Driving up a a two to one lane bit of road just, that has habitual impatient folk who can’t queue, right at the back possibly a 100m or so I saw one of these folk, myself and lorry infont decided to politely move over. This was the q for woman in her late 50’s to park up still 30 odd metres back and run up the road to abuse me. She has camera in car and is reporting me to the law apparently. Hey ho I say and we all continue to sit in traffic, 5 mins later I’ve pulled in somewhere and she has come looking for me. Not finished she screams out of the window further threats of police and illegalitys. I advised her in a very calm manner that there are people who don’t take kindly being threatened and she should be careful as there are people who would gladly remonstrate further with her, this sent her into total meltdown and brought on a bout of “you’re threatening me you’re threatening me now”. I just wound the window up and drove off.
Am I going to prison 🙄

so you blocked the road so people couldn’t merge like your supposed to?

Whilst I dislike “those people” who fly up the outside and force their way in at the last moment, it is the most efficient way to use the road – two equal queues, merging in turn, like a zip. Quite why we feel the need to queue needlessly I’m not quite sure.

But still I do it, because for some reason we’re all conditioned to think the right thing to do is to dive into the inside lane at the first sign of a merging road and sit there.

Not sure what you really achieved by blocking someone.

If you were just at the point of merging then no issue, but otherwise obstruction of the highway.

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.
Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

In this case he has achieved a trip to court,prison, loss of job,breakdown of his relationship,and possibly having to sell his blood to get by when living on the streets. AND FOR WHAT WRIGHTYSON? AND FOR WHAT?

I once had someone get proper shitty with me merging in front of them once. they finally bottled and let me in so I let about 30 cars in in front of me. 😀

in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.

Who in turn are delaying others because the lenght of the queue now means that other juctions are gridlocked.

Isn’t it now an offence* to do this i.e. driving up to the front of a queue a pushing in?

I thought it was brought in as some of the new endorsable offences recently – might have been a while back but definitely last year.

*If you are caught doing it?

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.
Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

Totally agree.

But there is no where to merge, it ends in a stand off, which causes shit loads of grief regularly. Why can’t people queue like the other 50 cars in the lane?

Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

I know, hence my second paragraph. It should work, it’s the most efficient, but it’s a theory. Reality doesn’t work, because we’re conditioned to think that anyone who merges late is a moron.

Quite why we feel the need to queue needlessly I’m not quite sure.

Good god man are you some sort of foreign Johnny? Pointless queueing for the sheer love of it is what puts the Great in Great Britain, damn you! You can clear orf to France or somewhere similarly beastly if you don’t like it…

because if it was two lanes of 25 cars it’ll be half the length and moving free-er?

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.
Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

So you think it’s better to make the line of stationary cars twice as long as it needs to be, and block more side roads/junctions/roundabouts ?

No, you queue in all available lanes, and merge when you need to.

The OP was in the wrong, not the other driver.

Really don’t understand the queuing for miles before a lane merge, sensible speed and feed in where there is space surely? Doesn’t have to be aggressive or seen as ‘pushing in’.

I once had someone get proper shitty with me merging in front of them once. they finally bottled and let me in so I let about 30 cars in in front of me.

Will remember that one 😆

When they are sign up stating the lanes are merging why should someone feel the need to push in at very front where it has become one lane. Merging is just like the acceleration lane of a motorway. You don’t leave it to the last moment to join the other lane but instead merge when it safe to do so.

It depends on the road of course. Where two lanes merge into one, like a lane closure on a motorway, you’re supposed to merge in turn at the point it narrows like teeth in a zipper. There’s absolutely no point in sitting there three miles away from the merge point in a queue that’s twice as long as it needs to be whilst the rest of the road sits there unused. Blocking off half the road is just petty.

On the other hand, if the two lanes to one merge is one of those things where it’s actually two lanes going to different places then people should be queuing rather than trying to shove in at the front (blocking off the other lane in the process). There’s one of these on the road into Colne after the M65 ends, it’s a two-lane dual carriageway where the right lane is right-turn only. It’s hideous at rush hour and you’ll always get some cockwomble steam past everyone and carve in at the front. (Of course, some people might not know the road and the signage isn’t great so it could be unintentional; I’d wager most aren’t). Tempers flare, there’s a YT video somewhere of someone trashing a TT rather than allowing someone to queue jump.

There a couple of big junctions near me that have been widened to 2 lanes in the middle and merge back to one later. The idea is to stop queues backing up over the junction, and also lets more cars through the lights for a given time since its slightly faster overall for 2 cars pulling away next to each other to negotiate merging further down the road than it is for those same 2 cars to go one behind the other through the same lights.

On this basis perhaps we should be encouraged to use the whole of both lanes and merge in turn at the end, rather than taking the LH lane as soon as we realise the road shrinks to one lane 100+ yards later, so as to make traffic flow faster through junctions for everyone.

You should follow the signs and road markings and get into the lane as directed. In congested road conditions do not change lanes unnecessarily. Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when vehicles are travelling at a very low speed, e.g. when approaching road works or a road traffic incident. It is not recommended at high speed.

https://www.gov.uk/general-rules-all-drivers-riders-103-to-158/multilane-carriageways-133-to-143

Get into lane as directed is the key here, you’re told the lanes merge in 800m etc. so you merge when the lanes do, not when you’re given advance warning.

Really don’t understand the queuing for miles before a lane merge, sensible speed and feed in where there is space surely? Doesn’t have to be aggressive or seen as ‘pushing in’.

+1

Also there is an ‘art’ to picking the right vehicle to merge in on, preferably something new and small. Or one that is clean is also a useful pointer to someone who cares about their car and will let me in 🙂

craigxxl – Member

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.
Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

+2

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.

If the left lane is stationary and there’s two lanes merging into one, how long is the right lane going to keep moving for?

When they are sign up stating the lanes are merging why should someone feel the need to push in at very front where it has become one lane

Because that’s what you’re supposed to do. It only fails because we’ve roads full of sheep and halfwits, sitting there all smug and comfortable in the belief that whatever arbitrary point they’ve chosen to move into the left lane is the same point everyone else should.

One of those if it is two lanes merging you use all available lanes like a zip
Most ones I can think of locally its just a chance for inconsiderate folk to barge there way into a the queue after not having queued like the rest of us.

Locally there is a set of traffic lights that are two lanes – there is a right turn after them hence two lanes. Many folk barell down to then force their way in where it becomes one lane forcing everyone [ who has patiently been in the correct lane]to then brake to achieve this.
IMHO those folk would rather save two seconds for themselves than care about manners or their impact on other road users. Its not hard to see why folk block them as they are just making them join the queue like the rest of us. I dont think they would do this anywhere but in a car.

Gotta love the self appointed merge police. 8)

Regularly see a roundabout near me completely deadlocked due to a queue going right across it, yet there is at least 500m of completely empty lane that 50% of the twerps could go into to clear it. Absolutely braindead. Same thing every day. They even put signs up saying “Use Both Lanes”, but nobody does.

It only fails because we’ve roads full of sheep and halfwits, sitting there all smug and comfortable in the belief that whatever arbitrary point they’ve chosen to move into the left lane is the same point everyone else should.

Not to mention the few that, having sat queueing for the past mile feel the need to prove some angry point by blocking/closing the door on on cars trying to merge in safely. I’d hate to get that worked up over something so petty.

Locally there is a set of traffic lights that are two lanes – there is a right turn after them hence two lanes. Many folk barell down to then force their way in where it becomes one lane forcing everyone [ who has patiently been in the correct lane]to then brake to achieve this.

Surely that’s just people being in the wrong lane and driving like prats?

Needs a streetview of the road just so we can confirm yes you are an @sshat

do you also travel at 70 in the outside lane with nothing in the inside lane just to wind people up?

I still dont get why you queue, is it so you feel better when you ‘let’ people in?

When the left lane has become stationary already those merging/pushing in at the front are delaying everyone who has shown some consideration to other road users.
Njee theory never works unless the traffic is flowing freely.

I’d say it’s exactly the opposite to what you describe.

In a perfect world we all merge whilst free flowing – do it gently a distance away from the actual merge never needing to stop and it’s all good. If we are going to have to all grind to halt, it might as well be right at the very end that you merge and ‘zip together’ and use the road efficiently.

But, just like njee I do the British thing and merge as soon as possible and complain about the people who don’t. Nowt strange as folk!

Has this getting past that pile up on the M40 at the weekend.
closed a lane going south so it lanes 2 and 3 merged (lane 1 was an exit), both lanes were used and most people managed without issue.

its the way it supposed to work, no knights of the road blocking a perfectly good lane. it all starts to fall apart when that happens and people try to leave a 5mm gap between car to stop people merging.

I think that what we need is instead of closing either the left or right lane we close 1/2 of each and merge into the middle before the cones take you over to the side they want you on. match that with some zip type signs and most people will figure it out.

problem solved. vote chrispy!

I dont drive much but when I do its in an big old Volvo estate which has had a few minor scrapes. It takes a brave new car leaser to not let me in.

People are pretty sh!t at giving way and being considerate of others, on my morning drive (only if I am going to the hills after work) there is a junction that I need to exit into a two lane road and I need to be in the right hand of these (the lights are 20m away and give left more priority) so I wait and join the right lane when I can. Often people behind start beeping and getting irate that I am holding them up (they want the left lane) but no-one lets me out into the right lane. This morning’s gent was inching forward and glancing at me, so as soon as the right lane went green I shoved my van into the mm space in front of him and wedge myself until I got into the gap in front of him. He did not like this. So I became one of them. Was that or sit for another 10 mins… What is correct etiquette here?

Found it. This is the video I was on about.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAzku3R_6FQ[/video]

Not really relevant in itself, but it shows the right-turn-only lane that people use to queue-jump. Absolutely should be in one lane on this bit of road if you’re going straight on.

but to directly answer your question….for blocking a lane yes you should go to jail and be bummed for your sins.

Surely that’s just people being in the wrong lane and driving like prats?

No you can then go straight on if you like [ its legal but inconsiderate] but if it was not for the right turn it would be one lane all the way.
Surprised so many see their queue jumping as the good driving and that anyone who does not let them push in is petty.

Junkyard + 1. Merging is not used as it should be. If I do it, I make a point not to race up as far as I can (much to the anger of those behind me usually). Use the lanes, but DBAD.

While I can understand that a queue extending back across a junction might cause extra delay. I’m kinda perplexed by the idea that two lanes of traffic merging into one at the last minute will move faster than one, longer lane of traffic. Would anyone care to explain the fluid dynamics of the theory. You still have to go through the same single lane constriction. My second question is why those people trying to merge at the last minute are invariably driving Audis

The worst you’ll get from the police is a letter and/or request to visit station with insurance/mot but that’s all online now so quite probably nothing at all.

I always merge at the merge point.
Everyone who queues early sucks

@imnot .. you are supposed to merge only at the very end/narrowest point in a car by car, one left/one right sort of way. You are not supposed to form one massive single lane queue as that moves the point of congestion much further back down the road.

Had a top one of these myself where a guy was blocking road with his car about 1 mile from the point where due to road works it went from two lanes to one. I managed to get round him at one slightly wider point – he was furious and I couldn’t stop laughing. It was literally a mile further up the road before I needed to filter in.

While I can understand that a queue extending back across a junction might cause extra delay. I’m kinda perplexed by the idea that two lanes of traffic merging into one at the last minute will move faster than one, longer lane of traffic. Would anyone care to explain the fluid dynamics of the theory. You still have to go through the same single lane constriction. My second question is why those people trying to merge at the last minute are invariably driving Audis

Not sure it’s quite fluid dynamics but try this.