Lane Usage

Diagram showing lanes and road layout

White dashed lines denote the lane separation, while an unbroken white line is painted alongside the median (usually known as the “central reservation”). A white line on the edge of the slow lane marks the edge of the hard shoulder. The hard shoulder is not used for traffic and is reserved for breakdowns or emergency maneuvers. Pedestrians should only use the hard shoulder to walk to emergency telephones and not for any other reason. Vehicles on the hard shoulder should activate their hazard warning lights.

Lanes closest to the edge of the road are intended for general driving – these are hence the “inside” lanes, while the lanes closest to the median are intended for overtaking (passing) slower-moving vehicles – hence they are termed “outside” lanes. Generally lanes closer to the centre of the road (outer lanes) are used for overtaking, while lanes near the edge of the road (inner lanes) are used for slower traffic. Under the Highway Code in the UK, it is not permitted to overtake on the left, except in emergencies, when signs indicate drivers may do so, or when traffic is moving slowly. Similar rules apply in Germany and some other countries.

Traffic should always use the left-hand-most lane as much as possible. Generally this means a vehicle should use the left-hand lane next to the hard shoulder, and use the other two lanes only for overtaking maneuvers, moving back into the left lane once they have passed the slower vehicle(s). In heavy traffic, it is acceptable to cruise in the middle lane to pass slower vehicles to avoid constant lane changes.

A significant problem on motorways is the “middle lane hog”, a driver who drives in the middle lane when there is no reason to do so. This can be very frustrating for other drivers. Faster vehicles approaching in the left hand lane have to maneuver across four lanes of the motorway rather than two to overtake such a vehicle, since undertaking is deemed dangerous. Drivers of heavy goods vehicles can be especially frustrated by a middle lane hog, as their vehicles are not permitted to use the right-hand-most lane on a three (or more) lane motorway under normal circumstances. Some vehicles try to convince a “right lane hog” to move to the slower lane by keeping a very close distance, which is also considered dangerous.

In the UK lanes in a given direction are numbered from left to right as lane 1, lane 2, lane 3, etc. Lane 1 is the lane next to the hard shoulder.