Motorists blast ‘selfish’ motorists for making a little-known mistake on the freeway – can you spot what they’re doing wrong?

A DRIVER has been criticized as “selfish” for making a classic freeway blunder – although some people admitted they didn’t see what they were doing wrong.

Dashcam footage sent motorists spinning after showing a white van occupying the center lane while other cars followed.

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The clip was flooded with comments from other confused motorists after it was shared on Twitter.

It was captioned: “When will this be addressed more, hogging miles of lane 3 on the #M25.”

And many motorists berated the driver for his “dangerous” habit, calling his lane-hogging “shocking”.

“A perfect example of why highways get clogged with traffic jams,” said one.

Another driver said it created numerous potential risks, including “dangerous and unnecessary clogging, tailgating and company”.

Traffic official and traffic safety advocate Dave Harford also chimed in, stressing that it was a “big problem”.

“Driving at it’s finest – NOT,” he continued.

“It’s happening on motorways across the UK – I’d like to know why people are doing it.”

But not everyone saw the problem with practice, with some feeling it was “safer than constantly changing lanes”.

Another driver asked, “If there’s no inconvenience or obstacles, who cares?”

According to Section 264 of the Road Traffic Act, drivers should always stay in the left lane “except when overtaking”.

“When overtaking, you should return to the left lane when it is safe to do so,” the rule adds.

Occupying the outer lanes on a motorway is also considered dangerous driving under the law and can be penalized with a fine of £100 and three penalty points if you receive a fixed penalty charge.

And since 2013, police have had the power to issue on-the-spot fines for drivers who drive in the middle lane.

KNOW THE RULES

An analysis of more than 70 hours of motorway footage across the UK, commissioned by Direct Line Car Insurance, found that just 23 per cent of drivers predominantly drive in the inside lane.

The research found that 27 percent drive in the outer fast lane.

For the remaining half, most said they hog the middle lane, expecting to overtake slower vehicles further up the freeway, so might as well stay where they are.

Others claimed they stay in the middle lane just to avoid having to change lanes as often, while nearly a quarter do so because they think they can drive faster than the inside lane.

Rob Miles, Direct Line’s Director of Car Insurance, said: “Our analysis of traffic flows shows that millions of drivers face prosecution for driving in the center and outer lanes when the inner lanes are completely clear.

“It’s important that we raise awareness of the rules and penalties, primarily because they are there to keep road users safe, but drivers also face serious fines and endorsements that stay on their records for four years will.

“Many drivers claim they want to avoid changing lanes to overtake, but this is a crucial skill and in-car technologies like blind spot and safe distance warnings can help drivers travel safely.”