Is it really that difficult to join a motorway/dual carriageway?

[GrasB]

At 5:50 am you'd think it'd be easy to join a very quiet (near-)motorway on a 700 meter slip road! Well... some how no! The drive in front of me tried to join at 30mph, cue 2 having to HGVs swing out to the offside quite violently to avoid them with a closing speed of 25mph. What's so hard about accelerating up to about 60mph? At least you can then slip in between two lorries with ease & not cause carnage.

 

[Silver Fox]

I've seen this happen a few times. Bottom line is I wouldn't trust some people to be in charge of a Tonka toy never mind a motor vehicle.

 

[Brandane]

This used to really hack me off when I was driving HGVs. Todgers like that seem to think that traffic on the motorway is supposed to give way to joining traffic; they are clueless.
The nobber probably went straight into the middle lane after joining the empty motorway too, and sat there at 45 mph!

 

[GrasB]

This used to really hack me off when I was driving HGVs. Todgers like that seem to think that traffic on the motorway is supposed to give way to joining traffic; they are clueless.
The nobber probably went straight into the middle lane after joining the empty motorway too, and sat there at 45 mph!

No, but more than likely only because we don't have middle lanes around here! They just sat in the inside lane gently accelerating slowly gathering speed last time I saw them with another HGV rapidly approaching... at least that HGV had enough time to gently move out into the offside lane. I ended up slotting in behind the second HGV as it moved to the off-side lane then getting up to 70mph as it pulled in.

 

[asterix]

This used to really hack me off when I was driving HGVs. Todgers like that seem to think that traffic on the motorway is supposed to give way to joining traffic; they are clueless.
The nobber probably went straight into the middle lane after joining the empty motorway too, and sat there at 45 mph!

We have it very easy in the UK as modern slip roads are very long. The French ones are very short and that's where you really have to be on your toes. Especially in a slow van. The trick is to floor the gas immediately and go for it. French drivers are less likely than UK ones to give way but there's always a gap with a bit of careful timing. Who dares wins.

 

[dan_bo]

We have it very easy in the UK as modern slip roads are very long.

J15 Of the northbound M6 was horrendous until it got lengthened, that said it still causes problems 'cause it goes uphill.

Bloody hell I sound like Alan Partridge.

 

[Cycling Dan]

Only time when it becomes hard is if like above people try and join well below the speed of the traffic they are joining. Most people don't seem to get that you are suppose to use the slip road to gain speed. A lot doddle on the slip road try and join at 30 ad then use the motorway to speed up.
Idiots asking for trouble.

 

[GrasB]

We have it very easy in the UK as modern slip roads are very long. The French ones are very short and that's where you really have to be on your toes. Especially in a slow van. The trick is to floor the gas immediately and go for it. French drivers are less likely than UK ones to give way but there's always a gap with a bit of careful timing. Who dares wins.

That's something else that annoys me when you've got a tight motorway join and some idiot doing 50mph in the nearside lane decides to move out to the offside lane, however they don't accelerate or pull in so you're forced to undertake them.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Agree, it strikes me as dangerous to be joining fast traffic with a big speed differential, it is one of those things that gets me muttering naughty words as I'm stuck behind or whizzing past to get up to speed I feel safer joining M roads at.

I guess a lot are looking out for the cherry picker unit to crane them directly into the middle lane without having to touch the other ones that would clearly make their car explode just by being in them.

 

[the_mikey]

It half term, seems to happen during these times.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

The local slip road onto the motorway is up hill, add that to me buying a 96hp restricted Ford Focus (much cheaper on Insurance and tax than the unrestricted version) and HGV's hitting this slight up rise after 5 miles down hill equals lots of fun.
As i come onto the slip road with my foot buried into the floor its takes the full length to just get to 50mph, and try to slot into hgv's doing 58mph, they most probably think whats this knobber doing,,, but it takes a good 500mtrs onto the motorway to get over 60mph

So dont always think its the drivers fault (yes i know it usually is) the popularity of middle sized cars with small engines does not equate to good acceleration.

 

[Silver Fox]

The type of driver who enters a motorway at such painfully slow speed is usually the type of driver who'll pull out from a side road directly infront of you. More often than not its elderly folk with no perception of speed and distance.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

J15 Of the northbound M6 was horrendous until it got lengthened, that said it still causes problems 'cause it goes uphill.

Bloody hell I sound like Alan Partridge.

that's not the main problem with J15 though - the bend is too tight for anyone to actually accelerate over 30mph until it straightens out at which point you can't see the traffic on the motorway.... and there are much worse ones further north on the m6 where bridges are involved and there is no hard shoulder to bale to. (I 'grew' up in Stoke/Newcastle-under-Lyme along with many other places around the UK).

And as for speeding up/slowing down - it seems that most treat slip roads the same way they treat headlights on their vehicle: no comprehension on what their main use is for (acceleration/deceleration and to be seen with, not to see with).

 

[byegad]

All part of the rich tapestry of British driving. I followed a BMW X7 onto the Motorway last night doing the same thing. 6pm so busy and and I in my wife's Toyota Aygo (Three cylinder 1000ccs of throbbing gutlessness.) Me doing my very best to get the Aygo beast up to 70mph, catching said BMW at a rate of knots as it pootles, no signal and not using the mirror into the left hand lane causing cars already in the lane to brake, swerve, and general mayhem to ensue. So I brake on the slip lane to 35mph . Slip in behind the car that left smoke from its tyres braking for the BMW and strat to accelerate again. We all get up to 55mph and I take the chance to pull into the outside lane (There are only two.) and accelerate up to 70mph, only to have the BMW, still at 55mph pull out in front of me and I'm braking again. We tootle past a lorry and the BMW is still in the right hand lane and now roaring along at very nearly 60mph! A long gap in the left hand lane so the BMW stays right and only pulls in when we have nearly caught the next lorry. BMW pulls in I scream the Aygo in 3rd up to 70mph and pass, and the BMW chops into the right hand lane behind me causing flashing lights from the first of the stream of cars behind me.

Now I realise I'm privileged to be allowed to use be anywhere near a Motorway when a BMW wants to use it but even so...

 

[GrasB]

The local slip road onto the motorway is up hill, add that to me buying a 96hp restricted Ford Focus (much cheaper on Insurance and tax than the unrestricted version) and HGV's hitting this slight up rise after 5 miles down hill equals lots of fun.
As i come onto the slip road with my foot buried into the floor its takes the full length to just get to 50mph, and try to slot into hgv's doing 58mph, they most probably think whats this knobber doing,,, but it takes a good 500mtrs onto the motorway to get over 60mph.

If that is true what you've basically said is to save money you've bought a car which is not suitable for road conditions in the UK. Personally I'd never buy a car that can't do 0-60 in less than 11 seconds, preferably I want a sub-9s car so I'm not at flat out performance to pull out at some of the lower visibility NSL junctions & on slip roads.

What's the 0-60 on that.. 20 seconds? Seriously, a 54bhp lupo which has a 0-60 of 17.1seconds can join motorways okay, even up hill if you drop gears & change a the correct point. That's a .95 ton car, so to have a worse PWR the Focus would have be to almost two tons!