Cheeky Driver's or Not?!

asbokid

Strider590 wrote: »

People take short cuts every day, but if that short cut happens to run past a queue then it's somehow "wrong".... Say's a lot really!

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHr7dIrbEpE

Two ways I could have done this, first one is take a short cut through a village and come out near the end of the video OR do what I did.

If i'd taken the short cut nobody would blink an eye, but im betting some people were cursing me for using the open lane!

What is the camera you are using? It gives good quality. Can you patch it with a GPS module to display your speed, accurate position, etc.

Strider590

asbokid wrote: »

What is the camera you are using? It gives good quality. Can you patch it with a GPS module to display your speed, accurate position, etc.

That one is just a cheap ebay dash cam, they cost about £20 and look like a small torch. can't be "patched" into anything unfortunately.

KierNet

boyse7en wrote: »

Cheeky, and gets other drivers' back up which isn't really a good thing. It's also a bit risky, as the people turning left at the roundabout may not expect the car that was on their right to suddenly re-appear in front of them

Used to be very common on a roundabout near here. There are now signs up saying right hand lane is for traffic turning right only, and the Police stick a car there every so often just to catch a few people doing it.

I do it all the time, I go slowly around the roundabout, and signal as needed...if someone goes into me, their fault. I've done it in front of the Police before, and even done it while in a Police car.

almillar

Petrol pumps - use whatever is available for goodness sake. If it's on the wrong side, most hoses are long enough to get around the car, or how about using that 'R' thingy on the gearstick and actually doing a bit of maneuvering - beats sitting in a queue!
Left at a red - decent system maybe, the way it's done in other countries, requires some common sense, illegal here, don't do it!

Fivetide and other serial queuers...

With respect:

1. I'm not wrong
2. I know how it should work

You are wrong and you don't know how it should work. Please open your mind and pay attention.

always more traffic on the inside lane/longer because of the lorries

Actually lorries take up more space so that's FEWER vehicles on the inside than the outside. Doesn't matter though.

What you are discussing is how it should work and assumes all cars are still rolling. My point is, by the time you get to the cones and try to force yourself into a gap that isn't there you are actually causing more of an issue than you would be if you had done as you suggest and got in when everyone was still moving and there was plenty of space.

It WILL work if people like you wouldn't stick to the left cursing everyone 'flying down the right'. And it DOES work if traffic stops, and traffic WILL stop less often!

In this country the signs generally say "merge in turn" and it works ok on dual to single carriageways where the road is designed like that. The issue here is purely unforseen/temporary issues.

Nope, as I said in my post, merging is merging, whether permanent or temporary, ALWAYS fill both lanes equally, and merge in turn.

I understand perfectly the variable speed limits example that you use - slowing down traffic means less accelerating and decelerating, less concertina effect, and fewer stops, better traffic flow. Can't you see that in EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, merging in turn and filling both lanes will maintain better flow? You won't be fuming on the inside lane blocking me whilst I try to take my turn to merge, everyone knows where they stand, and there are no big winners or losers.
This is not a matter of 'if you can't beat them, join them', you're not lowering your standards to that of someone else, it's the CORRECT way to drive! YOU'LL get there quicker, and so will EVERYONE ELSE in the queue!

Please watch Strider's video in post 81 - this is the correct thing to do. You'll think he's a boy-racer lunatic, but he is driving absolutely correctly. Let's keep this discussion going - hopefully others are reading and will find it useful.

Strider590

almillar wrote: »

Please watch Strider's video in post 81 - this is the correct thing to do. You'll think he's a boy-racer lunatic, but he is driving absolutely correctly. Let's keep this discussion going - hopefully others are reading and will find it useful.

When people see you coming, they immediately think you've rudely darted out from the back of the "queue" and tanked it down the outside lane, never do they stop to think that maybe you were in that lane to start with.

almillar

Ironically Stider, if you had approached in the left lane, it WOULD have been the correct thing to do to change to the right hand lane and drive down it!

davidjwest

It would work in most circumstances, but there are too many idiots on the road for it to be a success. Assuming the traffic is moving once you get to the reduced number of lanes, merging, if done properly would prevent stop/start queues of traffic.

What I tend to do is leave a fairly large gap in front of me if I am in a queue of stop/start traffic and try to keep some forward momentum so I am not always having to brake to come to a stop and then pull away again. Hopefully this results in the traffic behind me moving as well and a gap for people to merge into if they need it. I'm not concerned about someone using the other lane to save themselves a couple of minutes, as long as they do it safely.

I have tried merging on a few occasions and always find it's a battle getting back into the "main" queue as people can't bear to see you saving a few precious seconds by "jumping the queue" and so make it hard to merge.

skiddlydiddly

It needs some kind of long term goverment TV ad campaign like the old "charlie says" and "learn to swim" ones from me 'yoof for it to have any chance of sinking in.That and teach it to learners so at least the next generation of drivers will understand it.

cyclonebri1

Strider590 wrote: »

When people see you coming, they immediately think you've rudely darted out from the back of the "queue" and tanked it down the outside lane, never do they stop to think that maybe you were in that lane to start with.

But in effect that's exactly what you have done.
Your move is totally wrong provided the need to merge was signalled well in advance. That is the point and time to "zip" not at the last minute and when you've past all the drivers that merged when the sign 1st appeared.
You said it yourself, "thanks to the other driver" or words to that effect. And you said it because you know it would be and probably was seen as a "cheeky move" by the other drivers who had reacted earlier.:A

Strider590

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

But in effect that's exactly what you have done.
Your move is totally wrong provided the need to merge was signalled well in advance. That is the point and time to "zip" not at the last minute and when you've past all the drivers that merged when the sign 1st appeared.
You said it yourself, "thanks to the other driver" or words to that effect. And you said it because you know it would be and probably was seen as a "cheeky move" by the other drivers who had reacted earlier.:A

No, they were in the wrong for creating a huge queue. yes other drivers would be upset, simply because of the ridiculous queuing mentality of the British public.

I used the road the way it was meant to be used and it's tough luck if they, you or anybody else doesn't like it!

Note this part of the highway code:

134

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.


And I was already in the right hand lane before the "queue".