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

Who was in the right?

  • I agree with the Renault driver, he was right to block the Mercedes driver.

    Votes: 34 11.4%

  • I agree with the Mercedes driver, there was no need for him to be blocked like that.

    Votes: 263 88.6%
  • Total voters
    297
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Howard said:
Rubbish. Both lanes are there for a reason. If everyone kept their distance, used both lanes, and merged sensibly, the traffic would flow far better. The animations in this post illustrate it perfectly.
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Correct.

But 'taking advantage' of the empty inside lane is not the 'right' thing to do either (if you want to improve throughput).

The original problem (empty inside lane) is caused by people not merging correctly - but the real problem (reduced throughput and long queues) is not resolved by people like the Merc driver either.
 
As with most of these things, both sides are kind of wrong and kind of right.

Yes drivers should be using two lanes to queue up, and they should merge in turn as that awsome gif shows. And yes the renault driver is the bigger danger and being an absolute tool.

But the mercedes driver doesn't help himself by bombing down the empty lane, it looks like he is racing to see how far he can get and gives the impression that he is trying to take advantage of the situation. Assuming it is 180CDI Super Mega AMG Sport he probably does think he is pushing past everyone and taking advantage of the situation, and doesn't realise he can use that lane if he wants.
 
Jesus, never had anyone pull out on me like that. Only people try straddling both lanes but I've always just whizzed past hoping the stones I flick up hit their car.
 
div0 said:
Correct.

But 'taking advantage' of the empty inside lane is not the 'right' thing to do either (if you want to improve throughput).

The original problem (empty inside lane) is caused by people not merging correctly - but the real problem (reduced throughput and long queues) is not resolved by people like the Merc driver either.
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Cause and effect. If people acted correctly the effect of their actions would be fine for everyone.
 
almoststew1990 said:
As with most of these things, both sides are kind of wrong and kind of right.

Yes drivers should be using two lanes to queue up, and they should merge in turn as that awsome gif shows. And yes the renault driver is the bigger danger and being an absolute tool.

But the mercedes driver doesn't help himself by bombing down the empty lane, it looks like he is racing to see how far he can get and gives the impression that he is trying to take advantage of the situation. Assuming it is 180CDI Super Mega AMG Sport he probably does think he is pushing past everyone and taking advantage of the situation, and doesn't realise he can use that lane if he wants.
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He's not giving an impression of taking advantage of the situation. He IS taking advantage of it. Empty lanes are there to be used not looked at..
 
Howard said:
Rubbish. Both lanes are there for a reason. If everyone kept their distance, used both lanes, and merged sensibly, the traffic would flow far better. The animations in this post illustrate it perfectly.
Click to expand...

Read my post(s) again I'm not saying what you think I'm saying.

Six6siX said:
So what you're saying is if a bunch of other people are doing it wrong, I have to do it wrong too?

Or to put it another way, if a bunch of other people are doing it wrong, that makes it right?
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I'm not saying a bunch of people doing it wrong makes it right but that once you get a certain number of people doing it wrong in a situation like that exercising your right to do it right because you can doesn't necessarily gain anything for any one - the system only works if most people make use of it correctly.
 
div0 said:
How can either of them be considered to be in the right?

- Renault driver changes lane in front of a faster moving car, causing the other car to brake. Renault driver is in the wrong.
- Having braked and avoided an accident, the Merc driver then attempts to use the hard shoulder to overtake. Merc driver is in the wrong.
- Renault driver moves into hard shoulder to block the Merc. Renault driver is in the wrong.
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Absolutely; two wrongs don't make a right. Both drivers in this instance were driving like eejits. I here all the "Merge in turn" shouts but in this case the Merc doesn't look like merging had crossed his mind, what he was looking to do was blast up to the front of the queue and muscle in. If he'd have been looking to merge, he should have been driving at a slower more appropriate speed with a signal showing his intension to "merge" and looking for a gap. The sign to the left were he is blocked says 200yards, so not far to go before the transition to single carriageway. I'm not defending the Renault for pulling out he's just an eejit, especially with a queue of cars to the right, that could have easily turned into a multi-car shunt. If the Merc had lost-it under breaking it could have easily seen people in hospital.
 
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Nothing will change until everyone does the right thing. They need a camera above the merge area and anyone that doesn't merge in turn gets a fine.
 
George Hincapie said:
Yes it is. Of course it is. If the lane is empty because people are too stupid to use it, then of course you should use it.
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Of course you should use it. But that doesn't make the Merc driver 'right'.

The 'right' thing to do is to use the lane but begin reducing the speed differential between lanes, such that the slowest lane will have increased speed by the time you need to merge - which then increases overall throughput.

But hey we're all great and know how to do it right in the first place, so let's just jump on that bandwagon.
 
Rroff said:
I'm not saying a bunch of people doing it wrong makes it right but that once you get a certain number of people doing it wrong in a situation like that exercising your right to do it right because you can doesn't necessarily gain anything for any one - the system only works if most people make use of it correctly.
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You can't and shouldn't justify the incorrect behaviour or change what is actually correct just because it's a majority that don't understand the concept.

The answer is education - whether that be explicitly in theory with new drivers, or by example to existing drivers. Maybe the more people who do it properly instead of sitting in a queue, the more people will see that and realise it is better overall.

The biggest problem is the attitude of "I've been sitting, waiting in this queue and you're trying to push in and I'm not going to let you in" or like the Renault driver physically trying to stop someone "overtaking" or "pushing ahead in the queue". As long as that sentiment exists, the majority will always queue and I will always use the empty lane.

div0 said:
Of course you should use it. But that doesn't make the Merc driver 'right'.

The 'right' thing to do is to use the lane but begin reducing the speed differential between lanes, such that the slowest lane will have increased speed by the time you need to merge - which then increases overall throughput.

But hey we're all great and know how to do it right in the first place, so let's just jump on that bandwagon.
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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".
 
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Beerbaron, Calm, Dutchman, esoteric, hellarda, kitkat9933, kyippee, mccarf, norm, robinbanks, Rroff, Steedie, Tummy

Shame on you above people
 
George Hincapie said:
Yes it is. Of course it is. If the lane is empty because people are too stupid to use it, then of course you should use it.
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Then you get the issue that people see it as pushing in (which right or not by that point it has effectively become) so merge in turn doesn't work which causes further disruption to the traffic flow which generally causes further delays and build up behind it.
 
MooMoo444 said:
They should merge... at the merge point. Not 3 miles before it.
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Everyone else has managed to get in lane.

It frustrates me so much that people fly down empty lanes in these sort of situations and then expect to be let in. It's not the incorrect merge that annoys me, it's just people's sense of entitlement on the roads.

Kudos to the driver for slowing him down, I'd have probably gotten out.
 
Tummy said:
Everyone else has managed to get in lane.

It frustrates me so much that people fly down empty lanes in these sort of situations and then expect to be let in. It's not the incorrect merge that annoys me, it's just people's sense of entitlement on the roads.

Kudos to the driver for slowing him down, I'd have probably gotten out.
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It's not about being 'let in', it's about respecting the process in place. If you can't or are unwilling to do that then sell your car and walk.
 
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