There are several unrestricted crossroads on a dual carriageway A-road near me.
Drivers waiting in the central reservation to turn right often pull into the outside lane and accelerate hard as I'm approaching in the nearside lane.
Every time someone does this, it's heart in mouth time as there is always a nagging doubt they have not seen you and are going to pull into the nearside lane.
Then you often end up level pegging for a while as they reach their optimum speed in the outside lane and one of you has to decide who is going first.
I think the whole manoeuvre is dangerous, what do other BRs think?
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I've seen this manoeuvre on a dual carriageway near me, at a junction where there have been several fatalities.
I wonder what caused the fatal accidents?
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I think they shouldn't be doing it, but that doesn't help you deal with it.
There used to be lots of these on the A1 - surprising how often the 'offfender' goes about half a mile down the dual carriageway and then turns off.
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They shouldn't really do it, but it may take a very long time before both lanes are clear. I confess that I do sometimes do this. It doesn't feel totally safe, due to the fact that a car in the nearside lane may switch to the outside lane just as I pull out. But that's a risk you take.
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Used to see tractors do this a lot in rural Scotland. Certainly woke you up.
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driving looking forward will warn you that drivers taking risks are allways going to do this just give the idiots room to move its allways safer than trying to prove a point by tailgating or anything else
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Instant fail on a test and if there's an accident a dangerous driving charge could follow.
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it may take a very long time before both lanes are clear. I confess that I do sometimes do this. It doesn't feel totally safe due to the fact that a car in the nearside lane may switch to the outside lane just as I pull out.
OK...
But that's a risk you take.
You risk a major crash on a 70MPH road to save a bit of time. No need to say more.
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There is a lethal junction on the A322 on the Bracknell side of Bagshot, where if you're coming from Windsor and want to join the A322 to go towards Bracknell (well, 'want' is a bit strong with Bracknell in the same sentence....), you actually have to join the A322 dual carriageway from the right. It's at an oblique angle so difficult to see: it would be impossible if you were driving a van, or a new Honda Civic.
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Same as joining from the left. You just have to use the other mirror. And of course if as sometimes you are joining the outer lane of a bit of motorway, you may need quite a lot of welly.
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But the difference is there is no slip road in which to gain speed before merging in. So you have got to do your speeding up somewhere - do you do it in an empty outer lane, or risk crossing streams of possibly fast traffic in order to reach the inside lane?
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>>Instant fail on a test, and if there's an accident a charge for dangerous driving may follow.
Why? Which part of the highway code has not been complied with?
That's why dual carriageways have a 70 limit, which is not an invitation to do 90.
>>offender leaves again after half a mile
The 'offender' is a local whose life has been messed up by the building of a big dual carriageway that he has to cross everytime he leaves his house. Not his fault, show some consideration towards the poor fellow. Particularly as the gap will be closed in due course, following which he will have to drive 10 miles in the wrong direction first.
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following which he will have to drive 10 miles in the wrong direction first.
you forgot to mention the likelihood of a country lane meandering off in the opposite direction. It's rare there isn't another route..but...no doubt the dual carriageway option is far more direct and is quicker.
I know which one i'd be taking...and it wouldn't be the Russian Roulette through the middle of a dual carriageway
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Double post sorry
Edited by Mapmaker on 23/05/2008 at 12:30
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A country lane meandering east is of no use when he wanted to go west- the other side of the dual carriageway.
how many of these set ups have alternative routes? Most of them
why not go east in a country lane for a bit, then join another road and come back West and drive over/under the dual carriageway a bit further along, you can often do that (or join a road that meets the dual carriageway with a roundabout).
if it's not too far (and i'd agree 10 miles would be too far) travel the wrong way on the dual carriageway until you can use a bridge or underpass or roundabout to come back the other way
there are often other alternatives, but some drivers are like sheep and wouldn't even think to do it
the place i call 'home', South Devon on the edge of Dartmoor, had this problem with the A38 (now mostly upgraded to near motorway standard). There used to be this problem at one point (Ashburton) where travelling less than 400-500 yards on the dual carriageway in the 'wrong' direction would get you to a bridge and slip roads etc...but people would persist in kamikaze pull outs...madness.
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( .. small detours to join dual carriageways safely ... )
This requires intra-cranial activity, that's the trouble.
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But Westpig, a road meandering east is of no use to him if he has to cross the dual carriageway to go west, is it?
If you want to go to visit your girlfriend who is west of you, it is of little consolation to be told to head east to visit your toxic ex!
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Very bizzare driving on the Florida Turnpike recently and the service areas are in the central reservation (so one set of buildings caters for both carriageways) so you slip off, and rejoin, the "fast" lane.
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Very bizzare driving on the Florida Turnpike recently ... so you slip off and rejoin the "fast" lane.
Driving in California around LA, and SF > Monterey, has taught me that there is no such thing as a "fast" lane. They are all fast lanes, including the ramps getting on and off the interstates and highways.
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>>The 'offender' is a local whose life has been messed up by the building of a big dual carriageway that he has to cross everytime he leaves his house.
It appears to me that many people move to a modern estate in a village, and then complain about traffic, mainly caused by the new, large modern estates.
They protest, and eventually get a by-pass. Probably a dual carriageway.
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