Motorway Switching Lanes - Advice Needed

[MakaveliX]

Just a quick one.

Let's say you are in Lane 3 and want to move back into Lane 2.

There is a car in Lane 1, in your blind spot and could potentially also want to move into lane 2.

Is it best to cancel the signal, keep driving until you can see them and then confirm if they are signalling or not and then move across
OR should the car in lane 1's indications be visible when leaning forward and looking in the front nearside mirror ?

Bear in mind. The person in lane 1 should be able to see us indicating, but we may not be able to see them ( due to the blind spot )

I do a fair amount of driving but rarely on motorways or anything more than a 2 lane A road hence my question

Thanks

Edited by MakaveliX on Sunday 18th June 18:00

[LunarOne]

I try not to move into any position which another car might move into, reasonably or unreasonably. So when moving fro L3>L2 I make sure there is nothing in L1 that could possibly also move into L2. Just wait until you are a few car lengths past the traffic before switching lanes.

[Geertsen]

I theory you should be checking your blind spot before changing lane by looking over your shoulder so you’d see if they were indicating. But I totally agree with the post above, I always make sure I am well clear of the car behind before I change lane. I hate it when people overtake me and pull back in when they are JUST past my bumper. I know what you mean though as it has happened to me on several occasions where I and another driver both want to use the middle lane and it’s a scary moment if you both go for it simultaneously so best to abandon the manoeuvre until you know for sure that it’s clear.

[swisstoni]

It would be a failure of observation to be signalling a move and then to discover a vehicle that might compromise it.

Because I’m perfect, I’ve never been in that situation but I would cancel the signalling and maintain my position until the situation improved.

[brillomaster]

Ill often delay moving back from L3 to L2 if theres a possibility someone will want to move from L1 to L2.

Heck ill also move out from L2 to L3 if i see a car approaching a lorry in L1 and thus give him room to overtake if he wants to without slowing down.

But on the other hand, if someone is dawdling along in L2, you can be darn sure im overtaking in L1.

[cherryowen]

FFS!

There is no "Lane 1" or "Lane 2"

Use the FAST LANE, at all times, and high-beam the dawdlers out of your way



PH'er "tarpatow" will be along shortly to elaborate..........

[MakaveliX]

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.

What I have learnt is ask two questions before moving lanes at all times.
" Could someone possibly want to move into the lane I want to " ?
and
" Is somebody ( even potentially ) in the lane that I want to move into " ?


I also assume that if your exit is next ( lets say going from Junction 1 to Junction 2 ) then is it always best to stay in lane one just incase it's difficult to move back into lane 1 when the slip road approaches ?

[thatdude]

This is a great question. In my experience, I wait until there is room in that lane for both vehicles to merge into - even if it gets a bit tight! Ensure you can accelerate into the position as well, so you can start o come ahead of the car in lane 1 and therefore hopefully into the peripheral vision of the driver in that car.

Ensure you look physically by turning your head - the "life saver" or "shoulder check" manouver hammered into the psyche of every motorcyclist through their training. Signal in good time, and merge with more care into lane 2 than you might normally do, in case you have to abort.

[SkodaIan]

MakaveliX said:

I also assume that if your exit is next ( lets say going from Junction 1 to Junction 2 ) then is it always best to stay in lane one just incase it's difficult to move back into lane 1 when the slip road approaches ?

Lane 1 is the lane you should be using at all times when not overtaking something else, its not just there to use just before you leave the motorway.

You get at least a 1 mile warning of any junction, and even in very busy traffic that's more than enough time to complete an overtake and pull in.

Don't do what I saw an idiot in a chavved up BMW with 3d plates, blacked out windows and wind deflectors do the other day on the M1 though - at the 100 yard marker he was doing about 90 in lane 4 and then decided to turn off. Nearly took out 3 other cars, and "just" made it onto the slip road with a quick trip over the grass at about 80.......

[LunarOne]

SkodaIan said:

MakaveliX said:

I also assume that if your exit is next ( lets say going from Junction 1 to Junction 2 ) then is it always best to stay in lane one just incase it's difficult to move back into lane 1 when the slip road approaches ?

Lane 1 is the lane you should be using at all times when not overtaking something else, its not just there to use just before you leave the motorway.

You get at least a 1 mile warning of any junction, and even in very busy traffic that's more than enough time to complete an overtake and pull in.

Don't do what I saw an idiot in a chavved up BMW with 3d plates, blacked out windows and wind deflectors do the other day on the M1 though - at the 100 yard marker he was doing about 90 in lane 4 and then decided to turn off. Nearly took out 3 other cars, and "just" made it onto the slip road with a quick trip over the grass at about 80.......

In reality, on a busy motorway during the day lane one is either nearly empty or it's full of lorries and strange car drivers trundling along. If the former, then you can't drive in it at 70mph while the MLMs do 61mph in the middle lane. Well you can but technically you shouldn't. So you have to move to lane 3 or 4 to do it. And if the latter, then you can barely use lane one anyway. So it's quite normal not to use lane one unless exiting.

[ScoobyChris]

MakaveliX said:

I also assume that if your exit is next ( lets say going from Junction 1 to Junction 2 ) then is it always best to stay in lane one just incase it's difficult to move back into lane 1 when the slip road approaches ?

I don't think there is a one-size fits all answer to this question. The main thing to be considering is what are the benefits, what are the reasons you wouldn't look to make progress if it's safe and legal to do so, and what impact do your choices have on those around you. Where the gains are marginal (eg in crawling nose-to-tail traffic, or there is a queue backing up from the next junction) I'd likely stay in L1. On a free-flowing motorway where I can make some progress past slower vehicles before my junction, I would most likely plan to overtake, being mindful that if L1 becomes a dedicated lane for the next junction I have to also plan for vehicles moving from L1 to L2.

Chris

[K4sper]

MakaveliX said:

Just a quick one.

Let's say you are in Lane 3 and want to move back into Lane 2.

There is a car in Lane 1, in your blind spot and could potentially also want to move into lane 2.

Is it best to cancel the signal, keep driving until you can see them and then confirm if they are signalling or not and then move across
OR should the car in lane 1's indications be visible when leaning forward and looking in the front nearside mirror ?

question can be neatly summarised as "should I move from lane 3 into lane 2 when I am not sure whether lane 2 is clear?"

[MakaveliX]

SkodaIan said:

Lane 1 is the lane you should be using at all times when not overtaking something else, its not just there to use just before you leave the motorway.
.

I tend to move into lane 2 when approaching a slip road to help assist other drivers joining the motorway entry.

[Z4guy]

I was told on an advanced driving course to always have a "space cushion" when driving on the motorway.

If you can ensure that when you are moving over that you are at least a few car lengths distance from the person in the first lane then it should avoid potential collisions.

Granted, I know that's not always possible in the real world.

https://www.defensivedriving.com/safe-driver-resou...

[modellista]

Only move back into Lane 2 from Lane 3 if you are 100% sure you have fully overtaken any vehicles in Lane 1 - ie you can see them in your mirrors and confirm their position. This is to cover the aforementioned possibility that they have themselves pulled out to overtake.

This means spending longer in Lane 3, which is of no consequence unless somebody in a hurry is tailgating you. in which case the situation becomes a bit more complicated because the approved method to deal with a tailgater is to slow down, in turn bringing you into conflict with traffic in the nearside lanes.

[whimsical ninja]

Good question this. Motorway driving is rarely challenging but this can be a bit of a tester.

You say the car in lane 1 is in your blind spot. That means you in lane 3 are now ahead and - presumably - moving more quickly than they are. So you coming across probably isn't going to cause too many problems.

However, the car in lane 1 that's ahead of you (or ~level) and fast approaching a lorry in front causes an issue. And from their point of view, you also cause an issue: if they are thinking of moving into lane 2 for the overtake, they should be concerned about what you, in lane 3, might be doing.

From either person's point of view my approach is simply to telegraph my intentions much further in advance (ie signal for maybe 5+ flashes before making any sort of movement), and when I do make the movement, it'll be a very gentle sideways movement, taking far longer to straddle the lanes than normal and not committing myself. It sometimes frustrates the fast mover in lane 3 who accelerates up my tail, anticipating me to be out of their way long before I am, but hey that's their problem.

Just keep as much focus as possible on the vehicle you're anticipating conflict with, looking for any signs of movement, and leave yourself a contingency.

Of course if you're moving more quickly you can just stay in lane 3 until the problem goes away, but that's not always an option/can be antisocial.

[Beethree]

cherryowen said:

FFS!

There is no "Lane 1" or "Lane 2"

Use the FAST LANE, at all times, and high-beam the dawdlers out of your way



PH'er "tarpatow" will be along shortly to elaborate..........

I think you’ll find it’s actually called the ‘top lane’



Ref the OP, I always assume everyone else is an idiot so would leave plenty of room for them to suddenly decide to move into lane 2, if need be a short increase in speed to create a gap and then pull back into lane 2/1

[MakaveliX]

Cool thanks for the info guys.

[MakaveliX]

Merging on the M6 north earlier when this happened.
Did my usual checks to ensure I had a safe gap to merge into, when Blue Car in lane 2 decides to move into lane 1 just as I was about to merge.

Who is at fault here ? Looking at the video he may have indicated for a split second, but that could just be the reflections.

If it were me in Lane 2, I would have waited until after the slip road to move into Lane 1, rather than blocking my entry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUaNq5tbis&ab...

Edited by MakaveliX on Saturday 1st July 17:24

[ScoobyChris]

I don’t think anyone was really at fault. The moment you can see him changing lanes, your plan has to change so you set speed to either merge in front or behind him. It’s good that you’re analysing decisions you made, but it’s also worth adding a dollop of perspective and don’t dwell too much on it.

Chris