Are you allowed in the outside lane of a motorway?

[Lenny HB]

How about 3 lane dual carriageways? Are the rules different? I know 3.5t + are limited to 60mph, but can you still use the 3rd lane ?

No they are not it is Motorhomes with an Unladen weight of over 3050kg that are limted to 60 on dual carriageways. Any weight Motorhome can use the third lane.

 

[Coolcats]

Always allowed on the outside lane of the motorway when I press the warp button

 

[Just smiffy]

I’m afraid I’m a serial undertaker, can’t be arsed going out to the third lane to overtake some pillock in the middle lane…

 

[buzz1]

I should think anyone who uses the m25 on a regular basis, probably undertake on every road they use no matter where they are.

 

[gus-lopez]

How about 3 lane dual carriageways? Are the rules different? I know 3.5t + are limited to 60mph, but can you still use the 3rd lane ?

yes

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[B+W vanman]

In the USA, unless locally prohibited, you can pass on either side, which is very sensible imho.
Besides which, right filters on red lights are allowed, again unless locally prohibited

 

[Brains]

But they have 62mph speed limiters.

Yet, we have all been overtaken by coaches holding a steady 70mph.

So whilst all modern minibuses (17 seaters) have a 100kmph/62mph speed limiter, I don't think this applies to coaches.

Weather coaches (without a speed limiter ??) are permitted in lane three is a different discussion,
I was under the impression they were not allowed, but we have all seen them.

 

[Brains]

Good god, Im nearly always in lane three overtaking the pillocks taking up the middle lane sitting at 60-65!

Us 62mph pillocks are over taking the lorries doing 57mph in lane one!

If you come up at 80mph it may look like we are lane hogging,
but we are overtaking, just on a slower scale, where lane changes may be measured in minutes rather than seconds.

 

[L' Hobo]

The 'Dual' refers to the number of carriageways, not the number of lanes. A normal road is a single carriage away with traffic moving in both directions. I.e. 1 carriageway with two lanes. A dual carriageway simply separates the traffic flows. In principle I guess you could have ten or more lanes on each side of a dual carriageway. I think one place on the M25 near Heathrow has half a dozen lanes in each carriageway.

But there on the M25, it's a Motorway not a Dual Carriageway and can have as many lanes a necessary.

Interesting that you mentioned that a Dual Carriageway is named after the separated carriageways because I thought, as I don't think have ever seen more than 2 lanes ( except for the occasional sliproad or separately numbered road running beside it) more than 2 lanes on a Dual Carriageway in the UK.

As the saying goes, every day's a school day!

 

[B+W vanman]

But there on the M25, it's a Motorway not a Dual Carriageway and can have as many lanes a necessary.

Interesting that you mentioned that a Dual Carriageway is named after the separated carriageways because I thought, as I don't think have ever seen more than 2 lanes ( except for the occasional sliproad or separately numbered road running beside it) more than 2 lanes on a Dual Carriageway in the UK.

As the saying goes, every day's a school day!

The A34 northbound half a mile away from where I’m sitting, is a dual carriageway with 4 lanes in that direction
And 3 southbound

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[meanders]

The A12 for example has several sections of three lanes in each direction.

 

[L' Hobo]

The A34 northbound half a mile away from where I’m sitting, is a dual carriageway with 4 lanes in that direction
And 3 southbound

Are they ALL the A34? I ask because I have seen 2 different numbered roads run beside one another.

IF I remember correctly, there is a separately numbered running along the Northbound Motorway near spaghetti junction for a short distance.

 

[jongood]

Yet, we have all been overtaken by coaches holding a steady 70mph.

So whilst all modern minibuses (17 seaters) have a 100kmph/62mph speed limiter, I don't think this applies to coaches.

Weather coaches (without a speed limiter ??) are permitted in lane three is a different discussion,
I was under the impression they were not allowed, but we have all seen them.

Coaches have a calibrated speedo the average motorhome does not, so it can easily appear that Coaches are doing 70 when they're almost certainly doing a truer 62mph

 

[L' Hobo]

The A12 for example has several sections of three lanes in each direction.

Are the ones on the A12 between Colchester and London not sliproads to Chelmsford and the M25 for example?

 

[jongood]

But there on the M25, it's a Motorway not a Dual Carriageway and can have as many lanes a necessary.

Interesting that you mentioned that a Dual Carriageway is named after the separated carriageways because I thought, as I don't think have ever seen more than 2 lanes ( except for the occasional sliproad or separately numbered road running beside it) more than 2 lanes on a Dual Carriageway in the UK.

As the saying goes, every day's a school day!

I believe its a classification assigned on either construction or upgrade to a Motorway (if it has a central barrier but doesnt have motorway signage then its a dual carriageway). There are also differences such as laybys and the type of junctions employed.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[meanders]

Are the ones on the A12 between Colchester and London not sliproads to Chelmsford and the M25 for example?

The section from Marks Tey to the main Colchester south junction is solid three lanes for I guess 5 - 6 miles for example. There is a short stretch of a mile or so Northbound after you leave the M25 and another north of Chelmsford.

 

[Brains]

Coaches have a calibrated speedo the average motorhome does not, so it can easily appear that Coaches are doing 70 when they're almost certainly doing a truer 62mph

I do thousands of miles of motorway driving in 17 seat minibuses with a calibrated 100km/62mph limiter.

Coaches wizz past me all the time.
No way I can keep up with a coach.

However I can pass most lorries, as they are usually calibrated to 90kmph/57mph.
(They also slow down on even the gentlest of slopes)

 

[Lenny HB]

Yet, we have all been overtaken by coaches holding a steady 70mph.

Speed limiters have only been on them for a few years plenty of old coaches that don't have them.

Also I think for the last couple of years speed limiters on HGV's are linked with the brakes so they can't hurtle down steep hills on overrun any more but of course it only applies to the new ones.

 

[jongood]

Speed limiters have only been on them for a few years plenty of old coaches that don't have them.

Also I think for the last couple of years speed limiters on HGV's are linked with the brakes so they can't hurtle down steep hills on overrun any more but of course it only applies to the new ones.

They re linked to exhaust brake or retarder (when fitted) they can't link to the service brakes because then the driver cannot control overheating on descents. On most of the trucks Ive driven you can easily disable this function by turning off the cruise control.

 

[Diabalo]

What the …is a vanguard road safety officer… and what power do they have…

Here you go.

https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/documents/s90278/Item 7 - Vanguard Presenation.pdf

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DandJ]

The 'Dual' refers to the number of carriageways, not the number of lanes. ....

When my girls were very young....the youngest, then about 5, asked if we were going on the Golden Road to Grannies....I looked puzzled until her slightly older bookworm sister piped in..."She means the 'jewel' carriageway, Dad"

 

[bigtwin]

I should think anyone who uses the m25 on a regular basis, probably undertake on every road they use no matter where they are.

Indeed.

I do think that the term ‘undertake’ is a poor, and much misused term. To my mind, an undertake is a manoeuvre whereby you move from your current lane, into a lane to your left, in order to pass the vehicle that was impeding your progress in your original lane.

Passing a vehicle to your right by maintaining your speed and course is not, IMV, an undertake.

The term undertake is a very emotive term and it’s use should be discouraged when you are simply passing a vehicle on their left.

Ian

 

[Vanman]

As I understand it, overtaking on the left (in the UK) is only legal if the traffic lanes are queuing and the left lane is moving more quickly. One car lane hogging wouldn't count as a queue.

 

[pappajohn]

How about 3 lane dual carriageways? Are the rules different? I know 3.5t + are limited to 60mph, but can you still use the 3rd lane ?

I've never seen or heard of a 3 lane DUAL carriageway, contradiction in terms....three and dual, dual meaning two.

 

[pappajohn]

Ho

Coaches have a calibrated speedo the average motorhome does not, so it can easily appear that Coaches are doing 70 when they're almost certainly doing a truer 62mph

How do you explain sat nags then
Extremely accurate.
When you show 67 according to the sat nag (regardless of Speedo reading) and a coach overtakes you.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[swemmy666]

I've never seen or heard of a 3 lane DUAL carriageway, contradiction in terms....three and dual, dual meaning two.

Think the term used dual from its first usagre, but later meant multi-lane, as in this description of the north circular

 

[B+W vanman]

I've never seen or heard of a 3 lane DUAL carriageway, contradiction in terms....three and dual, dual meaning two.

Dual refers to the number of carriageways, not lanes

 

[Southdownswolf]

I've never seen or heard of a 3 lane DUAL carriageway, contradiction in terms....three and dual, dual meaning two.

As previously explained, a carriageway is different to a lane. You can have a single carriageway with 4 lanes, 2 in each direction, likewise you can have a dual carriageway with only 2 lanes, 1 in each direction. Think of a single carriageway being a road with only markings in the middle separating the direction of traffic and a dual carriageway as having a physical divider between the two directions of traffic.

 

[Lenny HB]

Coaches have a calibrated speedo the average motorhome does not, so it can easily appear that Coaches are doing 70 when they're almost certainly doing a truer 62mph

I got a shock with the new Ducato the speedo is spot on.

 

[enark]

Dual carriageway is two lanes, duel =2, so where does the third lane come in ?
Or am I wrong !

Your wrong. Dual carriageways have a central delineation, could be 1 lane, or 2,3 or 4.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}