If you are someone who drives down a slip road towards a busy dual carriageway with no intention of stopping ….

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

Where do you think the cars are going to go if they is no space to go into the outside lane?

There is a really bad junction I’m currently dealing with every day. He cars come down the slip road in convoy. No ability for me to slot inbetween and they show absolutely no sign of slowing down to wait to join the trunk road. If I have a car on my right, where do these people think I’m going to avoid a collision?

Except that nice courtesy thing has morphed into ‘I have priority and you have to slow down/move away for me’ attitude found in this thread.
So much so that people think it’s the drivers following the Highway Code that are wrong and doing something illegal!!
They dint have any courtesy towards the drivers on the motorway!

So yes courtesy is very nice and makes things better.
As long as what is happening first is following the Highway Code.
And it clearly has been forgotten along the way.
And it’s dangerous because drivers on the slip road feel they can just move with no regards to the risk for the other drivers…. I’ve had many near miss just because of that

No, it's not important for those already on the carriageway to move over. The lack of planning of drivers on the slip road is not the responsibility of the drivers on the carriageway to resolve.

Now I’m wondering who is supposed to be more chilled out….

Everyone, of course! Slow down a bit but mainly just don't drive too close to the vehicle in front.

Because the person you move for starts thinking that they have a right to join without finding a gap and the next time they join at that junction they will expect to be let in. See also: people pulling out in front of others from side streets because they've got used to people on the main road stopping to let them out.

Ba ha ha!!! What an absolute load of rubbish.. I've read some daft things on MN in my time, but this is up there I've got to say.

If you don't want to slightly adjust your speed to be considerate of other road users and to maintain the general flow of all traffic for everyone, you don't have to, the law is on your side, but at least own that it is because you are an inconsiderate driver rather then you're worried about what that person may do in future.

No, inconsiderate driving is mismanaging your manoeuvre and either not adjusting your speed to for in front or behind of traffic on the trunk road or expecting others to move over for you - and then getting furious when they don’t. The onus is on the person to manage their manoeuvre properly, which should be perfectly possible in the vast, vast majority of cases if you’re a competent driver.

Lack of planning 🤣🤣🤣

Not much you can do when you're coming down a slip road, trying to get up to the speed of the flow of traffic as advised, and then can't join the flow because there are too many cars too close together. How do you plan for that? Maybe plan to only join a main road at 3am when it's quiet?

This. If everyone did this there would be no problem on slip roads joining main roads.

You don’t have to get up to speed if that’s not appropriate - you can reduce your speed too and then increase it when you’re on the motorway or dual carriageway.

Is this where the problem lies - do people think they have to hit the trunk road at speed?

You go a bit slower so you don’t join the main road until there is a space. Your job isn’t to match the speed and join then, it’s to aim for a space and travel at the speed you need to to reach that space.

You don’t match and then expect to be able to join. You adjust your speed to get to that spot then merge and match the speed of the carriageway.

Otherwise you do what OP finds distracting- get to speed then hurtle along in the expectation a space will be there when you need it.

You don't go a bit slower and look for a space then speed up into it, that's ridiculous, if you don't match speed there won't be a space for you to slot into.

Your job isn’t to match the speed and join then,

Here is the highway code for you:

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

Motorway traffic has priority. Slip roads have give way lines for a reason.

She didn’t say speed up into the space

She didn’t say speed up into the space

That's exactly what she said..

You go a bit slower so you don’t join the main road until there is a space.
aim for a space and travel at the speed you need to to reach that space.

That's a strange use of the word 'exact'.

That not exactly what she said - you’ve taken words and joined them together to create something else.

You go a bit slower if needed - remember speed can be adjusted downwards as well as upwards. You look for the gap in your mirror, and then you join at that speed. That may require you to further reduce your speed even further and you may have to let some cars go past before the gap gets to you. Then you join, and adjust your speed as needed when you’re on the trunk road.

Dear Lord there’s some folk so firmly fixed on what they think they can’t actually read and imagine the different way that’s being described.

On the slip road you don’t go at the speed of the motorway traffic for the entire length in the hope that there will be a space when your lane and theirs converge.

You look at the existing traffic. You spot a space that’s usually just behind you, you see it in the wing mirror. Then you travel at the speed you need to do so that you hit the end of the slip road at the same point as that space in the traffic flow.

Occasionally there will be a space that’s ahead, and you may need to accelerate to get to it. That’s usually if there’s a big lorry that’s taking a lot of room and not going that fast. Might be a caravan, a lorry and a clapped out fiesta. Whatever. Sometimes you go faster to get to the space ahead of you.

What you don’t do is match speed at the first opportunity and assume there will be a space where you need it.
That is not “matching your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow”.
That would be “matching your speed to the flow of traffic before pulling out whether or not there available space”.

Is that really what this is about? You think your job is to get up to speed, and my job is to create a space for you on arrival, like the MaitreD?

Everyone has a responsibility to make/keep the roads safe. Unless you're in a police car, you have no right nor ability to "police" other people or improve their driving. All you can do is look after yourself and help reduce the risk of other people crashing into you or others. It really doesn't matter who is right if you're six foot under or in a coma, does it? It doesn't matter who "caused" the accident. What matters is whether YOU could have avoided the accident happening in the first place. If that means changing lane (safely) or changing your speed, or increasing the distance between yourself and other vehicles, then you should do that, regardless of who is right and who is wrong! There is zero point in getting in front of another car joining the motorway just because you're in the right - just why bother? It makes no difference at all. By being an arse and stopping vehicles joining, you're just winding yourself up and winding them up. Everyone needs to chill out. When there is an idiotic driver around, best thing is to give them space and keep out of their way - it's better for you if they're in front as you can keep an eye on them - far better than them being behind you with the potential to cause you problems. After all, by being an arse, you're not going to change their behaviour, you're not going to "educate" them, so just let them get on with it, preferably as far away from you as possible!

It certainly is everyone’s job to make/keep the roads safe - and the best way to do that of byis to drive according to the law, rather than expecting everyone else to adjust their driving to accommodate your incompetence.

I've driven the M6, M62, M1, M56, M53, and (by far the worst) A167(M) in the last year alone. I've never had the problem you describe. Perhaps it's because I start looking for a gap before I start speeding up, instead of speeding up then being taken my surprise by the lack of a gap as your narrative ordering suggests?

Yes, but you can't "police" that and your actions will have precisely zero influence on the other idiots. So you're wasting your time and effort trying to "educate" them. Unless you're a police officer and therefore do have some measure of influence! So far better to let them get on with being idiots and let them keep away from you! You do you, let them do them! If that means chilling out to let the idiots have their own space and get on with then that's far better than playing "Billy Big Balls" exerting your dominance at being right and risking an accident.

You move to the right hand lane well well before the slip road of you know it’s a busy one

Moving out of people's way in a way that other road users won't expect because they've read the Highway Code, such as by slowing down to let someone on, also risks an accident, and one that you would be at fault for.

The drivers playing Billy Big Balls are the ones expecting others to move.

Who said anything about educating them @taxguru ? Nobody is playing Billy big balls, but the ones who drive like dicks are the ones responsible for their behaviour, no-one else - you’re focusing your attentions on the wrong drivers.

You know fine well what was was meant... anticipation.

It's obvious who the arrogant bastards are on this thread, those who can't acknowledge that they should be observing the highway code.

I'll bet a pound to a penny that those fuds who are adamant that people must move aside for them when they're on a slip road are the same ignorant fuckers who, when they're on the main carriageway, speed up to prevent those on the slip road getting ahead of them! 🙄

Then you travel at the speed you need to do so that you hit the end of the slip road at the same point as that space in the traffic flow.

You shouldn't be aiming to hit the end of the slip road at all, that's really bad planning.

You speed up to match the flow of traffic, then adjust accordingly to move into a space. it really isn't that difficult. If you are doing 50 and the flow of traffic is 70 you will not be able to just move into a space as there won't be one (unless the road is really quiet of course, in which case crack on).

the highway code is quite clear that you should match speed of the flow of traffic before moving into a gap, why people are arguing against that as some sort of risky move I've no idea.