r/drivingUK

I get wound up by those happily plodding along, refusing to budge from the lap of luxury in the centre of the British highways, as much as the next person.

However...

Perhaps because of the prevalence of people complaining about middle lane hoggers online - often being amongst the top comment on dashcam clips if someone doesn't move over as soon as there's what looks like a 20cm gap in the left lane (despite us usually not even being able to see what's even to the left of the cam car) - I feel I've seen more and more people going too far the other way in recent year; changing lanes every 5 seconds to make a point of moving back in to a left lane they're clearly travelling faster than with more vehicles just a short distance ahead.

It's clearly more dangerous than just staying in lane if you can see you're catching up to traffic up ahead (within reason). The risk of an accident significantly increases during any lane change manoeuvre. I expect overdoing them is actually more dangerous than just staying in the middle lane for your entire journey. There's not really any situation where moving in to a left lane you can see you're going faster than helps anyone. In congested traffic, it's actually against the highway code. If the roads are quiet, then you aren't really inconveniencing anyone else that can simply overtake you on the third or fourth lane. You become far more of a pain if they're coming up behind you in a lane they saw you vacate, only for your right indicator to be coming on again in no time.

Whilst not without dangers itself, stubbornly staying planted in the second or third lane is typically just an annoyance for those around you. You're at least often a very predictable obstacle, as you're moving along in one lane at a largely consistent speed.

I appreciate everyone will (or at least I do) at times make an unnecessary lane change to the left by misreading just how quickly you're going to have to overtake. I'm more taking aim at those where it appears to be how they aim to drive.

And to make it absolutely clear, I'm not advocating for lane hogs. They are still overall the biggest bane of my motorway dwelling life. I'm just saying that I think the left lane warriors, whilst not yet quite as common, when you do come across them are arguably even worse.

So yesterday I drove to ldn from brum, obvs I’m following the speed checks like 40, ,50 ,60 etc but everyone around me was doing more than that. Are they getting fined ? Or the cameras don’t work ?

Hi, a couple days ago someone bumped into the rear of my car. I was stood completely stationary at a give way and they hit me from behind. It wasn't too high speed so there's cosmetic damage to the rear bumper. We stopped at the side of the road and rather stupidly, I only got their phone number and name. They replied to my messages for the next 1 day and acknowledged it was their fault and agreed to pay but now seem to have blocked me. What are my options? I know it's my fault to not get any further details but is there any way I can do anything with their name and contact number?

This is my first year of driving and I’m a student (23) with a black box with Hastings direct.

Tried taking a right turn at a junction where there was quite a lot of traffic in the first lane crossed so my visibility was poor, didn’t see this car coming and the sides of our front bumpers collided. The other party had only bought the car a few days ago from the Honda dealership.

I had never dealt with anything like this and the other individual involved didn’t speak very good English so we waited until his brother arrived at the scene to help mediate and translate.

I explained the situation and said it was basically my fault and thought that it would be best settled privately in fear of insurance premiums sky rocketing.

We ended up going to the Honda garage to get his car checked structural damage and there was none but there was minor cosmetic damage to his bumper which had a minor crack at the bottom but we were told it had to be replaced.

We go to a body shop and I decided to pay for the work for £900 (pre-painted bumper from Honda + labour) and they had booked it to be done June 3rd.

Now I realised that I made a mistake and should have just settled through insurance. My black box score is 98 and it didn’t even pick up the collision. Is it too late? I have the guy’s name and registration plate but no phone number or policy number.

I’d like some general advice on what the next best step would be:
- Whether the insurance claim would majorly increase my premium and if my high black box score even makes a difference?
- If at this point, with work being paid for but no where near started, it’s still worth going through insurance?
- Should I at least inform them of the incident?

Use to always use CarPlay and play Spotify. But as I get older I’ve started missing the radio and have gone back to listening it again. Shout out to heart 80s! They play some bangers. Anyone else going back to radio in the car?

Hey everyone. I grew up and learned to drive in the UK, but I moved abroad in 2009. I haven't been back much since then and the last time I drove in the UK was early 2016.

I'm coming back in June to see family for a month and I've rented a car for the trip.

I'm curious about what might've changed over these last 10 years. I've seen some social media posts about the dreaded yellow box junctions and it seems like average speed cameras are much more prevalent these days. What else should I be aware of coming back to drive this summer?

Thanks so much!

Long story short:

• Moved to the UK (June 2025)
• Got hit cycling on a zebra crossing (July 2025)
• Solicitor A handling it (Sep 2025)
• Bought car + insurance (Dec 2025)
• Full UK driving license (Feb 2026)
• Hit-and-run on my car (May 2026, minor damage, dashcam, NCD unaffected)
• Now with solicitor B

While dealing with the hit-and-run, the cycling incident resurfaced.

Now I’m unsure about this:
Do I need to declare the cycling accident to my car insurer?

Solicitor A: “No, you weren’t driving.”
Insurer: “Yes, declare it + premium goes up (£600+).”

Spending a lot of time on this lately—just trying to understand what’s actually required.

### Additional info after the initial post ###

Additional info:

Initially picked insurer A but couldn’t complete payment. Turns out their system flagged an undeclared cycling accident and the quote went up by ~£1000.

I tried explaining it was a cycling incident, but they said it was already on record and the premium stands.

Ended up giving up and going with the current insurer B.

### Clarification from the current insurer B###

"This claim will need to be added to your policy. Even though this happened while you were cycling and before you owned a car, we still need to include any accidents or incidents from the last 5 years when setting up or reviewing your car insurance. This helps make sure your cover details are correct and avoids any issues later on."

" Since you did not declare this claim previously, this is something that would have to be updated on your policy in 7 days to keep your policy active until your expiry date. Any errors on a policy can lead to it being cancelled or treated as if it never existed. It can also lead to claims being rejected or not paid out in full. When a claim is added to the policy, we need to recalculate your price based on the level of risk linked to this claim. "

Unfortunately once you ask, the insurer knows and you have no other option.

### Why this cycling incident resurfaced ###

First time I’ve really tried to understand what actually counts as a “claim” and what happens if you don’t declare something relevant. Turns out the consequences can be pretty serious — even policy cancellation.

Asked my instructor, wasn’t sure either, so was basically told “ask the insurer.”

ChatGPT says it should be declared.

Still feels like a grey area depending on who you ask.

### The question that an insurer asks you ###

"Have you had any motor accidents, claims or losses in the last five years?

This is regardless of who/what was at fault or if a claim was made or not. If you don’t tell your insurer about previous accidents, claims or losses, your car insurance may not pay out if you make a claim"

So it seems in my case it counts as a claim—I was involved in a cycling incident where I am seeking compensation (via solicitor A) from the driver’s insurance.

### Update on hit-and-run

Askmid shows the hit-and-run car is no longer insured; Solicitor B confirmed that on the day of the incident, it was insured.

Officially had my license for two months, and my car for one. I’ve only accidentally driven into Newcastle city centre once and since then I’ve been so apprehensive about going back because of the traffic and just how nervous I get in the city. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Why do people never follow safe braking distances? I don't see it discussed enough. You're not getting anywhere faster (and trust me i’m willing to go faster than you), you're just putting yourself and others at risk. I get its sometimes hard with the middle lane hoggers but please stop cutting into my lane then hitting the brakes, very poor driving.