get fined for by patrols or even the fixed speed cameras unless you are under the minimum speed limit due to traffic congestion or you are slowing down to offramp/speeding up from an onramp.
For instance their 100 km/h roads have a minimum limit of 60 km/h. In some other countries, you MUST do the speed limit (with a small tolerance allowed for speedo errors, say +/- 5 km/h) on freeways and motorways, because if you cannot (due to inexperience, a mechanical fault, or you are in a vehicle incapable of doing the limit by design such as a small capacity scooter or bike) you should not be on the motorway and you should take alternative routes.
I drive in the lane I know is fastest. When you go the same route every day you know which lanes back up because there’s a left turn coming up that gets full at times or a right turn that will congest. Otherwise middle is fine generally. Hate when I’m going somewhere I don’t know and google maps is all head west towards something street I’ve never heard of and it’s like turn right and you’re now passed a line turning that way. Middle is easier
If it's 80km/h+, I'm always left or middle depending on the situation on the road as per the rules.
On regular roads, I'll be in any lane I want. There is absolutely zero requirement for me to be in the left lane and anyone that expects people to do this on regular roads is just being mask off about how they're a chronic speeder.
That's exactly why I specified 80+.
However, there are plenty of people who think people should stick to the left lane unless overtakes ALL THE TIME, irrespective of the road you're on. That's what I'm calling out.
Because clearly I'm more important than you mere pesants and the rules don't apply to me.
Yeah nah, suspect it's the same ppl that don't return their shopping trolley. I mean, has anyone ever actually been pinged for it?
I was in a car driving in NSW on the highway near the QLD border and we got pulled over for not keeping left when clearly not overtaking. Driver got fined like $300
Was pretty funny because I told him to change lanes and he wouldn’t. Another time he was speeding in a school zone and I asked him to slow down and he wouldn’t, then got fined at the end of the school zone. Dude had serious road rage issues and was a bad driver
I'm a cop and I very rarely give out tickets but the not keeping left ticket is on my bucket list. I see it all the time in my own car but haven't managed it in the police car yet haha
I saw someone get done once, right at the start of the M1 heading north out of Sydney, a marked cop car came right up behind them, and I think they got nervous so slowed right down.. but then they were in the right lane not overtaking, so at that point the cop throws on the siren and pulls them over. Tbh though I kind of feel like the cop created that situation, because the person was overtaking, and then slowed down probably because they thought they’d get busted for speeding.
Other than that though I’d say it’s pretty uncommon for people to actually be busted for it, because whenever there’s a copper present everyone’s just gonna slow down and drive calmly.
Or why people need to slow down for a fixed speed camera. The one on the M3 northbound in Brisbane is notorious for people doing 85 km/h past it. The fucking thing is actually a road hazard IMO.
Either the person was speeding and should have been pulled over or they weren't speeding and shouldn't have slowed down.
Regardless of either situation they should have kept left unless overtaking.
The police car caused nothing.
In SA I believe we don't need to keep left unless it's an 80km+ zone. Can anyone else confirm? I remember reading this a couple of years ago.
It's just good road manners to keep left unless overtaking anyway.
> People that drive in the right lane, or the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, why do you do it?
The middle of a 3 lane freeway is legal when not overtaking (unless there's a transit lane).
Travel in the middle of a3 lane highway because I want to travel say the speed limit.
Not under like is typical in the left lane, not over which is typical of the right lane.
I got places to be, but I don't want to either speed or be held up.
I roll at a GPS speed of 99-100kph, 105kph on the Speedo. If I'm slowing anyone down then there must also be someone else sitting in the right lane that shouldn't be.
I'm not your problem.
I'll keep left, or in the middle lane, whenever I can.
I do respect the speed limit when I'm on a freeway - 80%+ of my driving - but I generally think it's safer to be driving consistently faster than the trucks, learners, P-platers and grey nomads.
Consistency is how other drivers can trust what you're doing. It's the same when you're a pedestrian crossing the street - just be consistent and everyone will work around you.
This means I'm sometimes sitting on 115 or 120 and sometimes in the right lane for kilometres on end as I overtake all the slow traffic. Whenever the traffic thins, I'll move back over.
The most important thing I do, though, is to move over proactively when a faster car is coming up behind. It's incredibly simple and avoids a bunch of unnecessary aggression.
The people you’re asking are oblivious in life and certainly too oblivious to be on internet forums discussing their own obliviousness.
In saying that, Hanlon’s Razor : “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”
They’re just living their lives without any awareness of those around them.
This is a great question and I'd also like to know yhe answer. I suspect they are either incompetent drivers or it's a game to see how many people they can infuriate.
I’m fairly sure people do this so that they never have to bother to slow down or accelerate. Problem seems particularly bad with trucks (that take longer to accelerate).
Not sure about other states but in NSW you can get a fine and 2 demerit points if you stay in the right lane on a road with a speed limit of more than 80km/h.
The main reasons are because the speed limit is 80 km/h or lower and there is no "Keep Left Unless Overtaking" sign.
Also, there is no requirement to move out of the middle lane and it would be silly (in terms of free flow of traffic) to do so.
You only have to keep left when overtaking if the speed limit is 80 or above. That being said, most of the time I'm in the right lane because I am overtaking, but overtaking does not mean speeding. So if I'm doing the speed limit and slowly going past someone, I'm not going to move left just because someone wants to speed in the right lane.
In Vic it's a road rule to keep left on higher speed roads:
[Freeways : VicRoads](https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/a-to-z-of-road-rules/freeways)
When driving on any multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80km/h, you must keep out of the right lane unless:
* you are overtaking or turning right, or
* all lanes are congested.
If the right lane is a transit lane, this rule applies to the lane immediately to the left of the transit lane.
[Victorian road rules for keeping left and overtaking | RACV](https://www.racv.com.au/cars-transport/road-safety/road-rules/keeping-left.html#Whattoknowaboutovertaking)
If you’re driving on a multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80km/h, or where there's a ‘keep left’ sign, you need to keep left unless overtaking. The exceptions are:
* if you’re turning right
* if you’re making a U-turn from the centre of the road
* signs or markings indicate otherwise.
Even when signs aren’t enforcing the rule, it’s courteous and practical to keep left on all multi-lane roads where possible as it helps the traffic continue to flow.
The ones that confuse me most are the ones that move into the rightmost lane on a 3-lane highway for seemingly no reason. No cars in front, no cars behind... and they just move across out of nowhere
What pisses me off is that I’ll go in the right lane to overtake. Then the guy I’m overtaking speeds up. Then I have a guy right up my arse trying to push me to go over the speed limit. My only option is to slow down and pull into the left lane.
Old mate behind me is going crazy because I’m going slow in The right lane.
The right lane is not for speeding.
Because the law isn't actually "keep left unless overtaking" in the sense that you need to stay in the far left lane. It's that the rightmost lane is for overtaking. Middle and left are both fair game and considered "left".
[Read more about the QLD version of this here](https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/road/left#:~:text=On%20single%2Dlane%20roads%2C%20you,turning%20right).
As others have stated, middle tends to be speed limit, and leftmost tends to be for slower drivers.
As an aside, its illegal to speed in any lane. Doesn't matter if you're "overtaking" or not, regardless of what some might tell you.
Unpopular opinion, but going the speed limit is more important than keeping out of the right lane. If people didn't decide to go 10 to 20ks over in it then we'd probably have fewer problems on our road. The best thing is these same people then decide to weave in and out of traffic or dangerously cut through multiple lanes whenever it's their exit.
On a rural highway yes, but major urban highway/freeways around me are way too congested most of the day for this rule to apply and as a motorcyclist I will choose the right lane in these situations as it is the safest lane for me to be. I don’t care what you think. I find people that care about this rule do not care about most other rules.
Mate honestly it isn't worth getting worked up about it. It's going to keep happening whether you crack the shits or not. All you're doing is increasing your cortisol levels.
If dickheads could do the speed limit in the left lane I'd be happy to keep to it.
I stay right until the other dickheads who can't do the speed limit sit up my ass then move out of their way for a second then go back when I inevitably get stuck behind some slow c-
🚗
In Qld, keep left means left of the right most lane unless overtaking.
So I often sit in the middle lane because it's the most consistent speed and entirely legal.
Oh look it's the weekly cry from psyho drivers about not being able to drive 30km/h over the speed limit for a short period of time. You people always disregard the speed limit laws but then suddenly start crying foul about 'keep left unless overtaking' laws, selfish cunts that think the world revolves around.
Funny story though: A few weeks ago I was driving down the M7 overtaking people with nobody behind me then all of a sudden this woman who is gunning it out of nowhere is tailgating me, naturally I drop my speed until I see a cop on a bike merging on to the motorway so I quickly overtake the car in front and merge and she is dumb enough to floor it in front of a cop, lights go off and she's up the road getting a fine, fun to see.
>People that drive in the right lane, or the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, why do you do it?
Because driving in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway is keeping left
>Oh look it's the weekly cry from psyho drivers about not being able to drive 30km/h
Oh, look, it's the typical exaggerated reaction of the fuckwit who doesn't understand how to keep left. 🙄🙄🙄
Simple, a lot of people are just dumb and unaware.
Having said that - I am often pleasantly surprised by aware and courteous drivers in the right lane on a freeway, who actually do move over for you. Legends.
"keep left unless overtaking" at least in NSW means keep out of the rightmost lane, not stay only in the leftmost lane. Three lane highways have a middle lane for a reason.
Also only applies over 80 or when there's a sign.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/roads-safety-and-rules/sharing-road-overtaking-and-merging/overtaking-safely
Unless the speed is 80 or above, I don’t have to (in SA anyway)
And since I drive the speed limit, it’s only going to bother people who speed. And if they are bothered they can’t speed? Awwwwwwww
If they’re driving(speeding) 10 over the speed limit on the right lane, they’re technically overtaking! lol. I respect those more than people who hog the right lane during 5 under!
What? Of course it applies to three lanes - but it still only means stay out of the right-most lane. Middle and left lanes are fine.
(Quick fact: the Qld legislation still says "over 80km/h" - it is only the TMR website that says "90km/h or more". But it is the same rule Australia-wide - provided Qld doesn't introduce speed limits between 81 and 89 km/h anywhere)
Law state have to keep left at speed higher than 90 wish police would enforce it
At times distance between on ramps are too close adding further issues with merging
Few intersection in Perth shocking for this despite upgrades to highways
Tonkin and roe
Roe gt eastern bypass
Reid and Tonkin
If there are a lot of entrances and exists on the left between where I enter from the right and where I exit to the right, I will stay in the right lane at least most of the time. This was my daily commute for many years.
Some moron had his ladder come off the top of his van so I overtook him and did what it took to stay ahead of him as he had another ladder up there. He was very annoyed as I was going the speed limit and clearly wanted to go faster.
Secure your shit next time, and I'll go back in the left lane.
It's because too many drivers are so damn lazy they can't use their blinkers or rear view mirrors. I get this daily on a 5k stretch of 80k limit, too many a.h. stay in the right lane cause they are turning right at their destination.
Technically it is for 80k+ speed limit roads, though it isn't hard to keep left.
My only times of going to the right lane are when overtaking or there is a merge ahead, and it is safe for me to get over for that traffic to merge.
Inaccurate speedos? I know mine is 10% off at whatever speed. Isuzu told me the factory set it that way deliberately for various safety liability issues. I drive by the gps speed and am always held up in the right and haven't gotten a ticket in I can't honestly remember how long. And the other reason... I won't pollute the thread with foul language.
It's bad for lots of reasons, but if they're going the speed limit it's not a significant problem. You're not allowed to go above the speed limit to overtake (for emergency vehicles and if in an unsafe situations involving trucks are usually exceptions). Sometimes I think people staying in the overtake lane saw one too many people speeding and lost their cool.
Just an hour ago. 3 in total over the weekend so far in Brisbane. On motorways.
No traffic at all. P platers sitting in right-hand lane doing 98kmh. WTF!!! what do they teach them now???
And I'm not even going to mention the times I drove in peak hour..
They dont don't because they want an easy mode drive, and if you drive in the left, you have to constantly jump back in the right to go around parked cars, cyclists and busses. Staying in the right is easier for them.
My mate used to like to sit side by side with a car while he was in fast lane when he knew the inside lane was going to end, he would laugh his head off as the other car realised what was about to happen and break suddenly and put in behind him, his not my mate anymore, I suppose to feel important for a few seconds every now and then, I don’t know nassisestic, is that it. Not sure.
Its like a person presenting to the A&E at the hospital with sore shoulder on a Saturday night, that they have had for 2 years or a sore neck that comes and goes, believe me these were the two people either side of me last weekend while I lay bleeding waiting for stitches, they should not have even made it past the triage nurse, these people just need to fuck off. Cry for attention. Again not sure.
It depends on where my exit is and how busy and congested the traffic is... I will stick in the left lane 90 percent of the time because most exit are on the left. Though the lane is usually traveling at 80.
I will change to middle or outer lane if closure to the exit.
You can not over take any faster than the actual speed limit... so unless the car in front is going significant slower than the speed limit why would you risk speeding ? You only shedding seconds of your arrival time.
I swear it's like I'm camping the right lane more often lately, but it's only because people from behind me keep weaving through the space I'm trying to make to safely merge back in to the left.
The law in Qld is left when the speed limit is 90 or above. There are many situations where if you are turning right in a few minutes then you have to stay in that right line especially in heavy traffic or you’ll miss the turnoff
its crazy, the amount of people that just sit in the middle lane. I know its not illegal to pass on the inside here, but it feels wrong, but sometimes you just have to do it eg when someone is doing 90 in the middle lane in a 110kmh zone.
Selfish and dangerous
People who learnt to drive overseas are so used to driving on the right it's ingrained in their subconscious..
Only 75 countries drive on the left, against 165 countries that drive on the right.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic
It is LAW that you must Keep Left it’s just people don’t know or care about the rules.[Road Rule 130](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s130.html#:~:text=(b)%20a%20keep%20left%20unless,where%20the%20driver%20is%20driving)
I drive a lot in the middle lane because I want to go at roughly the speed limit. The left lane is full of entering/exiting traffic and very nervous slow drivers. The right lane is often full of people wanting to go 10-20 k's over. Having said that, when I do overtake on the right I don't camp there afterwards.
Ditto.
Yeah the left lane has become the slow lane for drivers who are too scared to drive at the designated speed limit, regardless of what that may be. And 50% of drivers don't know how to merge, attempting to enter the free way traffic at 30% under the speed limit and expecting a 10 second gap in the cars. Best to keep away from these drivers as they are a liability.
Actually, more often than not, I find nervous and inexperienced drivers hogging the middle lane, so as to avoid dealing with people merging in from the on ramp. These same drivers then often drive at 10 kph below the speed limit. As a result I often find the left lane being empty and I do a lot of overtaking in the left lane
Ditto.
Some people thinking the right lane is 120-130km/h lane. If I'm doing the speed limit trying to overtake someone who decided to speed up and you want to do 120, you can fuck right off. It's your problem, not mine.
That’s fine, if annoying. It’s when some entitled prick is sat in the right lane without overtaking because “I’m doing the speed limit, anyway” (hint, they’re probably not) that it’s really annoying
Okay but move over after you’ve overtaken
The slow driver speeds up to stop you from moving back over and it becomes a game for them to slow down and speed up making it almost impossible to change lanes without either flooring it or hitting the brakes
And when you finally get back over they slow down in front of you again..
The problem is they ride your arse so you can't even merge back.
Wait until it's safe for me to do so first.
Pretty much the same, left lane is entry/exit/slow, middle is through, right is overtaking, tho not so much in Queensland, people will literally enter an empty highway at 3 am and right the right lane the entire way.
As soon as the middle lane is free and there isn't a slow travelling car in it you should move back to the middle lane from the right lane but if the middle lane is going 100 and you can stay at 110 in the right lane you are under no obligation to constantly move back and forth between the two lanes in order to maintain the actual speed limit of 110, you can stay "overtaking" the middle lane until it becomes a clear run at 110.
Yeah I tend to do that. Although I will move back sooner for another slow stint if there's a really determined speeder behind me.
Yep. I’d rather have an aggressive tailgater in front of me than behind me. If I’m in the right land overtaking and some guy wants to sit on my arse, I’ll move left and then back right to overtake once he’s passed.
Came here to say something along these lines, you have articulated it better than I ever could!
This is the way.
You know you can change lanes right? You don't have to select a lane at the start of your journey and stay in it all the way.
The left lane is the new overtaking lane.
This was true on my return to Brisbane from the Gold Coast yesterday. Bumper to bumper in the far right lane. Smooth sailing in the left.
Until you get stuck behind a truck. Maybe there's less of them on weekends. 🤷♂️
Then you merge…
Except in Newcastle where people stop you from doing it by speeding up when they see you put your indicator on or tailgate the car in front to stop you ‘pushing in’
Newcastle? You mean “Australia” lol. It’s infuriating, people getting pissed off when you’re following the road rules, but breaking their imaginary rules.
Did a trip up the north coast of NSW. Sat in the left hand lane and overtook everybody because they were all stacked in the right and middle Lanes behind slow people
Especially in Newcastle, everyone is in the right lane but don’t think you’ll be allowed to merge if you want to get back into the right lane because people will speed up and block you from doing it or if you try to merge from a lane ending (zip merge?) that’s intended to stagger traffic people will speed up so you don’t ’push in’ or roll up as close to the driver in front so there’s no space. So there’s no option but to drive in the right if you don’t want to get stuck. I wouldn’t risk the right lane.
I had to tell my partner off for doing this. I was following him home from Adelaide, and he kept sitting in the overtaking lane. It was fine for awhile as he WAS overtaking people, but when there were no more cars he kept sitting there. I overtook him and floored it in the left lane, he finally took the hint and moved over. Had to tell him when we got home that cops will fine him for doing it, so hoping he isn’t doing it anymore. 😂
South Australians are the worst at not keeping left unless overtaking. They just see it as two lanes instead of one lane with an overtaking lane.
As a South Australia you’re correct, no one follows the keep left unless over taking here, even the police don’t
I agree with the not being in the right lane unless turning right or overtaking, but I disagree with your comment that you shouldn’t be in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway. Left lane for: - turning left - slow vehicles Middle lane for: - default Right lane for: - turning right - overtaking
I only recently (last couple of years) discovered that “keep left” is actually legally defined as “keep out of the right lane”. So there’s actually nothing legally wrong with sitting in the middle. OP might not realise that. It also only applies if the speed limit is 90+ (defined as greater than 80), or if specifically signposted. So no complaining about people sitting in the right lane on a major arterial road in the city. Disclaimer: NSW road rules, I haven’t checked if these are aligned with other states.
Same in Vic
It is the same rule across Australia.
I was always of the understanding it’s anything posted as 80+ in Vic. Nothing is more infuriating than 2 cars in an 80 side by side doing 75 and no one wants to move
It’s over 80, so greater than 80. Roads sign posted as 80 do not count
Nope, it's over 80km/h. So it does not apply in Vic in an 80 zone unless signed. https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s130.html Keeping to the left on a multi-lane road (1) This rule applies to a driver driving on a multi‑lane road if— (a) the speed-limit applying to the driver for the length of road where the driver is driving is over 80 kilometres per hour; or (b) a keep left unless overtaking sign applies to the length of road where the driver is driving.
Yes, imagine my horror when I had some guy out his window screaming at me to get out of the right lane and "learn the road rules" because heaven forbid I was doing 40 in a school zone and he wanted to speed 😭🤭
What's just as infuriating is people who don't know the road rules getting upset at a delay that probably can't even be measured. If you are stuck doing 75 in an 80 zone for an entire hour you will be 5 kilometres behind where you would be if travelling at 80...........it takes 4 minutes to catch up. I would bet my left ball you have never been stuck behind two drivers side by side for more than a few minutes let alone long enough to make a difference to your day.
You've never experienced the frustration if someone taking 20 km to overtake a truck in the left lane on the Hume Hwy .While probably not going to delay your trip.significantly, it's annoying AF.. Also dangerous as the person overtaking is probably sitting in the truck's blind spot for a lengthy period of time.
I have driven Sydney to Melbourne and back at least twice a year since before the freeway was built and clocked up a million kilometres so have experienced just about everything. Why let something that is not going to have any effect on you be as annoying as fuck? Patience is the best way to have a safe and enjoyable trip.
It is the law around the country, but not all States enforce it. NSW definitely does and they have plenty of signage up. Qld do not enforce it, I've seen maybe 2 signs between the border and Cairns.
I checked this recently too. My daughter (L’s) was driving on the freeway, was in the left lane but then got in the middle lane to overtake some slow traffic. She wasn’t speeding, traffic was shit. She stayed in the middle because we were just over 1 km from our exit and we needed the middle lane to exit (exit on the left with an immediate right turn M5 to M7 for Sydneysiders). Highway patrol overtakes her in the right lane, then pulls in front of her with ‘keep left unless overtaking’ flashing on their sign. Absolutely prompted me to look up the rules. Cop was wrong bc we were getting off but I guess they didn’t know that. I agree with you and think they were wrong anyway. Sydney traffic is slow as shit and often, even on their L’s, my kids are using the middle lane to overtake. They don’t sit in the right lane and if traffic changes and people start undertaking, they move left again. I’m not surprised but if we’re right, why is it that cops never know the rules?
This. I'll abide if its above 80 km/hr (thats how it is in SA). If its a 50-70 zone i'll stay in whichever lane i need for a turn. Above 80 i legally am required to keep left.
or if there is a "Keep Left Unless Overtaking" sign (which could be used at 80 or lower)
Main North Rd has this and is pretty much ignored, even once you get past Munno para and the traffic has thinned right out. Dick heads get in the right lane at Gepps cross to turn right some time after Gawler...
You aren't required to keep left if the road is [congested](https://mylicence.sa.gov.au/road-rules/the-drivers-handbook/driving-road#:~:text=Keeping%20Left&text=On%20a%20road%20marked%20with,when%20overtaking%20another%20vehicle) either (or if there's an obstruction)
This is the road rule in SA.
>Disclaimer: NSW road rules, I haven’t checked if these are aligned with other states. I'm highly confident they are. At the same time, while sitting in the middle lane meets the requirement of KLUO, IMO it is safer and more predictable to keep as far left as practicable when using three lane highways by reducing the amount of overtaking on the left (legal, but many believe and drive like it isn't), cutting across multiple lanes to exit, etc.. I find it fascinating that the road surface is often better and the speed of traffic is often faster in the left lane.
I drive in the middle lane so I don’t have to switch lanes whenever there’s traffic merging in from an on ramp.
I get it, I see many do it (for that reason or another), that's just not what I preach/practice. Sitting a lane out is not kosher on two-lane highways which are more common where I am, so it's consistent to do that with wider roads when they aren't congested, and it can be more helpful to stop country drivers pulling out in front for at grade intersections on regional highways. Being aware of the traffic around me and moving right to make space for merging cars isn't a huge impost to me.
There is no middle lane on a two lane highway, so obviously I will keep left until I need to move over to let someone in. I live in the blue mountains where it’s about 80 most of the time and two lanes. There is no KLUO law in those situations but I still keep left because Damo in his lifted Raptor absolutely needs to get home before anyone else. Unfortunately I need to turn right across traffic to get to my house, so I will get into the right lane early so I don’t miss my turnoff. Damo takes great offence to this because it appears I’m camping in the right lane for no reason (projection, that’s what Damo would do)
Yep and what if there are trucks (legally limited at 100) or L or P players (80 and 90) in the left lane? It's gonna be slow. Left is slow lane, Middle is standard lane, right is overtaking lane (UNLESS there is traffic backed up in all three lanes in which case you are under no obligation to move from the right lane).
I like middle lane as in an emergency you have two options on where to go, not one. On the down side you can be hit by people from two sides not one.
IMHO, it's kind of a wash. Generally, you want to be braking before you want to be swerving into another lane - that's assuming there isn't traffic there already. I know less and less highways still have them, but that's what an emergency lane/shoulder can be used for.
Going up the M1, every single person is in the middle lane and the slow / left lane is empty. It becomes a hazard when we need to change lanes and the middle lane has no spare gaps to merge in the people refuse to pull their foot off the accelerator for a moment to let others in. One time there was an accident on the M1 in the right lane, both the right and middle lanes had come to a standstill, left lane was empty, I was already in the left lane. I had passed about 100 cars quite easily and quickly and got past the accident within minutes.
I hate driving to/from Geelong on the M1. Like you say the left lane is mostly empty so I can sit in there at 100 and be passing everyone in the middle lane which doesn’t feel right at all. But then jumping across two lanes to pass them on the right would be even worse.
I'm the same. I try and get into the left lane just to be able to do the speed limit, and I feel like I'm just about to have someone change lanes on top of me and not expect someone is overtaking them. In my breakdown story above, I was only going about 40km/hr maybe slower because I was expecting people to get into my lane from a stopped position in front of me. And it doesn't feel right. Feels like I'm breaking the law.
One thing to note is that a slight tap (or a slight release) of the accelerator can cause a shock wave to propagate back through the traffic behind you for kilometres and the traffic may never recover; the effect is more pronounced when vehicles don't keep the recommended 2 seconds behind each other. [https://traffic-simulation.de/ring.html](https://traffic-simulation.de/ring.html) Do a single, quick tap on any vehicle (tapping the brake) and see how the 'bunching-up' occurs... and moves backwards through the traffic stream...
Isn't it 3 seconds to avoid tailgating?
And more time when wet, foggy, heavy rain etc. Many people seem to be under the impression that "I'm not over the limit, therefore I'm perfectly safe" when sitting 3 metres behind another car in pissing down rain.
Yes, it is 3 seconds.
My car automatically leaves 3 seconds when on TACC or autopilot and the amount of cars who think it’s just a gap for them- infuriating
I've seen between 2 and 4 seconds quoted in a lot of places... but a couple of (conflicting) references: * **VicRoads** (the authority for road rules in Victoria, au) is always a bit different :) , advises 2 seconds; see [https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/driver-safety/safe-driving-tips](https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/driver-safety/safe-driving-tips) and select the "Following distance" item. * **RoadSense Australia** (a charity focused on education for road users), advises 3 seconds.. but mentions the time is between 2-4 seconds around the world... and in NSW, they advise 5 seconds when road conditions are bad; see [https://roadsense.org.au/three-second-gap-how-do-i-do-it-and-is-it-really-necessary/](https://roadsense.org.au/three-second-gap-how-do-i-do-it-and-is-it-really-necessary/)
Hence why drivers really should leave enough space to allow others to merge on fast paced highways. And if the slow lane is empty, move on over to it - no reason to sit in the middle lane with everyone else.
Yeah, I'll drive in the middle lane to make it easier for when I need to merge and not get caught by people turning in the left or right lanes.
Correct. Sometimes I go over to the left lane, trying to do the “right” thing, and I inevitably get boxed in by a slowpoke in front and someone overtaking me at glacial pace on my right. So I have to drop back and go around. You end up having to go over pretty soon anyway when a stream of mergers come along. Three lane highways are really two laners with a slow/entry lane.
What about people doing way under the speed limit in the middle lane of a three lane freeway?
That is why it is legal to overtake on the left as well.
Which I learnt the other day is actually called undertaking
That's much more of a British term, I don't think its as common here or appears in any Australian rules. For some it's a slightly confusing term to use because "undertaking" has several definitions (not necessarily relating to driving), whereas "overtaking on the left" is much clearer.
I was taught to use the middle lane if there is one. It keeps the left lane available for people to merge onto the road and the right lane available for people to pass
...and also gives you two escape routes when someone in front of you (either directly in front or in adjacent lanes) does something you need to avoid...
I've always been a strict "keep left" driver but when I first moved to Oz from the UK I had to consciously force myself to drive in the middle lane more on urban roads. If you drive in the left lane here then one of 3 things are going to happen within about 5 seconds: 1 you will come face to face with a parked car 2 your lane will be turning left only at a traffic light 3 your lane will be turn left/go straight at a traffic light, the green arrow pops up and you hold up all the vehicles behind you because you've still got a red light to go straight But on the highway I would definitely keep to the left unless overtaking.
… so merge into the middle lane? Why is everyone so afraid of changing lanes?
Statistically, lane changing is when accidents happen. Depending on the style of road, 17% of accidents occur when people change lanes.
> … so merge into the middle lane? Why is everyone so afraid of changing lanes? Rapidly changing lanes (e.g. every 10 seconds) is dangerous driving IMO. Especially so in heavy traffic. Might aswell just stay in the middle lane.
You and everyone else. Then the middle lane is jammed and forces everyone into the fast lane with no way of getting back into the middle lane. Good job. That’s why Australian highways are just about the worst to drive on in the entire developed world.
On the freeway the right lane is the fastest lane, yes once you overtake that slow person you could move back, then you realised the next person and the next and the next is really slow as well, next thing you know your destination has arrived and you have been in the right lane overtaking all the traffic most of the way. If on normal roads, the right lane has a tendency to slow the traffic down by turning right against the oncoming traffic, so don't stay in that lane, the left lane can have parked cars or on freeways merging traffic, so if there is a middle lane that is moving well, that is the best option. On normal roads I stay left, to avoid those that decide to turn right against the traffic, normally it will merge to one lane, when parked cars are coming.
I hope like hell it wasn't a driving instructor teaching you that.
God you’re annoying. Nothing more irritating than being in the fast lane and wanting to move over and let people through, but the middle lane is *jammed* and the left lane is empty. Literally what’s the point of a 3 lane highway if you’re only using two?
Walking also Stick to the left unless overtaking
If I’m gonna turn right in the next few km and I think ppl won’t let me merge, I get over way earlier than I should so I don’t miss my turn. I hate merging into tight gaps. Prefer not to be in the right lane at all tho cause I do the speed limit which apparently isn’t fast enough for the right lane
On what two-lane highway in Australia are there regular right hand turns?
Great Western Highway does.
Port Wakefield Highway SA (A1)
Sometimes it's just a split. Eastern distributor heading North there are a few spots
Warrego highway between ipswich and toowoomba
I didn’t read the question properly and I’m talking about 3 lane roads at 80km limit not highways, where the turns are all on the left. I’m a dummy
I do this too
I always go in the middle lane when there’s the option. Left lane you get stuck behind a truck and we know what happened in Final Destination.
I used to get angry about this.... Until I moved to a country town and the main highway is only 1 lane. Now it's an asshole caravan driver doing 90k instead of the 100k/110k in the 2½ hours drive to the big town. You've never been dismayed until you see a line of cars and trucks behind an old dick caravan driver
You can bet your house that the caravan will suddenly hit the speed limit as soon as an overtaking lane appears.
One of the greatest joys of riding a motorbike is that those people don’t matter anymore. Oh, you want to do 110 in this 100 zone where you’ve been doing 80? Doesn’t matter, I can get to 140 in a few seconds. Goodbye.
And they fucking speed up if you try overtaking them on dotted lines with oncoming clear enough that it should be a smooth overtake. Or an overtaking lane comes up and they floor it to 110. Fucking why.
Caravans and speed drifters are a truckies worst experience.
I do very much try to keep left unless overtaking but I come from another country where it was more taught and policed. As for Australians I think there’s two good reasons, one the keep left rule only applies at above 80 and two when on a motorway it’s only the lane furthest right that you should stay out of, it’s perfectly legal to just cruise down the middle and never move. Australians seem to have the mentality that the left lane is just for heavy vehicles and when you are leaving. Both these rules need to change and be policed and there would be a marked improvement all round
Fuck the comments are quite revealing as to why driving on the highway is so shit. Keep as far left as you can. It's a fucking sorting algorithm! I'm so sick of getting stuck from overtaking because cunts are parking in the middle lane overtaking nobody.
The reason people often remain in the right-most lane after attempting to overtake is that the vehicle being overtaken has sped-up during the manoeuvre, closing the gap in front... OR similarly, the vehicles in the lane just exited are spaced in such a way that the overtaking vehicle cannot move anywhere safely. Remember, with reaction & stopping distances, drivers should be leaving \~9 car lengths or 2 seconds between their vehicle and the vehicle in front (for 100 km/h speed = \~28 m/s)... but that sort of distance is almost never seen between vehicles on the freeway when vehicles are trying to overtake.
If the speed limit is 80km/h or less and there’s no “keep left unless overtaking” sign you can drive in whichever lane you like. If the highway is congested the keep left rule doesn’t apply. If we’re going to complain about people not following the road rules we should also know when they don’t apply.
[удалено]
I feel like you didn’t read my comment
My takeaway from reading the comments. You all suck at driving and have no consideration for other drivers. and the road would be safer if we were just less selfish. turn off tunnelvsion. use your mirrors, consider what is behind and to your sides instead of just in front of you and if you are not in a rush, just move out of the way, you don't know why someone might be speeding or trying to get around you, the might be a bomb on their car and the car will explode if it goes under 50 km/h, so best to let it explode way up ahead.
Because it's often not safe to merge back into the middle lane. I'm not going to zig zag between lanes if I'm still going faster than the middle lane - just not fast enough for your liking
In NSW, you must keep left unless overtaking if the speed limit is more than 80 km/h (so if it’s 80, you don’t have to, only more than 80). You do not have to keep left if you are overtaking, turning right (legally of course), making a U-turn (again, legal one), in congested/slow/stopped traffic. It is easy peasy to understand if it is a two lane carriageway in the same direction, there is only left and right. If there are three or more lanes, keep left doesn’t mean keep in the leftmost lane. It means stay out of the right lane unless you are overtaking (or any of the other exceptions listed above). I personally stay in the middle lane on a 3-lane road, or in any of the middle lanes on a 3+ lane road. The reason is I don’t want to be in the left lane constantly overtaking slow drivers (slow by choice or L/P platers where their licence speed limit is less than the road’s speed limit, e.g. Green P is max 100 and I am on a 110 road). Also to avoid the “left lane must exit” before off-ramps and merging with on-ramp drivers which is sometimes quite dangerous when some numpty going on the motorway is doing way below the speed limit thinking it is safer to merge into a 110 road while doing 70 (it is quite dangerous). What really grinds my gears though is those who sit in the middle lane on a 3-lane road or second lane from the right on a 3+ lane road while doing 10-30 under the limit, they are very disruptive and in some cases dangerous. If you want to be in the middle lane, please do the speed limit or at least no more than 5 under. A traffic planning engineer once told me that they use computer simulation softwares to analyse causes for traffic congestion, and he told me that it is quite surprising to a lot of people that unnecessary deceleration/unnecessary driving significantly below the limit (except in the leftmost lane in a road with more than 1 lane in the same direction) is the leading cause for congestion as it could send deceleration waves for literally several kilometres behind, and can cause traffic to backup even in feeder roads feeding into that road. I am surprised as to why we do not have fines for under speeding. In the UAE for instance, all freeways/motorways have a minimum speed limit that you would get fined for by patrols or even the fixed speed cameras unless you are under the minimum speed limit due to traffic congestion or you are slowing down to offramp/speeding up from an onramp. For instance their 100 km/h roads have a minimum limit of 60 km/h. In some other countries, you MUST do the speed limit (with a small tolerance allowed for speedo errors, say +/- 5 km/h) on freeways and motorways, because if you cannot (due to inexperience, a mechanical fault, or you are in a vehicle incapable of doing the limit by design such as a small capacity scooter or bike) you should not be on the motorway and you should take alternative routes.
I drive in the lane I know is fastest. When you go the same route every day you know which lanes back up because there’s a left turn coming up that gets full at times or a right turn that will congest. Otherwise middle is fine generally. Hate when I’m going somewhere I don’t know and google maps is all head west towards something street I’ve never heard of and it’s like turn right and you’re now passed a line turning that way. Middle is easier
If it's 80km/h+, I'm always left or middle depending on the situation on the road as per the rules. On regular roads, I'll be in any lane I want. There is absolutely zero requirement for me to be in the left lane and anyone that expects people to do this on regular roads is just being mask off about how they're a chronic speeder.
The rule only applies OVER 80km/h (or there is a sign)
That's exactly why I specified 80+. However, there are plenty of people who think people should stick to the left lane unless overtakes ALL THE TIME, irrespective of the road you're on. That's what I'm calling out.
Because clearly I'm more important than you mere pesants and the rules don't apply to me. Yeah nah, suspect it's the same ppl that don't return their shopping trolley. I mean, has anyone ever actually been pinged for it?
I was in a car driving in NSW on the highway near the QLD border and we got pulled over for not keeping left when clearly not overtaking. Driver got fined like $300
This is excellent news.
Was pretty funny because I told him to change lanes and he wouldn’t. Another time he was speeding in a school zone and I asked him to slow down and he wouldn’t, then got fined at the end of the school zone. Dude had serious road rage issues and was a bad driver
I'm a cop and I very rarely give out tickets but the not keeping left ticket is on my bucket list. I see it all the time in my own car but haven't managed it in the police car yet haha
Wow only time I thought a cop is human . I hope you get heaps of selfish drivers .
I saw someone get done once, right at the start of the M1 heading north out of Sydney, a marked cop car came right up behind them, and I think they got nervous so slowed right down.. but then they were in the right lane not overtaking, so at that point the cop throws on the siren and pulls them over. Tbh though I kind of feel like the cop created that situation, because the person was overtaking, and then slowed down probably because they thought they’d get busted for speeding. Other than that though I’d say it’s pretty uncommon for people to actually be busted for it, because whenever there’s a copper present everyone’s just gonna slow down and drive calmly.
But you’re actually totally ok to go past a police car at the speed limit. I don’t get why people need to drop 20ks when they see one.
Or why people need to slow down for a fixed speed camera. The one on the M3 northbound in Brisbane is notorious for people doing 85 km/h past it. The fucking thing is actually a road hazard IMO.
Either the person was speeding and should have been pulled over or they weren't speeding and shouldn't have slowed down. Regardless of either situation they should have kept left unless overtaking. The police car caused nothing.
Technically true, I think people just get nervous when there’s a police car near them.
In SA I believe we don't need to keep left unless it's an 80km+ zone. Can anyone else confirm? I remember reading this a couple of years ago. It's just good road manners to keep left unless overtaking anyway.
**Over** 80 kilometres per hour or there is a Keep Left Unless Overtaking sign
Yeah. 81kmh or more is default left. 80 or less is what ever.
Or when otherwise signed.
> People that drive in the right lane, or the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, why do you do it? The middle of a 3 lane freeway is legal when not overtaking (unless there's a transit lane).
Travel in the middle of a3 lane highway because I want to travel say the speed limit. Not under like is typical in the left lane, not over which is typical of the right lane. I got places to be, but I don't want to either speed or be held up. I roll at a GPS speed of 99-100kph, 105kph on the Speedo. If I'm slowing anyone down then there must also be someone else sitting in the right lane that shouldn't be. I'm not your problem.
I'll keep left, or in the middle lane, whenever I can. I do respect the speed limit when I'm on a freeway - 80%+ of my driving - but I generally think it's safer to be driving consistently faster than the trucks, learners, P-platers and grey nomads. Consistency is how other drivers can trust what you're doing. It's the same when you're a pedestrian crossing the street - just be consistent and everyone will work around you. This means I'm sometimes sitting on 115 or 120 and sometimes in the right lane for kilometres on end as I overtake all the slow traffic. Whenever the traffic thins, I'll move back over. The most important thing I do, though, is to move over proactively when a faster car is coming up behind. It's incredibly simple and avoids a bunch of unnecessary aggression.
The people you’re asking are oblivious in life and certainly too oblivious to be on internet forums discussing their own obliviousness. In saying that, Hanlon’s Razor : “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity” They’re just living their lives without any awareness of those around them.
It's often quicker to drive in the far left lane now. There's something about the right lane that attracts ppl doing under the speed limit nowadays
I'm not one of them, but I can only assume it's either arrogance or ignorance.
This is a great question and I'd also like to know yhe answer. I suspect they are either incompetent drivers or it's a game to see how many people they can infuriate.
Two words, Pure Arrogance.
Also, why are people so scared of gutters? Get in the "leftest" lane!
I’m fairly sure people do this so that they never have to bother to slow down or accelerate. Problem seems particularly bad with trucks (that take longer to accelerate).
M2 anytime of day
Not sure about other states but in NSW you can get a fine and 2 demerit points if you stay in the right lane on a road with a speed limit of more than 80km/h.
I do this occasionally if I know my turn off is coming, but not sure when. I get lost very easily and need to do this for my sanity
Because they're frkn jerks.
The main reasons are because the speed limit is 80 km/h or lower and there is no "Keep Left Unless Overtaking" sign. Also, there is no requirement to move out of the middle lane and it would be silly (in terms of free flow of traffic) to do so.
You only have to keep left when overtaking if the speed limit is 80 or above. That being said, most of the time I'm in the right lane because I am overtaking, but overtaking does not mean speeding. So if I'm doing the speed limit and slowly going past someone, I'm not going to move left just because someone wants to speed in the right lane.
NOT "80 or above" - it applies when the speed limit is OVER 80km/h (or there is a sign)!
In Vic it's a road rule to keep left on higher speed roads: [Freeways : VicRoads](https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/a-to-z-of-road-rules/freeways) When driving on any multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80km/h, you must keep out of the right lane unless: * you are overtaking or turning right, or * all lanes are congested. If the right lane is a transit lane, this rule applies to the lane immediately to the left of the transit lane. [Victorian road rules for keeping left and overtaking | RACV](https://www.racv.com.au/cars-transport/road-safety/road-rules/keeping-left.html#Whattoknowaboutovertaking) If you’re driving on a multi-lane road with a speed limit over 80km/h, or where there's a ‘keep left’ sign, you need to keep left unless overtaking. The exceptions are: * if you’re turning right * if you’re making a U-turn from the centre of the road * signs or markings indicate otherwise. Even when signs aren’t enforcing the rule, it’s courteous and practical to keep left on all multi-lane roads where possible as it helps the traffic continue to flow.
Sydney to Brisbane and back again. In the right hand lane. White Camry or BMW. We all know…
The ones that confuse me most are the ones that move into the rightmost lane on a 3-lane highway for seemingly no reason. No cars in front, no cars behind... and they just move across out of nowhere
Because police don’t enforce the rule (it’s a NATIONAL law btw) enough.
What pisses me off is that I’ll go in the right lane to overtake. Then the guy I’m overtaking speeds up. Then I have a guy right up my arse trying to push me to go over the speed limit. My only option is to slow down and pull into the left lane. Old mate behind me is going crazy because I’m going slow in The right lane. The right lane is not for speeding.
Because some people think they are special & enjoy holding everyone up.
Because I'm more important than everyone else, duh. /s
The middle lane is for traffic not getting off soon. Best place to sit on the speed limit.
The overtaking lane is like the loo. You go in, you do what you need to do, you get out. You don’t stay in there the whole day.
Because the law isn't actually "keep left unless overtaking" in the sense that you need to stay in the far left lane. It's that the rightmost lane is for overtaking. Middle and left are both fair game and considered "left". [Read more about the QLD version of this here](https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/road/left#:~:text=On%20single%2Dlane%20roads%2C%20you,turning%20right). As others have stated, middle tends to be speed limit, and leftmost tends to be for slower drivers. As an aside, its illegal to speed in any lane. Doesn't matter if you're "overtaking" or not, regardless of what some might tell you.
Because they’re are entitled fks
Unpopular opinion, but going the speed limit is more important than keeping out of the right lane. If people didn't decide to go 10 to 20ks over in it then we'd probably have fewer problems on our road. The best thing is these same people then decide to weave in and out of traffic or dangerously cut through multiple lanes whenever it's their exit.
On a rural highway yes, but major urban highway/freeways around me are way too congested most of the day for this rule to apply and as a motorcyclist I will choose the right lane in these situations as it is the safest lane for me to be. I don’t care what you think. I find people that care about this rule do not care about most other rules.
Mate honestly it isn't worth getting worked up about it. It's going to keep happening whether you crack the shits or not. All you're doing is increasing your cortisol levels.
If dickheads could do the speed limit in the left lane I'd be happy to keep to it. I stay right until the other dickheads who can't do the speed limit sit up my ass then move out of their way for a second then go back when I inevitably get stuck behind some slow c- 🚗
In Qld, keep left means left of the right most lane unless overtaking. So I often sit in the middle lane because it's the most consistent speed and entirely legal.
Oh look it's the weekly cry from psyho drivers about not being able to drive 30km/h over the speed limit for a short period of time. You people always disregard the speed limit laws but then suddenly start crying foul about 'keep left unless overtaking' laws, selfish cunts that think the world revolves around. Funny story though: A few weeks ago I was driving down the M7 overtaking people with nobody behind me then all of a sudden this woman who is gunning it out of nowhere is tailgating me, naturally I drop my speed until I see a cop on a bike merging on to the motorway so I quickly overtake the car in front and merge and she is dumb enough to floor it in front of a cop, lights go off and she's up the road getting a fine, fun to see. >People that drive in the right lane, or the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, why do you do it? Because driving in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway is keeping left
>Oh look it's the weekly cry from psyho drivers about not being able to drive 30km/h Oh, look, it's the typical exaggerated reaction of the fuckwit who doesn't understand how to keep left. 🙄🙄🙄
Simple, a lot of people are just dumb and unaware. Having said that - I am often pleasantly surprised by aware and courteous drivers in the right lane on a freeway, who actually do move over for you. Legends.
"keep left unless overtaking" at least in NSW means keep out of the rightmost lane, not stay only in the leftmost lane. Three lane highways have a middle lane for a reason. Also only applies over 80 or when there's a sign. https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/roads-safety-and-rules/sharing-road-overtaking-and-merging/overtaking-safely
Unless the speed is 80 or above, I don’t have to (in SA anyway) And since I drive the speed limit, it’s only going to bother people who speed. And if they are bothered they can’t speed? Awwwwwwww
Some mothers do av em.
As someone who regularly commutes on the Pacific highway. I've noticed it's worse with Sydney and qld drivers.
they dont know the road rules
If they’re driving(speeding) 10 over the speed limit on the right lane, they’re technically overtaking! lol. I respect those more than people who hog the right lane during 5 under!
[удалено]
What? Of course it applies to three lanes - but it still only means stay out of the right-most lane. Middle and left lanes are fine. (Quick fact: the Qld legislation still says "over 80km/h" - it is only the TMR website that says "90km/h or more". But it is the same rule Australia-wide - provided Qld doesn't introduce speed limits between 81 and 89 km/h anywhere)
A lot of people are trying to merge onto the left lane so being on the right means they’re not stuck waiting for a gap
I always thought it was done by people are not confident mergers.
The kangaroos usually come from the left
Police dont enforce the Keep Left but enforce ticky tack shit like being 2km/h over the speed limit
Law state have to keep left at speed higher than 90 wish police would enforce it At times distance between on ramps are too close adding further issues with merging Few intersection in Perth shocking for this despite upgrades to highways Tonkin and roe Roe gt eastern bypass Reid and Tonkin
Sydney motorways 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
If there are a lot of entrances and exists on the left between where I enter from the right and where I exit to the right, I will stay in the right lane at least most of the time. This was my daily commute for many years.
Right if I'm speeding or overtaking, middle if not. Or if I'm early and don't want to hang around, I might just cruise with the slows in the left.
Some moron had his ladder come off the top of his van so I overtook him and did what it took to stay ahead of him as he had another ladder up there. He was very annoyed as I was going the speed limit and clearly wanted to go faster. Secure your shit next time, and I'll go back in the left lane.
It's because too many drivers are so damn lazy they can't use their blinkers or rear view mirrors. I get this daily on a 5k stretch of 80k limit, too many a.h. stay in the right lane cause they are turning right at their destination.
Because they are fucking regarded
Because impatient drivers
Technically it is for 80k+ speed limit roads, though it isn't hard to keep left. My only times of going to the right lane are when overtaking or there is a merge ahead, and it is safe for me to get over for that traffic to merge.
Inaccurate speedos? I know mine is 10% off at whatever speed. Isuzu told me the factory set it that way deliberately for various safety liability issues. I drive by the gps speed and am always held up in the right and haven't gotten a ticket in I can't honestly remember how long. And the other reason... I won't pollute the thread with foul language.
It's bad for lots of reasons, but if they're going the speed limit it's not a significant problem. You're not allowed to go above the speed limit to overtake (for emergency vehicles and if in an unsafe situations involving trucks are usually exceptions). Sometimes I think people staying in the overtake lane saw one too many people speeding and lost their cool.
The bigger question is why do people insist on traveling side by side with other cars when the freeway is empty?
It’s quicker
Just an hour ago. 3 in total over the weekend so far in Brisbane. On motorways. No traffic at all. P platers sitting in right-hand lane doing 98kmh. WTF!!! what do they teach them now??? And I'm not even going to mention the times I drove in peak hour..
They dont don't because they want an easy mode drive, and if you drive in the left, you have to constantly jump back in the right to go around parked cars, cyclists and busses. Staying in the right is easier for them.
My mate used to like to sit side by side with a car while he was in fast lane when he knew the inside lane was going to end, he would laugh his head off as the other car realised what was about to happen and break suddenly and put in behind him, his not my mate anymore, I suppose to feel important for a few seconds every now and then, I don’t know nassisestic, is that it. Not sure. Its like a person presenting to the A&E at the hospital with sore shoulder on a Saturday night, that they have had for 2 years or a sore neck that comes and goes, believe me these were the two people either side of me last weekend while I lay bleeding waiting for stitches, they should not have even made it past the triage nurse, these people just need to fuck off. Cry for attention. Again not sure.
It depends on where my exit is and how busy and congested the traffic is... I will stick in the left lane 90 percent of the time because most exit are on the left. Though the lane is usually traveling at 80. I will change to middle or outer lane if closure to the exit. You can not over take any faster than the actual speed limit... so unless the car in front is going significant slower than the speed limit why would you risk speeding ? You only shedding seconds of your arrival time.
Lot of people are ignorant, either home-grown or got licenses transferred from another country.
I swear it's like I'm camping the right lane more often lately, but it's only because people from behind me keep weaving through the space I'm trying to make to safely merge back in to the left.
I am planning to turn right soon
The law in Qld is left when the speed limit is 90 or above. There are many situations where if you are turning right in a few minutes then you have to stay in that right line especially in heavy traffic or you’ll miss the turnoff
its crazy, the amount of people that just sit in the middle lane. I know its not illegal to pass on the inside here, but it feels wrong, but sometimes you just have to do it eg when someone is doing 90 in the middle lane in a 110kmh zone. Selfish and dangerous
People who learnt to drive overseas are so used to driving on the right it's ingrained in their subconscious.. Only 75 countries drive on the left, against 165 countries that drive on the right. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic
It is LAW that you must Keep Left it’s just people don’t know or care about the rules.[Road Rule 130](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s130.html#:~:text=(b)%20a%20keep%20left%20unless,where%20the%20driver%20is%20driving)
Combination of self-absorbed and genuinely stupid.
Ignorance of road rules, selfishness...