Please settle this arguement (driving related)

[SingingBabooshkaBadly]

Three of my friends are talking about motorway lane closures. One says in a situation where you are told three lanes are going down to two in a couple of miles you should continue to use all three lanes until the closure and then filter. The other two are adamant that the third lane should be left empty from the point where the closure is announced and that using the third lane is just queue jumping. Friend one says this is just creating a long queue unnecessarily which gets longer and longer with an empty lane getting longer. I don’t drive much on motorways and am just sitting here watching them get more and more heated. What do you think?

Half and half tbh. I wouldn't go down to the 2 lanes as soon as I saw the sign but at some point way before the lanes actually reduce, but I equally hate the queue jumpers who speed along that 3rd lane and cut right in at the last minute. And they think they have right of way so you have no choice but to let them in. They know what they are doing.

I think you use your common sense and decide on the traffic flow and speed at the time.

I tend to filter over in good time so I'm not cutting anyone up, but there is no way I'd filter over if roadworks were 2 miles ahead because it reduces the carriages and will cause a tail back.

Signage is often on a countdown, so you get a warning maybe at 2 miles, 1 mile and 800 yards. If it's quiet I'd wait till 800 yards.

Friend one is correct. The lane is open until it is closed. You use all open lanes and then calmly and safely merge in at the end.

However the British are particularly weird about this and insist using an open lane is somehow queue-jumping, arguing that anyone who does so is a speeding maniac etc.

If the roadworks people wanted the lane closed at a point 800yds prior, they'd close it 800yds prior. Ditto 1 mile, ditto 2 miles etc.

They close it at the point they want it closed. Until that point, it's open.

Friend one is right. You can continue to use the lane until it closes but should filter across when safe to do so. (Would probably need to decelerate, indicate etc.)

Staying in the lane until it’s closed (or just about there) is correct and helpful to traffic flow, but expect honking and fist-waving.

Friend one is right. All lanes should be used until being told to merge.

I hate it when everybody crowds over at the first possible moment and then some drivers get territorial about letting people in to their lane.
We're all driving here, people, chill out. It's not your road.

You CAN use all lanes until one is closed, but it's not good manners to zoom along the lane that WILL be closed IF the traffic is already queuing on the other two. But even that needs judgement. Filtering in is fine and it's a waste of a lane not to use it till it's out of service, but if there was a stationary queue on the other lanes I'd filter across several cars before the one at the head of the tail back if that makes sense.

People DO actually have a right to use all lanes. But they don't have a RIGHT to cross over into the usable lanes- they have to wait for a gap or a driver to let them in.

Thanks everyone. Have shared the mumsmet wisdom and friend one is looking content and two and thee
Have gone a bit quiet. But peace has been restored

Ah, Queen that’s basically what I said before everything got a bit heated and I backed off to Mumsnet

Neither. The reason why they give you a few miles notice is so you can change as soon as you can without causing disruption by merging dangerously or coming to a stop trying to merge. You keep driving and merge assafe as it is to do so. In the same ways if you were leaving the motorway. As soon as you realise your junction is coming up you wait for an opportunity to drop into the left lane.

Merge at end otherwise youre just artificially closing it earlier