'Self policing'
Discussion
Today I came across an interesting chap, who found it was his duty to block the outer carriage way of a nsl dual carriage way about 1/2mile from a tunnel entrance.
Traffic was queuing on the inside lane, traffic seemed to be slow moving. On this occasion I was in the outside lane when a driver pulled out to block the outside lane about 1/2mile from the merge in.
When the traffic began to flow again he moved back into the left hand lane, I just proceeded and merged into a large gap nearer the tunnel.
I see his actions potentially caused traffic to back up further than necessary (onto a roundabout behind us).
I didn't bother getting irate or beeping, as this would just be rising up to a response I guess they are expecting. Is this a legal manoeuvre to conduct?
Traffic was queuing on the inside lane, traffic seemed to be slow moving. On this occasion I was in the outside lane when a driver pulled out to block the outside lane about 1/2mile from the merge in.
When the traffic began to flow again he moved back into the left hand lane, I just proceeded and merged into a large gap nearer the tunnel.
I see his actions potentially caused traffic to back up further than necessary (onto a roundabout behind us).
I didn't bother getting irate or beeping, as this would just be rising up to a response I guess they are expecting. Is this a legal manoeuvre to conduct?
Reg Local said:
No. It’s idiotic road captaincy of the first order & leads to unnecessarily long queues at lane closures & merge points.
Drive up to the closure & merge in turn.
And if you are on the inside lane ALLOW others to merge....the descriptive should be changed to ZIpper Merge (people are thick)Drive up to the closure & merge in turn.
Dont like rolls said:
And if you are on the inside lane ALLOW others to merge....the descriptive should be changed to ZIpper Merge (people are thick)
The Dutch used to call is ritzen witch translates to zipping. Why we can't do the same and stop being so territorial on the road really irks me.This is annoying and especially prevalent in our small island nation. If someone blocks your path you can't do a lot about it without potentially instigating a road rage incident but if you can use the available lane space appropriately someone will let you in. It just needs to be done in a non-aggressive manner i.e. not roaring up to the end of the queue and jumping on the brakes before forcing your way in. A smooth transition with a wave of thanks should not leave you stuck at the cones or being rammed by a Hilux :-)
I read some FB post recently about a "merge in turn" sign being installed and some woman was getting massively irate about it, to the extent she was suggesting ripping it down.
What was frightening is the number of likes she was getting.
I did try and probe as to why it annoyed her so deeply, but she didn't reply.
What was frightening is the number of likes she was getting.
I did try and probe as to why it annoyed her so deeply, but she didn't reply.
Johnnytheboy said:
I read some FB post recently about a "merge in turn" sign being installed and some woman was getting massively irate about it, to the extent she was suggesting ripping it down.
What was frightening is the number of likes she was getting.
I did try and probe as to why it annoyed her so deeply, but she didn't reply.
There’s a really awkward bit of roadworks here that’s been around a couple of years. They’ve closed the outer lane on a dual carriageway but it’s not far after a busy roundabout. The closed lane signs are before the roundabout (from a left into the carriageway & straight over) This has caused crap as people want to get in the open lane early and I’ve seen loads of road rage here. You have ‘road captains’ doing blocking manoeuvres way before the roundabout so they block anyone just wanting to turn right. You have people hanging others out to dry right til the closed section etc. I have noticed recently instead of “lane closed, use left lane” or similar being used on the signs they are now “lane closed ahead, use both lanes & merge”. It works so much better when people merge and the queues have gone down a lot just with a few signs. What was frightening is the number of likes she was getting.
I did try and probe as to why it annoyed her so deeply, but she didn't reply.
It does seem to be one thing people get really angry about! Being the ‘polite queuing nation’ we usually want to get in the correct lane early then there’ll often be this empty lane for someone to get ahead in. That then rattles up all the people that moved over 1/2 mile before.
There needs to be some sort of tv campaign to say merging is ok.
The only merging that is not ok is at the Blackwall tunnel when people go off down the slip road to exit before the tunnel then cut back into the left lane! Often the police used to sit there which was quite satisfying to see. Anyone who wants to see people who’re happy to use their car as a ram, do a daily commute through the Blackwall tunnel, don’t miss that. And the annoying bloody motorcyclists! Wo betide anyone holding one up for even 0.5 sec or you’ll have a super bike bouncing off the Rev limiter next to your ear and a ‘Nescafé handshake’ for good measure.
uncleluck said:
The only merging that is not ok is at the Blackwall tunnel when people go off down the slip road to exit before the tunnel then cut back into the left lane! Often the police used to sit there which was quite satisfying to see. Anyone who wants to see people who’re happy to use their car as a ram, do a daily commute through the Blackwall tunnel, don’t miss that.
Isn't it how the road planners have designed it?Seems that way based on the signage.
No, not that part. It’s the slip road before the fly over part to the exit off the carriageway.
People will come on the A2203 & stay all the way in the exit lane right until the exit then cut in across the white lines. They’ll drive next to the wall on the white lines and push into traffic forcefully usually.
As I say, sometimes the police would sit right on the barrier & force them to exit.
People will come on the A2203 & stay all the way in the exit lane right until the exit then cut in across the white lines. They’ll drive next to the wall on the white lines and push into traffic forcefully usually.
As I say, sometimes the police would sit right on the barrier & force them to exit.
It works and is a sensible and logical approach. I despair with driving in this country sometimes! What makes me laugh most is that the people queuing in Lane 1 would be subject to LESS of a queue, if they allowed traffic to continue to flow in Lane 2, closer to the hazard.
When driving in Canada and New Zealand particularly I could see it works, everyone gets on with it and there is very clear signage regarding it.
The only place I remember seeing clear signage in the UK is off the M8 in Glasgow. Why we don't put these up at known points of congestion, when a road system drops from two lanes to one is beyond me....
When driving in Canada and New Zealand particularly I could see it works, everyone gets on with it and there is very clear signage regarding it.
The only place I remember seeing clear signage in the UK is off the M8 in Glasgow. Why we don't put these up at known points of congestion, when a road system drops from two lanes to one is beyond me....
I've said this before I know, but hey.
Recently I had to merge at roadworks where L1 closed and we had to merge into L2.
Whenever this fairly unusual set-up exists it flows much more smoothly.
I suspect people who habitually inhabit L2 are less likely to think of people in L1 "jumping the queue".
Has anyone else observed this?
Recently I had to merge at roadworks where L1 closed and we had to merge into L2.
Whenever this fairly unusual set-up exists it flows much more smoothly.
I suspect people who habitually inhabit L2 are less likely to think of people in L1 "jumping the queue".
Has anyone else observed this?
DocSteve said:
This is annoying and especially prevalent in our small island nation. If someone blocks your path you can't do a lot about it without potentially instigating a road rage incident but if you can use the available lane space appropriately someone will let you in. It just needs to be done in a non-aggressive manner i.e. not roaring up to the end of the queue and jumping on the brakes before forcing your way in. A smooth transition with a wave of thanks should not leave you stuck at the cones or being rammed by a Hilux :-)
And just as annoying and especially prevalent in our large island nation of Australia. 
I had the honour of following a self proclaimed "road captain" the other week in Suffolk, an old Discovery emblazoned with reflective bits & stickers announced that he was the A143 (iirc) patrol..........wouldn't go over 20 mph in a 30, accelerated (I use the word cautiously) to just over 30 once we reached the NSL & s positioned his vehicle as far to the centre of the road as possible, making it as hard as possible to see for overtaking.
First class cockwomble.
First class cockwomble.
I know this is the advanced driving section and I know what I am about to described is not very advanced but still, I feel it is worth sharing. One of my favourite traffic jam pastimes arises when, approaching a merge-in-turn, the driver following me refuses to allow any drivers in the adjacent lane to merge between his car and mine. My practise now is to draw to a halt and let in ahead of me as many vehicles as possible. Double figures is a real achievement. I love watching in the rear view mirror as Mr Angry boils over.
The "road captains" may inadvertently be creating the correct situation.
What normally happens is that they create a queue in L2 as well so, by the time they get to the merge point both lanes are queuing, You then don't have the perception in L1 that those in L2 are queue-jumping and people seem much more relaxed about letting people merge in turn. The other thing is that you dont tend to have the staccato emergency braking in L1 when people haven't left a sufficient gap for people to merge safely into.
What normally happens is that they create a queue in L2 as well so, by the time they get to the merge point both lanes are queuing, You then don't have the perception in L1 that those in L2 are queue-jumping and people seem much more relaxed about letting people merge in turn. The other thing is that you dont tend to have the staccato emergency braking in L1 when people haven't left a sufficient gap for people to merge safely into.
Wardy5 said:
The only place I remember seeing clear signage in the UK is off the M8 in Glasgow.
Examples of merge in turn signs in England.https://goo.gl/maps/kov6Z973N1EshWEa6
https://goo.gl/maps/LKh1j5FQpdr8jQxT9
https://goo.gl/maps/8UTeTGbHSqoiLoui8
https://goo.gl/maps/XD7iumKbKaXYSu488
https://goo.gl/maps/9mtJwvy9mA6BnFmNA
Of the five only the middle one has accompanying graphics.
Still nowhere near as explicit as the M8 example though.
Countdown said:
The "road captains" may inadvertently be creating the correct situation.
What normally happens is that they create a queue in L2 as well so, by the time they get to the merge point both lanes are queuing, You then don't have the perception in L1 that those in L2 are queue-jumping and people seem much more relaxed about letting people merge in turn. The other thing is that you dont tend to have the staccato emergency braking in L1 when people haven't left a sufficient gap for people to merge safely into.
In reality what happens is anyone coming down the empty lane sees Captain Cockend blocking the lane and, not wanting the drama, starts merging early thus making that single queue longer and causing a queue to build in the other lane earlier than it needs to.What normally happens is that they create a queue in L2 as well so, by the time they get to the merge point both lanes are queuing, You then don't have the perception in L1 that those in L2 are queue-jumping and people seem much more relaxed about letting people merge in turn. The other thing is that you dont tend to have the staccato emergency braking in L1 when people haven't left a sufficient gap for people to merge safely into.
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