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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you should join a fast road at speed?

86 replies

MamaPain · 01/09/2014 22:11

Or at least at the speed the traffic on the road is currently moving and that the onus is not on those currently on the road to get out of the way?

OP posts:
Lurknomoreladies · 01/09/2014 22:14

YANBU. There's nowt more dangerous than those people who think they're being terribly safe drivers by joining a 70+ mph stream of motorway traffic at 50 mph.

Oakmaiden · 01/09/2014 22:14

Both, really.

You should try to get to the speed of the traffic on the road, and just slot in, but if it is a sliproad then it is courteous for traffic already on the motorway to make space to let the joining car in if it is safe to do so.

Lurknomoreladies · 01/09/2014 22:16

Agreed, oakmaiden but on a busy motorway it's not always possible to be courteous and make enough space for someone going significantly under the average speed.

Original poster
MamaPain · 01/09/2014 22:17

I've been dong more driving on A roads and motorways over the last few months. Previously, I used to do this once a week but it's got to the point of me driving on these kind of roads almost daily and it is just so fucking dangerous people pulling out at 35mph in front of a car moving at 65mph.

Also the roads I've been on have mainly been within London or M25, often near rush hour, it's extremely busy and it isn't possible for everyone to get out of the way. Cars joining need to slot in more.

OP posts:
Original poster
MamaPain · 01/09/2014 22:19

And why do SO MANY people seem to think the join at a low speed is acceptable? Surely it's fucking obvious that you can't move out in front of a fast car at a slow speed.

OP posts:
sunnyrosegarden · 01/09/2014 22:20

I had this on sunday. Car in front of me going down the slip road onto the m25, and it slowed right down to 25 mph! Complete menace.

FamiliesShareGerms · 01/09/2014 22:20

YANBU

Lurknomoreladies · 01/09/2014 22:22

Mamapain I think a lot of people who are not used to motorway driving are scared of getting on at slip roads. Which I totally get. However crawling on way slower than everyone else it's the fast track to having a scary near miss and being even more frightened!

steff13 · 01/09/2014 22:22

This is one of my biggest driving pet peeves. I don't know why people don't realize you can't merge onto a road at 45 MPH when the other people on the road are going 70 MPH.

QueenOfThorns · 01/09/2014 22:23

YANBU. I hate joining motorways at the best of times, but if I'm stuck behind someone who refuses to accelerate on the slip road, I find it absolutely terrifying. What can they be thinking?

Bunbaker · 01/09/2014 22:23

You are absolutely correct.

I had a driving lesson with the local police when they were doing a scheme to improve people's driving. The policeman in my car told me off for not driving at the speed of the traffic on the dual carriageway I was joining. He said it was far safer to apply the brakes than to accelerate.

gordyslovesheep · 01/09/2014 22:24

YANBU ...and ditto slowing down to under 40 1 mile from your exit ...

fluffyduffydoo · 01/09/2014 22:24

As I none driver I think YABU

Are you sitting in the first lane of the Motorway hoping that folk coming of the motorway slip road will be going faster than you?

Stay in the second lane around joining junctions!

It's rally scary to try and join a motorway so the areas where cars join should be free of others cars

It would not be that hard to pull into the second for 3 mins and let joiners join without playing traffic russian roulette

Alisvolatpropiis · 01/09/2014 22:26

Yanbu.

People who join motorways at 40mph should not be allowed to drive.

trixymalixy · 01/09/2014 22:27

I was once behind a car who came to a stop at the end of a slip road for no reason (other than being a terrible driver) and then joined the motorway, which meant that all the cars behind him had to join at low speed too. Soo dangerous!

Original poster
MamaPain · 01/09/2014 22:29

Today I had a fucking mare on the A13. My car is quite tall so I could see down into this woman's car. She joined the road at probably 30mph, causing the two cars also joining behind her to slow right down and abort so they almost had to come to a stop and joint behind me instead of in front, which there had been room to do so. I had to slam my brakes. As she was jointing the road and for the next mile or so she rooted around in a bag on the passenger seat, barely looked up and at one point clearly dropped below 20mph. Un-fucking believable. I couldn't even move over because everyone behind me was moving over.

I just cannot get over people and their shitty driving.

OP posts:
steff13 · 01/09/2014 22:30

People stopping at the end of the on ramp instead of speeding up to merge happens a lot in my city; people here are notorious for it! It's very frustrating when you're behind the person, and dangerous. The point of the on ramp is to let you gain speed to "catch up" to the cars on the highwya.

RachelWatts · 01/09/2014 22:30

It's not always possible to change lanes to allow joining traffic onto the motorway because of the amount of cars already in that lane travelling faster than you!

Often the best you can do is slow down a bit to leave a bigger gap in front of you and hope the joining car can slot in at the correct speed. Or speed up to get ahead of them so they're not in your way if it looks like they're going to pootle on at 45mph.

Original poster
MamaPain · 01/09/2014 22:35

What utter nonsense Fluffy.

The cars on the slip should be moving at a similar speed to those on the road, not dramatically faster or slower.

Secondly, the second lane should be more for overtaking and what about if you aren't familiar with the road or there are almost constant slip roads.

What you've said is not as suggested int he highway code and the incorrect way to drive.

It is absolutely not scary to join a motorway, and shouldn't be for competent drivers. Drivers whoa re scared and therefore unable to drive appropriately are at fault and should stay the fuck off the motorway and A roads if they can't cope!

OP posts:
lostinindia · 01/09/2014 22:36

But sometimes there isn't the space to safely merge into the traffic. I've been in the situation where I've accelerated only to have put the brakes on towards the end of the slip road as there isnt a big enough gap to slot in. I'm going to slow down rather than plough into the side of a car that hasn't moved into the middle lane.

gordyslovesheep · 01/09/2014 22:39

cars can't always move - your job as the driver is to judge the speed and join accordingly - so if it's a big load of slow moving traffic to join slowly - if it's relatively free moving and a lorry is coming up you go faster than the lorry down the slip and nip in front ...

you don't join traffic moving between 60-70 MPH at 30MPh - it's dangerous.

fluffyduffydoo · 01/09/2014 22:40

there not on the motorway though?

And havng been a passenger , and not a driver I've grabbed the dashboard on numerous occassions coming down to join and there is a big lorry at the junctions or a car doing over 70mph which you can not match from a sliproad?

Why not just keep out that lane at a junction and everyone would be happy and safe

Bunbaker · 01/09/2014 22:41

"As I non driver I think YABU"

Sorry but YABU. It is unsafe to not be driving at the same speed as the traffic already on the motorway.

Highway code motorway rules here

I always pull over to the middle lane whenever possible when driving past a slip road joining the motorway to allow traffic to join safely. It is just consideration. Often the motorway is too busy to do so safely.

Musicaltheatremum · 01/09/2014 22:41

I drove in LA last month. 6 lanes on each side. Now that was fun. I learnt to move pretty dam quickly there. Slow drivers wouldn't have stood a chance.

UrsulaBuffay · 01/09/2014 22:42

If you're joining at speed but no one lets you in what the heck are you meant to do? Stop? I've always wondered! (Cos people do tend to have moved over and I do join at speed) not the moooost experienced motorway driver!