Silver_Surfer:
I do pull over to let cars on the motorway if it’s clear in lane 2 to do so. My philosophy is they may not be as skilled as all of us “knights of the road” so help the dears out a bit. Each situation is different, I just take the path of least resistance. I’m also not bothered if they pull on and accelerate up the inside as long as they get out of my way. Tis a bit of a pain when you let someone on and they drive at the same speed as you but if there’s nowt behind and the guy is too much of a prick to slow and let you back in then I will drop off and merge back, not worth getting angry about. Also if he’s a bit faster on the limiter on the flat, I would slow as it’s gonna happen down the road anyway so…
but if your only a car driver and cant reach 60+mph on the slip road to join a motorway then you shouldnt even be allowed to drive a car.
Grayham:
Don’t they teach you how to enter a motorway/dc from a slip as part of learning to drive? I remember being taught to have a look over my left shoulder as I came down the sliproad to see what traffic there was and if I needed to speed up/slow down to merge safely? Still do it today and have no problems, gets difficult when your following some numpty attmpting to get on a busy motorway at 30/40mph, traffic may let him out but leave you stuck in no mans land
In the truck I rarely pull out to let anyone on, unless it’s a slower truck, just get stranded in lane 2 otherwise as everyone just tries to undertake instead of letting you back in
On the very odd occasion I may flash my lights to let someone in, only when I can be bothered, the other Friday I was heading home down the M3 and flashed a high spec Audi A4 with four business men inside, three times I signalled to let them in and they ignored me, carried on right along the sliproad to the end and then swerved onto hardshoulder, slowed down, then floored it, cut me up and went straight to the fast lane and away, god knows what was going on
I bet you cause some trouble getting on the main drag then.
I meant right lol just don’t ask me for any directions
I will move over for trucks joining ,but cars and bikes are more manouverable and quicker so they should be able to judge and move accordingly. Another driver I know got pulled over by the feds and given a bollocking for moving out to let cars onto motorway as he could have held up lane 2! They told him " if car drivers cant move around a lorry at 55mph ,thats their problem!"
Usally most of them are on the phone/talking or just cannot judge speed or distance!!
My trucks so under powered if i move out, i get hung out in lane 2,so stay in 1!!
but if your only a car driver and cant reach 60+mph on the slip road to join a motorway then you shouldnt even be allowed to drive a car.
[/quote]
In an ideal world, yes, but…
ROG:
It is not only daft but potentially dangerous.
Follow the simple ethos -
SAFE
LEGAL
CONVENIENT (as poss)
Did you take your case to court so that a full explanation could be given using safety as the key factor?
Yes I did have to go to court, and yes, my defence was safety/convenience.
Still found guilty (can’t remember the penalty).
Whatever you say, fact is fact,
The hard shoulder is for EMERGENCIES only, and if you venture on to it for ANY other reason, you could be nicked
What about LEAVING the motorway ,
If I were to follow your “simple ethos”, it would be acceptable for me to drive on the hard shoulder for 2/300m if the traffic on the carriageway is stationary.
shuttlespanker:
it is not written in law, but it means that the car driver is a complete and utter moron and should not be in charge of a lollypop, let alone a car
The Highway Code clearly states that the motor vehicle joining the main carriageway gives way to the vehicle already on it and should use the slip road to adjust their speed accordingly as to join the main carriageway in a safe manner and not to force other motirists to take avoiding action (can’t remember the correct terminology )
As Shuttlespanker says the Highway Code clearly states the procedure for joining a motorway, and if any road user doesn’t follow the HC then in my view they deserve all they get if someone tail-ends or side swipes them. They are the bad driver, guilty party, call them what you like. As a car driver I do give way to lorries, because they are usually going slower than me but car drivers - no. The problem is that everyone is in too much of a hurry nowadays.
Silver_Surfer:
I don’t know why people don’t just drive on the hard shoulder till it’s safe to join,
Cos they’ll probably be too dim to look ahead and see the truckie having a tacho break at the end/merge point, sometimes better known as hazchem driver, living life on the edge must get a thrill from it
Silver_Surfer:
how people think it’s a good idea to just stop at the end of the slip and try and join from stand still is beyond me.
What about the other way around then? I was coming down a sliproad one day onto the M11 and I noticed a car in my offside mirror with nothing in the outside lane as I was heading down the sliproad, however it ‘disappeared’ into a blind spot. It wasn’t really an issue as such and anyone with a bit of a brain would have moved out to let a large vehicle pull in. It was only when I got to overtake did I see a woman yakking on her phone totally oblivous to everything around her.
I will very rarely move put for anything other than large vehicles joining the slip road, in most cases they should have enough road and power to get up to speed. The exceptions are stupidly short sliproads like at Kuntsford on the M6
Like someone else said, you have to treat every situation differently. Depite driving large vehicles and being familiar with them, I still find it a bit daunting when you’re in a car sat at the side of one or when you see one hurtling towards you. In my defence, I don’t treat large vehicles with the same contempt as your average car driver though.
Same as the majority I think - Ill pull into lane 2 if I can, If I cant then so be it.
If I recall a term sometimes used for a slip road is an acceleration lane, not "a get to exactly my speed in your car and match me inch for inch for 300 yards and give me daggers as you pass me later on having had to brake realising that the laws of physics still apply and neither you or I can occupy a space already taken by another vehicle " lane
I also just love the fact that a lot of drivers dont actually seem to notice the fact that they have a whacking great truck in the space they so desperatly want to occupy until the last 10 yards - why■■? can they not comprehend situations more than 2 seconds in the future■■?
And breathe!!!
This is rapidly overtaking matrix signs blazing with inaccurate info as my new pet hate, or is it cars that cant hold a constant (or at least near constant) speed.
kjw21:
This is rapidly overtaking matrix signs blazing with inaccurate info as my new pet hate, or is it cars that cant hold a constant (or at least near constant) speed.
You’re more tolerant than me. My (blanket) pet hate is car drivers
redboxer850:
What about LEAVING the motorway ,
If I were to follow your “simple ethos”, it would be acceptable for me to drive on the hard shoulder for 2/300m if the traffic on the carriageway is stationary.
That is entirely different as it would be DELIBERATELY using the shoulder for the purpose of personal gain and would have nothing to do with safety
redboxer850:
What about LEAVING the motorway ,
If I were to follow your “simple ethos”, it would be acceptable for me to drive on the hard shoulder for 2/300m if the traffic on the carriageway is stationary.
That is entirely different as it would be DELIBERATELY using the shoulder for the purpose of personal gain and would have nothing to do with safety
redboxer850:
Whatever you say, fact is fact,
The hard shoulder is for EMERGENCIES only, and if you venture on to it for ANY other reason, you could be nicked
Ok Rog,
Simple question, simple answer,
Is it LEGAL to use the hard shoulder for any purpose other than an EMERGENCY
redboxer850:
Driving on the motorway
259
Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should
give priority to traffic already on the motorway
check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane
not cross solid white lines that separate lanes or use the hard shoulder
stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway
remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking
If, for what ever reason, it is not safely possible to join and the slip road has ended then choose the best SAFETY option - in most cases this will be to use the hard shoulder as an unofficial slip road extension.
I have been in this situation where the ONLY space left by those in lane 1 was barely large enough to fit my vehicle into whilst I was on the slip road - not one driver would ease off to make a safe space - got some flashing me to come in but not leaving any safety room !!!
I can usually make the space but this was one instance where no-one would assist and dropping to a 10mph crawl to stay in the slip road would mean a speed differential of about 20 mph - all lanes full with traffic doing between 30 (lane 1) and 40 (lane 3)
For those trying to get from lane 1 to lane 2 was just as safely impossible as no-one seemed to want to ease off for safety
Ok Mr Safety,
What would you do if you found yourself in the situation you described above and there was NO hard shoulder to run on (for safety)
e.g,
you are joining the M1 N/B at J21, very busy junction at rush hour, shortish sliproad, not a lot of time to observe/anticipate traffic on the motorway. Traffic coming from the M69 on your nearside.
e.g
You are leaving LFE services N/B, again, very busy at rush hour, vehicles jockying for position to get off at 21a. No hard shoulder due to the Hinckley Road overbridge.
Not to mention, trying to enter ANY dual carriageway (no hard shoulder, full stop)
redboxer850:
What would you do if you found yourself in the situation you described above and there was NO hard shoulder to run on (for safety)
With no safety option then the physical set up determines that the driver must either stop or risk collision with those on the motorway - the safest of those options is to stop.
buck rogers:
i used to pull out to let cars on…then got sick of being hung out to dry in lane 2.
i used to pull out to let lorrys on…then got sick of being hung out to dry in lane 2.
now i dont pull over to let anyone out ever.period.
Same as me bruv … if they cant adjust there speed to join its THERE problem you normally know the ******* anyway as they have the right indicator on 1/2 mile before the chevrons even begin OP should be cars &trucks that cant join by the end of the slip -" just as many d***heads in trucks these days"
I meant right lol just don’t ask me for any directions 
,
must get a thrill from it 
