End of slip road merging what to do?

[johbreaking]

Question for everyone. Had a near miss today when joining an A road but can see the same happening on motorways. I was coming back from a meeting and was not a familiar route. I went round the bend which is the start of the slip road and after the bend it was a very very very short slip road and found that i was crowded out as 4 lorries were each back to back in lane 1 so had to basically break at the end of the slip road.

 

I was travelling around 55mph on the slip road but cannot see how else i could have approached this as the lorries were back to back and even if i was going slower it would have been same outcome.

 

Any opinions or tips?

[FN-GM]

The cars on a slip road give way to the cars on the carriageway. The person on the slip road shouldn't be running out of road and forcing their way onto the carriageway. If it comes to it you should stop on the slip road instead of joining the traffic in an unsafe manor.

 

Not easy when you have very small slip roads. I was in a difficult position myself at weekend.

[elsiegee40]

There's a dreadful one on the A21 near us. I have had to stop completely as traffic thunders down the dual carriageway and I was unable to merge in. Sooner or later there's going to be an accident as there is virtually no run off to give you time.

 

If the worst comes to the worst, and if it is an option, you would have to head slowly onto the hard shoulder. Where you know there is a very short slip road, all you can do is drive extremely slowly down it until you can see a gap to join the traffic

Edited July 3, 2018 by elsiegee40

[johbreaking]

The cars on a slip road give way to the cars on the carriageway. The person on the slip road shouldn't be running out of road and forcing their way onto the carriageway. If it comes to it you should stop on the slip road instead of joining the traffic in an unsafe manor.

 

Not easy when you have very small slip roads. I was in a difficult position myself at weekend.

 

I had to stop but I think the system is so flawed in this country it sometimes is a lottery with it

[johbreaking]

There's a dreadful one on the A21 near us. I have had to stop completely as trafgic thunders down the dual carriageway and I was unable to merge in. Sooner or later there's going to be an accident as there is virtually no run off to give you time.

 

If the worst comes to the worst, and if it is an option, you would have to head slowly onto the hard shoulder. Where you knkw there is a very short slip road, all you can do is drive extremely slowly down it until you can see a gap to join the traffic

Meant to say no hard shoulder there was just trees! It is one of those where you either stop or join!

[MatthewL]

You are to treat it as give way but drivers generally are expected to watch what is coming and move over where possible.

 

It's a frequent thing around here when you have lorry after lorry thundering down, I always seem to find I get stuck behind someone doing 40 on a slip trying to join a 70, if you build you speed most times they can make it around here but they just faff around. Luckily its not super busy around here.

[Fazza]

The dashed lines at the end of the slip road mean Give Way, so that's what you must do. The traffic on the road already have right of way over the vehicles on the slip road - just like a roundabout.

[DCUK6]

Never had to do it myself luckily but as people have said you have to give way to the traffic already in lane.

 

I would hate having to stop through, seems so dangerous.

 

A few time ive swerved around people who have stopped without a need to, rather than speeding up/down to get around the car next to them they just anchored on and stopped.

The first time it happened the poor old chap got stuck there for as far as i could see, i went around and everyone else did to, just to dangerous.

 

Best chance you got is to try and geto motorway speeds but plan as soon as you can see. Lady in my old job was moaning she could never get on the motorway and always stopped, mentioned that if she got closer to the speed of traffic rather than 30mph then she would be golden. She gave it a try and she was amazed. Obviosuly you did this though.

Edited July 4, 2018 by DCUK6

[denzal2k4]

Is that the Tunbridge Wells Exit southbound off of the Pembury Road? When the grass is long like it was recently you can't see the traffic coming either! @elsiegee40

 

There's a dreadful one on the A21 near us. I have had to stop completely as traffic thunders down the dual carriageway and I was unable to merge in. Sooner or later there's going to be an accident as there is virtually no run off to give you time.

 

If the worst comes to the worst, and if it is an option, you would have to head slowly onto the hard shoulder. Where you know there is a very short slip road, all you can do is drive extremely slowly down it until you can see a gap to join the traffic

[synaesthesia]

It's horrible really, as a slip road's purpose is also to allow you to speed up to match the speed of the carraigeway you're joining, making merging into traffic easy. And of course if something like the above happens, also give you enough time to slow down/stop/adjust speed as necessary.

 

On paper that's easy, cut and dry, but reality is often different. It relies on the cars on the carriageway doing an appropriate/legal speed, it relies on visibility from the sliproad being good (round here the verges haven't been cut in so long you might as well be merging into the Amazon Rainforest). So indeed it's rather pot luck, you'll either join without issue, end up slamming on the brakes to avoid being in a HGV sandwich or hustling your way in like a desperate Columbian defender.

[Hokalus]

The A1 around Rutland is hell for this, blind approach (trees in the way) then 20m of sliproad, neither the cars on the A1 nor the cars on the sliproad can see each other until the last few seconds. Who designs things like that!

[Fazza]

The A1 around Rutland is hell for this, blind approach (trees in the way) then 20m of sliproad, neither the cars on the A1 nor the cars on the sliproad can see each other until the last few seconds. Who designs things like that!

 

Cyclists!!!!

[elsiegee40]

Is that the Tunbridge Wells Exit southbound off of the Pembury Road? When the grass is long like it was recently you can't see the traffic coming either! @elsiegee40

 

The Northbound one at Pembury Road is dreadful too!

[hardtailstar]

Question for everyone. Had a near miss today when joining an A road but can see the same happening on motorways. I was coming back from a meeting and was not a familiar route. I went round the bend which is the start of the slip road and after the bend it was a very very very short slip road and found that i was crowded out as 4 lorries were each back to back in lane 1 so had to basically break at the end of the slip road.

 

I was travelling around 55mph on the slip road but cannot see how else i could have approached this as the lorries were back to back and even if i was going slower it would have been same outcome.

 

Any opinions or tips?

 

The traffic on the A road/motorway are supposed to move over to let traffic join onto the motorway/A road. Well thats what my driving instructor told me 13 years ago. So where possible I pull into the next lane before the slip road.

 

 

We have road works going on and almost all of the junctions slip roads have been shortened in the whole town! Which causes issues at rush hour!

 

My town has two motorway junctions and loads of A roads around it. Its a nightmare!

[mikeprice]

When I lived in Llandudno joining the expressway in the morning could be a nightmare - especially in the dark

 

Only had to stop dead a few times but it was well scary when I did

it all seems to be based on the traffic on the main road seeing and being nice to the joining traffic - OK most of the time but if the road is busy then is can be a problem

 

also a problem if there are a lot of heavily loaded lorries and a hill is coming up - they are never going to want to slow down for you

 

dunno of a better system though

[sippo]

The traffic on the A road/motorway are supposed to move over to let traffic join onto the motorway/A road. Well thats what my driving instructor told me 13 years ago. So where possible I pull into the next lane before the slip road.

 

 

Wrong advice. Only move if it is safe to do so and doesn't cause issues for other road users.

 

If you cannot move over safely, you do not move over.

[sted]

this one in leeds is pretty bad and its technically a motorway (a58/a64M) but 40mph. so you come out of a dark tunnel thats on a bend and have a short space to even see behind you/see people emerging before you get to a concrete wall. Theres even a junction where you exit on the right further down that can be fun

https://goo.gl/maps/EsYMm4hUHL52

[Domo]

this one in leeds is pretty bad and its technically a motorway (a58/a64M) but 40mph. so you come out of a dark tunnel thats on a bend and have a short space to even see behind you/see people emerging before you get to a concrete wall. Theres even a junction where you exit on the right further down that can be fun

https://goo.gl/maps/EsYMm4hUHL52

 

I absolutely hate driving in Leeds, the layout of all the roads is just bad in my opinion.

[LeMarchand]

If you buy the right brand of car you can get up to around 100mph on the slip road and then pull straight out into the third lane, which is reserved for drivers of your brand and other luxury brands. All other drivers must watch out for you and allow you space to do this. It's the law.

[synaesthesia]

Still better than the little old git that trundles up the sliplane at 20mph onto a 70mph road and panics right at the end.

[crc-ict]

Some sliproads, especially on non-Motorways are ridiculous because they are so short. If you have to come to a stop, you've then got basically no chance of getting out into the road unless you've got a car that can go from 0-70mph in 1 second!

 

And don't get me started on lorries - not a chance in hell they will give way to anyone, far too busy trying to overtake each other at 1mph more than the other one.

[howartp]

No idea where I was but one junction last year the lines were all over the place and I ended up slowing waiting for a gap in traffic - then realising I was already in the live lane with lorries chasing up my rear end! That's the only time I've got shook up when out driving but it scared me senseless!

 

When already on the motorway I always move over ahead of time to allow folk to merge on.

[sted]

I absolutely hate driving in Leeds, the layout of all the roads is just bad in my opinion.

whoever designed the inner loop wants to be taken out back and shot it dreadful the signs are bad i think i once went round 3 times trying to find somewhere the signs were that poor

[mikeprice]

 

When already on the motorway I always move over ahead of time to allow folk to merge on.

 

That;s fine if you can move over - the problem arises when the outside lane is full as well

 

theoretically if you signal right the people in the outside lane will see the problem due to their observation of the whole environment and will slow down to create a gap for you to temporarily move in to

 

however ...........

[hallb15]

whoever designed the inner loop wants to be taken out back and shot it dreadful the signs are bad i think i once went round 3 times trying to find somewhere the signs were that poor

 

I think we've had this discussion before on edugeek somewhere...

Anyway, most of the signs are on the road which is no good when you can't see them because of the traffic on the road.

Driving in Leeds is not for the faint hearted, but it does give you good training for driving in other cities.