Lane discipline

Sir,
Mr RJ Wade’s letter (Motor Sport, April 1988) surely misses the point. It is the incorrect use of the first and second lands on motorways that causes congestion in the third.

There seems to be a general idea that the first lane is for lorries and the like and the second lane is the normal driving lane for cars, whatever their speed and whether there is any traffic in the first lane or not. On four-lane sections of the M25, it is not unusual to see both first and second lands empty and cars using only the third and fourth.

Perhaps some public education is necessary to ensure that the three lanes are used progressively as traffic demands. Present attitudes effectively reduce three-lane motorways to dual-carriageways.

TJ Mulligan, Winchester, Hampshire