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Minimum speeds are a contentious issue but in some cases the police should intervene when a driver is holding up a long queue of traffic.
Driving on the UK's roads these past weeks has got me thinking about driving standards in general and lane discipline in particular.
It appears to me that one of the quickest and sure fire ways of improving journey times and reducing unnecessary congestion is to enforce proper lane discipline.
Drive on any motorway today and you will quickly observe, as we all have done for decades now, those drivers quietly pootling along in the middle lane, totally oblivious to all that is going on around them.
It seems they have this sad belief that by sticking to the middle lane they are more immune to any accident that may occur around them, little knowing that they may well actually contribute to such an accident.
I also started looking more closely at some of these middle lane road hogs and quickly observed that they never seem to look in their mirror. They drive in a world of their own, or chatting to fellow passengers.
This observation was supported by research in recent weeks revealing the average woman looks in her mirror every 25 minutes and men 18 times per day. No wonder driving standards are so poor.
All drivers should check their mirrors before any manoeuvre and when driving at a constant speed should periodically check for what's behind them.
Off the motorway and onto country roads and the position is accentuated when drivers plod along at 35mph or 40 mph in a 60mph speed limit, usually continuing at unabated speed in 30mph villages.
These same drivers rarely check their mirrors to see what might be behind them. They certainly would get a shock on seeing a queue of vehicles.
Minimum speeds are a contentious issue but in some cases the police should intervene when a driver is holding up a long queue of traffic through failure to maintain an adequate speed for the surrounding circumstances.
So rather than just displaying signs that state 'Don't drink & drive', 'Take regular rest stops', 'Check fuel level', etc, the Department for Transport (DfT) should emphasise the importance of proper lane discipline by displaying signs such as 'Keep to the left unless overtaking.'
The Highway Code is quite clear on the subject and the DfT and police should enforce lane discipline. Another sign should read 'Check your mirror regularly'.
The reinforcement of proper driver education would go a long way to resolving some of the problems commonly encountered on our road network.
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