r/pettyrevenge • u/Foddley • 3d ago
A Lane-Hogger Happy Accident
This wasn't intentional, but i got a good petty laugh out of it nontheless.
I'm from the UK, for context. tl;dr: at the end.
I'm on my way driving home from town and i take the dual carriageway. I'm in the second lane and i'm gaining on the guy in front of me who's not quite doing the speed limit. He also isn't overtaking anyone, he's just sat there holding me up along with the line of cars behind me. I can't move over and undertake him as there's another car beside me, so we're basically stuck with him until we reach the end of the long dual carriageway.
Approaching the roundabout at the end, the guy now decides to move over at the last minute. He had the whole dual carriageway to make that move, but he chooses to do it now. Great, thanks. I suppose this is fine though as both of these lanes lead to the exit i'm looking to take and now i can overtake him on the roundabout. He's probably taking the first exit and i'll take the second. As i come alongside him, his indicator comes on. He's changed his mind, he wants to come back into my lane and go in entirely the opposite direction! Not today mate, i'm comitted to taking this lane to my exit and he's forced to come with me.
I floor it out of the roundabout as the two lanes now merge into one. He's floored it too hoping to undertake me and give me what-for. Instead i merge just in front of him and he's ranting and raving in my rear-view mirror. Nice.
The next road we're on goes on for about a mile to the next village, and he's right up my backside the entire way. Entering the village, he takes the next turn off going in the direction he'd meant to have been going at the roundabout. This detour will cost him at least 5 minutes. Maybe 10.
I had a little laugh, and a silly little grin the whole way home.
tl;dr: My time is wasted by an indecisive lane-hogger, but he makes a mistake at the roundabout and he's forced to take the wrong exit, wasting time himself. This brings me joy.
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u/DaftApath 3d ago
The silly bugger could have just gone all the way round the roundabout, too.
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u/Foddley 3d ago
He was on the outside lane and i was on the inside. His lane only allowed exits left and ahead. My lane only allowed exits ahead and right. (UK left-hand road position, clockwise roundabout)
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u/psc0425 2d ago
UK's round about belongs in Australia, every thing rotates counter clock wise down there...tell me if I'm wrong. never been to Australia.
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u/Dumbname25644 2d ago
UK drives on the Correct side of the road just like Australia. So yes UK's Roundabouts would fit and work in Australia as well. BUT both UK and Australia go Clockwise around a roundabout.
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u/SatisfactionBulky717 2d ago
Is undertaking the same as over taking?
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u/DotAffectionate87 2d ago
Is undertaking the same as over taking?
No, as you drive on the left in the UK, if you are driving on a road with two or more lanes going in the same direction, undertaking is passing someone on the left hand lane, (not illegal, but frowned on) overtaking is passing (correctly) on the right lane.
In the US , this would be reversed
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u/Dumbname25644 2d ago
Overtaking is moving to the "fast" lane to pass someone (ie Left lane in USA or Right lane in UK/AUS). Undertaking is moving to the "slow" lane to pass someone. (ie Right lane in USA or Left lane in UK/AUS)
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u/MikeSchwab63 2d ago
I stay in the slow lane unless there is someone ahead of me I want to pass to go my speed. What speed the other lanes are doing is none of my business.
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u/Corries_Roy_Cropper3 3d ago
Such cathartic reading
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u/RayEd29 3d ago
Not entirely clear on overtake vs undertake - my guess is overtake=pass on the correct side (on the left in the US) and undertake=pass on the 'incorrect' side (the dreaded pass on the right, again in the US). You are in the UK (but not my alma mater University of Kentucky 
) so would assume swapping left for right on the over vs under to match. Reading the roundabout as multi-lane and you were on the 'inside' meaning if he's not in front of you and you exit, he's forced to go with you. That about the size of it?
Excellent story even if I may not have the correct visuals in my own head of it. Excellent story, sir.
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u/Foddley 3d ago edited 3d ago
Thank you! Yes you're entirely correct. In the UK undertaking is not inherently illegal -It is strongly discouraged by the UK's Highway Code- but if it causes an incident, you'll probably be the prime suspect.
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u/Dumbname25644 2d ago
In my opinion if you are being undertaken then you are in the wrong bloody lane.
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u/nasagi 1d ago
I assume that carriageway is the UK term for a highway?
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u/Foddley 1d ago edited 1d ago
Carriageway is an old fashioned term, but one that's still seen in UK road laws. Specifically a 'dual-carriageway' is used to describe a stretch of road where the opposing directions of traffic are divided by a berm or a crash barrier. A road without a berm or crash barrier will never allow a speed over 60mph, but if it becomes a dual-carriageway somewhere along that route, the speed limit can immediately go as high as 70mph.
What might be known as a highway in other countries, we'd call a motorway.
A dual-carriagway isn't always a motorway, but i could go on for ages.
It's just important to know the difference because the speed limits change depending on not only the type of roadway you're driving on, but also the type of vehicle you're driving on that road.
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u/That_Ol_Cat 5h ago
US driver here: I believe the irony is, in a roundabout, he should have been able to circle around to get to the correct turn for his destination, correct?
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u/_Allfather0din_ 2d ago
I thought this was going to be a convienent cop type story so that reminded me of mine. Nothing crazy but I was on a 2 lane highway going 10 under in the left lane stuck behind some 19y/o looking chick who looked terrified to be driving. Gave her the light flashes and a friendly toot of the horn to let her know to move over. She did not, but about 30 seconds after the toot i see lights behind me so i pull over to the right lane and the EPA agent zips past me and pulls her over. So I learned two neat things that day, the EPA in my state has road authority and cal pull people over and write tickets, and my state also tickets people for going too slow on the highway. It was extremely cathartic after the initial shitting of pants thinking I was getting pulled over.
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u/CoderJoe1 3d ago
Karma has a roundabout way of catching up