Merging at roadworks on a Dual Carriageway

[Coldfuse]

Hello all, I need to ask a question. I watch a number of dashcams videos on youtube, mostly just for fun but every now and then you see a dashcam owner driving like (what i think to be) an idiot.

I watched this one earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr3bJLGB1Z8&lc...

The clip that starts at 1:39 that involves the dashcammer, in this instance the video poster aswell.

I posted in the comments of this video:
"At 1:39, i'm not sure who was driving the camera car, but that was almost an accident that would have been 100% your fault. You are supposed merge in turn on a bit of road like that. ALSO its your legal duty to avoid accidents or creating a situation in which an accident could occur.
The camera car forced the car using lane 2 to (i can't quite see it) almost hit the cones? which you could argue would be the camera car either driving dangerously or driving without due care and attention.

Ignoring the law for a second aswell, you sped up to close the gap and you called him a bully for trying to merge legally. How important are you for needing to be 1 whole car length further forward?!

I've been driving for along time and zip merging seems to be one thing no one in this country (the UK) can get right."

I'm not sure of the specific legislation, but how correct am i?

I'm quite happy to be proven wrong here.

[Galveston]

Clearly the dashcam driver is a tit but as there isn't a "merge in turn" sign surely the onus is with the merging driver to find a suitable gap rather than aim and hope?

[Somewhatfoolish]

What happens when two morons meet. Anaemic Skoda clearly not planning ahead, I don't see any 'bullying' by it as suggested in the video. Dashcam driver also clearly not planning ahead given he aborts the overtake of the lorry if you watch the distance between him and it.

On the road, if witnessing this, the only real option is to leave space* and leave the pair of them to their petty squabbles.

On the internet, you're not going to get anywhere arguing with a self-righteous tard in youtube comments.

*Going to create a thread about this soon when I have time, but briefly I've been watching a lot of Russian dash cam vids and I'm astonished how much space an accident by retards can take up; has definitely made me give more space when seeing a situation develop.

[Coldfuse]

Thanks for the replies, you have basically confirmed what i thought. The driver is being a tard.

If i was driving the dashcam car i would let the Skoda move in, because letting something minor like that go over "being right" (even if you are a tremendous spacktard) is better than having an accident.

[anonymous-user]

Coldfuse said:

Thanks for the replies, you have basically confirmed what i thought. The driver is being a tard.

If i was driving the dashcam car i would let the Skoda move in, because letting something minor like that go over "being right" (even if you are a tremendous spacktard) is better than having an accident.

Nobody other than a tt would speed up to close the gap, there's enough room for him there if the dash cammer eases off the throttle.
You will often find its the self righteous dashcamwkers that are the ones that bully other road users.

[InitialDave]

The dashcam driver slacks off his braking in order to close the gap.

He's either deliberately a tt who thinks it's his place to manage the road, unobservant of the road around him, or otherwise some form of .

It's all on him.

[carreauchompeur]

I didn't see any bullying, whilst you can plan ahead to a certain extent sometimes traffic conditions and speeds vary. I've had this before when I have been on an unfamiliar motorway and started trying to merge ASAP at the 800yard marker but someone has blocked me just because.

Dashcammer is a dangerous fkwit who'd happily cause an accident to be 'right'. I didn't see any I'll will on the part of the Skoda. Slightly poor planning but we don't know what the gaps were like behind.

[Countdown]

Knowing the lane up ahead was closing why didn't the Skoda driver merge behind the dashcam car?

"merge in turn" isn't "overtake as many cars as you can and then hope you can force your way in".

[vonhosen]

Countdown said:

Knowing the lane up ahead was closing why didn't the Skoda driver merge behind the dashcam car?

"merge in turn" isn't "overtake as many cars as you can and then hope you can force your way in".

We don't know & probably never will know what is going on in the Skoda driver's mind or life.

If the Skoda driver had pointed a gun at the dashcam driver I suspect the dashcam driver would have eased off, not worried about a car getting a car length ahead of him & decided that if anybody was to deal with the Skoda driver it should be the authorities in relation to any perceived poor driving. He'd have probably thought it best to concentrate on his own safety as a priority, rather than getting territorial about a small piece of tarmac. I mean, what has letting the Skoda in front in order to avoid a potential collision/confrontation actually going to cost the dashcam driver?

If he does value his own safety, why then compromise it for a car length (that can easily be made up for a bit further down the line in the ebb & flow of traffic) just because it's a ton or so of metal instead of a bullet?
A ton or so of metal that is carrying far more energy than a bullet.

Why do people get so territorial about fighting for a small piece of tarmac?
It's a mindset of lunacy & you can change from that mindset, all you need to do is adapt your thinking to something that is a tad more rational.

[Countdown]

Possibly because it's irritating having to continually brake and then speed up because people don't merge in turn correctly.

[SonicShadow]

When a dhead meets an ahole.

[vonhosen]

Countdown said:

Possibly because it's irritating having to continually brake and then speed up because people don't merge in turn correctly.

If you leave enough space in front you generally don't need to brake when somebody who was moving quicker than you moves into that gap.

[Countdown]

vonhosen said:

Countdown said:

Possibly because it's irritating having to continually brake and then speed up because people don't merge in turn correctly.

If you leave enough space in front you generally don't need to brake when somebody who was moving quicker than you moves into that gap.

If you leave enough space and somebody moves into that space, you then need to ease off to re-create your "safe" braking distance, which then has a knock on impact on everybody behind you. If (as happens on occasion 2 or even 3 drivers try to enter your braking space you have to brake much harder, which again has an impact on those behind you.

Sometimes several of the people behind you will have left a space for somebody travelling parallel with them to merge safely, only for these to disappear because somebody further up the road merged in such a way that everybody behind had to brake firmly.

I think merge in turn works well when it's zip merging.

[Somewhatfoolish]

Countdown said:

vonhosen said:

Countdown said:

Possibly because it's irritating having to continually brake and then speed up because people don't merge in turn correctly.

If you leave enough space in front you generally don't need to brake when somebody who was moving quicker than you moves into that gap.

If you leave enough space and somebody moves into that space, you then need to ease off to re-create your "safe" braking distance, which then has a knock on impact on everybody behind you. If (as happens on occasion 2 or even 3 drivers try to enter your braking space you have to brake much harder, which again has an impact on those behind you.

Sometimes several of the people behind you will have left a space for somebody travelling parallel with them to merge safely, only for these to disappear because somebody further up the road merged in such a way that everybody behind had to brake firmly.

I think merge in turn works well when it's zip merging.

If the dashcammer was so bothered about impacting everybody behind him, he wouldn't have been driving in lane 2 at 60mph tops in the first place!

In almost all cars, there's rarely any need to brake, sharply or otherwise, to increase your following distance if someone's merged into your braking space - just ease off a bit.

[Countdown]

Somewhatfoolish said:

If the dashcammer was so bothered about impacting everybody behind him, he wouldn't have been driving in lane 2 at 60mph tops in the first place!

My interpretation - he's progressing to overtake the HGV, realises the lane ahead is closing and so matches speeds with the HGV and moves across. the car in front of him merges in front of the HGV, so they are effectively merging in turn.

The Skoda driver is aware that the lane is closing but decides he wants to merge in FRONT of the dashcam car. Dashcam driver is a d1ckhead for closing the gap but the situation could have been avoided if the Skoda driver had merged in turn.

Somewhatfoolish said:

In almost all cars, there's rarely any need to brake, sharply or otherwise, to increase your following distance if someone's merged into your braking space - just ease off a bit.

IME the majority of people don't even leave a safe gap for themselves, let alone one into which somebody else can merge without the need for both parties to brake quite firmly. The closer you get to the merge point the more chance you get of 2 idiots playing chicken.

[dvenman]

Countdown said:

IME the majority of people don't even leave a safe gap for themselves, let alone one into which somebody else can merge without the need for both parties to brake quite firmly. The closer you get to the merge point the more chance you get of 2 idiots playing chicken.

So don't be one of those idiots. Drive for you, not for the idiots.

I have found that since my driving has become proactive rather than reactive I am much less stressed and fatigued at the end of a drive because I'm planning for events around me, not reacting to them.

[p1esk]

vonhosen said:

Countdown said:

Possibly because it's irritating having to continually brake and then speed up because people don't merge in turn correctly.

If you leave enough space in front you generally don't need to brake when somebody who was moving quicker than you moves into that gap.

Aye, I think it's something to do with anticipation, and applying a bit of acceleration sense.

[66mpg]

What we can't see in the video is the view behind the camera car. The cars behind may have already closed up too much leaving the gap between the LGV and the camera car as the only viable place to join L1. If that is the case the driver of the camera car is the knob here.

[JM]

66mpg said:

What we can't see in the video is the view behind the camera car. The cars behind may have already closed up too much leaving the gap between the LGV and the camera car as the only viable place to join L1. If that is the case the driver of the camera car is the knob here.

If there was no traffic at all behind the camera car they would still be a knob for closing the gap to prevent the other car from merging.

[Countdown]

JM said:

If there was no traffic at all behind the camera car they would still be a knob for closing the gap to prevent the other car from merging.

If there were no cars behind, and knowing the lane is closing, why not merge behind the camera car?