Poll: Merge in turn - why does nobody get it?

[SkodaMart]

The FACT is that if one of the lanes is blocked (usually by a HGV) EVERYONE moves faster.

Otherwise, you are stuck with cheeky mofos racing down the outside to the very end as if there time is more important than yours.
Personally I applaud HGV drivers who block the lane like this, however, bit of a fail in a Renault MPV.

 

[Jokester]

The FACT is that if one of the lanes is blocked (usually by a HGV) EVERYONE moves faster.

Otherwise, you are stuck with cheeky mofos racing down the outside to the very end as if there time is more important than yours.
Personally I applaud HGV drivers who block the lane like this, however, bit of a fail in a Renault MPV.

The FACT is, both lanes should have 50% of the traffic in them.

 

[BuToNz]

Thing that frustrates me the most is that when you do 'properly' merge you end up getting a honk or gestures because you've 'left it too late'.

 

[Gaygle]

I think it's quite rude of the mercedes driver to sail down the lane which has been vacated by everyone else as they have moved in to position anticipating the closure of the lane. I'd have been annoyed to see him trying to jump the queue like that but the Renault drivers actions are dangerous and could have caused an accident.

But that is the point!

Why have people vacated the lane with nearly a quarter of a mile to go until the roadworks?!

This just creates massive tailbacks and if this is in a more urban area, causes roundabouts/traffic lights to be needlessly blocked up with traffic.

Unfortunately people thinking it's "rude" or that everyone should "wait their turn" is the reason why so many of these things kick off. People liken it to someone "pushing in" in the queue to Oblivion at Alton Towers. What it actually is is choosing not to queue in line for hours for the same till at Tescos and just using the one next to it with significantly less people on it.

Those comments on the page just show why many people just have not got the right attitude or acumine to drive on the roads. They are the same ones who sit in the middle lane, are constantly glancing down at their phone whilst driving and that bounce off your car in the car park and say "oh it's just a little scuff, no one will even notice" and drive off. Or to shorten it down - morons.

Top Tip - YOU DO NOT HAVE TO QUEUE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS. YOU ARE PERFECTLY ENTITLED TO USE BOTH LANES BECAUSE THEY ARE THERE TO BE USED.

 

[div0]

All well and good but as I mentioned above, the problem then is attitude. Regardless of the speed differential, it's difficult to merge when people don't let you in or physically stop you because you're "pushing in".

But again two wrongs (three wrongs?) don't make a right.

It's 'wrong' to start merging as soon as you see a queue of traffic in the lane you're being directed to merge into.

It is 'wrong' to block or physically stop people from merging, simply because you feel like they're 'pushing in'.

But it's also 'wrong' to fully exploit other drivers over-eagerness to merge early and hammer it down the empty lane until the last possible second.

The 'right' thing to do is to start slowing and reduce the speed differential between the lanes, that way the slowest lane will eventually begin to move more quickly and then both lanes can begin moving more efficiently.

Unfortunately because there's always some people who 'do it wrong' and merge early, the ones who mock them and 'do it right', also end up 'doing it wrong' in the opposite way.

Basically unless everyone 'does it right', it then becomes very difficult for anyone else to truly 'do it right'.

 

[ianh]

It's because the vast majority of drivers treat "queueing" in traffic like queueing at a shop or for a service and they treat those who are following the highway code like they would a queue jumper at a shop.

I'd love to take out huge multi-page spreads in newspaper, TV & radio adverts just to remind people what the highway code actually say about this and other issues (M-Way slip roads etc) just to get it through peoples thick skulls.

 

[Tom_ed1987]

They should use that video at the end of the hazard perception test, with a yes/no question of 'Do you think what the Renault driver did was correct'

Answer yes = instant fail & banned from resitting for 5 years.

 

[Adam]

I can't disagree with the fact that the lane was vacated far too early, you can see how much ground has been covered by the Mercedes driver. I know how the roads work, in an ideal world everyone would let one another in and take turns to ensure its a smooth transition through the blockage.

But given the situation I can see why people have got annoyed at the Mercedes driver. Everyone else is queuing patiently and the perception is that the Mercedes driver is trying to jump the queue to reduce the time he needs to wait for high increases the wait time for everyone else.

I'm sure everyone would be annoyed if you were in a 10 person queue at the supermarket and someone sails to the front when you have been waiting. Given how this has panned out with everyone merging too early, that's essentially what's happening here.

 

[ianh]

But it's also 'wrong' to fully exploit other drivers over-eagerness to merge early and hammer it down the empty lane until the last possible second.

The highway code says you're wrong Please hand in your license at the nearest Police Station before you kill someone!

 

[Adam]

But again two wrongs (three wrongs?) don't make a right.

It's 'wrong' to start merging as soon as you see a queue of traffic in the lane you're being directed to merge into.

It is 'wrong' to block or physically stop people from merging, simply because you feel like they're 'pushing in'.

But it's also 'wrong' to fully exploit other drivers over-eagerness to merge early and hammer it down the empty lane until the last possible second.

The 'right' thing to do is to start slowing and reduce the speed differential between the lanes, that way the slowest lane will eventually begin to move more quickly and then both lanes can begin moving more efficiently.

Unfortunately because there's always some people who 'do it wrong' and merge early, the ones who mock them and 'do it right', also end up 'doing it wrong' in the opposite way.

Basically unless everyone 'does it right', it then becomes very difficult for anyone else to truly 'do it right'.

This is what I was trying to say, although you did it far better than I did because a mistake has been made with vacating the lane too early, it's perceived that the Mercedes driver is jumping the queue.

 

[Howard]

It tends to happen quite often here:

http://goo.gl/maps/PdJAg

This is the slip road from the M3 southbound J1 > J2, onto the M25 anticlockwise at J12. Often the sheer heinous amount of traffic on the M25 causes this slip road to back up and yep, you guessed it, people just sit in the left lane. I will happily drive along the right hand lane and usually I can merge without any difficulty, without anyone getting angry, without anyone having to slam their brakes on. I regret absolutely nothing and I honestly couldn't give a single solitary toss if someone takes offense at me doing so.

Yes, the traffic often backs up far enough along that slip road to affect the ability to enter the clockwise section of the M25, and I wonder why..

Sadly you get all sorts of cretinous behaviour going on further up here: http://goo.gl/maps/2QXBi as people chop and change lanes all over the place and drive over the chevrons and all sorts, in order to get that little bit further ahead regardless of which lane you use!

I'm sure everyone would be annoyed if you were in a 10 person queue at the supermarket and someone sails to the front when you have been waiting. Given how this has panned out with everyone merging too early, that's essentially what's happening here.

No it isn't.

 

[magicoi]

Renault driver is an idiot for pulling into the left lane like that and in my mind should be pulled by the boys in blue for dangerous driving.

Thereafter, the Mercedes drivers wild attempts to pass on the hard shoulder were equally as reckless and should earn a talking to.

Some people drive like morons and simply dont understand what they should do when 2 lanes merge a half mile down the road. Merge in turn and use both lanes up to the merge point is such a simple process but no, people dont want someone else to delay their journey by 2 seconds.

Id swear really quite severely right now if I could get away with it on a forum lol!

 

[Gaygle]

I think if nothing else the Renault driver is in the wrong by virtue of the fact that his driving is tantamount to dangerous driving. Deliberately pulling into the path of another car on a dual carriageway and almost stopping dead? That'll be a "see you in court" moment.

 

[esoteric]

The Reno is the gold and white one right? that's why I voted him. Red, Mercs are euuurgghh.

 

[d_brennen]

Roll on driverless cars, everyone would be approaching the lane closure at 50mph in both lanes

 

[Adam]

No it isn't.

Based on the situation in the video it is. It's rude and antisocial expecting to not wait your turn, why should someone be entitled to go straight to the front and cause everyone else to wait longer.

I guess this raises 2 questions:

1) how would you feel if you had moved in to the lane along with everyone else, waited 5 minutes and saw someone fly down the inside making your wait time longer?

2) would you do the same as the Mercedes driver?

FWIW - I'd be frustrated if I was waiting and someone went down the inside and I'd waited patiently like everyone else.

It's quite interesting that a handful of cars moving over too early would cause this issue, if a group of cars had approached this and merged in turn this situation would never have arisen. Most people have seen the cars in front pull over too early and done the same. I guess on another day it could have ended up entirely different depending on the volume on the traffic and how early people move across.

 

[SlyReaper]

Based on the situation in the video it is. It's rude and antisocial expecting to not wait your turn, why should someone be entitled to go straight to the front and cause everyone else to wait longer.

I guess this raises 2 questions:

1) how would you feel if you had moved in to the lane along with everyone else, waited 5 minutes and saw someone fly down the inside making your wait time longer?

2) would you do the same as the Mercedes driver?

FWIW - I'd be frustrated if I was waiting and someone went down the inside and I'd waited patiently like everyone else.

It's quite interesting that a handful of cars moving over too early would cause this issue, if a group of cars had approached this and merged in turn this situation would never have arisen. Most people have seen the cars in front pull over too early and done the same. I guess on another day it could have ended up entirely different depending on the volume on the traffic and how early people move across.

1) I'd feel like an idiot for not using the empty lane when it was available.

2) Hell yes.

 

[Stretch]

The vast majority of people in the UK are queuing anoraks. In most situations, if people assume a single point of queuing, they form a single line queue. You don't merge when queuing at the shops for example.

Most of the drivers see the road going down to a single lane, so form a single queue. People instinctively don't trust a queue merge because no matter how fair most people are when the time comes to merge, they will always be the odd **** who aggressively tries to jump their turn.

The only fully fair queuing system is FIFO, so that's what most people do.

Most people in this thread seem to support the Merc driver, and legally he's done nothing wrong.

Personally, I'd much prefer to live in country full of the people queuing in the outside lane, and the Renault driver only done what most other people were thinking.

 

[squerble]

Based on the situation in the video it is. It's rude and antisocial expecting to not wait your turn, why should someone be entitled to go straight to the front and cause everyone else to wait longer.

I guess this raises 2 questions:

1) how would you feel if you had moved in to the lane along with everyone else, waited 5 minutes and saw someone fly down the inside making your wait time longer?

2) would you do the same as the Mercedes driver?

Why aren't you understanding this?

1) I wouldn't be moving into the lane because I understand how to use the road.
2) Yes

"Why should someone be entitled to go straight to the front and cause everyone else to wait longer?" That's the rules of the road. Use both lanes until the merge point.

FWIW - I'd be frustrated if I was waiting and someone went down the inside and I'd waited patiently like everyone else.

It's quite interesting that a handful of cars moving over too early would cause this issue, if a group of cars had approached this and merged in turn this situation would never have arisen. Most people have seen the cars in front pull over too early and done the same. I guess on another day it could have ended up entirely different depending on the volume on the traffic and how early people move across.

You're waiting stupidly like everyone else.

 

[Adam]

I'd be amazed if that was true of most people, given the situation at the start of the video.

Edit: I do get it, I'm not disputing the rules of the road. The way people have moved across too early is wrong and isn't following the rules of the road. I'm talking purely about what happens next should you encounter a situation like at the start of the video. I'd bet most of the population would consider the Mercedes to be queue jumping.