Tekforums
Chat => Sports, Hobbies & Motors => Topic started by: Rivkid on May 12, 2008, 15:55:05 PM
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Hi all,
Coming to work this morning on the D/C round Shrewsbury a car came down the slip road to merge (it was really busy). Hes getting level with me so I looked to see if I could move to the outside lane but there was too much traffic coming at me so I had to stay in my lane. He then just starts merging right at me!! I had to basically move halfway into the outside lane until a truck passed me then I moved fully over. Now I appreciate he was near the end of the slip but Im really not sure where he thought I was going to go. What should he do in this position if he genuinely couldnt find a spot to merge by the end of the slip? Im sure driving into me isnt the correct solution.
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You have right of way obviously, its his responsibility to ensure he can merge safely and at a reasonable speed, or he has to slow down and indicate and wait for someone to leave a gap big enough for him. The guy was clearly another dipstick on the roads.
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your right away.. he has breaks & hopfully insurance. When I get dicks who to try to force themselves like that, I just slow down so they cant go knowhere except to break.
Same as pricks who try to undertake... I just speed up & drive level with them offering them no place to merge.. then match my speed to his so theres no place to merge behind either
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Of course Egg is being just as bad by purposely blocking someone regardless of whether hes in the "right". There are places to prove a point, at 60 or 70 is not that place and in the event of an accident you will be done for contributing to the problem.
As a technicality, you dont have right of way, you have priority, but a good driver would have spotted the vehicles on the slip road, attempt to move over if possible (which you obviously couldnt in this case) or consider adjusting your speed to allow a suitable gap for the other person to merge or to time a gap to arrive at the same time as they do. This will keep the overall traffi flow moving and make things a lot more pleasant for everyone. By taking the moral high ground and adjusting your speed to allow them to move out means that you are reacting to a potential issue and resolving it before it becomes an actual issue. It also means you have control over the situation instead of the other driver. If you have left an appropriate gap between yourself and the car in front it shouldnt become an issue.
If they genuinely cant get out they should slow and stop rather than trying to run you off the road, but be aware you may be in their blind spot or they are just not paying attention. I always assume everyone else on the road is deaf, blind and stupid and make allowances for them because Id rather be behind someone and safe than in the right but upside down in the middle of the motorway.
Apologies for coming off as a stuck up member of the IAM/ex driving instructor, but a lot of accidents would be avoided by people being more tolerant and driving further ahead than the bonnet of their car.
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No I agree with you totally and I always try to think "whats the stupidest thing he could possibly do" then assume hell do it! Sadly like I said it was incredibly busy because theyve blocked off the town center. I couldnt speed up / down to allow him room due to traffic in front and behind, or move over. I guess at a push I could of slowed but it would have been dramatic and Im pretty certain Id have got a car up the arse! He was def at fault - I just wasnt sure what he SHOULD do legally - wasnt sure if stopping was the right thing to do but thinking sensibly its the only option really.
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Sucks when that happens. Ill own up to a couple of occasions where Ive done an "egg", but usually its a result of the other person driving in some Audi or Merc and not wanting to get a dent in their paintwork...
Another interesting sliproad situation...what is your view/course of action on the following:
You are joining a dual carriageway via sliproad, which bends round 270 degrees with various obstructions making it difficult to see both the end of the sliproad and the dual carriageway traffic status until you are pretty much on the dual carriageway. As a result, best practice is to drive moderately, say 40mph, allowing the choice to speed or slow down as traffic deems necessary. Usually if a car is in front, I back off and ensure a lot of distance, as the actual slip is short, and it eases the pressure on watching them to see if they stop and watching the road. ANYWAY...What do you do when joining such a dual carriageway, and someone has stopped at the end for whatever reason, yet at your speed and the current traffic, you can join and basically drive past the stopped person.
On the one hand, theres the risk they will pull out in front of you (They often do, and do a crawl at that...almost like they want to use the car behind as a shield!) as you join the dual carriageway. Obviously not such a problem if both lanes are clear, in which case you can pull out into the right lane and let em on. Otherwise you just have to slam on the brakes...
Or do you slow to a crawl and wait your turn behind them? Both are risky, as I cant help but imagine many an incident where someone has been driven into by careless drivers on a sliproad.
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Sucks when that happens. Ill own up to a couple of occasions where Ive done an "egg", but usually its a result of the other person driving in some Audi or Merc and not wanting to get a dent in their paintwork...
Another interesting sliproad situation...what is your view/course of action on the following:
You are joining a dual carriageway via sliproad, which bends round 270 degrees with various obstructions making it difficult to see both the end of the sliproad and the dual carriageway traffic status until you are pretty much on the dual carriageway. As a result, best practice is to drive moderately, say 40mph, allowing the choice to speed or slow down as traffic deems necessary. Usually if a car is in front, I back off and ensure a lot of distance, as the actual slip is short, and it eases the pressure on watching them to see if they stop and watching the road. ANYWAY...What do you do when joining such a dual carriageway, and someone has stopped at the end for whatever reason, yet at your speed and the current traffic, you can join and basically drive past the stopped person.
On the one hand, theres the risk they will pull out in front of you (They often do, and do a crawl at that...almost like they want to use the car behind as a shield!) as you join the dual carriageway. Obviously not such a problem if both lanes are clear, in which case you can pull out into the right lane and let em on. Otherwise you just have to slam on the brakes...
Or do you slow to a crawl and wait your turn behind them? Both are risky, as I cant help but imagine many an incident where someone has been driven into by careless drivers on a sliproad.
would be a judgement call on the day really but my instinct would be to stop. At least if something does happen then youve behaved properly and cant be blamed.
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That one is tricky and there is almost exactly that situation where the main road from Dubin joins the M1 coming into Belfast as the road does the 270 and is uphill. I would say youre taking the sensible approach in that youre approaching at a moderate speed to allow slowing down if necessary or to speed up to join the flow of traffic.
With someone at the end I would move out to the inside lane with the view I will then be slowing down to let the other person out, both for safety and as a matter of courtesy. If you feel that merging into traffic wouldnt allow you to then slow down you should consider whether it is safe to emerge at all. I would take the position that the person ahead of you on the sliproad still has priority so pulling out round them into the flow of traffic would be dangerous if not allowing for them to also merge.
A difficult situation and, like most things, if you do proper observations and allow for other people you should keep yourself and others safe.
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Normal rules of the road dont apply in Dublin, or anywhere south of the border. Id say theyre easily the worst drivers in europe - if not the world - and Im including india in that.
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Including Malta? Thats a nightmare...
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Slip roads can be painful things, especially on dual carriageway A roads where they tend to be woefully short. Theres one on the A41 by Hemel Hempstead which comes off a very tight double bend into a very short uphil sliproad. In my old 306D if I came around the corner in 2nd gear I had just enough time for one glance over the shoulder in which to decide whether to floor it or stop.
Nasty.
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Dublin is a nightmare at the minute, and has been for the last couple of years. The built a tunnel to speed traffic through the city to the port and then realised it wasnt tall enough to allow lorries through. There seems to be a concerted effort at the minute to prevent anyone entering or leaving the city. Last time I only got out when luck landed me on the correct lane.
I also find the lack of an amber phase when the lights turn green to be very distracting.
And the driving is terrible EXCEPT on the main motorway where I have found people to be considerate, keep to the left lane and maintain sensible distances.
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Joining; 2nd gear, on the cam, see the gap, foot down.
Merging; I try to leave a gap or speed up to get past but sometimes they speed up and slow down trying to get ahead or behind me. So Im whatever, I got road, you got hard shoulder.
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I agree with goblin, if you prepare for the worst and most stupid then youre not going to be suprised!
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Dublin is a nightmare at the minute, and has been for the last couple of years. The built a tunnel to speed traffic through the city to the port and then realised it wasnt tall enough to allow lorries through. There seems to be a concerted effort at the minute to prevent anyone entering or leaving the city. Last time I only got out when luck landed me on the correct lane.
I also find the lack of an amber phase when the lights turn green to be very distracting.
And the driving is terrible EXCEPT on the main motorway where I have found people to be considerate, keep to the left lane and maintain sensible distances.
Have you seen the scandalous toll ?
That government down there is so corrupt and greedy it makes the british government look like saints
Imagine paying over £1000 a year for your car tax, or even better - up to 1/3 the value of your car when you first register it if you dare to import it from anywhere
They have this thing called VRT - basically if you import a car (Even from england) they will charge you a fee equal to around 20-30% of what they call the open market selling price - not what its worth, but what they think its worth - and heres the catch - they monitor the quote website - and if a model becomes more popular, they will increase the OMSP so they can collect more tax.
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I agree with goblin, if you prepare for the worst and most stupid then youre not going to be suprised!
or at least, if you are then it will be a pleasant surprise.
like yesterday when I came upon a BMW with working indicators
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You liar.
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obviously hasnt been recalled yet mongoose
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I can beat that
I saw a taxi driver, in a BMW using the correct lane on the roundabout AND indicating
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I can beat that
I saw a taxi driver, in a BMW using the correct lane on the roundabout AND indicating
now come on Mark, at least mine was plausible!
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I can beat that
I saw a taxi driver, in a BMW using the correct lane on the roundabout AND indicating
It was probably a joyrider :)
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probably a foreign taxi driver