Merge in turn

[Deleted member 23270]

Then, in Driving Instructor parlance, they are Peasants.....and should be taken out and shot at dawn....

And another edit......it was rush hour and I'm sure 99.9% of the drivers were locals that know exactly which lane they need to be in

 

[Jamesbrown]

As soon as it becomes noticeable - and that, usually, means a bit further back than a car length from the junction.
Even then, technically, you should go the wrong way ie left, find somewhere to turn around and try again.
99.9999% of people who use the left lane incorrectly in this scenario would not even consider doing that.
We get kids failing all the time doing this sort of thing...as soon as you hold up traffic in this scenario you're in the wrong.

At these particular junctions where there’s a tailback in one lane I like to take the empty lane purposefully, turn round and then go the way I intended and skip the queue.

Is this wrong? ?

 

[Imurg]

At these particular junctions where there’s a tailback in one lane I like to take the empty lane purposefully, turn round and then go the way I intended and skip the queue.

Is this wrong? ?

So...go left, turn around and go left again..effectively going straight ahead..?
No problem with that at all.
As long as its easy to turn round and doesn't end up taking longer..I do it myself at a couple of junctions here..long queue in the right hand lane moving very slowly, left lane clear.
Dive down it, there's a roundabout 300 yards down the road, do a u turn and turn left again.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Rumour has it that a queue of 100 cars is the same length as two queues of 50 cars.

Difference then being that one of the queues moves freely whilst the other is slowed down by people having to take turns to join the new single lane.

 

[SocketRocket]

Rumour has it that a queue of 100 cars is the same length as two queues of 50 cars.

Difference then being that one of the queues moves freely whilst the other is slowed down by people having to take turns to join the new single lane.

This and the previous post make a valid point. In the case of merge in turn the pinch point is often a roundabout in which case the outside lane should be for turning right or turning about. In just about every case there's no doubt that people who take the outside lane do it to cut in and save time at other drivers expense. It does not save time by merging at the pinch point from an outside lane.

 

[SaintHacker]

I drove through Salisbury in rush hour today.

You have my deepest sympathies...

 

[theoneandonly]

I drove through Salisbury in rush hour today. There were 2 lanes of traffic approaching a roundabout. The left lane was much shorter and moving quicker but it is left turn only at the roundabout. The right lane is straight on only. Lots of cars went down the left lane then pushed in near the end. Is this acceptable?

Spank it down the right in the Taycan and cut it somewhere near the front.

 

[Old Skier]

Maybe those in "the queue" have already merged as intended, but still others continue push down to the front to merge at the last moment. Can cause a bigger bottleneck as both lanes now jammed whilst they push in. It should work better if people don't all wait to do it at the last available point.

They obviously haven’t merged as was intended, the intended bit is where the arrows are not a couple of hundred meters before. Even though many drivers ignore them, there are places on the 303 which show you were to merge. Those that merge early are the problem.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We have a ‘change lane merge’ on the towns one way system…two roads from directly opposite directions coming together at junction turning into the same two lane one-way road, with traffic from ‘right‘ side having to get to LH lane after turning and traffic from ‘left’ side having to get to RH lane.

Too often cars from either side stop immediately they start to turn and unless they are allowed in by car from other direction they block their side. If they do the right thing and clear the junction; drive a bit down and then indicate to merge into the lane they want to get into, often they can’t as drivers in the lane they want to get in to think they are pushing in ahead of them…and so it goes on.

Most of the time with locals - who know the score - two drivers who want to switch lanes will both clear the junction and then jointly see what they other wants to do, and one will pause and they both switch. But with non-locals - especially if following their sat nav instructions to change lane immediately, it’s often it’s a real mess with the junction and hence also the pedestrian crossings at the junction blocked up.

 

[Deleted member 30522]

I drove through Salisbury in rush hour today. There were 2 lanes of traffic approaching a roundabout. The left lane was much shorter and moving quicker but it is left turn only at the roundabout. The right lane is straight on only. Lots of cars went down the left lane then pushed in near the end. Is this acceptable?

Entirely different scenario. No it isn't, is this rhetorical?

 

[Rooter]

OK, what about if you want to go left at a 3 exit roundabout. Dual lanes to it, left lane for left only, right lane for straight on or right.

Is it acceptable to when the left lane is backed up, to use the right lane and do a complete lap of the roundabout and then effectively go left?

I hope so, cos that has saved me literally hours in Newbury!!

 

[Wilson]

OK, what about if you want to go left at a 3 exit roundabout. Dual lanes to it, left lane for left only, right lane for straight on or right.

Is it acceptable to when the left lane is backed up, to use the right lane and do a complete lap of the roundabout and then effectively go left?

I hope so, cos that has saved me literally hours in Newbury!!

I do this all the time!!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I do this all the time!!

Likewise do it at a local roundabout where I want to turn left but LH lane of two approaching is queued back with traffic wanting to go straight on. Rh lane is clearer so I just drive up that lane; onto the roundabout, and go all the way round. Seems perfectly ok to me.

 

[need_my_wedge]

OK, what about if you want to go left at a 3 exit roundabout. Dual lanes to it, left lane for left only, right lane for straight on or right.

Is it acceptable to when the left lane is backed up, to use the right lane and do a complete lap of the roundabout and then effectively go left?

I hope so, cos that has saved me literally hours in Newbury!!

'I remember one of my aunts demonstrating this process to me whilst I was learning to drive, it's stuck with me ever since. Don't always do it, but have been known to on occasion

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Likewise do it at a local roundabout where I want to turn left but LH lane of two approaching is queued back with traffic wanting to go straight on. Rh lane is clearer so I just drive up that lane; onto the roundabout, and go all the way round. Seems perfectly ok to me.

And everyone who does this adds to the delay for people using the correct lane to turn left

 

[Rooter]

And everyone who does this adds to the delay for people using the correct lane to turn left

Yeh, but they are behind me now in the loser queue. So meh.

 

[larmen]

OK, what about if you want to go left at a 3 exit roundabout. Dual lanes to it, left lane for left only, right lane for straight on or right.

Is it acceptable to when the left lane is backed up, to use the right lane and do a complete lap of the roundabout and then effectively go left?

I hope so, cos that has saved me literally hours in Newbury!!

If in doubt, stick to the right. Worst case is an unnecessary lap. If you get it. Wrong on the left you might have to travel mikes before turning around safely.

 

[need_my_wedge]

They obviously haven’t merged as was intended, the intended bit is where the arrows are not a couple of hundred meters before. Even though many drivers ignore them, there are places on the 303 which show you were to merge. Those that merge early are the problem.

I'm sure when I was taught to drive some 40 odd years back, that you should move in as soon as. That way you effectively have a single line that keeps moving. Rightly or wrongly, the jams only happen when people shoot down the inside of 100 cars queueing with the sole intention of pushing in. Surely that has to stop the line that should be moving. I don't know whether the "rules" have changed on merge in turn, never thought about it until this thread, but, if everyone started merging earlier, the one single line has to move quicker than it will if people wait until the last minute to effectively jump the queue.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And everyone who does this adds to the delay for people using the correct lane to turn left

It can’t see how it delays anyone. The LH lane queueing traffic generally leaves the exit from the roundabout I want to use clear. I can drive up the RH lane and onto the inside lane of the roundabout (it’s a two lane roundabout). I go right round using the inside lane, and then straight off as the queueing traffic has left my exit clear. By doing this I also don’t queue in LH lane and so a driver behind me approaching the roundabout and wishing to go straight on isn’t stuck behind me.?. Fortunately I don’t have to bother doing this very often as the queue is usually pretty short or non-existent.

Problems can arise when drivers wanting to go straight on go up RH lane approaching, and then trying and push in, either at end of the queue or indeed once on the roundabout trying to get from inside lane of the roundabout into the outside lane.

 

[Jamesbrown]

OK, what about if you want to go left at a 3 exit roundabout. Dual lanes to it, left lane for left only, right lane for straight on or right.

Is it acceptable to when the left lane is backed up, to use the right lane and do a complete lap of the roundabout and then effectively go left?

I hope so, cos that has saved me literally hours in Newbury!!

Absolutely acceptable. But don’t let the others know!