How not to join a motorway!

DominicH

heartbreak_star wrote: »

roddydogs wrote:

How can you possibly "Know" that the car would have spun in to lane 2?

Physics.

Psychics, more like.

heartbreak_star

DominicH wrote: »

Psychics, more like.

Very droll, sir

HBS x

reeac

Joe_Horner wrote: »

I have driven trucks (let my HGV lapse last year rather than pay the medical for someting I rarely use anymore).

A truck may have a lot more momentum than a car, but it also has a lot more rolling resistance, generally lower gearing (so more engine braking) and a hell of a lot more wind resistance. You're pushing a brick through the air at 50mph and the air is pushing right back at you.

So, if you lift off the throttle, you start to slow down immediately, exactly like any other vehicle that has forces trying to stop it and no power being supplied to keep it going,

As a former physicist I'd agree completely although I've never driven anything larger than a Transit Luton(unless you count my 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 with Thunderbird Special v8).

jaydeeuk1

On the plus side, the honda driver would be better than average MPG going sideways.

mattyprice4004

roddydogs wrote: »

How can you possibly "Know" that the car would have spun in to lane 2?

Just shhhh, it's okay. I think you've said enough

sh0597

Retrogamer wrote: »

Possibly, but that's not how i was taught in my lessons



I'll try and get up to speed joining from a slip road. I'll be indicating i want to pull out as well.
It usually happens if i'm slightly in front of a car already on the motorway or directly beside it. I realise i can't get in front of them in time, so i slow down to pull behind them.
This is when i realise they're also slowing down because they think it's helping, but it's really making things worse

I meant to reply to this earlier. Try and not indicate while you are in front of another car if you are intending to join behind them. They are roughly in your blind spot and if I was in the blind spot of a car that was indicating to join my lane, I would also be slowing down.


As for lessons, they will teach you to drive in a way most likely to pass with the minimum driving ability and experience necessary. That doesn't mean it's the best way or that safely making it easier for cars to join will cause someone to fail a driving test.

Retrogamer

sh0597 wrote: »

I meant to reply to this earlier. Try and not indicate while you are in front of another car if you are intending to join behind them. They are roughly in your blind spot and if I was in the blind spot of a car that was indicating to join my lane, I would also be slowing down.

I'll give it a try, but i'm not convinced that it'll stop people slowing down already on the motorway. There's a lot of panic merchants out there.

sh0597 wrote: »

As for lessons, they will teach you to drive in a way most likely to pass with the minimum driving ability and experience necessary. That doesn't mean it's the best way or that safely making it easier for cars to join will cause someone to fail a driving test.

I don't drive to the letter of how i was taught in my lessons with some things, but i've always been in the habit of indicating reasonably early so people know my intentions. For people who don't indicate, it's one of my pet hates.

anotherbaldrick

The biggest problem is when you are on the motorway in the left hand land and approaching a slip entry . The car on the slip road is not coincident with the space in front of you so you ease slightly and flash him to go . At exactly the same time the car on the slip brakes as well.
What is best to do ? If you brake more he may well brake more and fast HGV's are coming up behind, if you say oh' soddit and hit the gas he will have now mentally processed your flash and accelerate for the gap. EEEEEEEEK

sh0597

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

The biggest problem is when you are on the motorway in the left hand land and approaching a slip entry . The car on the slip road is not coincident with the space in front of you so you ease slightly and flash him to go . At exactly the same time the car on the slip brakes as well.
What is best to do ? If you brake more he may well brake more and fast HGV's are coming up behind, if you say oh' soddit and hit the gas he will have now mentally processed your flash and accelerate for the gap. EEEEEEEEK

Don't flash people to go. If the car on the slip is ahead of you and you've left an obvious gap then they should blend into it. If they don't then you can close the gap once you are past.