Lane Closure - Merge In Turn - 800yds or at closure?
Discussion
We've all been there. One lane closing on the dual carriageway or motorway with 1-mile, 800-yard, 600-yard and so on markers to let us know where it's happening.
I've always been of the opinion that you should be merging in turn at, or very shortly before, the point at which the lane closes (not at the first marker) and that if you're in the still-open lane you should each be letting on car ahead of you go to keep both lanes moving.
Is there any guidance for this in the highway code? A friend is arguing that I'm the knob who sails past in the outside lane and expects to be let in after queue-jumping. I counter argue that if people followed my method and each person let another in at the merge point there wouldn't be anywhere near as much traffic waiting in the "open" lane.
I've always been of the opinion that you should be merging in turn at, or very shortly before, the point at which the lane closes (not at the first marker) and that if you're in the still-open lane you should each be letting on car ahead of you go to keep both lanes moving.
Is there any guidance for this in the highway code? A friend is arguing that I'm the knob who sails past in the outside lane and expects to be let in after queue-jumping. I counter argue that if people followed my method and each person let another in at the merge point there wouldn't be anywhere near as much traffic waiting in the "open" lane.
Unfortunately no one lets anyone in because everyone is a 
, and people don't have the ability to merge above 20mph, so your method is what cocks everything up. There's also a risk of you maintaining speed for a swift merge, there not being a gap, so you crash into a bunch of cones so there's a natural requirement for you to slow down due to this risk.
I do the same thing though.
, and people don't have the ability to merge above 20mph, so your method is what cocks everything up. There's also a risk of you maintaining speed for a swift merge, there not being a gap, so you crash into a bunch of cones so there's a natural requirement for you to slow down due to this risk.I do the same thing though.
romeogolf said:
Mr GrimNasty said:
"merge in turn site:www.pistonheads.com" Google, fill your boots.
I'm more interested in the idea of merging AT the closure vs merging at the 1-mile marker 
I saw some self important idiot straddling two lanes from about the 600 yard marker a couple of days ago to stop people merging at a time later than he obviously decided would be fair or decent. tt.
I don't get it personally - we sure as hell pay enough for the privilege of being on the roads, so we should be using as much of it as possible! And that means using as much of the lane as possible before merging.
I see a similair thing on a light controlled roundabout near my house - two lanes to go straight on that immediately merge into one. The amount of people in the inside lane that drive a few inches from the back of the car in front or speed up on the inside to close the gap you're about to merge into is staggering. I assume they feel you are 'queue jumping' by legally and appropriately using the lanes as intended. Oblivious to the fact that they are basically forcing you into oncoming traffic by not letting you merge. Genius.
Edited as I kept spelling 'queue' wrong!
t.I don't get it personally - we sure as hell pay enough for the privilege of being on the roads, so we should be using as much of it as possible! And that means using as much of the lane as possible before merging.
I see a similair thing on a light controlled roundabout near my house - two lanes to go straight on that immediately merge into one. The amount of people in the inside lane that drive a few inches from the back of the car in front or speed up on the inside to close the gap you're about to merge into is staggering. I assume they feel you are 'queue jumping' by legally and appropriately using the lanes as intended. Oblivious to the fact that they are basically forcing you into oncoming traffic by not letting you merge. Genius.
Edited as I kept spelling 'queue' wrong!
Edited by scrubchub on Tuesday 19th August 10:34
Yes, the revised version of the Highway Code does make mention and give (limited) advice on merge-in-turn.
Technically, you're right about just keeping on going down lane two and merging late (let's assume a dual carriageway). This is meant to keep average speeds of traffic in both lanes higher and prevent stationary queueing in lane one, but...and it's a big but....this will run counter to the British convention. Brits love to queue! "Pushing in" at lane closures seems to be a big no-no and can annoy people. I've seen people aggressively closing the gap in lane one to prevent late merging (& seen two resultant v.minor shunts), honking of horns, flashing lights, the "coffee beans" and worse. Many times seen HGVs running down the lane 1 & 2 lane markings to prevent late mergers. People get upset. It's just not British to queue barge, is it?
However, have a look at this from the 'States on 'zipper merging'. It sets out the logical case for late merging but I've got a feeling Brits still won't like it, no matter how scientific! Found here:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/zippermerge/
Personally, I've found less late merging here in Scotland than in Englandshire, which I've always attributed to the Scots being more courteous, or least trying to show courtesy to other road users (albeit mistakenly).
Technically, you're right about just keeping on going down lane two and merging late (let's assume a dual carriageway). This is meant to keep average speeds of traffic in both lanes higher and prevent stationary queueing in lane one, but...and it's a big but....this will run counter to the British convention. Brits love to queue! "Pushing in" at lane closures seems to be a big no-no and can annoy people. I've seen people aggressively closing the gap in lane one to prevent late merging (& seen two resultant v.minor shunts), honking of horns, flashing lights, the "coffee beans" and worse. Many times seen HGVs running down the lane 1 & 2 lane markings to prevent late mergers. People get upset. It's just not British to queue barge, is it?
However, have a look at this from the 'States on 'zipper merging'. It sets out the logical case for late merging but I've got a feeling Brits still won't like it, no matter how scientific! Found here:
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/zippermerge/
Personally, I've found less late merging here in Scotland than in Englandshire, which I've always attributed to the Scots being more courteous, or least trying to show courtesy to other road users (albeit mistakenly).
Edited by Depthhoar on Tuesday 19th August 10:35
Generally speaking if the traffic is moving slowly, I'll merge late. If the traffic seems to be moving at a reasonable speed through the restricted section of road, I'll merge earlier to avoid the risk of not being able to find a gap.
If the inside lane is slow/stationary and the outside lane is relatively empty because people have been merging early, I'll generally come off the throttle a good few hundred meters before the merge point and coast/engine brake down to merging speed rather than hammering along at 70 and then slamming on the brakes, which seems to annoy some people who think they should be able to do 70 up until the last second, presumably so they can get in front of that one more car in the queue.
If the inside lane is slow/stationary and the outside lane is relatively empty because people have been merging early, I'll generally come off the throttle a good few hundred meters before the merge point and coast/engine brake down to merging speed rather than hammering along at 70 and then slamming on the brakes, which seems to annoy some people who think they should be able to do 70 up until the last second, presumably so they can get in front of that one more car in the queue.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 19th August 10:39
On the motorway, at the very least, the gantry signs will have turned to a red "x" at some point well before the cones actually force you to merge. In these cases you definitely shouldn't be sailing on down to the "merge point".
Make best use of the road as you can, and use these handy tips to reduce the road rage:
1. Pass other traffic at a politely low speed differential.
2. Don't merge at the absolute last possible point - get in a bit before that.
3. Don't be at all pushy about who lets you in. If someone is being pushy, and you don't push back, the guy behind him will probably let you. If you do push back, you are just confirming everyone's suspicion that you're an arse.
4. Try not to drive an Audi, BMW, or anything else that makes people feel like you probably look down on them.
Make best use of the road as you can, and use these handy tips to reduce the road rage:
1. Pass other traffic at a politely low speed differential.
2. Don't merge at the absolute last possible point - get in a bit before that.
3. Don't be at all pushy about who lets you in. If someone is being pushy, and you don't push back, the guy behind him will probably let you. If you do push back, you are just confirming everyone's suspicion that you're an arse.
4. Try not to drive an Audi, BMW, or anything else that makes people feel like you probably look down on them.
Edited by Bennet on Tuesday 19th August 10:43
Tend to just merge when I see a gap, ideally a decent way before the lane actually closes.
It does bug me when I see people deliberately move from the lane you're supposed to merge into, out into the lane that's about to close, just to overtake a few cars then merge back in again at the last minute.....THIS is what causes the tailback.
It does bug me when I see people deliberately move from the lane you're supposed to merge into, out into the lane that's about to close, just to overtake a few cars then merge back in again at the last minute.....THIS is what causes the tailback.
I like to merge a full calendar month before the merge point, and when I say merge, I mean drive along the middle of both lanes so noone can get by.
Now I know what you'll say about how it's wrong, and how I'm a dreadful bd, but I ask you this: when was the last time you had to offer up the drained blood of your first born child in order to prevent annihilation by an angry deity?
Never, that's when. And you might say, oh, well, correlation does not imply causation, or some st, but if you want to find out what happens when we stop appeasing the Sun God with tarmac tributes, you go right on and merge at the actual merge point, yeah, you do that.
I hope it's cloudy on your birthday you selfish.
Now I know what you'll say about how it's wrong, and how I'm a dreadful b
d, but I ask you this: when was the last time you had to offer up the drained blood of your first born child in order to prevent annihilation by an angry deity?Never, that's when. And you might say, oh, well, correlation does not imply causation, or some s
t, but if you want to find out what happens when we stop appeasing the Sun God with tarmac tributes, you go right on and merge at the actual merge point, yeah, you do that.I hope it's cloudy on your birthday you selfish
.I try and use all the lane up to the merge point, but that has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
It's already been said but merging in early only serves to increase the tailback and make everyone's journey longer. That being said it does tend to offend various angry little men from time to time. Recently on the A38(S) approaching Burton, an accident and subsequent central reservation barrier repairs led to a closure of lane 2.
The result was a tailback of over a mile in lane 1 PRIOR to the merge point itself. Myself along with a few other motorists keen not to be sat all day in traffic took the initiative to use the rest of lane 2. All was going well until some tt in an HGV swung out into lane 2 and then rode both lanes in order to not let us pass safely. I suspect this easily added about 15 minutes to my journey.
Surely that should be classed as dangerous.
It's already been said but merging in early only serves to increase the tailback and make everyone's journey longer. That being said it does tend to offend various angry little men from time to time. Recently on the A38(S) approaching Burton, an accident and subsequent central reservation barrier repairs led to a closure of lane 2.
The result was a tailback of over a mile in lane 1 PRIOR to the merge point itself. Myself along with a few other motorists keen not to be sat all day in traffic took the initiative to use the rest of lane 2. All was going well until some t
t in an HGV swung out into lane 2 and then rode both lanes in order to not let us pass safely. I suspect this easily added about 15 minutes to my journey. Surely that should be classed as dangerous.
trashbat said:
I like to merge a full calendar month before the merge point, and when I say merge, I mean drive along the middle of both lanes so noone can get by.
Now I know what you'll say about how it's wrong, and how I'm a dreadful bd, but I ask you this: when was the last time you had to offer up the drained blood of your first born child in order to prevent annihilation by an angry deity?
Never, that's when. And you might say, oh, well, correlation does not imply causation, or some st, but if you want to find out what happens when we stop appeasing the Sun God with tarmac tributes, you go right on and merge at the actual merge point, yeah, you do that.
I hope it's cloudy on your birthday you selfish.
He's using the Chewbacca Defense!Now I know what you'll say about how it's wrong, and how I'm a dreadful b
d, but I ask you this: when was the last time you had to offer up the drained blood of your first born child in order to prevent annihilation by an angry deity?Never, that's when. And you might say, oh, well, correlation does not imply causation, or some s
t, but if you want to find out what happens when we stop appeasing the Sun God with tarmac tributes, you go right on and merge at the actual merge point, yeah, you do that.I hope it's cloudy on your birthday you selfish
.Snappy89 said:
I try and use all the lane up to the merge point, but that has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
It's already been said but merging in early only serves to increase the tailback and make everyone's journey longer. That being said it does tend to offend various angry little men from time to time. Recently on the A38(S) approaching Burton, an accident and subsequent central reservation barrier repairs led to a closure of lane 2.
The result was a tailback of over a mile in lane 1 PRIOR to the merge point itself. Myself along with a few other motorists keen not to be sat all day in traffic took the initiative to use the rest of lane 2. All was going well until some tt in an HGV swung out into lane 2 and then rode both lanes in order to not let us pass safely. I suspect this easily added about 15 minutes to my journey.
Surely that should be classed as dangerous.
I've seen that before.It's already been said but merging in early only serves to increase the tailback and make everyone's journey longer. That being said it does tend to offend various angry little men from time to time. Recently on the A38(S) approaching Burton, an accident and subsequent central reservation barrier repairs led to a closure of lane 2.
The result was a tailback of over a mile in lane 1 PRIOR to the merge point itself. Myself along with a few other motorists keen not to be sat all day in traffic took the initiative to use the rest of lane 2. All was going well until some t
t in an HGV swung out into lane 2 and then rode both lanes in order to not let us pass safely. I suspect this easily added about 15 minutes to my journey. Surely that should be classed as dangerous.
Thing is, only 50% of those around him think he's a d/ck, 50% hail him as a hero.....
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