AIBU? Slip road onto dual carriageway

[DesireLight]

I was trying to merge onto a two lane dual carriageway using the 40 mph slip road. I'm always very cautious doing this as I'm a relatively new driver (been driving nearly a year) and generally merging from the slip road has been OK as people in the left lane of the carriageway (onto which I am merging) usually move into the right lane to make space for mergers, meaning I could often merge quite early on in the slip road.

I'm always less inclined to keep driving on the slip road and merging later unless absolutely necessary as drivers behind me who are also merging often use tiny gaps to merge onto the carriageway, meaning I'm likely to need to wait even longer to merge (by which time I might have got to the end of the slip road!) so usually merge at the earliest possible oppurtunity as it's generally always possible to do so (except in a few cases)

but today, it was horrific - I looked behind to merge and saw a big gap with a car driving along the left lane some distance away (plenty of time and space for me to merge) so I start merging in but take another look and see that a huge lorry seems to have moved from the right lane (fast lane on the dual carriageway) to the left lane (I think!) just as I had begun to merge in from the slip road so I had to quicky pull back into the slip road and continue on until another gap but it was such a close to accident situation (we missed each other by less than a foot!) and left me shaken.

I am questioning myself - did I do something wrong or are they to blame? I feel stupid and ashamed it could have led into a huge crash - I feel it wasn't my fault but seeing as this has never happened to me, I have no idea.

Between the A417 and the M5 Northbound, there is a slip road that has a clear sign that says 40. However, it is not in a red circle and is to warn drivers (mainly lorries) that doing 70 on the bend is too much. After that, you should be speeding back up to 70 to merge.

There is another slip road onto the A419 that is ridiculously short with a big sweeping bend just before you’re meant to merge. Getting up to 70 is virtually impossible for most vehicles but you could probably get to about 50/60 if you really put your foot down and are in a low gear. People there will often stop or slow right down before merging and it’s ridiculously dangerous.

I have to say that sliproad driving is where I see a lot of craziness. For such a small part of the journey, people really can’t do it safely. The drivers on the motorway DO NOT need to move for you. I often will if the next lane is clear to make it easier for the merger but if someone’s in that lane, I should be continuing at my speed and the merger needs to adjust. That’s how right of way works.

We don’t give way to the cars coming onto a roundabout. The slip road works the same way.

When I was taught to drive, back in the dark ages, I was taught to move into the right hand lane at junctions to make way for merging traffic, is nobody taught this any more?

Unless you were on the Coventry ring road where the signs clearly tell you to move to the right and people have to merge each way this is incorrect. It is helpful to move right if possible but the traffic on the main road has right of way and you have to respect this. So many people don't and it's really dangerous.

teateaandmoretea ah! The joys of Coventry ring road...

I was taught to move into the right hand lane at junctions to make way for merging traffic, is nobody taught this any more?

I was taught this but only if it was safe for me to do so. Due to the speed restrictions & the weight of the vehicle it's not really safe for HGV's to do this as they're then causing an obstruction in the right hand lane for those drivers wishing to overtake.

OP was in the wrong here no one should be joining a dual carriageway at 40mph - the lorry driver has most likely assumed that she'd be joining a little further along the slip road, at a minimum of 7mph faster than he is going & therefore would have slotted on to the dual carriageway in front of him & then carried on because that's what should have happened here.

If the lorry had hit OP's car she'd have been at fault (& quite possibly dead bearing in mind at the point where she joined he was probably driving at least 15mph faster than she was).

OP I agree with others get some motorway driving lessons & stay off the dual carriageway until you've had them.

There may be a 40mph advisory sign as a slip road rounds a bend, but when you are actually at the point of merging you need your speed to be as close as possible to the prevailing speed of traffic in the left hand lane of the main road. If you do that then slipping into a smsllish gap is a doddle. You can then make adjustments if you don't have a reasonable stopping distance for that speed in front and behind.

In your scenario the lorry driver was the one who nearly caused a crash. Unfortunately there are a lot of idiots on the road. You dealt with it fine. You just need to remember that at any moment when driving, another road user may suddenly turn out to be an idiot, so a healthy scepticism is to be maintained at all times about whether or not any given road user is likely to act reasonably, but balancing this with the knowledge that most of the time it is OK so there is no need to actually panic or be afraid.

Chalk it down to experience op. I think people forget what it's like to be a relatively new driver sometimes.

Once you’re right next to the road you’re joining, you need to be going the speed they are.

Where exactly is it? I’m sure if you name it, there will be a MNetter who can reassure you the speed limit is the same as the road you’re joining.

Ok, practically speaking most people will try to leave the left hand clear for people joining if it's safe to do so. But there is absolutely no requirement to do that - responsibility for merging lies entirely with the person joining the road. The lorry driver did nothing wrong.

As many have said, the entire purpose of the slip road is to get up to the same speed as the traffic you're merging into. Assuming this road is 70, joining at 40 is so dangerous. There's a motorway junction near me with a sharp bend and despite always leaving loads of space between me and the car in front because I know some people take it ridiculously slowly, I've still found myself trying to join at 30 a handful of times because the car in front is going so slowly. It's terrifying.

Given that HGVs don't do more than 56mph you should easily have been able to match/beat his speed to join safely in front of him.

It's a near miss OP and you reacted appropriately to avoid a collision. We've all had them. Don't dwell on it and don't let it knock your confidence, but do learn from it.

A motorway lesson with an instructor is a good suggestion though. I managed to avoid motorways for like 10 years after I passed so I did a lesson before we moved to somewhere that requires me to commute on the motorway every day.

I was taught to stay right near slip roads too

Or is it now a new rule in the Highway Code that vehicles on the carriageway must give way to those on the slip road, especially any that don't wish to use the slip road for its intended purpose

Motorways now have different lane markings near junctions, to tell people not to change lanes.

The dual carriageway probably didn't have these markings, but a lorry driver should be experienced enough to know that you don't pull back into the inside lane as a slip road joins without checking nobody is joining.

And slip roads DO have national speed limit signs at the end of them fairly often (in Scotland an actual 70mph sign as you join a motorway).

Totally agree about the dawdlers though - you are on the main road, you see them approaching on the slip road at 40mph and think "come on" because you can't move out, as the next lane along is busy so you can't move over and don't want to slam your brakes on.

I hate slip roads, but not sure there is a better system.

You were in the wrong. All traffic on the main carriageway has priority over cars on the slip road and, by your own admission, you didn’t see the lorry.

Agree you may benefit from some additional lessons to build confidence. It’s awful when some particular aspect of driving becomes a source of anxiety, but the more nervous you are the more likely you are to make a mistake.

You definitely need to speed up and especially don't merge early if you are doing so at 40mph. Either the lorry was in your blind spot or doing 70mph so seemed to suddenly appear, or he did change lanes. None if which are illegal.

The latter is annoying as it's good etiquette to stay right if you can until after a junction or even move there if it's empty, but it's not a legal requirement and a good driving instructor will tell you so rather then encourage you to do it. I had 2 instructors, the better of the 2 gave me that wisdom and it's panned out true. My friend was clipped by a car going into the left lane as she merged, my friend assumed 50/50 but legally it's clear the dual carriageway/motorway drivers always have right of way (unless specifically signposted in advance) just as drivers on major roads have priority and ROW over minor. My friend was found at fault and was suggested to drive defensively, which is something we all try to do though it's by no means foolproof.

So yes you would have been to blame, all you can do is change your driving. Most of us have had near misses though. I had one a few years ago that was my fault too, similar situation in that i relied on ettiquite (and common sense) but the other driver was not confident and lost and didn't follow the traffic. I had a cry and was so angry at them at first, everyone told me that knowing the area and situation i couldn't be at fault, 50/50 at most. But legally they were in the right, even if they panicked and drove badly. Now in that area, i stick to the driving i know is correct, still see dozens a day doing as i do but I've seen another near miss since then.

This happens all the time on the dual carriageway that cuts across our town. There’s a slip road joining the dual carriageway, but even before the slip road ends, it turns into an exit! So cars/lorries are constantly shifting from the right lane to the left lane to exit as cars are trying to merge onto the dual carriageway. It’s nerve wracking but once you know it can happen, you can be better prepared for it.

Variable speed limits exist, as do dual carriageways with lower speed limits than NSL. There are also slip roads with mandatory speed limits, as well as some with advisory limits.

I use a busy part of the M1 every day. Speed limits on the slip road vary, there is electronic signage.

Am I reading this right...you usually merge from the slip road onto the dual carriageway at the earliest opportunity doing only 40mph?? That is so dangerous!!

You're meant to use the slip road to speed up to the same speed as traffic on the dual carriageway, I've never seen a speed limit on a slip road .

Sorry OP, but does sound like it was you at fault, the lorry driver had right of way and sounds like you were going dangerously slow, chalk it up to experience and learn from it.

Either the lorry was in your blind spot or doing 70mph
Highly unlikely he was doing 70 - pretty much all lorries these days are limited to 90kph (about 56 mph) by EU law - they have physical limiters fitted.

It annoys me how many people don't use the full length of the slip road either, when the road is busy they seem to slow down about half way down trying to get out!

Hard to say who's in the wrong here but in a sense, it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you learn from it - no point in being right if you still end up in an accident or worse. Lots of good points raised here, make sure you know the speed limit, use slip road to get up to speed (I think this can be daunting when you're starting out because it takes practice to gauge how fast the other cars are travelling etc.), check your blind spot, pay attention to all lanes for vehicles that may be moving over etc. etc. I'd add to that, be decisive, i.e. once you've signalled to make a move and everything is clear, do move, don't hover (it's something I saw so many times on a recent drive, and that was only 90 mins!). You're lucky in a sense that you've had a big shock but got away with it because you have the opportunity to learn from that. I've had similar (on motorbike) and it's make me a better rider (as evidenced by the fact that I'm still alive!). Best of luck OP and don't let it put you off driving.

As two pp’s have said, the lorry was possibly in your blind spot and did not pull over from one lane to the other. You need to check the flow of traffic as you approach on the slip road (hard I know if it’s short), then check your wing mirrors and turn your head to check again before joining. Google for blind spot and you’ll find some illustrations about just how big an area it is.

Counterargument in support of the OP:

On the A14 going east there is a junction where the slip road has 40 limit sign, which in theory applies to the dual carriageway (fixed term limit while multi-year road-widening project goes on). In practice however, this particular slip road joins the carriageway at a point where this limit is just about to end and return to the normal 70, AND there are no more speed cameras before the end of the limit. Most if not all traffic on the carriageway speeds up well before the actual national speed limit sign indicating the end of the restriction. So in that situation, you could easily be coming down the slip at 40 legitimately and encounter a vehicles on the main carriageway at 60+.

I'm not saying that the OP is talking about this junction, just that it's theoretically possible (and if it's true near me, it could be true near her as well...)

Did you actually turn your head and look over you right shoulder to check your blind spot or just rely on your mirror?

@Malvoglia Yes you're actually right - it was the A14.

Thanks everyone so far for all your helpful comments.