to use both lanes

[adogisforlife91]

A dual carriage way I regularly use has a section down to one lane for roadworks for about 9 weeks.

There are signs telling you how far until the merge and there is even a sign 800yards before the merge that says 'USE BOTH LANES' yet still people insist on sitting and queuing in the lane that's staying open. The queue then stretches back into the normal dual carriageway. One lane standstill, one lane empty.

Drivers then try and stop me from merging at the merging point because I've not been sitting in a queue like a mug, and have used the open lane (as directed!)

YANBU: Both lanes are open until the merging point. Use them.
YABU: Start queuing straight away like a good British Citizen.

"Use both lanes" and "merge in turn" make complete sense. No need to change the signage. What needs changing is the attitude of road users who have no understanding of how the systems work, and make efforts to deliberately work against it.

@BashfulClam

You are right but I’m ducked if I’ve had to queue for 10 minutes and you just zip down the other lane and expect to get right in front of me. You should wait.

But you could be in the other lane too, 50% of drivers on the road could be then merge in turn and everyone would wait for less time.

OP YANBU. Most people do just not understand how lane closures are meant to work.

When you can see everyone is waiting what makes you think you're more important and get to go more quickly?
I don't think I'm more important, I do think I'm more efficient in using both lanes correctly until the merge point as everyone should.

I'm pretty sure you always have to give way to the car on the right so by that logic YANBU. I always go to the end and force my way through because my car is tiny and I'm impatient.

[quote adogisforlife91]@Plussizejumpsuit a Ford Fiesta. Were you imagining Audi? [/quote]
Haha! Yes you nailed. As I had this exact situation on my commute and it was always the fancy cars doing this. I'd actually be much more likely to let you in in a car like that.

YANBU. It infuriates me when people don't let cars merge, it reduces the traffic. I just stick my indicator on and force my way in if anyone is an arse about it. If the right lane is empty everyone has the option to use it. In the same way I always let people merge in front of me.

What's more annoying are those knobheads who think they're suddenly the sodding traffic police and straddle the lanes to stop anyone else getting past.

What's more annoying are those knobheads who think they're suddenly the sodding traffic police and straddle the lanes to stop anyone else getting past.

Yes.

As I had this exact situation on my commute and it was always the fancy cars doing this

You mean the fancy cars were using the road properly?

I use the right hand land sensibly, keeping my distance from other drivers and merge gently in good time. I don't zoom up to the very end and push in. I can't say that I've ever had a problem merging like this. The times when people have problems I think are when people are aggressive about it.

It's never more than a few cars before somebody lets you in, so you still save huge amounts of time by driving properly.

YANBU but all roadworks should be marked like this ie use both lanes until the merge point and then merge 1 and 1.
The vast majority don't so then the cars in lane 1 are justified in not letting in the cars from lanes 2, 3 etc because the road signs said to move across to lane 1, 2 miles back.

If the right lane is empty everyone has the option to use it.

Not if the road sign 2 miles back said to move across to lane 1.

@MiddlesexGirl

If the right lane is empty everyone has the option to use it.

Not if the road sign 2 miles back said to move across to lane 1.

The problem is even if the sign was 200 miles back with a fireworks display and live performance by the surviving Beatles to a synchronised Red Arrows flypast, 50% of drivers would "miss" it, as they ploughed on regardless only to be "surprised" 10 metres from the roadworks.

Not if the road sign 2 miles back said to move across to lane 1.

They rarely do. The only ones that say move across with an arrow are usually the immediate ones on gantries on smart motorways. The ones that are for planned roadworks usually just have the sign that says the lane is closing in 800 yards, 600 etc. Saying the lane is closing isn't the same as saying move across now.

@MiddlesexGirl

If the right lane is empty everyone has the option to use it.

Not if the road sign 2 miles back said to move across to lane 1.

They don't if the other lanes are usable.

We need a public information campaign like the US and Canadians do to get people to zipper merge, so much more efficient and safer.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/merging-madness-windsor-launches-campaign-to-educate-polite-motorists-about-zipper-merging-1.4161596

The road signs I see are very very clear that you are to move across. Yes there's miles of empty lanes. God knows why there is this system but I repeat it is very very clear. Fortunately there are only a few twats who choose to ignore it and it's easy enough to block them from merging.

And yes this is a motorway like A road.

Always use all the lanes. Imagine if that was the default position of everyone - shorter queues, all the road being utilised, zip merging, no stress.

The ones that willingly CHOOSE to sit in a random single lane for "reasons", against the formal guidance given on all the signs, are the ones with the problem.

@MiddlesexGirl

The road signs I see are very very clear that you are to move across. Yes there's miles of empty lanes. God knows why there is this system but I repeat it is very very clear. Fortunately there are only a few twats who choose to ignore it and it's easy enough to block them from merging.

I've never seen a sign explicitly saying to move across when a lane is closing. Usually they are just things like the ones near the bottom here:

www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-works-signs.html

Which inform you that a lane is closing, but not necessarily to move over. I'm not saying such signs exist but if they do that's pretty unusual.

Regardless, why would you block people from merging? What do you gain from doing that, other than antagonising other road users? What do you think people should do, reverse all the way to the back of the queue?

I experience this ALL THE TIME
it’s so infuriating
Especially when the queue causes a tail back on the other roads and clogs all the junctions and THERES A WHOLE LANE EMPTY

Imagine you're in a supermarket with 2 tills, & there's randomly a huge queue leading to one of the tills, & no'one queuing for the other, with the cashier madly waving to you all & shouting over a megaphone to come & be served at her empty till, yet no-one is.

You wouldn't sit in the existing queue like a lemming.

You'd just assume the queuers must have something wrong with them, maybe distracted, or an internal crisis, or jus too stupid to understand how to purchase goods at an open till, who knows, but it's not your problem.

You'd casually walk up to the empty till, get served, & be on your way.

That's merging in turn in modern Britain :D

Imagine you're in a supermarket with 2 tills, & there's randomly a huge queue leading to one of the tills, & no'one queuing for the other, with the cashier madly waving to you all & shouting over a megaphone to come & be served at her empty till, yet no-one is.

(complete thread derail )

Of course that just reminds me of all the time it's happened and people behind me suddenly get to the front of the new queue

(To be fair, sometimes the checkout captain will take customers from the front of the "old" queue to start the "new" queue. But it's not consistent ...)

YANBU OP. I bet people who don't understand merge in turn also stay in the middle lane on a motorway too

I assume there is a reason the signs are saying to move across. Yes they are very clear (for the umpteenth time). There is no doubt you are to move across. Once there were traffic officers enforcing. Flashing lights on the gantry saying move over. Men working in the road (it says - there never are). So yes, I and most others block the people attempting to merge because they shouldn't be rewarded for ignoring the very clear signs.
Trust me - I will be the first to do a one and one merge if it's allowed and wish all lane closures were done with merges.