Slow learners in the fast lane

Sean O’Grady explores the motorway myths and fears that blight too many of Britain’s drivers

That 50mph is just a suggestion... right? (GEM)

One in three British drivers don’t understand motorway signs, and a similar proportion believes that motorway messaging signals are not useful or have poor and inaccurate information. According to a survey sponsored by CarShop, a car supermarket, in some cases these sort of hang-ups deter people from taking to motorways, traditionally relatively safe roads, completely.

Motorway fear is real among drivers, especially those who are new to the roads, with over half (60 per cent) of millennials avoiding them altogether. Of course younger, newer, drivers have always been more nervous about taking to the motorway, partly because before last June learner drivers were not allowed on motorways at all.

Nearly one in four drivers (23 per cent) have ignored the red “X” sign on a smart motorway, indicating a lane closure ahead, and over a third (37 per cent) of drivers have admitted to exceeding the 70mph speed limit on motorways – because they are unsure about the rules of the road and the national speed limit.

Other common misunderstandings include:

● That the outside lane is the “fast lane” and the other two the “slow lanes”, which encourages the habit of hogging the middle lane, recently designated an offence under the Highway Code.

● When joining a motorway, you should give way to traffic already in lane – many believe drivers on the motorway should give way to those joining, but they actually have the right of way. It is the joining driver’s responsibility to join the motorway safely, although the habitual courtesy of British drivers to move over has fostered the opposite, erroneous, idea.

● On smart motorways, even when display screens are inactive and completely black, the integrated speed cameras are still active and can capture the number plates of speeding drivers as normal. Speed cameras on smart motorways do not turn off.

● Speed limits displayed on smart motorways are often thought to be advisory, but this isn’t always the case. If the speed displayed is in a red circle it is a mandatory limit, and you will be committing an offence if you exceed the indicated limit – you’re likely to be captured by speed cameras if you do so. It’s only when the speed displayed is accompanied by orange flashing lights that a limit is advisory.

● Many people believe that it’s illegal to run out of fuel on the motorway, and that you may receive a fine if this happens – but this is a myth. You should never commit to a long journey if you feel you may run out of fuel, but if you do, you won’t be fined by the authorities.

CarShop has created this jolly little quiz to test your knowledge: https://www.carshop.co.uk/latest-news/374

A spokesperson from CarShop commented: “Even though motorway driving is proven to be one of the safest forms of driving, many of us experience anxiety and even fear about it – which could be due to our lack of knowledge and our believing in ‘motorway myths’.

“However, driving on the motorway without being clued in, can lead to navigation mistakes, penalty fines and potentially even worse – accidents.

“It’s surprising to see just how many of us avoid the motorway and just don’t know the rules of the road that well. We’re glad that learners are now allowed on the motorway and will learn these rules before passing their test, but for now, existing drivers might want to brush up on their skills.”

The research is taken from Statista (2,000 respondents) YouGov (70,349 respondents) and Department of Transport data.