learner driver failed to merge onto 2 lane dual carriageway

DominicH

NBLondon wrote: »

Funny how people are castigating the OP - who did move over when needed.

Don't worry, they'd be criticising them if they were the one pulling out, too. Criticising drivers deemed to be inferior to oneself is a popular leisure activity round here.

Colino wrote:

The learners car should have been duelled

Bit extreme, surely? No need to get into a fight over it.

MacMickster

Roland_Sausage wrote: »

Also in this area there's some ridiculously short slip roads where it's not possible to match the speed of the oncoming traffic.

If you're merging into oncoming traffic then you have gone down the wrong slip road.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

I'm a bit confused by the original post, but I assume that the OP had to take avoiding action by moving out.

We do not know how experienced the learner is, nor do we know how competent the supervisor is, but my experience of other motorists on the road around learner drivers are that they are totally intolerant.

In this case, we could well have a poor supervisor who had been saying "Just carry on, they'll move over for you... see, told you so." or a learner who was so busy looking ahead that they didn't check their mirrors, or had failed to cope with the substantial blind spot in these circumstances, together with a poor supervisor.

Licenced drivers can't do that move properly, so don't EXPECT a learner to do it properly either. One of the meanings of the L plate is as a warning to other drivers to take extra care and show tolerance around them as they learn (and we all know that the best way to learn is to make mistakes!!!). So although there is an argument to not move across to ensure that an L driver doesn't mistakenly learn that this is not the correct way, a careful and competent driver would have seen the potential for conflict well before it occurred.

As a supervisor, I had to deal with cars refusing to allow a lane change even when travelling at the speed limit - signalling, checking, only to have cars accelerate to block the move - and then have the cheek to sound horns as I had to intervene on more than one occasion on a perfectly legitimate move.

mad_rich

Simple problem:

1. It is the joining traffic's responsibility to find a suitable gap.

2. It is polite, courteous, easy, and generally to the benefit of everybody if the traffic in lane 1 moves out to assist the joining traffic.

3. So many people are polite, as per (2), that the joining traffic now comes to expect it.

It does irritate me when, maintaining my speed in lane 1 of an empty motorway, the joining traffic somehow manages to find itself magnetically drawn to my car and unable to comprehend speeding up or slowing down to find a gap, but I move out and move on, because it's not worth worrying about.

almillar

mad_rich kindof says what I was going to. We've established here that the person on the slip road has to match the speed of the traffic and find a gap, which this learner failed to do. OP spotted this and there was no problem.
The problem with some of the advice here - 'be courteous and move out if the lane is empty' is that the mergers get used to this treatment and expect it. In the name of consistency (and especially if it's a driver on L, R or P plates) I would stay in lane 1 and let them find their way. I would make sure that the gap they're looking for does exist, and I'll also adjust my speed to help them out if necessary. I'll only change lane if it becomes necessary. In the traffic we have these days, it often necessary for the people already on the carriageway to adjust their speed for the mergers. They're not required to do this by law or anything, just by traffic conditions.
The other improvement that mergers can make is to use the entire slip road if they need to. Too many people seem to feel the need to leap onto the road as soon as they see broken white lines to their right.

Mercdriver

NBLondon wrote: »

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.

The OP only added that he did move aside in a subsequent post. He didn't in his OP.

Joe_Horner

For those effectively saying "don't move out, they need to learn".

You wouldm't teach someone to obey the speed limit by lane hogging in front of them because it's not your job. So why would you feel the need to teach someone how to join a dc by staying in the lane they want?

happyc84

Joe_Horner wrote: »

For those effectively saying "don't move out, they need to learn".

You wouldm't teach someone to obey the speed limit by lane hogging in front of them because it's not your job. So why would you feel the need to teach someone how to join a dc by staying in the lane they want?

My question would be - if you are sitting your test, and you have to join a dual carriage way. do you.
a - increase your speed to match the traffic and merge using your skills as a driver.
b - put on indicators and push your way onto the DC.

There is probably a good reason we don't have L-plates on those motorways.

Don't get me started on those who think that cause the indicators are on then they must be let in. (I do let them in because I try to be a defensive driver and not the other kind)

Thanks for all the posts

ChumLee

happyc84 wrote: »

My question would be - if you are sitting your test, and you have to join a dual carriage way. do you.
a - increase your speed to match the traffic and merge using your skills as a driver.
b - put on indicators and push your way onto the DC.

There is probably a good reason we don't have L-plates on those motorways.

Don't get me started on those who think that cause the indicators are on then they must be let in. (I do let them in because I try to be a defensive driver and not the other kind)

Thanks for all the posts

If you've past a test you should know the answer.

Strider590

I'm not sure why it's such an issue, look at the road as you hit the slip lane, pick a gap, speed up, match the speed of traffic and slot in.

There's actually not much point indicating, because there's absolutely nowhere else you could be going, however most people do anyway and it helps to wake up day dreamers in lane 1.

Hesitating is what causes issues, so don't hesitate.