A picture of a car 'hogging' the motorway middle lane at 5am has kicked off a row online. The picture, taken by Dave Harford, shows a car in the middle lane on the M5 seemingly completely alone, with no other vehicles anywhere to be seen.
Frustrated by the white BMW driver, Dave took to Twitter to complain, raging that drivers should keep to the left. After kicking off a battle online between sympathizers and critics of the driver, Dave explained the vehicle - doing around 50mph - had been in the middle lane for over a mile.
He said that it was an example of similar cases he sees on a daily basis and called lane hogging 'illegal' as it forces cars to enter the outside lane to overtake. Dave, 43, from Worcester, added: "Traffic was behind this vehicle and said traffic had to move to lane 3 to go past him - causing more risk.
"Yes. The car was a BMW, but they’re aren’t the only ones who do it People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming others and finding excuses.
"It’s lane hogging. It’s illegal and causes congestion when lots of traffic is around."
On its website, the RAC explains lane hogging is an example of 'careless driving' that could see you fined up to £100. The website explains: "Yes, it is an offence, although it comes under ‘careless driving’, along with tailgating, accidentally running a red light and even being distracted by eating or drinking.
"New laws introduced in 2013 give police officers the power to hand out on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points, meaning failing to keep left on the motorway could hit you in the pocket."
Critics of the vehicle were quick to jump on the band wagon, with one poster saying: "The lanes to the right are overtaking lanes. If you're not overtaking, you shouldn't be in it. The clue is in the name..."
While another critic added: "Middle Lane hoggers are just poor drivers with no confidence to change lanes confidently, shouldn’t be on the motorway."
One person explained their frustration, adding: "As someone who drives a vehicle that can't go into lane three, I find middle lane hoggers really annoying. Especially when they then sit at 55-60 and won't pull over so you have to hang back since I can't undertake or undertake since both are illegal."
There were some who defended the driver though, with one user posting: "This is not an example of hogging as there are no other vehicles wanting/needing to occupy that lane."
