For the first time in the UK history, a galling driver who has been clinging to the middle lane of a motorway and refused to move from middle lane, was fined hugely. It was a Citroen Berlingo van. The panel of magistrates heard that this driver blocked as much as six other vehicles and he kept on driving at 60mph in the middle lane when left lane was completely free, others had to brake and overtake from wrong side.
Despite of having so many opportunities, according to the Huddersfield Examiner, the Berlingo driver refused to move intoinside lane of the M62. This incident happened on August 25 last year, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
The driver was ordered to attend the hearing at Leeds Magistrates Court, but he failed, thus he was ordered to pay a £500 fine and was given five penalty points. For this offence, this court conviction is thought to be the very first of its kind.
Yes! It does pose threats of all kinds, it causes congestion, inconvenience to others and even sometimes, prompt other motorists to tailgate the lane-hogger in order to get him to move over.
“The real problems on our roads are the lane hogging and consequently, tailgating,” told on regular basis by members of the public to the Road Policing Unit. This step portrays, how seriously police and courts are taking these public concerns and the level of their understanding, they have of the issues.
The government had brought these new £100 on the spot fines in August 2013, specifically for middle lane hoggers. So, if you are one of the middle lane hoggers, be very careful next time because it will put you in conviction of breaching the law.