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Original poster

Near miss on motorway - what else could I have done?

92 replies

lurchersforever · 26/04/2024 21:02

This actually happened on Wednesday but I'm still thinking about it and want to hear others' thoughts.

I go 2 junctions down the motorway, which is 4 lanes where I am, every day, and I also drive quite a bit for holidays etc. Where I join the motorway the slip road has 2 lanes - a really long one on the left and a very short one on the right that ends pretty abruptly. The slip-roads are up-hill, so if you use the short one, you can't really see what is coming up behind until you are very near its end. I always use the left one unless there is something in it going slowly, in which case I go past on the right. The traffic is always free-flowing when I join but people tend to move over to allow people on - with 4 lanes this is what you would expect.

Yesterday I used the right hand lane to join the motorway. Traffic was free-flowing and there were lorries in front then not a massive gap before more lorries coming up behind. I was going at about 50/60 I think. It was obviously going to be impossible to get on in front of the lorries ahead but those coming up behind were going at quite a speed so there was no room to get on in front of them, yet the slip road was running out. There was plenty of room for them to move to the right but they didn't. I had to slow right down and ended up on the diagonal white lines that divide the two slip lanes. As it passed, the lorry blew its horn even though I did not enter his lane at all. There was also a car coming up behind me, but that slowed right down behind me so it was ok.

It was just horrible - no room to the left or right and something coming behind, with no proper space to stop in either. Then the horn blowing as if I had done something wrong, but what? Surely the lorry coming up behind should have adjusted its speed or moved right? What else could I have done?

OP posts:
Heartbreaktuna · 28/04/2024 17:29

Deludamol · 26/04/2024 21:27

As far as I know, the right thing to do is to either use the white lines or get onto the hard shoulder and try and join from there.

It's really not ideal though. I was kept off by a lorry too and gave them mega evils when I caught up.

I actually feel sick that you think this is what you should do. Jesus Christ.

WhatDoIDoPeople · 28/04/2024 17:27

TinyRebel · 28/04/2024 17:21

You need to get properly up to speed (around 70) and be looking for the gap before joining. It’s always easier to slow down if necessary.

I regularly join a busy dual carriageway from my village’s sliproad and it drives me crackers when the person in front trundles on at 50/60 then grinds to a halt because they’ve not been looking for the gap and then panicked as they’ve approached the carriageway to find a lorry bearing down on them. It’s perfectly easy to ensure you’re going faster than the lorry in time to get in front of it.

Lorry driver was probably terrified you’d pull out in front of him.

This is what I was thinking too. My driving lessons were in North Herts with lots of dual carriageways; instructor always pushed me to get up to speed on the slip lane. I’ve never had any issues, apart from slow moving vehicles in front on the slip lane causing an obstruction.

TinyRebel · 28/04/2024 17:21

You need to get properly up to speed (around 70) and be looking for the gap before joining. It’s always easier to slow down if necessary.

I regularly join a busy dual carriageway from my village’s sliproad and it drives me crackers when the person in front trundles on at 50/60 then grinds to a halt because they’ve not been looking for the gap and then panicked as they’ve approached the carriageway to find a lorry bearing down on them. It’s perfectly easy to ensure you’re going faster than the lorry in time to get in front of it.

Lorry driver was probably terrified you’d pull out in front of him.

IfIHadAHeart · 28/04/2024 17:20

NotMeNoNo · 26/04/2024 22:03

The "it's not their job to move over" overlooks the fact that traffic at 60mph should be separated by a safe stop distance of about 75m, plenty of space to pull into. Driving far too close makes it dangerous for joining traffic.

75 metres between each vehicle?

taxguru · 28/04/2024 17:19

Sounds like you accelerated too soon/too quickly which meant you ran out of options. Probably better to have held back a bit and merged in after the lorries rather than accelerated up to full speed and then have to brake when you ran out of lane.

Deludamol · 28/04/2024 17:18

Funkyslippers · 28/04/2024 17:16

You can't use the hard shoulder if you're in the right hand lane of the slip road

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No, I was in the right lane so I had to use the white lines to join.

Funkyslippers · 28/04/2024 17:16

Deludamol · 26/04/2024 21:27

As far as I know, the right thing to do is to either use the white lines or get onto the hard shoulder and try and join from there.

It's really not ideal though. I was kept off by a lorry too and gave them mega evils when I caught up.

You can't use the hard shoulder if you're in the right hand lane of the slip road

Funkyslippers · 28/04/2024 17:14

NotMeNoNo · 26/04/2024 22:03

The "it's not their job to move over" overlooks the fact that traffic at 60mph should be separated by a safe stop distance of about 75m, plenty of space to pull into. Driving far too close makes it dangerous for joining traffic.

How can it be a safe distance to pull into if they have to be separated by 75m? They won't be separated by that much if a vehicle pulls in between them

Hadalifeonce · 28/04/2024 17:09

I travel regularly on a motorway, I find that as people drive too close to the vehicle in front, it can be difficult to join sometimes.

StrawberrySquash · 28/04/2024 17:04

I hate slip roads with a short merging distance! I've never had to stop because I couldn't pull out, but I'm always scared I'll have to. As a driver already on the motorway I'll always try and make sure there's a good gap in front of me so that someone can pull out if I'm in the left hand lane. And that keeps me safer anyway - two second rule and all that.

Original poster
lurchersforever · 28/04/2024 16:43

I always stay in the left lane from a mile or two from my exit because of lorries too. It's also common for some of them to go into the second lane once the junction gets sign-posted, as if they think the left lane will become the exit lane, even though signage makes it clear that's not the case. That makes it even harder to get back to the left lane if you have been in the third or fourth as you have lorries going alongside each other at the same speed in the first two lanes. Nightmare. I've also seen/heard it happen several times when there's been a queue to get off and drivers haven't wanted to join it further back, then there's no gap so they stop on the actual carriageway (free-flowing) to get on! Now that's one time when I absolutely don't blame the lorries for blowing their horns as they veer around them!

OP posts:
sellingpetrol · 28/04/2024 16:09

ExtraOnions · 28/04/2024 07:40

I’ve not been able to leave motorways in the past, due to Lorry Drivers driving too closely together, leaving no space to merge in.

Frankly though you should have adjusted speed and moved over long before this was an issue.

OP you did the right thing in the circumstances - a slight misjudgment in being that speed but no harm done. hitting the curb on a parallel park is also a fail but done that many times in my long driving career!

BIossomtoes · 28/04/2024 16:06

Iamtheoneinten · 28/04/2024 16:03

The test in question was my DDs and it was a dual carriageway A road, with slip roads the same as an M road, so the same rules apply. And yes slowing down on the slip road is a significant fault - or ‘major’ as they are often called.

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But that’s bonkers, what are you supposed to do? I reckon an appeal on that would be successful.

Iamtheoneinten · 28/04/2024 16:03

RedHelenB · 28/04/2024 09:10

You don't take your driving test on a motorway. And causing a lorry to brake to let you on would definitely be a fail, if it didn't go into the side of OP.

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The test in question was my DDs and it was a dual carriageway A road, with slip roads the same as an M road, so the same rules apply. And yes slowing down on the slip road is a significant fault - or ‘major’ as they are often called.

PleaseletitbeSpring · 28/04/2024 09:14

I hate slip roads! I have blind spot lights in my wing mirrors which are a huge help and even if it's hard to judge if you can get out, the mirrors will give me an accurate indication. I have had to stop and I hit my emergency flashers to warn other drivers.

RedHelenB · 28/04/2024 09:10

Iamtheoneinten · 26/04/2024 21:15

You need to adjust your speed on the slip lane to account for traffic in the road you want to join, which you did

If by 'adjust your speed on the slip road' you mean slow down - that's a fail on a driving test.

Edited

You don't take your driving test on a motorway. And causing a lorry to brake to let you on would definitely be a fail, if it didn't go into the side of OP.

Minfilia · 28/04/2024 09:06

ExtraOnions · 28/04/2024 07:40

I’ve not been able to leave motorways in the past, due to Lorry Drivers driving too closely together, leaving no space to merge in.

But unless lorries are tailing each other with 50+ in a row, couldn’t that be avoided by planning ahead and just sitting in the left lane driving at lorry speed for a while? I get into the left lane around 1-2 miles before my exit now because there’s a huge distribution centre nearby, so I know it’s tricky to squeeze in near the junction! HGVs don’t have the same capability to change their speed as they’re so big and heavy.

People do drive horribly on motorways though. I always ease off the accelerator if I’m in the left lane to leave enough of a gap for one or two cars to safely get in the space if I’m approaching a slip road. You’re meant to leave a good gap in front so people can merge, but of course people never do. I even had one complete bell end last week speed up when I was on the slip road just to stop me getting in front. The motorway was almost completely clear as well. She then immediately braked when I got in behind and drove along at 50mph so I had to overtake her anyway! Confused

EmilyTjP · 28/04/2024 08:59

WrigglyDonCat · 26/04/2024 21:44

Trouble is you only have your daughters word for the details. I've been an ADI for 11 years and have sat in on something around 500-600 tests now. I can tell you for free that there was a safe option to join at an appropriate speed, but she didn't take it through inexperience and created significant danger as a result. She may think she slowed slightly, but I bet it was a lot more than slightly. I can also tell you for free that when people fail tests, they almost never have good recall of the situation that occurred (myself included as I failed my first test, and 33 years later still don't really believe the reason, but do believe if I could see a replay now with my ADI eyes, I absolutely would).

Experience tells me that when inexperienced drivers don't trust a gap they slow down, usually significantly, and actually end up making the situation worse not better - that last thing you want to merge into a small gap is a significant speed differential.

After such an incident on a lesson years ago where I had to step in to avoid serious issues, I was asked 'What would you have done in that situation'. My first answer? 'I wouldn't have been in that situation'. If you are joining free moving traffic and have to slow significantly or stop on a slip road, you have made a serious misjudgement. My second answer was, of course, to explain how I wouldn't let myself be in that situation.

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Your post comes across horribly patronising. “I wouldn’t have been in that situation” ugh. And you’re meant to be helping people?

hopscotcher · 28/04/2024 08:52

I think the lorry driver was a bit of an arse to blare the horn - what did they expect you to do? They presumably drive on motorways all the time so should be used to cars merging from slip roads and the fact that people don't stop on them.
I don't think you did anything particularly wrong - put it down to 'one of those things.'

FlakyAquaQuoter · 28/04/2024 08:41

SoloCat · 28/04/2024 07:31

I hate motorways, slip lanes…
A lot of drivers will move over if there is space, unfortunately there are those that don’t, or can’t.
Speeding up, or slowing down to squeeze on, although not ideal is the only thing that can be done at times. The problem is traffic on the slip road behind you trying to join too. Hesitant drivers can cause issues.

I wouldn't worry op… people can be idiots…you didn’t cause an accident. I wouldn’t overthink it. 🙂

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There's a few on my regular route which are a nightmare. I'll always move over and forever thankful when someone does so for me!

Hesitant drivers can definitely cause an issue. Especially as, even with a car in front, you're scanning to see when and how to join. So if you've seen an easy spot for them and they break heavily instead then it can definitely cause accidents.

In the OP's case it's the first time she's ever had to stop in 17 years so I'm willing to bet there really wasn't a space. Which thankfully happens rarely but does happen.

dragonscannotswim · 28/04/2024 07:52

@Iamtheoneinten - your dd should have asked the driving instructor what she should have done differently. He wasn't really saying that she should have sped up if it wasn't safe to do so?! If so, bonkers.

ExtraOnions · 28/04/2024 07:40

I’ve not been able to leave motorways in the past, due to Lorry Drivers driving too closely together, leaving no space to merge in.

SoloCat · 28/04/2024 07:31

FlakyAquaQuoter · 27/04/2024 00:17

While dithering and stopping with plenty of chance to go is absolutely dangerous, short of cutting up a lorry (which is a lot bigger than you with a longer stopping distance), it sounds as though OP couldn't have done much. This isn't an inexperienced driver panicking and slowing down traffic. This is an experienced driver recognising that it was unsafe to proceed and being unable to join at the time she was on the slip road.

The alternative is to go when it's unsafe to do so? You scan the traffic and identify a spot.. but if there is no spot? You have to stop. It's that or cause an accident by joining when it isn't safe.

Sorry to hear your DH nearly had an accident, but I've been a passenger in an accident when someone joined on a short slip road when there wasn't a gap, causing the person in the left lane to swerve into the side of us in the right hand lane. They should absolutely have stopped until there was a safe space to merge. Just as OP did.

Show quote history

I hate motorways, slip lanes…
A lot of drivers will move over if there is space, unfortunately there are those that don’t, or can’t.
Speeding up, or slowing down to squeeze on, although not ideal is the only thing that can be done at times. The problem is traffic on the slip road behind you trying to join too. Hesitant drivers can cause issues.

I wouldn't worry op… people can be idiots…you didn’t cause an accident. I wouldn’t overthink it. 🙂

eurochick · 27/04/2024 10:49

I've had to stop at the end of a slip road once in 30 years of driving. It's undesirable but if there is no gap it is the only option. You stop and indicate and hope that people coming along move over to let you join and get up to speed.

CamoPenguin · 27/04/2024 10:21

If you can't safely join the motorway, you stop and wait for space, as you did. Not ideal but beats causing a crash.
Lorry drivers, quite rightly unfortunately, will expect car drivers to try to squeeze in to spaces that are far too tight and cut them up, it sounds like he was letting you know he was there to avoid that. You obviously did look and assessed the situation correctly, many people don't.

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