Motorway Priority Inversion?

Driving back from Derby today I was struck by a phenomena I've seen a few times before, everyone was in the 'overtaking' lane with the other two lanes relatively empty and moving faster. Seems like a priority inversion was taking place, with all the drivers deciding they needed access to the scarce resource (road), the end result being slower performance for all tasks (drivers). I wonder if there are other lessons or analogies here, does the variable speed limit on the M25 equate to a lowering of all priorities in order to keep the system running? One thing seems clear: no matter how much capacity, if you keep loading the system eventually it will grind to a halt.

(for those of you outside the UK, the M25 is a large circular motorway best avoided if possible)