2,000 drivers a year fined for middle lane hogging
Every year, an average of 2,000 motorists are fined in Belgium for persistently driving in the middle lane of the motorway. The figure comes from Belgian police.
Hogging the motorway middle lane is prohibited in Belgium and can lead to a hefty fine: during the first 4 months of 2023, 967 drivers were fined for continuing to drive in the middle lane of the motorway when they could have driven in the right-hand lane aka the slow lane. In previous years, an average of 2,000 fines were issued annually. 2019 was a record year with 2,718 violations.
"Middle box drivers tempt you to overtake on the right."
Hogging the middle lane of the motorway is one of the big irks of VRT newscaster Chaima Saysay. She discussed the issue with Xavier Taveirne of VRT’s consumer affairs programme "WinWin" on Radio2.
"I think middle-lane drivers are dangerous," says Chaima. "Because they force me to perform dangerous manoeuvres. Either I have to drive all the way to the left to overtake them, or I stay in the right lane myself and overtake them on the right. And that's not allowed!"
The rules explained
"You are never allowed to drive in the central lane of the motorway in Belgium if you don't have to. You must always drive on the far right," explains VRT traffic expert Hajo Beeckman.
"Another rule in the highway code says you should never overtake on the right. The reasoning behind this is that people who keep driving unnecessarily in the middle lane create dangerous situations, because they entice people to overtake on the right. Moreover, you often create traffic jams when you keep driving in the middle lane without due reason."
Police checks
Checks are carried out on middle lane hogging, though it is not always easy to establish an offence has occurred, says An Berger of the Federal Police. "You have to be able to observe a car for quite some time and that is not always so simple. But so we do carry out checks and and issue fines."
"Middle lane hogging is dangerous: you endanger the flow of traffic and your behaviour is unpredictable: other drivers don't really know what you're going to do. That's why there are rules to make your behaviour predictable."
A fine can range from 116 euros to 160 euros.
3 situations in which middle lane driving is allowed:
In built-up areas, you are allowed to drive in the middle or left lane for a longer distance. "You may choose the lane that suits you best," says Hajo Beeckman. "Suppose you have to turn off left in a kilometer or so, then you may drive in the left lane for some considerable distance."
If the motorway is very busy and traffic is slowing down or nearly at a standstill, you may also stay in the left or middle lane. "You simply join the traffic jam in your own lane."
When blue traffic signs (F13 and F15) above the road indicate a direction of travel, you may choose the lane that indicates your direction. "As soon as you pass such a sign, you may stick to your lane. Other drivers following a different direction are then allowed to overtake you on the right."