I now understand why lots of folk are MLM's
I now understand why lots of folk are MLM's
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Drive Blind

Original Poster:

5,557 posts

197 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
Had to go for a drive today. Wasn't in any great hurry plus heavy traffic plus heavy rain. Majority of the journey was in 2 or 3 lane motorway. Spent most of my time doddling along lane 1 at 55-60 mph.

3 times during that journey a car comes down the slip road, sticks on the indicator and then tries to drive into my passenger side door. When they then realise I'm there I then get the horn, lights, nescafe signals, etc.

If I had just sat in lane 2 the whole journey none of this would of happened to me.






EDLT

15,421 posts

226 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
Drive Blind said:
Had to go for a drive today. Wasn't in any great hurry plus heavy traffic plus heavy rain. Majority of the journey was in 2 or 3 lane motorway. Spent most of my time doddling along lane 1 at 55-60 mph.

3 times during that journey a car comes down the slip road, sticks on the indicator and then tries to drive into my passenger side door. When they then realise I'm there I then get the horn, lights, nescafe signals, etc.

If I had just sat in lane 2 the whole journey none of this would of happened to me.
If you'd let them in it wouldn't have happened either.

essexplumber

7,756 posts

193 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
Drive Blind said:
Had to go for a drive today. Wasn't in any great hurry plus heavy traffic plus heavy rain. Majority of the journey was in 2 or 3 lane motorway. Spent most of my time doddling along lane 1 at 55-60 mph.

3 times during that journey a car comes down the slip road, sticks on the indicator and then tries to drive into my passenger side door. When they then realise I'm there I then get the horn, lights, nescafe signals, etc.

If I had just sat in lane 2 the whole journey none of this would of happened to me.


Your username is very apt.

hman

7,497 posts

214 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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This won't end well.

Try using a bit of common sense and make room for vehicles joining the carriageway.

That is literally all.

Xavier259

222 posts

182 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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lescombes

968 posts

230 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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Highway Code Rule 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............

51mes

1,529 posts

220 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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EDLT said:
If you'd let them in it wouldn't have happened either.
Hmm - perhaps you need to read your highway code - it's the person who is entering the motorways responsibility to safely merge into the flow of traffic not force and barge their way in...

Yes it is polite to assist if you can but not mandatory....

It's an endemic problem with society today - the majority of people expect rather than ask and when they don't get refuse to take responsibility for the issue.

Simes.

MJK 24

5,670 posts

256 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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lescombes said:
Highway Code Rule 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............
Very true. However, if lane two is clear, I find it best for all concerned if I move over to help make space for the new entrant.

Drive Blind

Original Poster:

5,557 posts

197 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
in each case there was plenty of room in front of me and behind me.

As I said, it was heavy traffic so moving into lane 2 would have been unsafe.

0a

24,054 posts

214 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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You do realise that not being a MLM doesn't mean you NEVER go in the middle lane?

paddyhasneeds

62,652 posts

230 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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Drive Blind said:
3 times during that journey a car comes down the slip road, sticks on the indicator and then tries to drive into my passenger side door. When they then realise I'm there I then get the horn, lights, nescafe signals, etc.
I have noticed a recent trend for people to assume they have right of way when joining, that and a weird desire to beat the lorry coming up in lane one, usually at the expense of having 5 yards at the end of the sliproad to spare.

Not sure what your point is on the MLM though. I often pull out at sliproads to allow people space to join, I pull in for the 4 miles or so until the next one though.

Beirut Taxi

6,634 posts

234 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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To be fair to the OP, I'm pretty sure that technically the driver joining the motorway from the sliproad should give way to traffic in lane 1 i.e. join lane one without affecting the motion of vechicles already in that lane.

Changing lane or speed to allow traffic to merge onto the motorway is purely etiquete. However in my experience I alter lanes or speed when approaching junctions on dual carriageways or motorways purely because some drivers push in dangerously and arrogantly (drivers of a reptuable German brand of cars spring to mind here) and also because other car drivers think they have a right to join lane 1 without safely matching speed, looking in their mirrors and merging into a safe gap.

Drive Blind

Original Poster:

5,557 posts

197 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
paddyhasneeds said:
Not sure what your point is on the MLM though.
my point was if i had just sat in lane 2 the whole journey I wouldn't have to deal with these other drivers

blueg33

43,810 posts

244 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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It could be worse, i am seeing an increasing incidence of people stopping at the end of the slip road rather than matching speed. They then have to accelerate 0-70 as fast as possible to join the traffic. Plus if you are coming down the slip road behind them and can see there is space for them, you look over your shoulder to check your 3/4 and behind for the merge, look forward and the car in front has stopped yikes

Hell27

1,564 posts

211 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
lescombes said:
Highway Code Rule 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............
Now if you can paint this on the side of your car then no-one has the excuse of not knowing this?

Not everyone on the road is fully familiar with the Highway code - Hence it's a good idea to let people in to avoid a collision.

mrmr96

13,736 posts

224 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
"Keep left unless overtaking, except when there's traffic joining the motorway"

Some people are daft for sticking in the middle lane no matter what.
Other people are daft for not moving over to make space for people joining. There's no point in pretenting they are not there or don't exist or that they're "not your problem", they have to go SOMEWHERE so you may as well move over and make space if possible.

In the OP's case, if lane 2 was so busy you couldn't get into it then maybe you should have moved over sooner (in good time) before the on-slip joined the main carraigeway? Or even drop back a bit and make space in front of you for them to use?

There's also the chance that you did just happen to meet some morons trying to join into the side of you, but there's plenty of things you could have done to avoid the problem (whether they were a moron or not) without having to become an 'MLM' youself. (Being an MLM doesn't mean using lane 2, it means using lane 2 with no reason. Moving over to let people join is a legit reason to use lane 2 as you pass a junction.)

Matt UK

18,080 posts

220 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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Gaz. said:
There's nothing wrong with helping your fellow man though and certainly no hardship to make room, even on a busy motorway.
Exactly.

Human beings are generally cooperative creatures, just not when surrounded by 1.5 tonnes of car.

OlberJ

14,101 posts

253 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
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Drive Blind said:
my point was if i had just sat in lane 2 the whole journey I wouldn't have to deal with these other drivers
No but you would have had to deal with the other 4,000 drivers already on the motorway behind you.


Drive Blind

Original Poster:

5,557 posts

197 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
mrmr96 said:
In the OP's case, if lane 2 was so busy you couldn't get into it then maybe you should have moved over sooner (in good time) before the on-slip joined the main carraigeway? Or even drop back a bit and make space in front of you for them to use?
in each case there was plenty of room for a decent driver to adjust their speed and join lane 1. I didn't need to go anywhere.


mrmr96

13,736 posts

224 months

Saturday 1st October 2011
quotequote all
Drive Blind said:
mrmr96 said:
In the OP's case, if lane 2 was so busy you couldn't get into it then maybe you should have moved over sooner (in good time) before the on-slip joined the main carraigeway? Or even drop back a bit and make space in front of you for them to use?
in each case there was plenty of room for a decent driver to adjust their speed and join lane 1. I didn't need to go anywhere.
You've missed the point.