West Yorkshire driver convicted for ‘lane hogging’ on M62

The Citroen Berlingo driver was convicted of careless driving on the M62 eastbound between junction 22 (Rishworth Moor) and junction 23 (Outlane) last August.

The motorist, who has not been named, was given five penalty points and ordered to pay a £500 fine, £400 in costs and a £40 victim surcharge at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

According to West Yorkshire Police, the driver had numerous opportunities to move back into the left-hand lane but failed to do so and chose instead “to drive in an inconsiderate manner”.

Officers say that on six occasions other vehicles approached the rear of the Citroen in lane two and had to slow to 60mph and then wait for a gap to move in to lane three to overtake.

PC Nigel Fawcett-Jones from the force’s Road Policing Unit said: “Lane hogging causes congestion and inconvenience to other road users. It reduces the capacity of roads and motorways, and can lead to dangerous situations where other drivers ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front to try and get the lane hogger to move over.

“Members of the public regularly tell the Road Policing Unit that lane hogging and tailgating are real problems on our roads and this conviction shows that the police and the courts understand the public’s concerns and take this offence seriously.”

The new powers to issue fixed penalties for careless driving, along with a £100 fine and three points on the driver’s licence, were announced by the Government in 2013 to make it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers.

The changes give the police greater flexibility in dealing with less serious careless driving offences, freeing them from resource-intensive court processes.

Officers who previously might have ignored low-level offences or let the driver off with a warning have been told to consider a fixed penalty and offer the driver a chance to go on educational training instead of having their licence endorsed.

Between August 16, 2013, and June 11, 2014, West Yorkshire Police issued 247 on-the-spot fines for driving without due care and attention, and 182 for driving without reasonable consideration.

In a similar period Humberside Police issued eight fixed penalties for careless driving, though 517 drivers were sent to attend courses, 48 were due to be brought to court and 232 faced enforcement action that had not yet concluded by last summer.

North Yorkshire Police officers handed out 48 notices for offences such as dangerous overtaking and failing to give way at a junction, lane discipline and “careless manoeuvres” between August 2013 and June 2014, while South Yorkshire Police issued at least 108.