Nearly in a serious car accident - hand hold please

[Usedandhurt]

Im literally shaking. Just had a driver nearly kill me and my dc on the motorway. He/she must have not checked before they pulled onto the motorway from a slip road, I literally had to slam on the breaks to avoid crashing into them and thankfully the driver behind me and the one behind them etc etc were able to stop also. My dc would have been very badly hurt - it was a huge bus and I can only imagine the driver got distracted.

Im a nervous driver at the best of times and Im literally sick with nerves.

The Highway Code is not a legal document and it's rules are not official highway laws

Yeah they do and and it's really annoying. But I don't think that people actually tend to do that at junctions with slip roads if they're already in the middle lane. It doesn't make sense to be in the middle lane, see traffic on the slip road and in the left lane and decide to move towards those hazards into the left lane. They just tend not to do it. So really, if the people in the left lane are leaving big enough gaps between them and the car in front it shouldn't be an issue for slip road users coming on to move into a gap.

I agree, though, that at other times if someone pulls in front of me when I've deliberately left a safe gap between me and the car in front, I just slowly drop my speed. Not necessarily brake, but just take my foot off the accelerator slightly, to increase the gap gradually.

The relevant point is that traffic already on the motorway has priority and that’s it.

If you are joining from a slip road it won’t always be possible to see whether traffic in the inside lane has the capacity to move over as you won’t necessarily be able to see fast moving traffic approaching in the outer lanes from the slip road. The In any case it is irrelevant as the traffic already on the motorway has priority and therefore you are required to give way to it.

Not only can they go over 70 miles per hour, if you look carefully, you will see that many have their rear number plate recessed into the bumper which appears to render them invisible to speed cameras from what I've seen on the M1.

@modern buses and coaches are restricted

It is SO fucking dangerous to stop or suddenly slow down on a slip road.

It is the one place where all the vehicles behind you will be looking at the nearside motorway lane to judge entry gaps. It can cause a massive pile up. In addition a large vehicle halted at the end of a slip road where there is no hard shoulder is effectively completely stranded and can only be removed with huge difficulty and danger by emergency services.

It is SO fucking dangerous to stop or suddenly slow down on a slip road.

still a lot less dangerous than suddenly stopping on the motorway.

Not forgetting that when you are on that slip road, existing traffic on the motorway shouldn't come as a surprise, you job is literally to be alert to it, and you should be the one adjusting your speed accordingly, as opposed to barge in expecting others to make way for you.

The give way markings between the slip road and main carriageway are official high way laws though, and failure to give way when joining the motorway is an offence.

I'm reading the govt-published Highway Code and it says nothing about being forced to a halt by the road ahead not being clear being illegal. It can't be illegal because if it was, you'd be legally obliged to drive into the back of the vehicle in front.

"Stop" in road traffic law does not refer to queuing to join a motorway.

@supersonicginandtonic many of the rules of the Highway Code are the actual law (usually requirements that include “must” and “must not” and the rest are used to determine fault/ blame in the case of an accident and are used in any prosecution.

Hi Op, I also am a nervous driver and have always found sliproads stressful. It’s ok to feel shaken by a near miss, it happens and it’s scary. I hope you and your DC are feeling much better now x

The give way markings between the slip road and main carriageway are official high way laws though,

I think many drivers don’t understand give way markings…

254
Traffic on motorways usually travels faster than on other roads, so you have less time to react. It is especially important to use your mirrors earlier and look much further ahead than you would on other roads.

271
You MUST NOT stop on any carriageway, emergency area, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency, or when told to do so by the police, traffic officers, an emergency sign or by red flashing light signals.
Do not stop on any part of a motorway to make or receive mobile telephone calls, except in an emergency.

Wrong again.

"Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’."

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/introduction

Even for advisory rules like 259, the following applies:

"Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts (see The road user and the law) to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’."

Once again another thread full of people who would FAIL their theory and driving tests.

The Bus Driver was in the wrong, not the OP

Rule 259
Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should

• give priority to traffic already on the motorway
• check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane

The Highway Code - Motorways (253 to 274) - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Source of this fact?

To be fair to @supersonicginandtonic the specific section about joining the motorway is a "should" section not a "must" section. It also doesn't have a specific link to a specific law. However, as others have said, the road markings indicate giving way which would be relevant if someone merging failed to actually give way. You're not going to be able to defend a careless driving charge by suggesting that the Highway Code guidelines and the road markings are not relevant.

You must not stop on the slip road does not refer to giving way to the motorway traffic. It is referring to the act of stopping to, for example, make a phonecall or have a picnic.

Does anyone here think the bus driver was correct?

I dont, my issue is with the OP not adjusting her driving to allow for idiots on the road (and also shaking/nealy crying around an hour later)

Spot on

The point people are making is that the bus driver didn't do this and many, many other drivers also don't do this so were giving advice on how to keep safe.

In an ideal world everyone would follow the Highway Code but they don't so you have to take action so you don't get squashed (or have to do an emergency stop on the motorway).

The Highway Code would be little comfort to my loved ones if my last thought had been: "It's my right of way."

She did adjust, she avoided a collision. And I don't think it's reasonable to police or criticise how someone reacts to an adrenaline producing situation. Some people will feel sick and shaky afterwards. Lots may not. Either is fine.

Exactly this. No idea why people keep quoting the Highway Code. If you just blindly follow the code and expect all other drivers are too then you're more likely to end up dead.

You need to assume that the other drivers are going to do something dangerous and act accordingly in plenty of time.

How is it more dangerous to enter the motorway from a dead stop after a picnic? How is the danger any different to the cars coming on to the slip road behind you? It's the same danger. Entering a motorway where cars are travelling 70MPH when you're doing 0MPH is deadly.