Motorway, instructions for use. Drivers, especially those in cities or those who are new to driving, are not always equipped to tackle it consciously. On the motorway, you travel at high speed and as the speed increases, so do the risks, stopping distances, and safe following distances...
When driving on motorways, as well as ring roads or extra-urban roads, it is best to have no uncertainties. Referring to the Highway Code, here we will look at the fundamental rules for safe driving and avoiding penalties.
The basics: difference between carriageway and lane. The carriageway is the part of the road intended for vehicle traffic; the lane is the part of the carriageway intended for a single line of vehicles. On motorways, there are usually three lanes, plus the hard shoulder.
How are they used? The rules of the Highway Code – article 143, paragraph 5 – are clear: for normal driving, the freest lane on the right should be used; the left lane and lanes are used for overtaking. These lanes can be used to overtake one or more vehicles, provided that the manoeuvre does not impede faster vehicles approaching from behind. We cannot remain in the overtaking phase until we catch up and pass a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle if a supercar is approaching behind us! Everyone knows this, but it is worth reiterating: every lane change must be signalled promptly by using the indicators.
Despite the rules, it is easy to find cars travelling in the middle lane even if the right-hand lane is free, often at reduced speed. This is a very common behaviour, but it is penalised by the Code. And if, while driving in the right-hand lane, we find ourselves passing a slower vehicle travelling in the middle of the road, are we performing a - strictly forbidden - undertake? No. "Anyone who continues to drive in the right-hand lane, despite the presence of vehicles in the left-hand lane, is not undertaking, but only passing on the right, which is not penalised," clarifies the Traffic Police.
We will subsequently see how to enter and exit the motorway; in the meantime, take a look here to understand how hard shoulders should be used.
