learner driver failed to merge onto 2 lane dual carriageway

arcon5

That's a matter of simple courtesy and a very simple defensive move against the possible situation where you have to do it suddenly and find that you can't.

That's not what happened though is it.

prowla

Erm, so the car looking to join gave way to the traffic on the main carriageway?

rich13348

What do you mean failed to merge. Did his whole car start flashing a and spin round on the spot and then regenerate. (Thats a video game reference) or is he literally still sat behind the dotted lines sobbing his eyes out?

Joe_Horner

arcon5 wrote: »

That's not what happened though is it.

Doesn't matter that it didn't happen this time.

By anticipating that it could happen, and moving lanes in plenty of time as a courtesy, instead of keeping your lane because you don't "have to" move until he's running out of road, you can avoid having to "react to his mistake".

By looking ahead (and behind) and taking that sort of simple courtesy action, you'll find that the other drivers around you are suddenly making far fewer mistakes and the road's safer (and less stressful) for everyone

FreddieFrugal

happyc84 wrote: »

Hello, was minding my own business driving along dual carriageway, in the inside lane. A learner driver approached from an on-ramp. Failed to merge with my lane. My choices were either drop my speed or to pull over to the outside lane. Was surprised that they didn't match my speed and pull in behind me.

Should the learner ask for a refund, or should I book some new lessons if the rules have changed.

Don't know exactly what happened. But if I see cars on a ramp trying to join and the other lane is free (no car speeding along it behind) then I always move over, just in case they need the extra space.

The only time I don't is if I'm blocked in (so I'd adjust speed if necessary). I also notice that most other drivers do the same when I'm joining.

I think it's common courtesy, as well as being safer avoiding collision, to switch lanes if it's suitable to do so to allow joining traffic to enter lane.

System

Thus the notion that people on the carriageway must make room for them builds up and it becomes expected as a right. That is the point where accidents start to happen because the joining car now expects the other car to take the action and not them. Have seen a few of those. That is normally the cause of most on-slip collisions.

FreddieFrugal

!!!!!! wrote: »

Thus the notion that people on the carriageway must make room for them builds up and it becomes expected as a right. That is the point where accidents start to happen because the joining car now expects the other car to take the action and not them. Have seen a few of those. That is normally the cause of most on-slip collisions.

But drivers on the carriageway can see the conditions on the road, and if they're being observant, have the advantage over joining vehicles that they can assess those conditions and made an easier decision about what to do...you can see slip roads coming.

Many slip roads have very poor visibility of the joining road until you're only a short distance from making the join. You need to catch up to the speed of other traffic in order to join.

Go too fast, risk crashing into the back of something. You match speed perfectly, in heavy traffic that still requires someone to let you in. You go too slowly and you may lose the chance to join and get stuck on the slip road - end up with another vehicle hurtling down slip road and into the back of you.

If it's an open road, with only a few other vehicles, the joining car should easily be able to adapt to join without causing hassle to other users. But if there's only a short slip road, and or the road you're joining is busy, then you rely on the courtesy of other drivers to either make a space by slowing or moving over if they can.

I think most people realise that and that's why most people do make room for people joining. It's what I was taught to do. It's not the same as joining a roundabout or pulling out at a junction!

NBLondon

Funny how people are castigating the OP - who did move over when needed. Yes of course, it's courtesy to move over if safe but the joining traffic shouldn't assume (unless they are elderly and French). Yep, there are some short sliproads or ones with obstructed views (I found one yesterday on the A1 with a high verge to the right so you can't see the other traffic flow for the first half of the sliproad).


The point in this case is not so much that the learner made a mistake or misjudged speeds but that the supervisor driver appears not to have been advising. If it's a learner practicing with a friend or family member then one wonders if they are getting bad advice. If it's a marked up car with a professional instructor then one starts to wonder about the standards of instructor training.

Zandoni

I will always move over or adjust my speed a little, but the person joining should do all they can to match the speed of the road they are joining.

colino

Golden rule for any driver (especially one under tuition from a, "professional") is that you shouldn't cause any other road user to accelerate (that is, change speed or direction) unnecessarily. That goes from basic driving schools, Police or professional defensive driving training.
The OP should, and probably did, anticipate the learner being thick and checked an exit route by making sure he had a lane to go to, brake or accelerate beyond this unsafe road merge.
What about moving over? The learner (and his instructor) will continue with terrible driving standards, you take up two lanes for no good reason and no doubt the aforesaid learner will continue the lane drift into the middle one too.
The learners car should have been duelled, the instructor is a !!!!!! and the OP did absolutely nothing wrong.