Merging into one lane accident
Discussion
There is another way to look at it depending on your point of view........
You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
The question I would be asking myself is if there was no 2 lane bit, ie just the one lane, and there was a traffic bollard there, would you have done exactly the same thing?
If not whats the difference?
Would you have expected him to slam his brakes on so you could squeeze through the ever decreasing gap?
Is this not essentially one car changing lanes and crashing into the other?
You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
The question I would be asking myself is if there was no 2 lane bit, ie just the one lane, and there was a traffic bollard there, would you have done exactly the same thing?
If not whats the difference?
Would you have expected him to slam his brakes on so you could squeeze through the ever decreasing gap?
Is this not essentially one car changing lanes and crashing into the other?
james7 said:
There is another way to look at it depending on your point of view........
You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
Well the OP did state he was a car length in front which is perfectly enough space when merging immediately after the lights.You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
PurpleMoonlight said:
james7 said:
There is another way to look at it depending on your point of view........
You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
Well the OP did state he was a car length in front which is perfectly enough space when merging immediately after the lights.You were overtaking a long vehicle and under estimated the size of the gap that was there for you to pull in to.
Effectively your lane ends and his one does not as pointed out by the road markings.
He said he was almost a car length and drew a picture which suggests this was nose to nose, not rear of his to nose of the other driver.
He also said he slammed his brakes in. If a car pulled in front of you even if there was a 5m clear water gap and slammed their brakes on, you'd rear end them. especially if you were pulling a trailer.
PurpleMoonlight said:
Well the OP did state he was a car length in front which is perfectly enough space when merging immediately after the lights.
In which case I am curious why he stayed in the lane which ends very shortly rather than moving into the gap
Unless there was another car there and he was trying to "merge" later on?
I am not certain that your average land rover towing a trailer can surprise a bicycle in the acceleration department let alone a car.
james7 said:
In which case I am curious why he stayed in the lane which ends very shortly rather than moving into the gap
Unless there was another car there and he was trying to "merge" later on?
I am not certain that your average land rover towing a trailer can surprise a bicycle in the acceleration department let alone a car.
I guess you have only read the last page of the thread then!Unless there was another car there and he was trying to "merge" later on?
I am not certain that your average land rover towing a trailer can surprise a bicycle in the acceleration department let alone a car.
The OP stated the Landrover sped up to undertake so he braked, stopped, but the trailer hit him.
Errm ...
Greengecko said:
We pull away and the car in front of me (in the right hand lane) merges first, with the car in the left lane merging next. I go to follow and am almost an entire car length ahead of the vehicle (green) and go to merge; as I do so the vehicle (green) hits the accelerator with his vehicle making it through but their trailer (which is greater that the width of the towing vehicle) impacts on the front passenger side of my car (blue) where I'm positioned to merge. By this point I had slammed on the brakes so was almost stationary.
PurpleMoonlight said:
I guess you have only read the last page of the thread then!
The OP stated the Landrover sped up to undertake so he braked, stopped, but the trailer hit him.
I have read it thanks. I am not sure the OP has posted on the last page though? The OP stated the Landrover sped up to undertake so he braked, stopped, but the trailer hit him.
"I was, I had checked in my wing mirror and was almost the entire length of my car in front."
"Of course, completely agree it needs to be more than a car length to move into."
I am reading that as he had almost passed the car but not quite. The first post is not quite clear and he then posted this.
Also he said " so was almost stationary."
Have you read the same thread as me
Is it not better to discuss the merits of this type of road layout and the incident in the op rather than picking apart a reply to score points etc? You sound like my ex mrs
Just to answer a few questions.
The accident happened just after the lights changed, which meant I had only got to perhaps 15-20mph before hitting the brakes and being almost stationary just before the red hatching when contact was made.
In all fairness yes my car was angled slightly diagonally in the direction of the merge, as anyone would be when merging in turn - which I guess, fool on me for assuming that was the case.
I just couldn't believe that a driver knew there was a merge ahead, had a car a whole length ahead on his right, but decides to hit the accelerator rather than travelling at a constant speed to allow the merge.
The accident happened just after the lights changed, which meant I had only got to perhaps 15-20mph before hitting the brakes and being almost stationary just before the red hatching when contact was made.
In all fairness yes my car was angled slightly diagonally in the direction of the merge, as anyone would be when merging in turn - which I guess, fool on me for assuming that was the case.
I just couldn't believe that a driver knew there was a merge ahead, had a car a whole length ahead on his right, but decides to hit the accelerator rather than travelling at a constant speed to allow the merge.
Edited by Greengecko on Thursday 2nd April 09:00
Pretty inconsiderate driving by the Disco driver.
Without a trailer the OP would merely have had to slow down and merge in behind safely. However with him towing a trailer he would have known that the OP would have had to come to a dead stop perhaps with consequences for rejoining if there were vehicles behind him.
Greengecko said:
Just to answer a few questions.
The accident happened just after the lights changed, which meant I had only got to perhaps 15-20mph before hitting the brakes and being almost stationary just before the red hatching when contact was made.
In all fairness yes my car was angled slightly diagonally in the direction of the merge, as anyone would be when merging in turn - which I guess, fool on me for assuming that was the case.
I just couldn't believe that a driver knew there was a merge ahead, had a car a whole length ahead on his right, but decides to hit the accelerator rather than travelling at a constant speed to allow the merge.
What are your thoughts on my post at the top of the page?The accident happened just after the lights changed, which meant I had only got to perhaps 15-20mph before hitting the brakes and being almost stationary just before the red hatching when contact was made.
In all fairness yes my car was angled slightly diagonally in the direction of the merge, as anyone would be when merging in turn - which I guess, fool on me for assuming that was the case.
I just couldn't believe that a driver knew there was a merge ahead, had a car a whole length ahead on his right, but decides to hit the accelerator rather than travelling at a constant speed to allow the merge.
Edited by Greengecko on Thursday 2nd April 09:00
You say the LR driver 'hit the accelerator' but surely he would have already been accelerating as best he could with a trailer, given that it looks to be less than 50m from the lights that you collided.
Was he perhaps just continuing to accelerate as he had done for the previous few metres away from the lights?
Was there another vehicle close in front of you or the LR which meant you couldn't get in?
I can't understand how you were comprehensively out-dragged by a trailer-towing LR within about 30m of the lights to such an extent that you had to slam your brakes on knowing that, with the best will in the world, the LR wouldn't be able to stop as quickly.
Was he perhaps just continuing to accelerate as he had done for the previous few metres away from the lights?
Was there another vehicle close in front of you or the LR which meant you couldn't get in?
I can't understand how you were comprehensively out-dragged by a trailer-towing LR within about 30m of the lights to such an extent that you had to slam your brakes on knowing that, with the best will in the world, the LR wouldn't be able to stop as quickly.
I completely agree James that I'm not entirely blameless. However it is a merge in which you're meant to merge in turn, not a lane that ends with a bollard.
I can't see many people where there is a merge, and have a car considerably in front on there right, that they would then intentionally hit the pedal to the metal to block the merge.
I have drove this road in the same way for the past 5 years with incident, and is probably fair to say some drivers get the hump when a driver in the right hand lane merges in front.
I can't see many people where there is a merge, and have a car considerably in front on there right, that they would then intentionally hit the pedal to the metal to block the merge.
I have drove this road in the same way for the past 5 years with incident, and is probably fair to say some drivers get the hump when a driver in the right hand lane merges in front.
PorkInsider said:
You say the LR driver 'hit the accelerator' but surely he would have already been accelerating as best he could with a trailer, given that it looks to be less than 50m from the lights that you collided.
Was he perhaps just continuing to accelerate as he had done for the previous few metres away from the lights?
Was there another vehicle close in front of you or the LR which meant you couldn't get in?
I can't understand how you were comprehensively out-dragged by a trailer-towing LR within about 30m of the lights to such an extent that you had to slam your brakes on knowing that, with the best will in the world, the LR wouldn't be able to stop as quickly.
I get your point and it could have been the the defender was accelerating as fast as possible with the trailer attached. Usually it is a very slow merge, where you merge in turn - so I was simply accelerating steadily away from the lights.Was he perhaps just continuing to accelerate as he had done for the previous few metres away from the lights?
Was there another vehicle close in front of you or the LR which meant you couldn't get in?
I can't understand how you were comprehensively out-dragged by a trailer-towing LR within about 30m of the lights to such an extent that you had to slam your brakes on knowing that, with the best will in the world, the LR wouldn't be able to stop as quickly.
The car in front of me at the lights merged first, followed by the first car in the left lane. There was a large enough gap in front for me to merge into at the point when I was a car length in front.
PorkInsider said:
I can't understand how you were comprehensively out-dragged by a trailer-towing LR within about 30m of the lights to such an extent that you had to slam your brakes on knowing that, with the best will in the world, the LR wouldn't be able to stop as quickly.
This is pretty much my opinion. There's a bit of an assumption (and I've made it so I'm not trying to make out I'm some driving god) that after a junction the traffic speeds up quickly enough to create gaps. If you spot a Landy with a trailer (or an artic), you feel even more confident that the gaps in front will appear. If the gaps don't appear you're left to the good nature of other drivers to create spaces for you. I don't think you brake because the landy was undertaking unless there was some bollard or curb in the way. You brake because the traffic in front is slow.
There's a similar one on the A5 near cannock, parallel to the toll road. If there are 3 cars in the right hand lane already, forget it, enough gaps just won't appear. If the traffic is queuing back on the other side of the lights, then forget it, the traffic will crawl through. I see countless people trundle down the outside then get stuck because they've not read the road ahead. Its one of the worst junction types in my book for causing anger between drivers.
Greengecko said:
I completely agree James that I'm not entirely blameless. However it is a merge in which you're meant to merge in turn, not a lane that ends with a bollard.
I can't see many people where there is a merge, and have a car considerably in front on there right, that they would then intentionally hit the pedal to the metal to block the merge.
I have drove this road in the same way for the past 5 years with incident, and is probably fair to say some drivers get the hump when a driver in the right hand lane merges in front.
I am not pointing the finger of blame at all. In most collisions between 2 cars there are small things that both parties could have done differently which would have given a totally different outcome. And as such I think its good to discuss it from all angles.I can't see many people where there is a merge, and have a car considerably in front on there right, that they would then intentionally hit the pedal to the metal to block the merge.
I have drove this road in the same way for the past 5 years with incident, and is probably fair to say some drivers get the hump when a driver in the right hand lane merges in front.
Are you meant to merge in turn with that layout though? Or is it that one lane ends?
There are lots of these that I drive through on a daily basis and see both sides of the coin as a spectator and being involved.
Some seem to be drivers who think that as their front bumper is 1mm in front they are the winner, some seem to be the brave bully and try and barge in, some think that as they have the right hand lane (which has the arrow in) they are automatically entitled to barge in where ever they like. Some people just dont look. Some will pile in with headlights and horns blaring. I am not saying you are any of these but its good to reflect on things and see what we could do differently and what cold be changed in the road layout to help. As its not out of the way to meet someone doing any of the above its nice to have considered all options.
Personally I dont like the setup as it forces 2 cars together for no real reason.
My preferred method is to stay in the left had lane and treat being in the right hand lane as an overtake and make sure there is room in front and behind so I dont get caught up in it all.
Sounds to me as though the two cars in front had accelerated away so slowly that the defender driver was able to keep up and either he didn't know the lanes merged or he was a git trying to stay in front for no good reason.
Either he had forgotten his trailer was wider than the defender or you stopped so suddenly that he didn't have time to stop with you. If he was braking when he hit you then you must have stopped too suddenly for him or if he was still accelerating when he hit you then he had forgotten about the width of the trailer.
Although the trailer is wider than the defender it looks as though you were too close anyway. Perhaps you pulled left when you braked. If the overhang is 150mm you must have been less than 150 from the defender.
Either he had forgotten his trailer was wider than the defender or you stopped so suddenly that he didn't have time to stop with you. If he was braking when he hit you then you must have stopped too suddenly for him or if he was still accelerating when he hit you then he had forgotten about the width of the trailer.
Although the trailer is wider than the defender it looks as though you were too close anyway. Perhaps you pulled left when you braked. If the overhang is 150mm you must have been less than 150 from the defender.
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