[flamestone]

I'm the guy on the 3 lane motorway overtaking down the left lane, glaring at everyone sitting in the middle. Grrrrr   

[dkabab]

I'm the guy on the 3 lane motorway overtaking down the left lane, glaring at everyone sitting in the middle. Grrrrr   

Hehe, that’s me. Coming down the freeway (from sterling back to Adelaide) for some reason, as soon as it becomes 3 lanes, everyone sits in the middle and right lane.
Most of the time, I just roll down the hill on the speed limit and overtake them all. Sometimes I wish I was a traffic cop.

I do think the solution for this is for cops to actually pull people over for it… once word gets around people will eventually get the message.

[flamestone]

Only once have I seen a policeman making an effort.  But that was just him driving down the right lane with "keep left" shown on the display on the roof. 

[AshSimmonds]

I often worry about this - are there demerit points for "overtaking" on the left?

I'd be all for demerits for sitting in the wrong lane for more than 500m.

[AshSimmonds]

The F3: fast, furious and frustrating

Jordan Baker, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 12, 2007

It's the Australian way: get there first and get there fast. And on our highways we truly outdo ourselves in the winner-takes-all stakes.
Road hogs … trucks in all lanes on the F3 last week.

Drivers in Europe stick to slow or fast lanes and overtake on the correct side; Australians, however, drive all over the place, and nowhere is this more evident than on the F3 between Wahroonga and Newcastle. Last month four accidents closed the highway in three days, and there is no viable alternative route.

Ken Dobinson, a former Roads and Traffic Authority director who designed the F3, said it was notorious for poor lane discipline. Trucks and cars weave around each other, infuriating other drivers and causing accidents.

"[Eliminating that] wouldn't reduce the traffic jams but … there would be [fewer] accidents if you had better lane discipline.

"That road [the F3] desperately needs signs that restrict trucks to the left-hand lane and only let trucks overtake in the middle lane. That would go a long way to solving the problems."

Mr Dobinson said when multiple-lane roads were introduced to Australia little attention was given to developing a culture of lane etiquette. Now poor discipline was a bad habit.

"With a freeway system in Sydney … we should … put this attitude to people that you never overtake on the left-hand side of the vehicle."

The penalty for "lane hogging" was increased from $130 to $231 and from two to three demerit points in 2005. That year 1029 people were fined under three offences of failing to keep left on a road. Last year the figure was 1234, NSW Police said.

The former roads minister, Michael Costa, is understood to have decided to raise the penalty during his frequent trips to his Cessnock home.

The police traffic services commander, Chief Superintendent John Hartley, said motorists were required to stick to the left lane when driving on a multiple-lane road with a speed limit of 80 kmh or more. When they did not, it frustrated other drivers, prompting them to break road rules to get past.

But it was a difficult law to police. "You've got to stop motorists on busy highways where there's nowhere to pull over," Superintendent Hartley said.

"Safety is paramount, so if officers can't stop safely they won't proceed."

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=36860

[AshSimmonds]

I often worry about this - are there demerit points for "overtaking" on the left?

http://www.racq.com.au/about_us/corporate_information/news/stories/racq_provides_advice_on_motoring_issues6

Dear RACQ: Are there any situations when I can overtake a vehicle on the left?

Reply: A vehicle may overtake on the left of another vehicle if the driver is driving on a multi-lane road and can be safely overtaken in a marked left lane, or if a vehicle is turning right or making a u-turn and is indicating to turn right.

A driver may also overtake on the left of another vehicle if that vehicle is stationary and can be safely overtaken on the left (e.g., at an intersection of queued vehicles).

[dkabab]

I don’t think It should be considered “overtaking” if you are doing the speed limit.
But if you are doing say 110 in a 100 zone in the left lane, then I’m sure they will get you for it. Speeding also….
I guess you could argue they were “undertaking” you



i guess this is a big point to it....

But it was a difficult law to police. "You've got to stop motorists on busy highways where there's nowhere to pull over," Superintendent Hartley said.

"Safety is paramount, so if officers can't stop safely they won't proceed."

[Aircon]

http://www.racq.com.au/about_us/corporate_information/news/stories/racq_provides_advice_on_motoring_issues6

i'm a bit troubled that you didn't already know that.

[PA]

On the freeway the two left lanes are both treated as left lanes which means you can drive in the middle lane.

Passing on either side of a car is legal.

[dkabab]

On the freeway the two left lanes are both treated as left lanes which means you can drive in the middle lane.

Passing on either side of a car is legal.

do you do much overtaking in the fleetwood