In multi-lane traffic jams on the motorway, I often seem to move into the faster-moving lane just as it becomes stationary and the lane of traffic I just left starts moving. Assuming that other drivers experience the same, or are not deliberately trying to stymie me, what is the best strategy for getting through multi-lane traffic jams as quickly as possible?
鈥� Ten years ago, I had a daily commute along an 85-kilometre stretch of London鈥檚 M25 motorway. After a few weeks, I began to notice that in congestion I鈥檇 overtake the same lorry again and again. On that basis, I decided that as soon as traffic started to get stuck, I鈥檇 go into the 鈥渟lower鈥� (non-overtaking) lane. I soon discovered that I鈥檇 normally get through the congestion before the cars that either stayed in the overtaking lanes or attempted multiple lane-shifting.
More recently, I commuted several times a week on the autobahn between Basel and Vevey in Switzerland. I observed the same phenomenon. Presumably the perception that other lanes are moving more quickly is partly psychological 鈥� the nearside lane is full of lorries going slowly, so it must seem slower when you are in it. Of course, there can be local variations according to conditions and the cause of the hold-up.
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My advice is to get into the nearside lane as soon as congestion appears, and stay in it until the traffic flows again. Be aware, however, that overtaking on the nearside, , is contrary to laws in many countries.
As a rule, I found that for a journey of about 160 kilometres, driving in this way (and, in general, driving defensively) made little or no difference to the total journey time compared with driving aggressively. However, driving defensively, I鈥檇 arrive considerably less stressed.
Matt Billingham, Binningen, Switzerland
鈥� The BBC ran an experiment on just this question many years ago. Two cars set off on identical long journeys on congested motorways on the first day of the summer holiday getaway. One car stayed in the nearside lane, the other tried swapping lanes as described in the question. It made no difference to the overall journey time, so it seems you might as well stay in the nearside lane.
鈥淥ne car stayed in the nearside lane, the other swapped lanes. It made no difference to journey time鈥�
Pam Lunn, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK
Australian television came up with a slightly different result 鈥� Ed
鈥� A few years ago, an Australian science television programme did an experiment during peak hour to find the quickest way to drive through multi-lane traffic jams. Two cars started at the same place and time, and went to the same destination following the same route. One driver changed lanes whenever he thought another lane was moving faster, while the other driver stayed in one lane and didn鈥檛 worry about how long it took to reach the destination.
The result was that the lane changer got to the destination more quickly 鈥� but only just (something like 3 minutes earlier over a 30-minute trip). However, in doing so, the lane changer used significantly more fuel (about 25 per cent more), and reported feeling much more stressed and aggressive at the end of the drive.
The conclusion was that it was better for the environment and for your health and stress levels to chill out and stay in one lane 鈥� and it didn鈥檛 make much difference to your overall travel time.
Adam Friederich, O鈥機onnor, ACT, Australia
鈥� I have a 160-kilometre commute to work and have experimented with various options in an attempt to beat the traffic. The best one? Get a motorcycle.
Daz Loczy, Nottingham, UK