Middle lane hogging warning for South Yorkshire drivers
Drivers in South Yorkshire being warned about the dangers of middle lane hogging, as figures show a third are still doing it despite it now being an offence.
It's now been a year since it was made illegal - with a fine or points on your licence the penalty for getting caught.
New research shows over 40% of motorists here are breaking speed limits to overtake a middle lane hogger.
Inspector Glenn Suttenwood's from South Yorkshire's Road Policing Unit - he says it can have many dangers:
"Firstly it causes congestion - if you're sat in lane 2 with an HGV driving past you at 50-60mph - they can't get past you. They've either got to stay in lane 1 and undertake you or they sit behind you so there are some real dangers associated with that. Secondly, it encourages undertaking and potentially you've got a crash there. Thirdly it adds to driver anxiety."
"We do have isolated occasions where drivers have hogged the lanes and it has caused a road traffic collision. More so though, it has actually led to road rage where drivers get extremely frustrated with each other and you get people pulling over on the hard shoulder and getting into confrontations."
Over half of drivers surveyed think that middle lane hogging is 'selfish'.
Glenn says it can have a real effect on other drivers:
"They tend to take their concentration levels off the road and focus on - as they see it - the offending vehicle. They're not looking and taking in what they're doing. So it not only contributes to assaults but also serious road traffic collisions."
"You will receive a penalty notice for that offence - you can actually go to court for it. Or you can have a traffic offence report where you have to go on a driver improvement course."