Van driver becomes first convicted for 'lane-hogging'

A van driver is thought to be the first British motorist to be convicted of "lane hogging" after refusing to move from the middle lane on a motorway.

The Huddersfield Examiner reports that the driver of a Citroen Berlingo van was handed a £940 court bill and five points on his licence after driving at 60 miles-per-hour down the middle lane of the M62 when the inside lane was available.

According to the newspaper, six drivers had to brake and then overtake after being blocked by the van in August last year.

New £100 on-the-spot fines were introduced in August 2013 to deal with the issue of middle-lane hogging.

The driver failed to appear in court but was handed the penalty in the form of a £500 fine, £400 costs and a £40 victim surcharge.

West Yorkshire Police's Road Policing Unit said lane hogging "can lead to dangerous situations where other drivers 'tailgate' the vehicle in front to ry and get the lane hogger to move over".