We'll never know.
Joining the motorway (259)
- Thread starter cwhaley
- Start date
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Sorry to sound dense but I may have got myself a bit confused. Was the HGV you joined in front of, the same one you saw having the gap in front of it originally?
Both, but what else can you do on an over-crowded road.
That is the official and correct answer, but this is the real world....
Stopping on the slip can leave you in a very prone and dangerous situation, when L1 is busy and fast flowing. You can have traffic tearing down the slip behind you and be faced with getting up to the speed of L1, from a standing start. The much safer option for all, is often to squeeze into a less than adequate space.
That was my concern. How could I then build up speed if I am - according to rule 259 - not travel on the hard shoulder. There are cameras around there and what if I was picked up and fined? I've been fined for moving through a red to let am Ambulance through which was penned in by cars behind me!
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Yes. The HGV I reference was the one who had a gap in front of him. Behind him were many HGVs and other vehicles with no safe gap to fill. I built up speed to 62 m.p.h. (slightly faster than the moving traffic in lane 1) while indicating and then moving in.
There was no way I was going to lose all my speed, slow down and create a queue of cars on a slip road joining moving traffic at 60 m.p.h. and over, while I waited for a gap.
Just accept that:
- there are knobheads on the road
- you sometimes (often) have to do the wrong thing to get anywhere
- you will be the knobhead in other drivers' eyes sometimes.
Reminds me of a story from a golf tournament in Ireland, in the 80's.
Bloke was getting very annoyed because, after an hour or more, he still was nowhere near getting off the parking area (field), due to the sheer number of other spectators' cars trying to leave as well.
Bloke winds down his window, to vent his frustration at the member of the Garda who was trying, in vain, to direct a quart into a pint pot.
"What's the f##king problem?", bloke screamed.
The Garda calmly replied, as only an oirishman can,..........
"Too many feckin' cars, Sooor."
OP did ask.....
Barge in, or don't; there are no other options, AFAIK.
In my honest opinion, ditherers are among the worst for other drivers.
People can be crap at driving, but decisive crap drivers; you know where you stand with them, and can stay out of their way.
It's the spanners who fanny about, unsure what lane to be in (so have a bit of a straddle), dribble around the traffic island (causing everyone else to be unable to flow their way around)..............
Notwithstanding what Regan said about the HGV not wanting to back off the pedal to avoid losing momentum, I've always felt safer joining a motorway when there are 3 or 4 lorries as they've always moved into the middle lane to provide a gap.
That said, I've not done a lot of motorway driving in recent years.
That said, I've not done a lot of motorway driving in recent years.
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It can be safer if you're dealing with a BMW or Audi driver. You know that if you give them a flash, they take any opportunity, then they're gone, sorted.
If they're in a Japanese/Eurobox, they WILL p*ss you about.
If they're in a Japanese/Eurobox, they WILL p*ss you about.
Something I noticed when driving in the Dordogne.....
Locals will tailgate you, even if you're driving at or a tad above the speed limit.
When they do get the chance to overtake, they'll do it, but then not crack on.
At least in blighty, an overtaker will usually have the good grace to disappear into the distance with some haste.....
Locals will tailgate you, even if you're driving at or a tad above the speed limit.
When they do get the chance to overtake, they'll do it, but then not crack on.
At least in blighty, an overtaker will usually have the good grace to disappear into the distance with some haste.....
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Edited. You know the sort I mean. Sort of blobby anynous shaped, about a 1.1l engine, without any go-faster indications on the boot, old woman driving. (Can be any age or sex)
Realistically I would say the OP did the correct thing in the eyes of the law.
The HGV driver could see, (and should also anticipate when approaching a slip road entrance), that a vehicle was attempting to join the flow of traffic and should have made an allowance to let him do so safely. If the OP had stopped on the slip road he would be placing vehicles behind him in a potentially dangerous position when they tried to join the motorway from a 'probable' standing start, (the same as what he would have needed to do).
There is also the danger of other vehicles undercutting the OP to try and join ahead of him, even if it meant using the hard shoulder for a short while. This could, again, cause other drivers to have an accident by trying to move out to the middle lane in order to get out of their way.
HGV travel at around 58-60 maximum, (if their governors are set correctly), so the OP driving at 62 should not have been in danger of being hit. Dropping a vehicles speed by 2-3mph to allow someone in safely is not going to be much of a detriment to your overall rate of travel in the grand scheme of things.
The HGV driver could see, (and should also anticipate when approaching a slip road entrance), that a vehicle was attempting to join the flow of traffic and should have made an allowance to let him do so safely. If the OP had stopped on the slip road he would be placing vehicles behind him in a potentially dangerous position when they tried to join the motorway from a 'probable' standing start, (the same as what he would have needed to do).
There is also the danger of other vehicles undercutting the OP to try and join ahead of him, even if it meant using the hard shoulder for a short while. This could, again, cause other drivers to have an accident by trying to move out to the middle lane in order to get out of their way.
HGV travel at around 58-60 maximum, (if their governors are set correctly), so the OP driving at 62 should not have been in danger of being hit. Dropping a vehicles speed by 2-3mph to allow someone in safely is not going to be much of a detriment to your overall rate of travel in the grand scheme of things.
That's why I drove at 62, so that I was gaining ground on the moving HGVs in order to safely and calmly merge into a safe gap. You can see on StreetView the elevation of the road is in their favour. When I'm then on the motorway, I'll drop down to match the speed of another HGV.
Many HGV drivers actually move over well in anticipation of the slip road. It's not their responsibility to do this at all, and if they've ever done it for me I've always given them a big thumbs up.
Yes, I actually learnt that technique from a HGV driver when he was giving me some training on a 7.5t flat back many years ago.
His advice was, as you are approaching a turn off, be prepared to move out a lane in case there is a stream of traffic coming on to the motorway/A class road. Even if there isn't, it can be useful to move anyway in case an 'idiot' is flying down the slip road for whatever reason. This is especially useful in roads that pass through or close to city boundaries at peak times.
You simply look ahead to see if there is anyone on the slip road and glance in your rear side mirrors as you are passing in case someone is coming from a blind spot.
His advice was, as you are approaching a turn off, be prepared to move out a lane in case there is a stream of traffic coming on to the motorway/A class road. Even if there isn't, it can be useful to move anyway in case an 'idiot' is flying down the slip road for whatever reason. This is especially useful in roads that pass through or close to city boundaries at peak times.
You simply look ahead to see if there is anyone on the slip road and glance in your rear side mirrors as you are passing in case someone is coming from a blind spot.
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