SPAIN'S ministry of traffic has launched a campaign to try to stop drivers hogging the outside lane on motorways.

Research carried out by the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) shows that 60 per cent of motorists in Spain drive in the left lane even when not overtaking.

A recent radio slot featuring a representative from the DGT said: “Everyone is taught in their driving lessons that the outside lane is for overtaking, but most seem to have forgotten that.”

They stress that using the left land of a motorway all the time slows down traffic, causes sharp braking and leads to accidents.

“This is what we see on every day in the left-hand lane: people who think this is England and decide that this is the lane they should use all the time, then someone being hassling them and sitting on their bumpers to make them pull over, and another behind braking sharply and checking that nobody is overtaking them on the inside lane. Do you really think all this is safe?” The DGT asked drivers on the radio.