To not give way on dual carriageway?

You needmore lessons urgently op. You are not a competent driver at all, changing lanes is a very simple, basic maneuver. Being reluctant to overtake slow vehicles increases the risk to every body else who nowhave to overtake TWO slow moving vehicles.

Low confidence, hesitant driving causes accidents.

Yes if someone is waiting to enter a fast moving road and there's a lane free you move over and give them more space, to make it safer.

This.

If you are that nervous about such a simple thing as changing lanes then you need to think about whether you are a safe driver and whether you should be on the road.

I mean, that's about as basic as it gets.

@Cheerstoyoutoo
No that's not what I said. You are misquoting me. Deliberately. You are missing the point. You should be able to move over easily, checking to make sure it's safe of course. But your accident makes you apprehensive, thus unsafe.

You are picking holes. But a pp, a driving instructor told you:
@bozzabollix :
"Driving instructor here. This worries me somewhat. Yes if you’re on a dual carriageway with a junction where somebody has to stop before joining you don’t need to move over. But a slip road joining does depend on people moving over to let others on, if one of my students couldn’t change lane then they certainly wouldn’t be competent enough to face a driving test. Being reluctant to change lane when it’s safe is dangerous.

If you only passed two years ago seek out your old instructor and pay for a lesson. It’ll take just the one and could save you from an accident. There’s no shame in going back for some help, I’d be happy to do that with any of my ex students, especially if they found themselves anxious about something. These things are easily fixed."

Very surprised that the voting is coming out 50:50 on this. Not pulling over to the right hand lane in no way makes you a bad, poor or unsafe driver, possibly lacking some courtesy, maybe, but even that would depend on what other traffic was doing, how long the guy would have had to wait to pull out anyway, was it perhaps a crossroads if there was no sliproad? Who knows? Regardless, where he was waiting was either a give way (most likely) or possibly a stop, and if the OP had pulled over the car behind (and any furher back) would have had to pull over as well for the guy pulling out to be safe. The rule is to stay in the left hand lane except when overtaking (as discussed MANY times on MN), and even if it is courteous to sometimes do otherwise, it's not the rule.

Changing lanes when it's safe doesn't stop the traffic moving.

I drive on roads with a lot of these types of junctions.

I'd recommend always checking your mirrors and blind stops as you approach and pulling out whenever you can.

No you don't have to but people often misjudge the speed or pull out regardless on the assumption you will move over.

If you are nervous then much better to prepare for this than have to do so in a split second.

I have points on the road where I always try and move into the outside lane as there are very short slip roads with little visibility so the cars just appear.

Staying on the inside isn't the safest option.

And you need to develop more confidence changing lanes.

A nervous driver who won't change lanes can be a danger to other users of the road.

I think you will find it is exactly what would happen, the OP pulls over, followed by the car behind her.

The difference in opinions in the replies is probably highlights the differing areas we live in. We have a couple of fast section of dual carriageways with numerous junctions on them without slip roads. A lot of the traffic joining is tractors and stock trailers, if people did not move over it would be almost impossible for the slower moving vehicles to join safely.

You should have pulled over to facilitate traffic flow even though it wasn't a slip road.

I don't really understand why you wouldn't have done that.

Normally I think you should. Though given the reaction you got, I'm glad the other motorist was kept waiting.

You don't need to keep checking- you'll never change lanes. You should be checking your rear view and wing mirrors a lot anyway when driving at high speeds on dual carriageways/motorways- you should be aware of the traffic behind you and at the sides of you.

I feel like I have to check then check again when I change lanes.

This isn’t a bad thing though. You can check mirrors as you’re approaching a junction, check mirrors again if you need to move, and then quickly check over your shoulder. I’m constantly checking all around me. The more you do it the more it will become second nature. I really would recommend some advanced lessons. Not because I think you’re a bad driver, but because it will do a lot for your confidence and hopefully make driving feel less stressful.

Changing lanes isn't risky if done properly. Why would you do it "without thinking"? You would carry out the usual checks and move over only if safe.

Moved, not murdered 😳

The OP has a car right behind her. If she had murdered over, it would have only been safe for Angry Man to join if that car had moved over too. Given how angry he was, any bets on whether he'd have pulled out straight into the path of the second car if the OP has moved?

In any event, Angry Man was able to safely join once there was a break in the traffic, so it actually wasn't a problem.

Yes, there are times when the circumstances mean people need to help you join, but given the ease that he was same to do it here, it doesn't sound like one of them.

Most of my local dual carriageways are 40-50, with only a few 70 stretches (which all have sliproads). Their visibility is excellent.

There are a lot of 60 roads though, with no second lane for traffic to go into, and with far less visibility, where you have to pick your moment carefully.

I do wonder if people saying ‘there’s no obligation’ have ever attempted to pull out from one of these junctions or a very short slip road. My car isn’t particularly powerful either which makes it extra stressful.

Pulling onto a dual carriageway from a junction is not easy. Not only do you need a gap in traffic, but a big enough gap to get up to 70mph from a standing start.

There’s one near me and if I see anyone waiting at that junction, I will always pull into the outside lane provided it’s clear. Mainly as it’s the considerate thing to do, but there’s also a greater risk that the person waiting gets impatient, or underestimates the gap needed, so I’d much rather be out of their way in the outside lane!

All of this. People who avoid changing lane are clearly not great drivers. It's one of the signs!

Get a couple of extra lessons.

Reluctance to change lanes and not understanding that overtaking is sometimes a necessary manoeuvre is worrying. These things become easier with practice and experience on the road.

Agree with PP that you would benefit from more lessons for everyone’s safety.

the person who gave you the finger was a dick though.

but surely that’s how accidents happen? Moving over without thinking about whether it’s safe or not? Mirror, indicate and move over. I make an assessment in-between checking my mirrors and indicating on whether or not it’s safe to change lanes. Or are you one of those people that just indicate and go regardless?

They don't mean just indicate and go, they mean that coming up to the joining you'll be automatically looking in your right mirror so you can plan what to do (there would have been a sign almost certainly). Then if someone wants to join you do the mirror, signal, manoeuvre without much thought because you've already assessed the road. The more you do it the quicker the process is- even done safely.