Merge in turn vigilantes

[lordrobs]

This seems to be a growing problem here in Norfolk at least. To try and ease congestion around Norwich (or at least keep as many junctions clear as possible) they are putting in/extending extra lanes with merge in turn points at the end. The problem is people won't use them and anyone that does gets a dose of dangerous driving from the merge in turn police. The signs showing "Merge in turn" with the diagram showing the cars in the zip motion have been up for a couple of years now, makes no difference.

Two days in a row I've had aggravation (both male OAPs) for using the road as intended. The first guy was so intent that he wasn't letting me merge that he ended up bouncing into the curb in his quest to push me into oncoming traffic. Today was a mere 20 or so flashes of main beam. If it isn't a bumper to bumper "you're not coming in" then it is a 'swerve and straddle' over both lanes.

Is this problem getting worse or am I just noticing it more due to the road changes?

 

[Martynt74]

Maybe it's an element of it being new, but i think it's just the mentality of some people. There was someone in another thread on here ranting about the "BMW lease brigade" always trying to bully him at junctions like this.

On my way to work there's a few and everyone always abides by it giving plenty space.

 

[Conscript]

It's the ridiculous "I'm not letting him get in front of me!" mentality. People should leave their pride at home before getting behind the wheel of a car.

 

[Semple]

This is where you need a right old banger.

If you merged in turn and you both went into the side of each other, the insurance companies would either have to find out who's turn it was to go first, or would have to go 50:50.

Perhaps a couple of these clowns do need a collision and for the insurance company to tell them they weren't in the right, might be enough to get a few of them to learn.

 

[johnny6]

It's amazing but since coming out of a newish car and moving to a 10 year old slightly battered jalopy I don't have this problem so much. People now give me more room and let me in. I say let me in........

Worst I had was 3-4 years back when a big lorry decided that merge in turn wasn't for him and nearly crushed me against the central reservation just so he could straddle both lanes and stop people passing him.

I will admit I totally lost my cool with him and at the next set of traffic lights I got in front of him and stopped and refused to let him go for about 10 minutes. All the swear words under the sun came out and he sat their blanking me just looking front and centre refusing to make eye contact.

Also the idiots who do this don't seem to get that merge in turn is used to keep traffic flowing by stopping junctions behind them backing up. They just see someone getting in front of them.

I have 3 merge in turn points near me and the amount of people I see that would rather block the junction/roundabout rather than using the second lane as intended is ridiculous.

 

[Lashout_UK]

I don't get it. It's a team effort, motoring, and everyone should respect other users of the road and try to make room for them – even more so when it's a requirement of that particular road layout.

Drives me up the wall. I like making peoples' drives that little bit easier, if I can!

 

[grudas]

Yeah people act like that here too. I genuinely don't get it, they waste more time preventing someone from merging in that they would just letting said person in and reduce the congestion.

 

[BYTEr]

Same round my way, there's a road in particular where a second lane only forms about 15 cars back from the traffic lights, so often you get a queue of 15 cars in the same lane with the second lane completely empty but I can't enter because this queue has blocked it, then I often have to wait at the lights again when I could have got through if people used both lanes.

You also get the other idiots who use the second lane, then start indicating and slowing down trying to get back in, so frustrating, just keep on driving and merge!

 

[johnny6]

Same round my way, there's a road in particular where a second lane only forms about 15 cars back from the traffic lights, so often you get a queue of 15 cars in the same lane with the second lane completely empty but I can't enter because this queue has blocked it, then I often have to wait at the lights again when I could have got through if people used both lanes.

You also get the other idiots who use the second lane, then start indicating and slowing down trying to get back in, so frustrating, just keep on driving and merge!

These are he same people who don't use all of the road when merging on to a motorway and then get annoyed when you go round them and join the traffic in front of them.

 

[MooMoo444]

Well if these people would learn to queue like the rest of us, then it would work fine. Why do they jump the queue? We all pay road tax FFS


..and now we wait.

 

[mattyg]

I had one on the north circular last week. He wouldn't let me in near the roadworks. I managed to get in front of him by distracting him with some hand gestures just as the traffic moved forward. I then proceeded to let about 10 cars in to delay him further.

 

[LiE]

I imagine part of the problem is no one using the lane. That means when you use it, it "looks" like you're trying to overtake everyone and get to the front. Obviously this isn't the reality and is an issue with some drivers egos. If everyone used the lane as intended then I think the issue would be less frequent.

 

[cheesyboy]

There was one in Bristol that I had no trouble with during works traffic, but off-peak I gave up using the merge lane - was just too stressful getting ****** off at so many ***** refusing to merge. Can't imagine how small your junk has to be to be so worried about someone 'winning' by using a merge lane.

 

[lordrobs]

I imagine part of the problem is no one using the lane. That means when you use it, it "looks" like you're trying to overtake everyone and get to the front. Obviously this isn't the reality and is an issue with some drivers egos. If everyone used the lane as intended then I think the issue would be less frequent.

I think this is a big part of the problem. On the way into work there is a relatively new stretch of dual lane (put in to stop the roundabout and slip road leading to it getting blocked) and you can pass a 500 yard queue using the second lane sometimes as the majority of people won't use that second lane, instead preferring to block the traffic.

I don't race past and dive in, I'll keep a steady pace and make my intention clear before the merge point by positioning my car between the other two and matching their speed. It is at this point that the car length gap that they were leaving becomes inches as the try to stop you "pushing in". I always end up merging where I intended though. At the end of the day they can let me in or crash into my employers car. No skin off my nose either way.

 

[johnny6]

I imagine part of the problem is no one using the lane. That means when you use it, it "looks" like you're trying to overtake everyone and get to the front. Obviously this isn't the reality and is an issue with some drivers egos. If everyone used the lane as intended then I think the issue would be less frequent.

The council have been messing around with one of the merge in turn point near me that comes off of a roundabout. They have rejigged the lanes so that if you are travelling straight across the roundabout it forces you into the second/right lane which feeds into the merge in turn point. People entering the roundabout and taking the first left are forced into the first/left lane. Seems to work well as traffic is 'forced' into using both lanes.

 

[Jamesyboyjim]

It's the ridiculous "I'm not letting him get in front of me!" mentality. People should leave their pride at home before getting behind the wheel of a car.

Exactly this.

The funniest time I saw this was when I was coming out of a petrol station, to join a road that was at a standstill, there was a big gap so thought i'd just join the traffic, this really fat woman started really running her mouth, visibly turned red with anger and quickly accelerated to the bumper of the car in front to stop me joining the road. She looked so angry over something so silly that I just couldn't help but imagine her saying "I'm not letting you get in front of me" whilst splattering her dashboard with pastry and whatever else might have been stuffed in her gob at the time. I just couldn't help but point and laugh at her.

 

[robj20]

These are he same people who don't use all of the road when merging on to a motorway and then get annoyed when you go round them and join the traffic in front of them.

Get that loads from the M56 joining the M6 north, they go accros the solid hashed area and rage at you when you sail past and join two cars in front of them.
I hate merge in turn simply because it doesn't work, don't get me wrong it should work but all it takes is a few people to make the whole thing grind to a halt. If they could some how police it it would be fantastic. I hate the straddle both lane types, 99% of the time its a truck though, there supposed to be profession drivers.

 

[Rroff]

Its different if it is properly sign posted IMO. I still dunno why we don't have a proper awareness campaign in respect to it as there are very different levels of awareness and ways people have been taught historically regardless of whatever the theoretical position should be and what people should or shouldn't do that is the reality that there is a long standing legacy at play which is causing confusion.

 

[theone8181]

Theres a roundabout on my commute that has a really poor merge in turn setup, but im not sure how to link google maps.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0x1ed941531e02c8e!8m2!3d53.782081!4d-0.413978

Its just too short imo and traffic backs upto the roundabout at rushhour so people go down the right lane which causes even more issues.

EDIT its not actually signposted as merge in turn so maybe thats why its a free-for-all.

 

[Lopéz]

I hate the straddle both lane types, 99% of the time its a truck though, there supposed to be profession drivers.

I see this so much. Lane blocking is almost always a truck, and professional drivers really should know better than to use their vehicles as a rolling road block in that scenario.