Shelley Bridgeman: Slow drivers - get out of the fast lane

What makes you mad on the road? Photo / 123RF

In 2012 I asked: Do slow drivers drive you crazy? Reader responses were mainly in the affirmative. (There were also people who thought I needed to develop some patience and stop being in such a rush to get places.)

My three main bugbears of the open road were drivers who made it difficult for those behind them to pass, those who crawl along the shoulder of the road and those evil geniuses who randomly accelerate at passing lanes. Readers responded: "I quite agree", "Three out of three! Well done!" and "You've absolutely hit the nail on the head". They also said: "Why bust a gut overtaking?", "The culture of trying to be first is irritating" and "I am so important I will have a hissy fit if anyone dares prolong my very important journey for, say, 10 minutes." Ouch.

Yet it was clear I had failed to address the elephant on the motorway. For it emerged that possibly the number one gripe of Kiwi drivers pertains to slow cars in the outside lane. It's a phenomenon that drives (ha!) people crazy. Why had I overlooked such a truth? This is technically a bugbear of mine as well.

But then I realised that the reason I don't get tied up in knots about it is that there is a simple way of evading this kind of motorist. Unless the motorway is especially choked (and then we're all guilty of crawling in our respective lanes) I can usually easily undertake the offending vehicle while resisting the urge to give the driver the evils. In fact I may have occasionally, on Auckland's multi-lane motorways, been known to undertake the car which is undertaking the slow car in the fast lane. This double-undertake-manoeuvre (which requires a minimum of three lanes to execute) can be highly satisfying. It wasn't unlawful last time I checked although it possibly should be.

But my relaxed approach to these particular slow coaches is more than made up for by other road users who express displeasure at drivers "hogging the outside lane doing 95ks" and "[p]eople who insist on driving in the fast lane of the motorway at 90km making other motorists overtake them on the left". Another reader said: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the passing lane!"

Courteous and logical driving is clearly not a priority for those motorists who crawl along in the outside lane oblivious to the rising blood pressure of those around them. Presumably these people are not courteous or logical in other driving situations either. These are likely to be the drivers who don't indicate and who are slow to move off when they get a green light. They go through life without feeling the need to observe the little niceties that make other people's day smoother.

Of course, the reasons for slow drivers in the fast lane could be more sinister than mere ignorance and rudeness. Perhaps they travel at a snail's pace in the outside lane intentionally, knowing full well the annoyance they are causing. Perhaps a blend of mischievousness and malice causes some to indulge in this antisocial behaviour.