To be honest I didn't see a great difference in Ashley's second demo to yours - the only real difference is that the silver car in Ashley's clip helped by changing lanes instead of putting his foot down to intentionally cut him off from joining. Would be interesting to hear what he would have done if the silver car had put his foot down at that point? Slow down, speed up, travel into the hard shoulder? How do you correct for an arse being an arse for arse sake?
Great teaching as usual Ashley sadly you will always come across as***holes like that in the BMW. He would of got a nice finger from me sadly. Funny how the same people never push you around in Sainsburys !!!! Do you ever watch these BMWs and Audis and think he's not one of mine honest 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Droltan Ashley did explain what Jack should have done to make the situation better. Noting that especially because he has a Tesla capable of excellent acceleration, Jack should have slowed down, let the BMW pass, then accelerated back up to merging speed and then merged behind the BMW. Edit: (timestamp 6:30)
Yes I must admit, the idea of a BMW driver not rigidly following the exact rules of the road in everyway whatsoever is pretty hard to fathom. Must be from a driving simulator.
Ashley, this isn't a comment on this particular clip, but I'd like you to know that watching your videos very likely saved my life, earlier today, whilst I was cycling home from a local mini-supermarket. Two reasons: I've learned the importance of anticipating risk when the view of approaching traffic is obscured; and also, it's not a good idea to entrust your life and limb to some idiot driver's headlight-flash!
I was waiting to cycle out of the car park and turn right onto a busy B road and there was quite a lot of traffic coming from the right. A queue of vehicles had formed on the left hand side of the road, obscuring my view of traffic coming from the left, in the opposite lane. A blue car approached from the right and stopped to wait: there was now nothing coming behind, so the road to the right was clear. The driver looked straight at me and FLASHED HIS LIGHTS, evidently inviting me to move out. I hesitated for a second - and a car behind me, waiting to emerge from the car park, pipped his horn at me! The pressure, from both drivers, to move out across the road was intense, but I stayed put - and a second later, a Land Rover Defender shot out from behind the queue on the left, doing (in my impression) well over the 30 mph limit. Had I cycled out, it would almost certainly have hit me. The driver of the blue car ought to have seen the Landy coming, but when he flashed his lights, he was looking at me, not ahead. You have often pointed out the danger of flashing headlights for the wrong reasons - and this was a case in point, but the impatient driver behind me was just as bad, in my opinion. This experienced reinforced a couple of basic safety lessons: don't let other road users make your judgements for you - and only use your horn, or flash your lights, to tell other road users you're there; not to tell them what to do.
@@ashley_neal Your welcome. I subscribed to your channel because, I'm currently taking driving lessons... But it's proven very helpful on the cycling front too. I can't wait to tell my driving instructor this story, I think he'll appreciate it.
Good catch. As a pedestrian, I've also had drivers slow down and then invite me to cross two lanes. They are trying to be courteous but, as described here, they appear oblivious to the fact that drivers in the outer lane behind them are unlikely to see me and similarly slow down. It is vital to think about what you can see and also who can see you.
Body language should be sufficient. Leave the space to indicate that you saw the vehicle emerging and that you know that's what's going to happen, and then just wait. People think that flashing your lights means "I saw you and I'm letting you through", but that's not what they mean. It's leaving the gap that says that. Flashing lights in this situation are saying "Get on with it already!", or, at the very least, that's what they feel like.
As an HGV driver, I can assure you that the average driver (ie most) have barely started thinking about joining a carriageway of any sort, until they are half way along the slip road. I can actually see the moment they switch on and start to panic as they realize they might not be able to join so easily. The worst part is that I am normally sat a constant speed (56mph) and smaller vehicles can adapt their speed far more easily than I can. Any sort of pre-planning and they can either out-accelerate me, or slow down to slip in behind me. And yes, I will always try and move over a lane if I can. In fact it's just one example of the wider issue, which is that so many people nowadays seem to be paying so little attention to actually driving. I know you touched upon this Ashley, but ultimately it's the responsibility of the 'joiner' driver to merge correctly and safely - even if someone is doing something silly on the main carriageway. Saying it is the primarily the BMW's fault in this case is mute, as they have already demonstrated that they are driving poorly. Like you've said in many other videos, it''s simply good driving to correct other people's poor driving/mistakes. Great demonstration of joining later in the vid though, and showing Jack how better observation could have avoided this situation.
I don't drive an HGV but I HAVE been driving for 30 years (and riding motorbikes before that - I really think that helps your road sense). No question people are driving dafter than they did 10 years ago and more. The number of times I have people overtaking cycles and being in the middle of the road round corners on narrow country roads is frankly quite worrying, and this used to be quite rare. I now drive slower on country roads even though my reaction times are still better than average, and I am pretty sure that has saved me a couple of times from contact. On joining motorways (and similar) I agree - in fact I get the impression some drivers behave as though they believe it is their right to drive from a slipway onto the carriageway and vehicles on it must give way (heaven forbid they should slow or stop). To avoid aggro I do my best to accomodate and avoid close calls, but sometimes there is just nowhere to go, is there? When all is said and done there is very little you can do to escape in a car (even less in a lorry) when you are surrounded by other vehicles...
I'm not a HGV driver either, but have driven many types of vehicle over different careers, up to 7.5t. I also concur that levels of observation, planning and anticipation seem somewhat lacking these days. People constantly closing gaps, undetaking around roundabouts, not acccellerating suitably to join motorways etc. The list goes on. Those that believe their journey is the most important or that other people just shouldn't be on the road, and don't forget the Dunning-Kruger effect, which I believe is why so many dash-cam channels have lots of clips submitted by drivers who blatantly do not see that they were in the wrong, or at least exacerbated the situation.... My daily commute is feeling more like Death Race 3000 every day. 🙁
I agree with everything you said but personally I would take it further and say as the driver on the main carriageway you should NOT adapt your speed to that of the people merging. Preferably you can move over a lane but if not, you should not greatly increase of decrease your speed. It's all to common to see people braking and flashing someone to merge in front all while the person merging is slowing down intent on going behind. This occasionally ends up with both cars braking and doing ~40mph while the remaining traffic is attempting to do 60+mph.
@@hippophile I have seen a few arguments on places such as facebook where people genuinely believe that the vehicles on the carriageway have to give way to joining traffic. Interestingly this attitude tends to come from older drivers. There seems to be a certain demographic that have either made up their own rules (not just limited to joining a motorway) or have failed to keep up with best practice. Just goes to show the importance of continuing to read the highway code even long after you passed your test.
@@duskjester3027 Fine in principle, but I'd prefer to avoid the collision. I can remember trying to not adapt my speed and waiting for a slipway driver to slow down a few years ago on the A34. In the end I had to brake quite sharply as the driver had nowhere to go other than into me or off the road - I decided not to let things get to that point. I have no idea whether the driver thought they had right of way, just felt I "ought to" give way or was a deliberate bully. I don't really care, I just want to get to my destination without mishap.
Just an additional tip, before even getting to the slip road leading to the motorway, information about the speed of the traffic on the motorway is available by glancing at the bridge above the roundabout (5:30) - this can tell us how busy the road is, whether it's free flowing or even stationary. All helps when planning to join the road. 🙂
A good point, but not always possible as sometimes slip roads lead down to the motorway and the embankment between has trees, bushes or long grass, obscuring the motorway traffic
very true! trying to get a look at the motorway before getting on the slip road was probably of the most useful tip my instructor gave me for this aspect of driving
Delightfully fair analysis. And a great demo of a good safe emerge. I would like to add a couple of points re trucks. 1) You’ll find most will be going no faster than 56, so if you’re already in or near the front and have space, boot it up to 65 and you’ll have no issue. I see way too many coming up the slip road at 65-75, coming up my inside, looking last second, seeing me& anchoring up, often half into lane 1. If we aint moved over it’s Probably cos we can’t, so in that scenario we’re now trying to stop 44tonne of metal, rubber, oil & plastic because you are not safe. This leads into 2) If there’s a truck in lane 1, and it doesn’t move over, it’s probable that there’s a vehicle in lane 2 somewhere beside it you can’t see. Don’t blame the trucker
My usual initial merge speed is about 50-55, that makes it very easy to slip in front or behind any heavies. I think worse than the high speed mergers are those who trundle all the way along the slip at 40, not considering a higher speed until they think they are actually on the motorway and in a proper lane.
Also, be careful about instantly overtaking the truck: you may not have space in front ... Look before you accelerate! Advice that should be unnecessary, but so many drivers go straight from emerge into the next lane over from the one they are joining.
My tip for joining a motorway is to use 60mph as the default speed to merge into lane one. The rationale is: 1) It is a reasonable speed to accelerate or slow down from to match traffic in that lane. 2) HGVs are limited to 56mph (under power) and are the largest and most likely to occupier of the first two lanes. 3) HGVs are less likely to be able to change lanes in response to you entering the first lane.
That sounds reasonable & flexible. Many seem to limit themselves to 50mph. I have no idea why. It is much easier to slow from 60 to 50 than it is to speed up from 50 to 60, but getting my speed fine tuned is usually well before I need to think about emerging from the slip road.
@@TheRip72 round my way there is a very steep entrance on to the silp road so unless you have something with a bit of poke many are trying to enter at 40mph but will be not speed on the splip road it's self witch is very long
@@TheRip72 I agree. As soon as I can I start to match the speed with lane 1. I don't even think about the other lanes until I'm in lane 1, at that point I can make a judgement about pulling out to lane 2 and accelerating. I should add that I live near the M20 so 99% of the time I'm going to be merging in to lorries.
@@gingernutpreacher I have a 1.2 clio and can get to 70 up a entry similar to the once Ashley went up just accelerate in gear 3 or 4 and you’ll get to 60 no matter what car it is it will just use more fuel but safer for everyone instead on getting multiple cars trying to enter a 60-70 mph road at 40
Going to be a bit pedantic, HGV's are limited to a maximum of 56mph (under power) and many will be at less because of company policy, or other reasons. But thanks for understanding about HGV's not being able to change lanes quickly and it takes an age to get back up to speed if slowed down, which has a knock back down the motorway. I normally drive a Left Hand Drive truck and moving to the next lane is even more of a chore, lots of mirror checking, 4 in total just on the Left Hand side, and then looking at the kerb mirror as I move out in case a vehicle was at bit further out, along with keeping an eye in front in case that all comes to halt. Once had a driver stop right in front of me, let somebody on to the motorway who'd stopped at the end of the slip road. fortunately for them and the other road users the truck was 6 months old and had the latest in ABS, EBS, and many other Acronyms which apparently means its the latest tech, so came to a controlled if rapid stop.
Those extra glances over your shoulder are known as "life savers" in biker parlance. When I started riding motorbikes it was drilled into me by an instructor. I then started using the same technique when driving my car. Definitely an essential tool for safe driving regardless of vehicle.
2:13 is one instance where undertaking would count as careless driving. It is not unlike accelerating into a crossroads where it's obvious that other drivers are trying to emerge.
I disagree. Whether or not there were any cars to undertake, it would not have made any difference. The BMW driver was, in fact, not undertaking when the incident happened. This wasn't cause by undertaking. This was cause by a selfish driver who expects others to move out of his way.
@@zouzou_u The BMW, of course. Whilst merging cars should try their best to give way, they will run out of space eventually. It is blindingly obvious for everyone that cars on the slip road must enter the first lane and that they need space to do so.
@@CristiNeagu Yee I was just making sure that you meant the BMW haha. It's common sense to move over and let those on the slip road merge safely. But y'know, I Have A Fast Car Syndrome
I just wanted to add that if there's a clear hard shoulder ahead to your left and no emergency services screaming up behind you, *in an emergency* you could also use it to avoid a crash. You should not plan to use it. But if you have to, and it's safe, then it could get you out of trouble. My friend was moving from uni. and wasn't an experienced driver, having only passed his test a few months earlier. I was in the passenger seat and as we joined a busy motorway he timed it all wrong and had a 16-wheeler blocking his entry to lane one. With no time to react and not wanting him to stop in the slip road I just looked around and calmly told him to use a bit of the hard shoulder as the slip road ran out. Crash averted, he slowed down to let the lorry pass safely, then joined lane one. Lesson learned, merging can be complicated and he needed to think ahead, consider other vehicles, adjust speed accordingly, and time things better.
@@ronrolfsen3977 it's technically illegal in the UK too, but in practice if it's the safest option the UK police are more likely to give you a lecture rather than a ticket. They will also explain that getting yourself into that situation (without some bizzarre action from another driver) could be regarded as admission of earlier careless driving, because it's an emergency of your own making. But again in saying that they won't ticket you, just hold you up while they deliver the well deserved good advice. In my 49 years of driving I've often been impressed at how far our traffic police will go to educate rather than punish.
I travel on the motorway a great deal and always check mirrors constantly, especially when I'm in the left lane by a slip road, I constantly glance at my left mirror until the slip road has completely exhausted. It's amazing what type of driving you see on the motorway, we all need to constantly check what vehicles are around us, our position and speed relevant to them and to keep our forward view too.
Yess! Been seeing Jack pop up in your comments a fair few times and always wondered if you'd collaborate on something, so this is brill to see. As always, brilliant analysis Ashley!
Good and thoughtful video, as usual! Having had a couple of times when cars appear from the blind spot at the last moment as I'm about to change lanes, I now set the driver's door mirror out a bit - I used to have it so I could just see the car bodywork on the left as a point of reference. Now I have it further out, so I have to move my head to see the bodywork (when parking etc.). That gives better cover and I find cars can't hide in the blind spot any more.
Some drivers fail to realise they are in a blind spot & cruise up then sit right in it. The same ones would probably panic if you indicated to tell them you would like to change lanes.
Excellent video. Speaking of anticipating risk, I was following an elderly driver who was in a very small city car and likely to be low BHP. We were heading through an industrial estate towards a short slip road to the A38. I really did not want to join the A38 on such a short slip road behind an elderly driver in a low powered car. So I pulled over at the roadside and watched the driver head onto the slip road. After about 20 seconds, I set off and joined as usual. Said elderly driver was not far down the road, struggling to hit 50 by the look of it 🙈
I drive a 70hp city car and can merge onto fast motorways and bypasses just fine! I've driven ancient Volkswagen Campervans and Landies and been able to merge just fine, just takes more forward planning.
Thanks Jack and Ashley. Definitely learnt something today. You can presume the BMW driver has the view that those merging onto the motorway should hold all the responsibility but even if that was true, doesn't excuse the undertaking. The lane was probably only clear for that section due to other drivers making space for those joining from the slip road.
Also, please do keep speaking on why undertaking is dangerous. I've always known you shouldn't do it but had no idea of the ways in which it increases risk, especially regarding motorway blind spots 👍🏿
The only thing this video lacks is explanation on how to do it with a slow (manual) car, which many new drivers will have. Suggesting you slow down, wait for BMW to pass then speed back up sounds ideal but with slow cars even slowing to 60mph then hoofing up to 70mph/matching motorway speeds takes ages, even in gear 4. By which point the car behind the BMW would catch you up and you're now affecting them. I honestly do think people forget how slow cars are, like 0-60 in 16+ seconds in PERFECT conditions (1.2L VW POLO).
My first car was a 650cc Renault 5 (half the engine size of the Polo you mention, and with older engineering so less powerful). I know the problem. One tip: if I want to go from 60 mph to 70 mph quickly, I would be in third gear. Fourth is too high and won't give you the torque you need.
@@TheVanderfulLife yes, exactly. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with rev matching: when changing down to 3rd from 5th (or 4th), dip the clutch, rev the engine slightly with your foot while changing gear with your hand, then let the clutch up. The engine revs will be closer to the revs associated with that gear and road speed. It reduces or even eliminates any jerk. A joy when you get it right! Practice makes proficient.
It is not an obligation to make room by changing lanes for someone joining the motorway but it is simply good practice for keeping traffic flowing - as long as it is safe, which is not always the case. When it is not safe, it is good practice for both drivers to adapt their speed and make and use the space created. I do think a lot of people make it difficult for themselves by having in particular their door mirrors poorly adjusted. If you can see the side of your car in half of the mirror, then it is only giving half the information it could…
Hi Ashley, not for the first time you present a good video very well, recent correspondence has give me pause for thought on the subject of just how video footage distorts the optical landscape and interferes with depth perception, with that in mind I do think that while you frequent changes of where you look to get abetter understanding of he dynamic relation ships of the traffic flow you are joining did seem to me to be rather late!, I tend to do as much of that observation as I can well before then!, by the time I actually join the motorway carriageway I will have done all the necessary speed adjustments to ensure I join safely and always just to be on the safe side make sure that I exactly match the speed of the vehicle I join behind and closer to it than to the one following!.One of the tricks I use to help me is to make enough room between me and the vehicle in front of me also joining so I can reach the exact same speed as the traffic on the motorway lane I want to join, even if that means I have to slow down behind that car after joining.. As I try to explain this in writing I am aware of the level of detail and degree of variation that actually applies out on the road, much depends on the range of visibility but there are times when I will make a point of looking over the bridge parapet at the motorway that I want to join well before I even get there, observation being the key to preparation. There is one thing I always avoid and that is to make the join at a lower speed than the car already in the lane and following!, so in this example having left some space in front of me I would have accelerated sharply to match speed with the BMW even if that had meant having to brake quite hard soon after, actually I suspect I would have seen him much earlier playing the fool and slowed to let him go through before I got there, if as does sometimes happen I had ended up doing what your friend did I would have looked across and made some apologetic gesture!, however much he might have been in the wrong it is always my responsibility for what actually happens!. I have just remembered something I saw on the M6 many years ago, we were piling along flat out in my old van in three lanes of fast flowing traffic, no-one doing less that seventy when as we came up to an adjoining slip road a very fast car, a Jag or Merc came rocketing down the slip road at God knows what speed, well clear of three figures, and sliced straight through the two lanes of cars into the outside lane and disappeared!, the whole episode taking just a few seconds!, what looked like an incredibly dangerous bit of driving done with such grave and artistry any judge would have awarded both ears and the tail!, an excellent example of precision driving and spatial awareness. Not for the likes of us I think. Cheers, Richard.
I had almost identical last week in a similar location, but the car causing the problem was moving from lane 2 into lane 1 right at point where the slip road joins. The motorway was fairly busy in all 3 lanes, as I looked in the mirror lane 1 had a nice gap, as to moved across from the slip road and joined lane 1 a car came across out of my blind spot from lane 2 into lane 1, so in effect they drove into the space that was already half way into. Now In a really difficult position with nowhere to go and other fast cars joining behind me I had to brake sharply to avoid a collision and then pull out behind this car that came out of nowhere. I was far to close so immediately pulled again into the 2nd lane so I wasn’t tailgating them, [the 2nd lane had plenty of space so this was OK] As I slowing went past I looked across and the driver of this other car was completely oblivious that I was there and what had just occurred. [they had tunnel vision staring at the back of the car in front] ….. I was trying to be safe and do the right thing in the correct way and got absolutely screwed by someone else’s negligence.
That’ll raise the ol’ blood pressure 😬. It’s effectively a three lane situation. When transferring lanes you have to consider not only the status of the space you are moving into at the time, but the potential for others to move into that space too. This is why I don’t change lanes directly adjacent to another vehicle unless it’s absolutely unavoidable (e.g. slow moving heavy traffic). Suddenly switching lanes into spaces where vehicles are joining the motorway is very dangerous. As the joiner, it’s difficult to be 100% on this as you have a lot going on and can easily be blinded by lane one traffic. Unfortunately, there are too many people unconsciously incompetent on the motorways. We can only do our best to minimise risk. We can’t eliminate it. You found a way to get safe and that’s what counts 👍. I hope the other driver learnt from the experience, but it doesn’t sound all that likely.
@@David-sw2fn it was a no win situation, it was at the point where the slip road come to an end, fast moving traffic behind following me, I had matched my speed to the traffic in lane 1 so as to join into a Gap, all of the traffic in the 3 lanes on the carriageway were moving steady in relation to each other, then some utter retard decides to change lanes and blocks me off I’m doing 65PMH, half way into the Carriageway with nowhere else to go and someone come from the side and drives across the front of your bonnet. 🙄🙄🙄🙄. I had to brake to avoid a collision and then come off the breaks at the right moment so to not get hit up the rear from the cars following me to slot in behind, and Then try and get out from behind them asap because I am now riding on their rear bumper. What makes it exasperating is that it was not an arsehole doing it deliberately who You could throw anger at, it was someone completely incompetent nearly causing a massive pile up without even knowing that they did it.
When you emerged, the silver car behind not only stayed behind and gave you space but moved across a lane to give you even more room (just in case you were going to be slower than him I guess). The other angle is watching people emerge on to the motorway and even having given space to some of them, they still want to drive into the side of you because they havent really looked and havent taken stock of the traffic already on the motorway. With experience, you can sometimes spot them before they've joined but they are very dangerous people.
Thank you for covering this issue Ashley. I've had a good few instances recently that have made me debate whether it was my responsibility to let the merging cars onto the carriageway or vice versa, and you've explained it in a way that I think settles my mind 😁
The amount of times I've seen a car on a slip road attempting to join the motorway at 45-50mph, then make no adjustments to their speed and are "suddenly" caught out by a HGV in the nearside lane. They try to merge into the side of the HGV as they run out of slip road and have nowhere else to go. Then they either have to slam on their brakes last second, dangerously merge inches in front of the HGV right into it's blindspot and force the HGV to slam it's brakes on, swerve to the left across the chevrons and solid lines into the left hand slip road and nearly take out another car or start driving down the hard shoulder until they can "safely" join the motorway. It's absurd really. The lack of competence, forward planning and awareness of their surroundings is shocking sometimes.
I caught a car on a slip road onto the M1 emerging at 35mph recently & I am really not exaggerating about the speed. I was on the slip road behind them & tried to back off as much as possible to give myself space, but a car behind me ruined my plans by approaching at a sensible speed so I had to accelerate a little. The car in front showed no intention of speeding up even once on the carriageway.
Yeah, i don't understand, i think people are afraid of the slip road running out, but 90% of the time you use the FULL slip road. people only use half of it for some reason at 50 mph.
Another problem with being slow when going travelling up a busy slip road is it creates a train like situation . Drivers behind will also have to slow down, creating a situation where cars are going to slow and to close, Causing chaos on the emerge. I've seen some real near misses with this situation and is one of the reasons I'm a great believer that once you've passed your test you have past your test there should be another one for motorway driving!! Surely this would prevent a lot of deaths on Motorways!!
@@TheRip72 Have come across that several times and they cannot enter lane 1 as theres an HGV literally at the side of them followed by another. Only solutions are stop and wait to be rear ended or take evasive action, boot it, undertake and use hard shoulder. Know which one i choose instantly as its alleviating the problem.
@@jhareng I considered passing on the left, but they straddled the lane so I couldn't pass on either side, although I can't remember if there was a hard shoulder. It was really dangerous.
Ashley Neal is a professionally qualified driver, who is aware of his surroundings ( I know people who sadly aren't ) and in the clip he's driving in good conditions, and he's fully awake - he hasn't been behind the wheel for 12 hours, but it STILL takes him a lot of concentration to do the merge safely. I think people should bare that in mind when people are trying to merge.
Arguably no one should be driving for 12 hours, as it's putting both that person and other road users at significantly enhanced risk. There is nothing in Ashley's videos that wasn't covered when I was learning to drive. The main problem is peoples general attitude towards driving.
I will admit that in my poorer days I used to drive (with a few breaks) for 14-15 hour days, just to bring in more much needed money. Very frowned upon now but back in the 50s 60s not uncommon. I do agree it's not great safety wise!
That level of checking is high, but good to see it pushed for. When I ride my motorbike I check the road for issues, then twist in my seat so I only need to do a head turn from straight to side to rear and back, I normally do this through out the process of travelling on the slip road to when I join adjusting speed as I go. But when passing a slip road, when I am already on the motorway, I also check the entire slip road for traffic and match me speed to them if I am staying in the left lane.
Great analysis on this one. Glad you mentioned about the undertaking not always being wrong but in this case being outright dangerous. I drive the southern end of the M6 a lot between it's start at the A14 and J10A for M54 and see this behaviour a lot. Something worth thinking about for new or less confident drivers is in these scenarios where you have multiple lane slip roads, often the left-most lane will actually became a new lane on the carriageway ahead, removing the need to merge altogether. And if that's not the case, they are always the longer option providing you with more time to match speed and find yourself a space.
One of the issues I find with modern cars is the size of the pillars, A, B and C, which can create serious blind spots, especially the B pillar, where a difficult rearward glance still creates an area of invisibility. Couple that with convex mirrors, which although they are supposed to give a wider view actually distort distance, and there is a recipe to fail to see vehicles that are close to but behind or misjudge their distance if solely visible in the mirror. I have found that driving modern cars and being able to see what's coming up behind is worse than driving panel vans.
Yes, it makes them safer in a crash but can easily cause crashes! Also makes drivers miss vulnerable cyclists. May be time for a rethink on the regulations there? At least to check if they are not backfiring?
Driving certain modern cars, coming up to roundabouts and some corners in more built up areas I have to rock myself to look around the A pillar because of the massive blind spot it causes.
It's just a matter of moving your head as you would to look left or right. Do exactly as you would driving on a road with lots of bends where you have to move your body. Convex mirrors do help and don't bother me with judging distance with cars behind left or right. Just pick a spot you are passing, it could be a signpost, a road marking, even a bump in the road then see how long it takes the vehicle in the convex mirror to reach that spot. With convex mirrors I never have a bling spot problem. Also like to mention most drivers don't have their mirrors set correctly. Many videos of safe driving show between a quarter to a third of the side of their car in the side view mirror. That is incorrect mirror setting. You should not be able to see any of your car in either mirror and should be set that you have to move two to 3 inches to either side to see it.
@@Seanmcdhuibhne Why would you need to move your body when driving a road with bends? My body is stationary in my seat, save for rear observation, when I drive and that can be reinforced when I use the full harness belts in one of my cars. Bobbing your body around in the car seat means that the standard lap and diagonal seat belt cannot be effective. Modern convex mirrors are different to those traditional ones used in the past and I am not so sure that they have a variable view. What I do know is that when reversing on modern mirrors I find that judging the proximity of obstacles is much more difficult whereas that doesn't occur with traditional convex mirrors. As for judging distance using road features is not applicable when checking the state of traffic in the motorway lanes behind you. To say that most drivers don't set their mirrors correctly is presumptuous, I bet your observation shows what the camera sees and not what the driver sees.
@@clivewilliams3661 Judging distance of vehicles to my left or right does work perfectly for me. There are plenty of features to set in between. Even shadows, road markings, or anythinthatsg stationary. Look at any UA-cam driving instructors demonstration on setting your mirrors. They have them set to waste up to 1/3 of a view. Why do you need to see that amount of your car????. It's not necessary as they should be set to see what's on the road and not of your car. I've been driving nearly 40yrs and have a clear view of all or part of vehicles passing me on either side. Next time your driving on a road with close bends you'll know what I'm talking about. Do you keep your body stationary when pulling out from a parked position? I bet not.
Warm, sunny weather... I had my second on road driving class on Monday, and we had warm, sunny weather too. 34 degrees, cloudless sky, and full insolation (heat index would be over 40 degrees). Even with the aircon on I was still sweating. Had an close incident that day as well. Came off a roadabout, drove on a bit, and proceeded to change from the second to first lane. Left lane was clear, signalled, checked blind spot, started to maneuver, and suddenly some guy tears past at about twice my speed (which would put him over the speed limit). Undertaking while someone's changing lanes! And the best bit? Despite that dangerous driving he just ended up waiting longer at the lights, and I was right behind him.
I watch Jacks channel like most, well done for not acknowledging this BMW Bully! Personally I go out my way to piss them off, bad habit of mine. If they annoy me first of course. What I do is both hands on the wheel, steady stare ahead and mouth wide open and go into ACT A LEARNER. Works every time, just leave you alone. 😂😂
Really good video and timely. I've spent most of today on the M4 and M25 and the amount of drivers joining the M4 50mph when the traffic is doing 60 to 70mph was unbelievable. The M25 was absolutely bloody terrefieng with cars undertaking others that were doing 70mph and cars going from lane 1 to lane 4 and back was mind blowing. I done over 250miles and didn't see one police traffic car which is half the problem today 🙄
I had a similar incident yesterday with a Mercedes. The lady driving left me no room to get from the slip road onto the M23. After the initial shock I realised I could have adjusted my speed beforehand to make the situation a lot more manageable. I have been in her shoes before and always given people joining the motorway enough space but in the moment you can’t expect others to give you the same courtesy.
I'm clear about the rules for joining a motorway, but there is something that has always surprised me. The advice has always been, and is repeated in this video, that you should try and get up to the speed of the traffic you are about to join. I totally understand that. Traffic will flow much easier if cars are travelling at a similar constant speed. However, as seen in this video, the faster you drive (and you will have to drive fast to join a motorway) the more difficult it is to make those observations before joining. We know from all walks of life that people are more likely to make the wrong decisions when put under pressure. Joining a motorway at speed does put you under pressure, gives you less time to make those observations, gives you less time to judge the speed of cars behind you etc I'm not saying I have the answers to this, I definitely don't. But it is an aspect of driving that I'm not convinced we have all the answers to. Anyway, I only started watching this channel yesterday and I'm really enjoying it.
Interesting. Maybe a hidden message... 'purchase a fast accelerating vehicle!' Note, not to speed while ignoring speed limits, but, to enable additional choices available for a driver in difficult driving situations. Motorway mergence is one such case which many deem as difficult.
I drive on the motorway often between Liverpool and Manchester. I always leave space when I see people merging from a slip road but the number of people that brake even though I have seen them and left space is scary
Put your foot down; put your foot down; you'll lose them easy! Oh, wait...... this ain't The 🇮🇹 Job. Nicely demonstrated, as per. I agree that the BMW driver was living up to the stereotype that is not entirely unwarranted. Stay safe everyone 👍.
This isn't a comment based on this video Ashley, but based on my obervations simply walking around. I see so many cyclists being pressured by impatient drivers flashing their lights to go, but in a lot of scenarios, this can be dangerous if not fatal for cyclists. Particularly when Cyclists are emerging from side roads into major big roads, i have seen quite a lot of accidents due to impatient drivers falshing headlights signaling cyclists to go. This was a very informative video Ashley, & its always useful to keep in mind of reckless drivers, who seem to have a death wish.
This is one of the reasons I like the 'smart' M42 motorway towards Birmingham Airport. When it is busy and the 'hard shoulder' is being used as a live lane the overhead gantries direct traffic out of lane 1 so that other traffic can safely merge straight onto the motorway at junctions. Shame all so-called 'smart' motorways are not like that.
Indeed. Some of them do it the other way round, such as the Bristol Almonsbury VSLI area, by requiring those on the lane which is sometimes the hard shoulder, sometimes not, to move over to leave it as a hard shoulder, whereas when it’s busy enough one can stay in the lane all the way to the next junction.
Another very useful video! I wouldn’t leave a bag on the back seat, though! Under harsh braking it will become a missile inside the car. Best in the boot or on the floor in the rear of the car!
it bears mentioning, that taking a slower launch off the line and planning to merge behind the other car, if you are in a situation where there are two lines at a traffic light, and they form one line soon after; is also a valid option. and it usually works well and leads to a successful zipper merge, because the other driver is usually trying to be first to the merge.
7:10 aversion to adapting if you are the traffic on the road that the other car is emerging onto. When learning back in the seventies my instructor told me that I should never change speed once there was no grass verge or hard shoulder between me and the emerging lane. It's your job to remain predictable, and their job to adapt. If you change speed it makes it harder for them to get it right. That is advice that was given while joining motorway standard dual carriageways before I passed my test. It's advice I've obeyed for 49 years, and passed on to about half a dozen learners who I've sat with. In my case it's not so much being a jobsworth as trying to be helpful. I'd appreciate your thoughts on response to my long ago instructor's advice. I'm not too old to change (and indeed as a result of this channel have already changed one or two other things I learnt back in the day).
I’ve been in a similar situation where I’ve had someone trying to engage driving next me on the motorway, definitely not looking or engaging is key - this is what I did, however not engaging angered the driver further to the point they threw stuff at my car to get my attention, but I still didn’t look and waited until the next junction where I left near the end of the exit road so they couldn’t follow me to diffuse the situation.
The key quote here, is, fit your speed in with the vehicles around you. Us Brits are not good at this and we evolve in our motorway driving of thinking you have to move over to let people on. I have nearly been wiped out by a bus when this happened. As people are more observant of the emerging traffic than the traffic overtaking them. If you check the highway code that is not the case, although it is courteous to do so, its not always possible, especially if you are towing. On the continent, slip roads are longer than ours and all the better to attain the motorway speed, but also the europeans tend to drive at more similar speeds, whereas, us Brits dont. Conversely, you cannot come down a slip road at 85 and expect the guy doing 70 in lane 1 to move over for you.
Yesterday, I saw a Tesla model 3 with L plates. I imagine they are simple to drive, but all that power available to an untrained right foot. Should I be worried?
I would just worry about things like regen braking when they get into a "normal" car are they going to forget the brakes exist (But then again I ride motorcycles with no assists whatsoever not even abs so maybe I am too far the other way)
I have been told they have a 'tame' mode. I drove a Tesla a while ago & was surprised how easy it was to control considering there was so much power available.
No you shouldn't be worried. Doesn't matter what a learner is driving. The speed limit applies to all. They could breaks the speed limit in built up areas in a cinquecento
@@mikehunter2844 yeah but you'd have to be flooring it for some time to break the speed limit in a cinquecento, whereas in a tesla just a bit too much pressure on the accelerator for a split second could have you over it
@@SeanWithaFada But untrained or not you wouldn't just jump into a Telsa and put the boot down. Like every type of vehicle, you take it easy until you get used to it. Whenever you sit in a different car you take it easy on the excelerator and break until you get the feel for it. Is fearr foighne ná fartún.
Matching your speed to traffic already on the motorway is the key; you did OK! 😆 I had a situation on Sunday with traffic joining a dual-lane bypass, similar to motorway and treated exactly the same. Three cars joining our traffic and the first car wasn't up to speed so the two followers couldn't either if they wanted to. The van in front of me pulled out into the second lane and I followed so all three could come out safely. But what if there was a steady queue of traffic in that lane and we couldn't have pulled out? We'd both have had to have braked very sharply because of one idiot driver not matching his speed.
Your not meant to give way to vehicles coming onto the main carriageway. You are meant to give way if you are joining. Jesus my driving instructor taught me if I can’t get in-front of the vehicle safely then join behind or wait till there is a gap. Braking sharply on motorways or duels. Is how pile ups happen
One thing I've noticed with experience is that a glance very often isn't long enough. It's a snapshot, it's enough to tell you that someone is there, but it's not long enough to allow you to gauge their speed. You either have to look for a second or two, or do what you did and keep glancing several times, to get an idea of their speed.
Two glances between two seconds apart should be enough to be able to judge another cars speed in relation to yours. Looking at a car for 2 seconds with a car two seconds in front of you is asking for danger.
I'd ask car drivers to think about large, slow vehicles, lorries have a very low power to weight ratio, so cannot accelerate any where near as fast as any car, they are also fitted with speed limiters, so cannot do more than 56 mph. If you're joining traffic from a slip road and there is a lorry on the inside lane, be positive early on and either accelerate and get in front of it or slow and drop in behind, don't dither around driving along side it at the same speed , then get in a big panic because you're rapidly running out of slip road, this happens all the time! Similarly if you see a lorry on the slip when you are on the inside lane on the main carriageway and it looks like you'll end up alongside them when they need to join, either change lanes or adjust your speed so you're not alongside when they need to join, if you possibly can. Thank you.
I’ve almost been caught out by this before but they didn’t stop when I was a newer driver made me check that once more over my shoulder before joining I also check over my shoulder when moving to the left as I’ve been undertaken changing lanes before which is also a bum clenching experience
All good common sense. I carry out a reversal of that if I'm the one on the motorway. As I'm approaching the acceleration lane which is now beginning to appear on my left, I'm having a glace over to see what may be emerging to my left. I check behind to see the traffic situation to my rear. I'm also watching the acceleration lane as it narrows to become one with the motorway with the nearside mirror and a glance.The information I gather from these observations allows me to to adjust and assist emerging traffic whilst not causing trouble behind me. I continue this until the acceleration lane is no more.
We have a problem near me when joining the trunk road, the A470 north of Cardiff, that lots of the slip roads are very short. Whilst trying to maintain a speed to match the traffic already on the trunk road, now dropped to 50mph for environmental purposes, you still only have 2-3 seconds of viewing traffic on the carriageway to assess if you can join the driving lane or slam your brakes on so as not to end up on the hard shoulder and break the law that way. As is law, some traffic in the driving lane stay there because they can, even if there is no traffic in the overtaking lane into which they could move to assist merging traffic. It’s such a shame that drivers nowadays don’t look out for each other as they seemed to when I started driving about 36 years ago.
3:55 it would be better if you changed lanes after passing the workers as they are vulnerable. It is the same reason why you must give cyclists space when overtaking/passing.
Ashley can I ask a question,the older cars the speedo were not calibrated,you are driving a tesla with satnav,does the satnav & the speed on the speedo are the same if so could you have a seperate satnav then compare both together.I used to use the satnav for speed although the trucks speedo was very accurate because it was calibrated.
There are few things more dangerous than getting stuck behind someone on the slip road who thinks it's OK to join the motorway at 40mph when all the HGVs in lane 1 are doing around 60. Happened to me recently. I know one answer would be to hang back and then accelerate up to speed when there's enough of a gap ahead, but it was a shortish slip road, cars behind me, and by the time I'd realised that he just wasn't going to go any faster I was committed. What should I have done?
Best answer is to avoid the situation. Assess the acceleration and driving style of the driver in front before you even join the slip road. If he/she looks slow, hold back to give yourself acceleration space. Then time your acceleration so that you are travelling at the correct speed when you reach the motorway and can merge easily. This assumes you are driving a car with at least a reasonable amount of poke. Once you are stuck close behind a slowpoke in the slip road, you are screwed. The best you can then do is match their speed and seek to merge with them - a highly dubious manoeuvre, where essentially you are paying the penalty for their mistakes. Prevention is better than cure in this case!
Have a look at joining the M6 southbound at J34. If you are in the RH lane, you can't see the vehicles on the motorway for the foliage and landscaping, until the very last minute, I am sure there are many other junctions like this.
On your last video on myths I said that the biggest myth is undertaking being classed as careless driving. You said "Do you reckon? Tuesdays upload shows otherwise"..... There are instances where any legal manoeuvre, if carried out in a non safe manner could be classed as careless driving. Changing lanes in either direction could be done carelessly. That doesn't mean over/undertaking itself is careless driving. So I still stand by what I said.
@@ashley_neal No it cannot be classed as careless driving, as overtaking cannot be classed either. We all know that careless driving is illegal. If I'm breaking the speed limit and overtake a car on either side that's in lane two I will NOT be charged for overtaking. If caught I will be charged for speeding. Undertaking is the passing of another vehicle on its left. Changing lanes is not undertaking. Neither is speeding.
Very good video. Btw another driver overtook me in the week with a blind bend ahead and a car coming the other way….had to brake to let him/her in. Some how I don’t think my next car is going to be a Tesla, more likely a petrol bargain basement Dacia.
I was thinking 95% the BMW, 5% Jack? Yes the BMW was massively in the wrong but as you say many times its upto the good drivers to fix the faults of the poor ones and that BMW driver could do with some lessons from yourself. Not perfect myself but if going a little quickly and a car pulls out then its my fault not theirs, it is my job to give them the space they should have if I was under the limit.
Agreed. Although the BMW driver was doing the wrong thing here, the emerge wasn't perfect either. Two things that resonate throughout this channel are "good drives fix poor driver's mistakes" and "priority is given, not taken". This whole thing could have ended much worse if there was no gap in lane 2, not to mention the red mini behind was already emergency braking. Good learning point - observation and adapting to the traffic around.
Hi Ashley Neal I am from New Zealand I had the same thing happen to me I was going to the Waterloo shops here in New Zealand and this guy in the ute was tailgating me while I was on the Give Way and he did a silly thing him pass me on a give way sign so I toot the Horn. I want to ask a question is that the right thing to do? And what do you do when it happens again as well?
why the shoulder check ? When you lean towards the side mirror and move your head accordingly im sure you will see in the mirror everything you need to see. Its much safer than shoulder check
Interesting that you 'out accelerated' the car at the lights so you could move over in front of him. I guess you were creating a situation for the video, but would you do this normally? If you know your turning right, then pick the outer lane before the lights? Also, is that manouver not (technically) an undertake?
There is no problem with doing this, but you are right that some see this as undertaking. I've had grief before on a bicycle if I filter up the left of queuing traffic stopped on red, get to the front of the queue. Then the car to my right starts edging forward like they're annoyed I've got ahead of them! I can out-accelerate a car for a short distance on my road bike, so usually get ahead when the lights change, only to have angry driver trying to force their way past! Because of this, I do sometimes go through on red if it's just a pedestrian crossing and the pedestrians have cleared. Just to give me a few extra seconds to get ahead of a dodgy driver.
I'm pretty sure the majority of accidents happen at junctions. Not only are people keen to be in front of drivers entering, a lot of drivers entering are eager to be in front of people already on the road. I find it helpful to stick in the inside lane for a short while to get into the rhythm of the road before making any lane changes for progressing forward.
It looks like Jack joined the motorway at the point where the slip road's dotted lines first start. In other words, at the first opportunity. There was still plenty of slip road remaining. Which is not to say he did anything wrong. But he did have the option to take more time to observe what was going on. I often see drivers change lanes from the slip road very early like this and it does often cause issues. Clearly this is a relative minor thing compared to the fella in the Beemer.
First and foremost the end of the merge road markings are for the merging cars to give way. Everything else is about working with what you see around you to merge as safely as possible. As has been mentioned in other comments the BMW presence is moot. It's the merging cars that are making the maneuver after all. Everyone seems to want to criticise the BMW .... just because?? When the merging car could have done so much more to avoid the situation. Good demonstration of how it should be done later though.
Be aware that the dashed line is there for a reason. If you cannot enter the highway, you have to stop. You cannot easily see what is preventing lane 1 from letting you out and you must not assume you can merge straight in. I almost got cleaned up by a lorry thinking this. Please don't assume anyone will do you a favour. Similarly, if you're in lane 2 and lane 1 wants to let someone out as you pass them, I've had them come across towards me and had to take some quick action. And I'm not a Beemer driver by the way.
The biggest key to merging is to get up to the speed of the traffic already on the motorway and then fit in , here in Australia they merge at a slower speed which slows down the traffic so they can merge which is totally wrong . Traffic on the motorway has right of way , meaning whoever's in front at the merge point has right of way so driving slower ruins a good merge when the car behind has to slow to let the merging car in , they will never learn .
I know you must match your speed to vehicles in the left lane and check for a gap but what should you do if there is is vehicle that doesn't move? Should you brake?
I see a lot of drivers in New Zealand who when driving seem to be fixated on what is directly in front and not paying attention to vehicles merging or changing lanes. Even fewer are aware of who is behind them. The government is currently reducing speed limits across the country as a safety measure, but without addressing driver behaviour regarding awareness of surroundings speed reductions will not create the desired outcome of zero harm on the roads.
Interestingly when the two warning signs regarding merging first came out both had "with equal priority" after the first part of the meaning description.
In my experience when see people emerging, they hardly seem to even glance in their wing mirrors nevermind shoulder checking. I had an instance last week I was in lane 1 and a car was on the slip road slightly ahead of me wanting to join the motorway. I took my foot off the accelerator and therefore slowed slightly to give him plenty of time to emerge, but because he seemed to have zero awareness of what was going on around him as he did not look back, rather than taking the space I had left for him, he slowed down. I was still slowing and he continued to slow and we both got slower and slower. It was farcical as we both reduced our speeds; me to let him join and him because he didn't have a clue.
The BMW driver seemed to speed up at the worst moment. They knew Jack was emerging at that moment. I don’t think they did it deliberately I think they were just trying to get past the cars but what on Earth did they expect Jack to do. The BMW driver clearly has no care for anyone else on the road. They probably seen him pull out and thought oh good I get to shout at someone. Side note here, I’m from Scotland and I’m on holiday in England and was driving west towards Manchester on the M62 the other day and it was quite busy and I thought the standard of driving on the motorway was excellent. Everyone was keeping to the speed, way better braking distances than on Scotlands motorways and very courteous. However the city driving seems a bit impatient and people don’t seem to plan, everything is very reactive rather than proactive. A pedestrian was crossing the road and a taxi driver drove right up to them and sounded the horn aggressively. I would have expected him to just slow down a bit and give the oblivious pedestrian the time they needed. Probably wouldn’t see that where I’m from. Everywhere has its positives and negatives, it’s very interesting to see and I like to analyse these situations a bit too much lol
When I’m on the motorway I’m watching the cars joining and slow enough to let vehicles filter in. I did however get someone think they had to speed up and barge in where I had to jump on the brake pedal. The guy was oblivious to what he’d done (no look in the mirror) I was still using a P plate at the time and it’s that same L plate “must get in front” scenario The guy could have caused a crash and that would be my confidence shot too. It was dangerous. Maybe he thought I was slowing to also let him in,but there was plenty of room behind me but no he sped up to be at the side on me and tried to force me to change lanes when I couldn’t as the lane was occupied
Something I have seen myself in lane one of a duel carriageway st Peter's way between Bolton and Manchester Can't get over to lane 2 so I slow down a touch to allow the car to slot in the car on the slip road also slows down now we are in an awkward game of chicken where one of us needs to make a move Yeah I just used my bikes power to get out of the situation but I think people don't know how to merge or how to treat mergers
Great video Ashley!! Will take your advice on board.
To be honest I didn't see a great difference in Ashley's second demo to yours - the only real difference is that the silver car in Ashley's clip helped by changing lanes instead of putting his foot down to intentionally cut him off from joining. Would be interesting to hear what he would have done if the silver car had put his foot down at that point? Slow down, speed up, travel into the hard shoulder? How do you correct for an arse being an arse for arse sake?
Hi Jack! Thanks again for sending in your clip and hopefully it's helped many people. 👊
You are a legend Jack, also mice save on the motorway!
Great teaching as usual Ashley sadly you will always come across as***holes like that in the BMW. He would of got a nice finger from me sadly. Funny how the same people never push you around in Sainsburys !!!! Do you ever watch these BMWs and Audis and think he's not one of mine honest 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Droltan Ashley did explain what Jack should have done to make the situation better. Noting that especially because he has a Tesla capable of excellent acceleration, Jack should have slowed down, let the BMW pass, then accelerated back up to merging speed and then merged behind the BMW.
Edit: (timestamp 6:30)
A BMW driver undertaking in lane 1 at a junction exit? Never! It must be deepfake footage 😕
I am SHOCKED!! (Hahahaha)
Yes I must admit, the idea of a BMW driver not rigidly following the exact rules of the road in everyway whatsoever is pretty hard to fathom. Must be from a driving simulator.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I am a BMW driver and I think your comment is hilarious!
@w F Quite right!
Ashley, this isn't a comment on this particular clip, but I'd like you to know that watching your videos very likely saved my life, earlier today, whilst I was cycling home from a local mini-supermarket. Two reasons: I've learned the importance of anticipating risk when the view of approaching traffic is obscured; and also, it's not a good idea to entrust your life and limb to some idiot driver's headlight-flash!
I was waiting to cycle out of the car park and turn right onto a busy B road and there was quite a lot of traffic coming from the right. A queue of vehicles had formed on the left hand side of the road, obscuring my view of traffic coming from the left, in the opposite lane. A blue car approached from the right and stopped to wait: there was now nothing coming behind, so the road to the right was clear. The driver looked straight at me and FLASHED HIS LIGHTS, evidently inviting me to move out. I hesitated for a second - and a car behind me, waiting to emerge from the car park, pipped his horn at me!
The pressure, from both drivers, to move out across the road was intense, but I stayed put - and a second later, a Land Rover Defender shot out from behind the queue on the left, doing (in my impression) well over the 30 mph limit. Had I cycled out, it would almost certainly have hit me. The driver of the blue car ought to have seen the Landy coming, but when he flashed his lights, he was looking at me, not ahead. You have often pointed out the danger of flashing headlights for the wrong reasons - and this was a case in point, but the impatient driver behind me was just as bad, in my opinion.
This experienced reinforced a couple of basic safety lessons: don't let other road users make your judgements for you - and only use your horn, or flash your lights, to tell other road users you're there; not to tell them what to do.
Amazing story Andrew! Thanks for letting me know as it's made my day! Keep safe out there 👊
@@ashley_neal Your welcome. I subscribed to your channel because, I'm currently taking driving lessons... But it's proven very helpful on the cycling front too. I can't wait to tell my driving instructor this story, I think he'll appreciate it.
Good for you; as a cyclist, I've learned you shouldn't make moves to suit drivers flashing you. I'll go when I'm ready, and it's safe to do so.
Good catch. As a pedestrian, I've also had drivers slow down and then invite me to cross two lanes. They are trying to be courteous but, as described here, they appear oblivious to the fact that drivers in the outer lane behind them are unlikely to see me and similarly slow down. It is vital to think about what you can see and also who can see you.
Body language should be sufficient. Leave the space to indicate that you saw the vehicle emerging and that you know that's what's going to happen, and then just wait. People think that flashing your lights means "I saw you and I'm letting you through", but that's not what they mean. It's leaving the gap that says that. Flashing lights in this situation are saying "Get on with it already!", or, at the very least, that's what they feel like.
As an HGV driver, I can assure you that the average driver (ie most) have barely started thinking about joining a carriageway of any sort, until they are half way along the slip road. I can actually see the moment they switch on and start to panic as they realize they might not be able to join so easily.
The worst part is that I am normally sat a constant speed (56mph) and smaller vehicles can adapt their speed far more easily than I can. Any sort of pre-planning and they can either out-accelerate me, or slow down to slip in behind me.
And yes, I will always try and move over a lane if I can.
In fact it's just one example of the wider issue, which is that so many people nowadays seem to be paying so little attention to actually driving.
I know you touched upon this Ashley, but ultimately it's the responsibility of the 'joiner' driver to merge correctly and safely - even if someone is doing something silly on the main carriageway.
Saying it is the primarily the BMW's fault in this case is mute, as they have already demonstrated that they are driving poorly.
Like you've said in many other videos, it''s simply good driving to correct other people's poor driving/mistakes.
Great demonstration of joining later in the vid though, and showing Jack how better observation could have avoided this situation.
I don't drive an HGV but I HAVE been driving for 30 years (and riding motorbikes before that - I really think that helps your road sense). No question people are driving dafter than they did 10 years ago and more. The number of times I have people overtaking cycles and being in the middle of the road round corners on narrow country roads is frankly quite worrying, and this used to be quite rare. I now drive slower on country roads even though my reaction times are still better than average, and I am pretty sure that has saved me a couple of times from contact.
On joining motorways (and similar) I agree - in fact I get the impression some drivers behave as though they believe it is their right to drive from a slipway onto the carriageway and vehicles on it must give way (heaven forbid they should slow or stop). To avoid aggro I do my best to accomodate and avoid close calls, but sometimes there is just nowhere to go, is there? When all is said and done there is very little you can do to escape in a car (even less in a lorry) when you are surrounded by other vehicles...
I'm not a HGV driver either, but have driven many types of vehicle over different careers, up to 7.5t. I also concur that levels of observation, planning and anticipation seem somewhat lacking these days. People constantly closing gaps, undetaking around roundabouts, not acccellerating suitably to join motorways etc. The list goes on. Those that believe their journey is the most important or that other people just shouldn't be on the road, and don't forget the Dunning-Kruger effect, which I believe is why so many dash-cam channels have lots of clips submitted by drivers who blatantly do not see that they were in the wrong, or at least exacerbated the situation.... My daily commute is feeling more like Death Race 3000 every day. 🙁
I agree with everything you said but personally I would take it further and say as the driver on the main carriageway you should NOT adapt your speed to that of the people merging. Preferably you can move over a lane but if not, you should not greatly increase of decrease your speed. It's all to common to see people braking and flashing someone to merge in front all while the person merging is slowing down intent on going behind. This occasionally ends up with both cars braking and doing ~40mph while the remaining traffic is attempting to do 60+mph.
@@hippophile I have seen a few arguments on places such as facebook where people genuinely believe that the vehicles on the carriageway have to give way to joining traffic. Interestingly this attitude tends to come from older drivers. There seems to be a certain demographic that have either made up their own rules (not just limited to joining a motorway) or have failed to keep up with best practice. Just goes to show the importance of continuing to read the highway code even long after you passed your test.
@@duskjester3027 Fine in principle, but I'd prefer to avoid the collision. I can remember trying to not adapt my speed and waiting for a slipway driver to slow down a few years ago on the A34. In the end I had to brake quite sharply as the driver had nowhere to go other than into me or off the road - I decided not to let things get to that point. I have no idea whether the driver thought they had right of way, just felt I "ought to" give way or was a deliberate bully. I don't really care, I just want to get to my destination without mishap.
Not expecting this Collab! Been following both of you for a long time!
Yay i spot an asexual pfp :0
this is the collab we all need to see
I think with Ashley Neal wearing a cone costume
Just an additional tip, before even getting to the slip road leading to the motorway, information about the speed of the traffic on the motorway is available by glancing at the bridge above the roundabout (5:30) - this can tell us how busy the road is, whether it's free flowing or even stationary. All helps when planning to join the road. 🙂
Depends which direction you're coming from but, yes, that's a valuable piece of information.
A good point, but not always possible as sometimes slip roads lead down to the motorway and the embankment between has trees, bushes or long grass, obscuring the motorway traffic
@@anthonyphilips7171 well yes, obviously if the carriageway isn't visible before you approach it you can't get this information.
very true! trying to get a look at the motorway before getting on the slip road was probably of the most useful tip my instructor gave me for this aspect of driving
Delightfully fair analysis. And a great demo of a good safe emerge.
I would like to add a couple of points re trucks.
1) You’ll find most will be going no faster than 56, so if you’re already in or near the front and have space, boot it up to 65 and you’ll have no issue. I see way too many coming up the slip road at 65-75, coming up my inside, looking last second, seeing me& anchoring up, often half into lane 1. If we aint moved over it’s Probably cos we can’t, so in that scenario we’re now trying to stop 44tonne of metal, rubber, oil & plastic because you are not safe.
This leads into 2) If there’s a truck in lane 1, and it doesn’t move over, it’s probable that there’s a vehicle in lane 2 somewhere beside it you can’t see. Don’t blame the trucker
My usual initial merge speed is about 50-55, that makes it very easy to slip in front or behind any heavies. I think worse than the high speed mergers are those who trundle all the way along the slip at 40, not considering a higher speed until they think they are actually on the motorway and in a proper lane.
@@stevesmith7530, yup, usually about 200yds after the end of the slip where they FINALLY boot it and leave the Police pursuit in lane 3 standing…. 😂😂
Also, be careful about instantly overtaking the truck: you may not have space in front ... Look before you accelerate!
Advice that should be unnecessary, but so many drivers go straight from emerge into the next lane over from the one they are joining.
My tip for joining a motorway is to use 60mph as the default speed to merge into lane one.
The rationale is:
1) It is a reasonable speed to accelerate or slow down from to match traffic in that lane.
2) HGVs are limited to 56mph (under power) and are the largest and most likely to occupier of the first two lanes.
3) HGVs are less likely to be able to change lanes in response to you entering the first lane.
That sounds reasonable & flexible. Many seem to limit themselves to 50mph. I have no idea why. It is much easier to slow from 60 to 50 than it is to speed up from 50 to 60, but getting my speed fine tuned is usually well before I need to think about emerging from the slip road.
@@TheRip72 round my way there is a very steep entrance on to the silp road so unless you have something with a bit of poke many are trying to enter at 40mph but will be not speed on the splip road it's self witch is very long
@@TheRip72 I agree. As soon as I can I start to match the speed with lane 1. I don't even think about the other lanes until I'm in lane 1, at that point I can make a judgement about pulling out to lane 2 and accelerating. I should add that I live near the M20 so 99% of the time I'm going to be merging in to lorries.
@@gingernutpreacher I have a 1.2 clio and can get to 70 up a entry similar to the once Ashley went up just accelerate in gear 3 or 4 and you’ll get to 60 no matter what car it is it will just use more fuel but safer for everyone instead on getting multiple cars trying to enter a 60-70 mph road at 40
Going to be a bit pedantic, HGV's are limited to a maximum of 56mph (under power) and many will be at less because of company policy, or other reasons.
But thanks for understanding about HGV's not being able to change lanes quickly and it takes an age to get back up to speed if slowed down, which has a knock back down the motorway. I normally drive a Left Hand Drive truck and moving to the next lane is even more of a chore, lots of mirror checking, 4 in total just on the Left Hand side, and then looking at the kerb mirror as I move out in case a vehicle was at bit further out, along with keeping an eye in front in case that all comes to halt.
Once had a driver stop right in front of me, let somebody on to the motorway who'd stopped at the end of the slip road. fortunately for them and the other road users the truck was 6 months old and had the latest in ABS, EBS, and many other Acronyms which apparently means its the latest tech, so came to a controlled if rapid stop.
Those extra glances over your shoulder are known as "life savers" in biker parlance. When I started riding motorbikes it was drilled into me by an instructor. I then started using the same technique when driving my car. Definitely an essential tool for safe driving regardless of vehicle.
2:13 is one instance where undertaking would count as careless driving. It is not unlike accelerating into a crossroads where it's obvious that other drivers are trying to emerge.
I disagree. Whether or not there were any cars to undertake, it would not have made any difference. The BMW driver was, in fact, not undertaking when the incident happened. This wasn't cause by undertaking. This was cause by a selfish driver who expects others to move out of his way.
@@CristiNeagu Who was the selfish driver? The BMW or Jack?
@@zouzou_u The BMW, of course. Whilst merging cars should try their best to give way, they will run out of space eventually. It is blindingly obvious for everyone that cars on the slip road must enter the first lane and that they need space to do so.
@@CristiNeagu Yee I was just making sure that you meant the BMW haha. It's common sense to move over and let those on the slip road merge safely. But y'know, I Have A Fast Car Syndrome
I just wanted to add that if there's a clear hard shoulder ahead to your left and no emergency services screaming up behind you, *in an emergency* you could also use it to avoid a crash. You should not plan to use it. But if you have to, and it's safe, then it could get you out of trouble.
My friend was moving from uni. and wasn't an experienced driver, having only passed his test a few months earlier. I was in the passenger seat and as we joined a busy motorway he timed it all wrong and had a 16-wheeler blocking his entry to lane one. With no time to react and not wanting him to stop in the slip road I just looked around and calmly told him to use a bit of the hard shoulder as the slip road ran out.
Crash averted, he slowed down to let the lorry pass safely, then joined lane one. Lesson learned, merging can be complicated and he needed to think ahead, consider other vehicles, adjust speed accordingly, and time things better.
Even if this is not legal (it ain't in my country). I will take that fine over having to merge into a busy highway from standstill.
Since I have been driving I have been that lorry and the car drivers are doing hand gestures to me or honking me like I was in the wrong. :/
Good action from the "copilot" there :)
@@ronrolfsen3977 it's technically illegal in the UK too, but in practice if it's the safest option the UK police are more likely to give you a lecture rather than a ticket.
They will also explain that getting yourself into that situation (without some bizzarre action from another driver) could be regarded as admission of earlier careless driving, because it's an emergency of your own making. But again in saying that they won't ticket you, just hold you up while they deliver the well deserved good advice.
In my 49 years of driving I've often been impressed at how far our traffic police will go to educate rather than punish.
I travel on the motorway a great deal and always check mirrors constantly, especially when I'm in the left lane by a slip road, I constantly glance at my left mirror until the slip road has completely exhausted. It's amazing what type of driving you see on the motorway, we all need to constantly check what vehicles are around us, our position and speed relevant to them and to keep our forward view too.
Yess! Been seeing Jack pop up in your comments a fair few times and always wondered if you'd collaborate on something, so this is brill to see. As always, brilliant analysis Ashley!
Thanks both for sharing
0:45 oh hey there's me!
Good and thoughtful video, as usual! Having had a couple of times when cars appear from the blind spot at the last moment as I'm about to change lanes, I now set the driver's door mirror out a bit - I used to have it so I could just see the car bodywork on the left as a point of reference. Now I have it further out, so I have to move my head to see the bodywork (when parking etc.). That gives better cover and I find cars can't hide in the blind spot any more.
Some drivers fail to realise they are in a blind spot & cruise up then sit right in it. The same ones would probably panic if you indicated to tell them you would like to change lanes.
Excellent video. Speaking of anticipating risk, I was following an elderly driver who was in a very small city car and likely to be low BHP. We were heading through an industrial estate towards a short slip road to the A38.
I really did not want to join the A38 on such a short slip road behind an elderly driver in a low powered car. So I pulled over at the roadside and watched the driver head onto the slip road.
After about 20 seconds, I set off and joined as usual. Said elderly driver was not far down the road, struggling to hit 50 by the look of it 🙈
I drive a 70hp city car and can merge onto fast motorways and bypasses just fine! I've driven ancient Volkswagen Campervans and Landies and been able to merge just fine, just takes more forward planning.
The BMW driver did a RobRoef, always looking for the confrontation then crying when he finds it.
Thanks Jack and Ashley. Definitely learnt something today. You can presume the BMW driver has the view that those merging onto the motorway should hold all the responsibility but even if that was true, doesn't excuse the undertaking. The lane was probably only clear for that section due to other drivers making space for those joining from the slip road.
Also, please do keep speaking on why undertaking is dangerous. I've always known you shouldn't do it but had no idea of the ways in which it increases risk, especially regarding motorway blind spots 👍🏿
The only thing this video lacks is explanation on how to do it with a slow (manual) car, which many new drivers will have. Suggesting you slow down, wait for BMW to pass then speed back up sounds ideal but with slow cars even slowing to 60mph then hoofing up to 70mph/matching motorway speeds takes ages, even in gear 4. By which point the car behind the BMW would catch you up and you're now affecting them. I honestly do think people forget how slow cars are, like 0-60 in 16+ seconds in PERFECT conditions (1.2L VW POLO).
1.2 corsa here i feel your pain
My first car was a 650cc Renault 5 (half the engine size of the Polo you mention, and with older engineering so less powerful). I know the problem.
One tip: if I want to go from 60 mph to 70 mph quickly, I would be in third gear. Fourth is too high and won't give you the torque you need.
@@R04drunner1 Very true, that's where rev-matching comes in, least if you want a smooth gear change!
@@TheVanderfulLife yes, exactly.
For the benefit of those unfamiliar with rev matching: when changing down to 3rd from 5th (or 4th), dip the clutch, rev the engine slightly with your foot while changing gear with your hand, then let the clutch up. The engine revs will be closer to the revs associated with that gear and road speed. It reduces or even eliminates any jerk. A joy when you get it right! Practice makes proficient.
Thanks for another great video! I’ll be able to drive soon which makes watching your videos super useful👍👌
It is not an obligation to make room by changing lanes for someone joining the motorway but it is simply good practice for keeping traffic flowing - as long as it is safe, which is not always the case. When it is not safe, it is good practice for both drivers to adapt their speed and make and use the space created.
I do think a lot of people make it difficult for themselves by having in particular their door mirrors poorly adjusted. If you can see the side of your car in half of the mirror, then it is only giving half the information it could…
Gonna take this on board during my test.
Thanks for the tips Ashley!
Hi Ashley, not for the first time you present a good video very well, recent correspondence has give me pause for thought on the subject of just how video footage distorts the optical landscape and interferes with depth perception, with that in mind I do think that while you frequent changes of where you look to get abetter understanding of he dynamic relation ships of the traffic flow you are joining did seem to me to be rather late!, I tend to do as much of that observation as I can well before then!, by the time I actually join the motorway carriageway I will have done all the necessary speed adjustments to ensure I join safely and always just to be on the safe side make sure that I exactly match the speed of the vehicle I join behind and closer to it than to the one following!.One of the tricks I use to help me is to make enough room between me and the vehicle in front of me also joining so I can reach the exact same speed as the traffic on the motorway lane I want to join, even if that means I have to slow down behind that car after joining.. As I try to explain this in writing I am aware of the level of detail and degree of variation that actually applies out on the road, much depends on the range of visibility but there are times when I will make a point of looking over the bridge parapet at the motorway that I want to join well before I even get there, observation being the key to preparation. There is one thing I always avoid and that is to make the join at a lower speed than the car already in the lane and following!, so in this example having left some space in front of me I would have accelerated sharply to match speed with the BMW even if that had meant having to brake quite hard soon after, actually I suspect I would have seen him much earlier playing the fool and slowed to let him go through before I got there, if as does sometimes happen I had ended up doing what your friend did I would have looked across and made some apologetic gesture!, however much he might have been in the wrong it is always my responsibility for what actually happens!.
I have just remembered something I saw on the M6 many years ago, we were piling along flat out in my old van in three lanes of fast flowing traffic, no-one doing less that seventy when as we came up to an adjoining slip road a very fast car, a Jag or Merc came rocketing down the slip road at God knows what speed, well clear of three figures, and sliced straight through the two lanes of cars into the outside lane and disappeared!, the whole episode taking just a few seconds!, what looked like an incredibly dangerous bit of driving done with such grave and artistry any judge would have awarded both ears and the tail!, an excellent example of precision driving and spatial awareness. Not for the likes of us I think.
Cheers, Richard.
I had almost identical last week in a similar location, but the car causing the problem was moving from lane 2 into lane 1 right at point where the slip road joins.
The motorway was fairly busy in all 3 lanes, as I looked in the mirror lane 1 had a nice gap, as to moved across from the slip road and joined lane 1 a car came across out of my blind spot from lane 2 into lane 1, so in effect they drove into the space that was already half way into.
Now In a really difficult position with nowhere to go and other fast cars joining behind me I had to brake sharply to avoid a collision and then pull out behind this car that came out of nowhere.
I was far to close so immediately pulled again into the 2nd lane so I wasn’t tailgating them, [the 2nd lane had plenty of space so this was OK]
As I slowing went past I looked across and the driver of this other car was completely oblivious that I was there and what had just occurred.
[they had tunnel vision staring at the back of the car in front]
…..
I was trying to be safe and do the right thing in the correct way and got absolutely screwed by someone else’s negligence.
That’ll raise the ol’ blood pressure 😬. It’s effectively a three lane situation. When transferring lanes you have to consider not only the status of the space you are moving into at the time, but the potential for others to move into that space too. This is why I don’t change lanes directly adjacent to another vehicle unless it’s absolutely unavoidable (e.g. slow moving heavy traffic). Suddenly switching lanes into spaces where vehicles are joining the motorway is very dangerous. As the joiner, it’s difficult to be 100% on this as you have a lot going on and can easily be blinded by lane one traffic.
Unfortunately, there are too many people unconsciously incompetent on the motorways. We can only do our best to minimise risk. We can’t eliminate it. You found a way to get safe and that’s what counts 👍. I hope the other driver learnt from the experience, but it doesn’t sound all that likely.
@@David-sw2fn
it was a no win situation, it was at the point where the slip road come to an end, fast moving traffic behind following me, I had matched my speed to the traffic in lane 1 so as to join into a Gap, all of the traffic in the 3 lanes on the carriageway were moving steady in relation to each other, then some utter retard decides to change lanes and blocks me off
I’m doing 65PMH, half way into the Carriageway with nowhere else to go and someone come from the side and drives across the front of your bonnet. 🙄🙄🙄🙄.
I had to brake to avoid a collision and then come off the breaks at the right moment so to not get hit up the rear from the cars following me to slot in behind, and Then try and get out from behind them asap because I am now riding on their rear bumper.
What makes it exasperating is that it was not an arsehole doing it deliberately who You could throw anger at, it was someone completely incompetent nearly causing a massive pile up without even knowing that they did it.
When you emerged, the silver car behind not only stayed behind and gave you space but moved across a lane to give you even more room (just in case you were going to be slower than him I guess). The other angle is watching people emerge on to the motorway and even having given space to some of them, they still want to drive into the side of you because they havent really looked and havent taken stock of the traffic already on the motorway. With experience, you can sometimes spot them before they've joined but they are very dangerous people.
Thank you for covering this issue Ashley. I've had a good few instances recently that have made me debate whether it was my responsibility to let the merging cars onto the carriageway or vice versa, and you've explained it in a way that I think settles my mind 😁
The amount of times I've seen a car on a slip road attempting to join the motorway at 45-50mph, then make no adjustments to their speed and are "suddenly" caught out by a HGV in the nearside lane. They try to merge into the side of the HGV as they run out of slip road and have nowhere else to go. Then they either have to slam on their brakes last second, dangerously merge inches in front of the HGV right into it's blindspot and force the HGV to slam it's brakes on, swerve to the left across the chevrons and solid lines into the left hand slip road and nearly take out another car or start driving down the hard shoulder until they can "safely" join the motorway. It's absurd really. The lack of competence, forward planning and awareness of their surroundings is shocking sometimes.
I caught a car on a slip road onto the M1 emerging at 35mph recently & I am really not exaggerating about the speed. I was on the slip road behind them & tried to back off as much as possible to give myself space, but a car behind me ruined my plans by approaching at a sensible speed so I had to accelerate a little. The car in front showed no intention of speeding up even once on the carriageway.
Yeah, i don't understand, i think people are afraid of the slip road running out, but 90% of the time you use the FULL slip road. people only use half of it for some reason at 50 mph.
Another problem with being slow when going travelling up a busy slip road is it creates a train like situation . Drivers behind will also have to slow down, creating a situation where cars are going to slow and to close, Causing chaos on the emerge.
I've seen some real near misses with this situation and is one of the reasons I'm a great believer that once you've passed your test you have past your test there should be another one for motorway driving!!
Surely this would prevent a lot of deaths on Motorways!!
@@TheRip72 Have come across that several times and they cannot enter lane 1 as theres an HGV literally at the side of them followed by another. Only solutions are stop and wait to be rear ended or take evasive action, boot it, undertake and use hard shoulder. Know which one i choose instantly as its alleviating the problem.
@@jhareng I considered passing on the left, but they straddled the lane so I couldn't pass on either side, although I can't remember if there was a hard shoulder. It was really dangerous.
Ashley Neal is a professionally qualified driver, who is aware of his surroundings ( I know people who sadly aren't ) and in the clip he's driving in good conditions, and he's fully awake - he hasn't been behind the wheel for 12 hours, but it STILL takes him a lot of concentration to do the merge safely. I think people should bare that in mind when people are trying to merge.
Arguably no one should be driving for 12 hours, as it's putting both that person and other road users at significantly enhanced risk. There is nothing in Ashley's videos that wasn't covered when I was learning to drive. The main problem is peoples general attitude towards driving.
I will admit that in my poorer days I used to drive (with a few breaks) for 14-15 hour days, just to bring in more much needed money. Very frowned upon now but back in the 50s 60s not uncommon. I do agree it's not great safety wise!
That level of checking is high, but good to see it pushed for. When I ride my motorbike I check the road for issues, then twist in my seat so I only need to do a head turn from straight to side to rear and back, I normally do this through out the process of travelling on the slip road to when I join adjusting speed as I go.
But when passing a slip road, when I am already on the motorway, I also check the entire slip road for traffic and match me speed to them if I am staying in the left lane.
Ashley's "Weather" channel? 😜
And, seriously, another great analysis video! 👍
Great analysis on this one. Glad you mentioned about the undertaking not always being wrong but in this case being outright dangerous. I drive the southern end of the M6 a lot between it's start at the A14 and J10A for M54 and see this behaviour a lot.
Something worth thinking about for new or less confident drivers is in these scenarios where you have multiple lane slip roads, often the left-most lane will actually became a new lane on the carriageway ahead, removing the need to merge altogether. And if that's not the case, they are always the longer option providing you with more time to match speed and find yourself a space.
One of the issues I find with modern cars is the size of the pillars, A, B and C, which can create serious blind spots, especially the B pillar, where a difficult rearward glance still creates an area of invisibility. Couple that with convex mirrors, which although they are supposed to give a wider view actually distort distance, and there is a recipe to fail to see vehicles that are close to but behind or misjudge their distance if solely visible in the mirror. I have found that driving modern cars and being able to see what's coming up behind is worse than driving panel vans.
Yes, it makes them safer in a crash but can easily cause crashes! Also makes drivers miss vulnerable cyclists. May be time for a rethink on the regulations there? At least to check if they are not backfiring?
Driving certain modern cars, coming up to roundabouts and some corners in more built up areas I have to rock myself to look around the A pillar because of the massive blind spot it causes.
It's just a matter of moving your head as you would to look left or right. Do exactly as you would driving on a road with lots of bends where you have to move your body. Convex mirrors do help and don't bother me with judging distance with cars behind left or right. Just pick a spot you are passing, it could be a signpost, a road marking, even a bump in the road then see how long it takes the vehicle in the convex mirror to reach that spot. With convex mirrors I never have a bling spot problem.
Also like to mention most drivers don't have their mirrors set correctly. Many videos of safe driving show between a quarter to a third of the side of their car in the side view mirror. That is incorrect mirror setting. You should not be able to see any of your car in either mirror and should be set that you have to move two to 3 inches to either side to see it.
@@Seanmcdhuibhne Why would you need to move your body when driving a road with bends? My body is stationary in my seat, save for rear observation, when I drive and that can be reinforced when I use the full harness belts in one of my cars. Bobbing your body around in the car seat means that the standard lap and diagonal seat belt cannot be effective.
Modern convex mirrors are different to those traditional ones used in the past and I am not so sure that they have a variable view. What I do know is that when reversing on modern mirrors I find that judging the proximity of obstacles is much more difficult whereas that doesn't occur with traditional convex mirrors. As for judging distance using road features is not applicable when checking the state of traffic in the motorway lanes behind you.
To say that most drivers don't set their mirrors correctly is presumptuous, I bet your observation shows what the camera sees and not what the driver sees.
@@clivewilliams3661 Judging distance of vehicles to my left or right does work perfectly for me. There are plenty of features to set in between. Even shadows, road markings, or anythinthatsg stationary. Look at any UA-cam driving instructors demonstration on setting your mirrors. They have them set to waste up to 1/3 of a view. Why do you need to see that amount of your car????. It's not necessary as they should be set to see what's on the road and not of your car. I've been driving nearly 40yrs and have a clear view of all or part of vehicles passing me on either side.
Next time your driving on a road with close bends you'll know what I'm talking about. Do you keep your body stationary when pulling out from a parked position? I bet not.
Warm, sunny weather...
I had my second on road driving class on Monday, and we had warm, sunny weather too. 34 degrees, cloudless sky, and full insolation (heat index would be over 40 degrees). Even with the aircon on I was still sweating.
Had an close incident that day as well. Came off a roadabout, drove on a bit, and proceeded to change from the second to first lane. Left lane was clear, signalled, checked blind spot, started to maneuver, and suddenly some guy tears past at about twice my speed (which would put him over the speed limit). Undertaking while someone's changing lanes! And the best bit? Despite that dangerous driving he just ended up waiting longer at the lights, and I was right behind him.
I watch Jacks channel like most, well done for not acknowledging this BMW Bully! Personally I go out my way to piss them off, bad habit of mine. If they annoy me first of course.
What I do is both hands on the wheel, steady stare ahead and mouth wide open and go into ACT A LEARNER. Works every time, just leave you alone. 😂😂
Really good video and timely. I've spent most of today on the M4 and M25 and the amount of drivers joining the M4 50mph when the traffic is doing 60 to 70mph was unbelievable. The M25 was absolutely bloody terrefieng with cars undertaking others that were doing 70mph and cars going from lane 1 to lane 4 and back was mind blowing. I done over 250miles and didn't see one police traffic car which is half the problem today 🙄
I had a similar incident yesterday with a Mercedes. The lady driving left me no room to get from the slip road onto the M23. After the initial shock I realised I could have adjusted my speed beforehand to make the situation a lot more manageable.
I have been in her shoes before and always given people joining the motorway enough space but in the moment you can’t expect others to give you the same courtesy.
It may not just be courtesy, it may be awareness. It is often possible to fix their mistakes though.
I wouldnt be soo hard on yourself, people seem to apeear from nowhere when they are speeding on the motorway.
You was deffo showing off with that acceleration 😜😂
If I drive on the motorway, then I change the lines before merging so that they can entering freely.
I'm clear about the rules for joining a motorway, but there is something that has always surprised me. The advice has always been, and is repeated in this video, that you should try and get up to the speed of the traffic you are about to join. I totally understand that. Traffic will flow much easier if cars are travelling at a similar constant speed. However, as seen in this video, the faster you drive (and you will have to drive fast to join a motorway) the more difficult it is to make those observations before joining. We know from all walks of life that people are more likely to make the wrong decisions when put under pressure. Joining a motorway at speed does put you under pressure, gives you less time to make those observations, gives you less time to judge the speed of cars behind you etc
I'm not saying I have the answers to this, I definitely don't. But it is an aspect of driving that I'm not convinced we have all the answers to.
Anyway, I only started watching this channel yesterday and I'm really enjoying it.
There has to be give and take at a junction, sometimes it's impossible to fit in without someone making room.
I knew you’d do a collab with Jack! Called it 👊🏼 loved it
Interesting. Maybe a hidden message... 'purchase a fast accelerating vehicle!' Note, not to speed while ignoring speed limits, but, to enable additional choices available for a driver in difficult driving situations. Motorway mergence is one such case which many deem as difficult.
Love this collab
I drive on the motorway often between Liverpool and Manchester. I always leave space when I see people merging from a slip road but the number of people that brake even though I have seen them and left space is scary
Put your foot down; put your foot down; you'll lose them easy!
Oh, wait...... this ain't The 🇮🇹 Job.
Nicely demonstrated, as per.
I agree that the BMW driver was living up to the stereotype that is not entirely unwarranted.
Stay safe everyone 👍.
This isn't a comment based on this video Ashley, but based on my obervations simply walking around. I see so many cyclists being pressured by impatient drivers flashing their lights to go, but in a lot of scenarios, this can be dangerous if not fatal for cyclists. Particularly when Cyclists are emerging from side roads into major big roads, i have seen quite a lot of accidents due to impatient drivers falshing headlights signaling cyclists to go. This was a very informative video Ashley, & its always useful to keep in mind of reckless drivers, who seem to have a death wish.
This is one of the reasons I like the 'smart' M42 motorway towards Birmingham Airport. When it is busy and the 'hard shoulder' is being used as a live lane the overhead gantries direct traffic out of lane 1 so that other traffic can safely merge straight onto the motorway at junctions. Shame all so-called 'smart' motorways are not like that.
Indeed. Some of them do it the other way round, such as the Bristol Almonsbury VSLI area, by requiring those on the lane which is sometimes the hard shoulder, sometimes not, to move over to leave it as a hard shoulder, whereas when it’s busy enough one can stay in the lane all the way to the next junction.
The motorway is smarter than many drivers
Another very useful video! I wouldn’t leave a bag on the back seat, though! Under harsh braking it will become a missile inside the car.
Best in the boot or on the floor in the rear of the car!
it bears mentioning, that taking a slower launch off the line and planning to merge behind the other car, if you are in a situation where there are two lines at a traffic light, and they form one line soon after; is also a valid option. and it usually works well and leads to a successful zipper merge, because the other driver is usually trying to be first to the merge.
7:10 aversion to adapting if you are the traffic on the road that the other car is emerging onto.
When learning back in the seventies my instructor told me that I should never change speed once there was no grass verge or hard shoulder between me and the emerging lane. It's your job to remain predictable, and their job to adapt. If you change speed it makes it harder for them to get it right.
That is advice that was given while joining motorway standard dual carriageways before I passed my test. It's advice I've obeyed for 49 years, and passed on to about half a dozen learners who I've sat with. In my case it's not so much being a jobsworth as trying to be helpful.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on response to my long ago instructor's advice. I'm not too old to change (and indeed as a result of this channel have already changed one or two other things I learnt back in the day).
I’ve been in a similar situation where I’ve had someone trying to engage driving next me on the motorway, definitely not looking or engaging is key - this is what I did, however not engaging angered the driver further to the point they threw stuff at my car to get my attention, but I still didn’t look and waited until the next junction where I left near the end of the exit road so they couldn’t follow me to diffuse the situation.
This was great!
The key quote here, is, fit your speed in with the vehicles around you.
Us Brits are not good at this and we evolve in our motorway driving of thinking you have to move over to let people on. I have nearly been wiped out by a bus when this happened. As people are more observant of the emerging traffic than the traffic overtaking them. If you check the highway code that is not the case, although it is courteous to do so, its not always possible, especially if you are towing.
On the continent, slip roads are longer than ours and all the better to attain the motorway speed, but also the europeans tend to drive at more similar speeds, whereas, us Brits dont.
Conversely, you cannot come down a slip road at 85 and expect the guy doing 70 in lane 1 to move over for you.
The crossover that i didnt know i needed
Amazing collab
not a collab I expected but definitely a collab I'm up for
reminds me of Chris Martin EMS video on joining the motorway Great video :)
A collab that we didn't know we needed
Yesterday, I saw a Tesla model 3 with L plates.
I imagine they are simple to drive, but all that power available to an untrained right foot.
Should I be worried?
I would just worry about things like regen braking when they get into a "normal" car are they going to forget the brakes exist
(But then again I ride motorcycles with no assists whatsoever not even abs so maybe I am too far the other way)
I have been told they have a 'tame' mode. I drove a Tesla a while ago & was surprised how easy it was to control considering there was so much power available.
No you shouldn't be worried. Doesn't matter what a learner is driving. The speed limit applies to all. They could breaks the speed limit in built up areas in a cinquecento
@@mikehunter2844 yeah but you'd have to be flooring it for some time to break the speed limit in a cinquecento, whereas in a tesla just a bit too much pressure on the accelerator for a split second could have you over it
@@SeanWithaFada But untrained or not you wouldn't just jump into a Telsa and put the boot down. Like every type of vehicle, you take it easy until you get used to it. Whenever you sit in a different car you take it easy on the excelerator and break until you get the feel for it. Is fearr foighne ná fartún.
Matching your speed to traffic already on the motorway is the key; you did OK! 😆 I had a situation on Sunday with traffic joining a dual-lane bypass, similar to motorway and treated exactly the same. Three cars joining our traffic and the first car wasn't up to speed so the two followers couldn't either if they wanted to. The van in front of me pulled out into the second lane and I followed so all three could come out safely. But what if there was a steady queue of traffic in that lane and we couldn't have pulled out? We'd both have had to have braked very sharply because of one idiot driver not matching his speed.
Your not meant to give way to vehicles coming onto the main carriageway. You are meant to give way if you are joining. Jesus my driving instructor taught me if I can’t get in-front of the vehicle safely then join behind or wait till there is a gap. Braking sharply on motorways or duels. Is how pile ups happen
One thing I've noticed with experience is that a glance very often isn't long enough. It's a snapshot, it's enough to tell you that someone is there, but it's not long enough to allow you to gauge their speed.
You either have to look for a second or two, or do what you did and keep glancing several times, to get an idea of their speed.
Two glances between two seconds apart should be enough to be able to judge another cars speed in relation to yours. Looking at a car for 2 seconds with a car two seconds in front of you is asking for danger.
I'd ask car drivers to think about large, slow vehicles, lorries have a very low power to weight ratio, so cannot accelerate any where near as fast as any car, they are also fitted with speed limiters, so cannot do more than 56 mph. If you're joining traffic from a slip road and there is a lorry on the inside lane, be positive early on and either accelerate and get in front of it or slow and drop in behind, don't dither around driving along side it at the same speed , then get in a big panic because you're rapidly running out of slip road, this happens all the time! Similarly if you see a lorry on the slip when you are on the inside lane on the main carriageway and it looks like you'll end up alongside them when they need to join, either change lanes or adjust your speed so you're not alongside when they need to join, if you possibly can. Thank you.
yeah, but, no, but, they MUST get in front of the lorry at all cost
I’ve almost been caught out by this before but they didn’t stop when I was a newer driver made me check that once more over my shoulder before joining I also check over my shoulder when moving to the left as I’ve been undertaken changing lanes before which is also a bum clenching experience
Glancing! Holy s*** I actually learnt something (always felt like I could never get a good enough look, but never considered this method...doh)
All good common sense. I carry out a reversal of that if I'm the one on the motorway. As I'm approaching the acceleration lane which is now beginning to appear on my left, I'm having a glace over to see what may be emerging to my left. I check behind to see the traffic situation to my rear. I'm also watching the acceleration lane as it narrows to become one with the motorway with the nearside mirror and a glance.The information I gather from these observations allows me to to adjust and assist emerging traffic whilst not causing trouble behind me. I continue this until the acceleration lane is no more.
We have a problem near me when joining the trunk road, the A470 north of Cardiff, that lots of the slip roads are very short. Whilst trying to maintain a speed to match the traffic already on the trunk road, now dropped to 50mph for environmental purposes, you still only have 2-3 seconds of viewing traffic on the carriageway to assess if you can join the driving lane or slam your brakes on so as not to end up on the hard shoulder and break the law that way. As is law, some traffic in the driving lane stay there because they can, even if there is no traffic in the overtaking lane into which they could move to assist merging traffic. It’s such a shame that drivers nowadays don’t look out for each other as they seemed to when I started driving about 36 years ago.
3:55 it would be better if you changed lanes after passing the workers as they are vulnerable. It is the same reason why you must give cyclists space when overtaking/passing.
If possible yes, but this guy walked towards the carriageway after I'd lane changed.
@@ashley_neal so change lane again.
Ashley can I ask a question,the older cars the speedo were not calibrated,you are driving a tesla with satnav,does the satnav & the speed on the speedo are the same if so could you have a seperate satnav then compare both together.I used to use the satnav for speed although the trucks speedo was very accurate because it was calibrated.
There are few things more dangerous than getting stuck behind someone on the slip road who thinks it's OK to join the motorway at 40mph when all the HGVs in lane 1 are doing around 60. Happened to me recently. I know one answer would be to hang back and then accelerate up to speed when there's enough of a gap ahead, but it was a shortish slip road, cars behind me, and by the time I'd realised that he just wasn't going to go any faster I was committed. What should I have done?
Best answer is to avoid the situation. Assess the acceleration and driving style of the driver in front before you even join the slip road. If he/she looks slow, hold back to give yourself acceleration space. Then time your acceleration so that you are travelling at the correct speed when you reach the motorway and can merge easily. This assumes you are driving a car with at least a reasonable amount of poke.
Once you are stuck close behind a slowpoke in the slip road, you are screwed. The best you can then do is match their speed and seek to merge with them - a highly dubious manoeuvre, where essentially you are paying the penalty for their mistakes.
Prevention is better than cure in this case!
Have a look at joining the M6 southbound at J34. If you are in the RH lane, you can't see the vehicles on the motorway for the foliage and landscaping, until the very last minute, I am sure there are many other junctions like this.
That first clip of the BM was shocking driving by the beemer
If I checked as much as you do my head would fall off. I only ever look in my mirrors never turn my head to look backwards even when reversing.
yes good advice opened my eyes i was of the its up to them to merge to the main road but i need to do some work myself and be a better driver
On your last video on myths I said that the biggest myth is undertaking being classed as careless driving. You said "Do you reckon? Tuesdays upload shows otherwise"..... There are instances where any legal manoeuvre, if carried out in a non safe manner could be classed as careless driving. Changing lanes in either direction could be done carelessly. That doesn't mean over/undertaking itself is careless driving. So I still stand by what I said.
Stubbornness is the worst trait of a driver.
@@ashley_neal Contradicting a fact with a myth is the height of stubbornness. The fact is undertaking is not illegal.
You said it can't be classed as careless driving which it can.
@@ashley_neal No it cannot be classed as careless driving, as overtaking cannot be classed either. We all know that careless driving is illegal.
If I'm breaking the speed limit and overtake a car on either side that's in lane two I will NOT be charged for overtaking. If caught I will be charged for speeding. Undertaking is the passing of another vehicle on its left. Changing lanes is not undertaking. Neither is speeding.
🥇
Very good video.
Btw another driver overtook me in the week with a blind bend ahead and a car coming the other way….had to brake to let him/her in.
Some how I don’t think my next car is going to be a Tesla, more likely a petrol bargain basement Dacia.
I was thinking 95% the BMW, 5% Jack? Yes the BMW was massively in the wrong but as you say many times its upto the good drivers to fix the faults of the poor ones and that BMW driver could do with some lessons from yourself. Not perfect myself but if going a little quickly and a car pulls out then its my fault not theirs, it is my job to give them the space they should have if I was under the limit.
Agreed. Although the BMW driver was doing the wrong thing here, the emerge wasn't perfect either. Two things that resonate throughout this channel are "good drives fix poor driver's mistakes" and "priority is given, not taken". This whole thing could have ended much worse if there was no gap in lane 2, not to mention the red mini behind was already emergency braking. Good learning point - observation and adapting to the traffic around.
I tended to see things like that on the A2 around Chatham to the m25
Hi Ashley Neal I am from New Zealand I had the same thing happen to me I was going to the Waterloo shops here in New Zealand and this guy in the ute was tailgating me while I was on the Give Way and he did a silly thing him pass me on a give way sign so I toot the Horn.
I want to ask a question is that the right thing to do? And what do you do when it happens again as well?
why the shoulder check ? When you lean towards the side mirror and move your head accordingly im sure you will see in the mirror everything you need to see. Its much safer than shoulder check
Interesting that you 'out accelerated' the car at the lights so you could move over in front of him. I guess you were creating a situation for the video, but would you do this normally? If you know your turning right, then pick the outer lane before the lights? Also, is that manouver not (technically) an undertake?
I’d always do this if it was required. Interesting you see this as a problem 👍
There is no problem with doing this, but you are right that some see this as undertaking.
I've had grief before on a bicycle if I filter up the left of queuing traffic stopped on red, get to the front of the queue. Then the car to my right starts edging forward like they're annoyed I've got ahead of them! I can out-accelerate a car for a short distance on my road bike, so usually get ahead when the lights change, only to have angry driver trying to force their way past!
Because of this, I do sometimes go through on red if it's just a pedestrian crossing and the pedestrians have cleared. Just to give me a few extra seconds to get ahead of a dodgy driver.
I'm pretty sure the majority of accidents happen at junctions. Not only are people keen to be in front of drivers entering, a lot of drivers entering are eager to be in front of people already on the road. I find it helpful to stick in the inside lane for a short while to get into the rhythm of the road before making any lane changes for progressing forward.
It looks like Jack joined the motorway at the point where the slip road's dotted lines first start. In other words, at the first opportunity. There was still plenty of slip road remaining. Which is not to say he did anything wrong. But he did have the option to take more time to observe what was going on. I often see drivers change lanes from the slip road very early like this and it does often cause issues. Clearly this is a relative minor thing compared to the fella in the Beemer.
First and foremost the end of the merge road markings are for the merging cars to give way. Everything else is about working with what you see around you to merge as safely as possible. As has been mentioned in other comments the BMW presence is moot. It's the merging cars that are making the maneuver after all. Everyone seems to want to criticise the BMW .... just because?? When the merging car could have done so much more to avoid the situation. Good demonstration of how it should be done later though.
Be aware that the dashed line is there for a reason. If you cannot enter the highway, you have to stop. You cannot easily see what is preventing lane 1 from letting you out and you must not assume you can merge straight in. I almost got cleaned up by a lorry thinking this. Please don't assume anyone will do you a favour. Similarly, if you're in lane 2 and lane 1 wants to let someone out as you pass them, I've had them come across towards me and had to take some quick action. And I'm not a Beemer driver by the way.
The biggest key to merging is to get up to the speed of the traffic already on the motorway and then fit in , here in Australia they merge at a slower speed which slows down the traffic so they can merge which is totally wrong . Traffic on the motorway has right of way , meaning whoever's in front at the merge point has right of way so driving slower ruins a good merge when the car behind has to slow to let the merging car in , they will never learn .
On a sidenote, very cool seeing other creators whom I watch or watched in the past such as GameRiot, Figureight, Lewis' Tech susbcribed to Ashley.
I know you must match your speed to vehicles in the left lane and check for a gap but what should you do if there is is vehicle that doesn't move? Should you brake?
I see a lot of drivers in New Zealand who when driving seem to be fixated on what is directly in front and not paying attention to vehicles merging or changing lanes. Even fewer are aware of who is behind them.
The government is currently reducing speed limits across the country as a safety measure, but without addressing driver behaviour regarding awareness of surroundings speed reductions will not create the desired outcome of zero harm on the roads.
Well done Jack, honesty is a virtue and even though I am an old fart, I can be taught new tricks. Thanks again Ashley.
Interestingly when the two warning signs regarding merging first came out both had "with equal priority" after the first part of the meaning description.
Why did you change to the middle lane? i thought we are supposed to stay in the default left lane if we are not overtaking
ah I love Jack, such a funny guy.
In my experience when see people emerging, they hardly seem to even glance in their wing mirrors nevermind shoulder checking. I had an instance last week I was in lane 1 and a car was on the slip road slightly ahead of me wanting to join the motorway. I took my foot off the accelerator and therefore slowed slightly to give him plenty of time to emerge, but because he seemed to have zero awareness of what was going on around him as he did not look back, rather than taking the space I had left for him, he slowed down. I was still slowing and he continued to slow and we both got slower and slower. It was farcical as we both reduced our speeds; me to let him join and him because he didn't have a clue.
Yesss
The BMW driver seemed to speed up at the worst moment. They knew Jack was emerging at that moment. I don’t think they did it deliberately I think they were just trying to get past the cars but what on Earth did they expect Jack to do. The BMW driver clearly has no care for anyone else on the road. They probably seen him pull out and thought oh good I get to shout at someone. Side note here, I’m from Scotland and I’m on holiday in England and was driving west towards Manchester on the M62 the other day and it was quite busy and I thought the standard of driving on the motorway was excellent. Everyone was keeping to the speed, way better braking distances than on Scotlands motorways and very courteous. However the city driving seems a bit impatient and people don’t seem to plan, everything is very reactive rather than proactive. A pedestrian was crossing the road and a taxi driver drove right up to them and sounded the horn aggressively. I would have expected him to just slow down a bit and give the oblivious pedestrian the time they needed. Probably wouldn’t see that where I’m from. Everywhere has its positives and negatives, it’s very interesting to see and I like to analyse these situations a bit too much lol
When I’m on the motorway I’m watching the cars joining and slow enough to let vehicles filter in. I did however get someone think they had to speed up and barge in where I had to jump on the brake pedal. The guy was oblivious to what he’d done (no look in the mirror) I was still using a P plate at the time and it’s that same L plate “must get in front” scenario
The guy could have caused a crash and that would be my confidence shot too. It was dangerous. Maybe he thought I was slowing to also let him in,but there was plenty of room behind me but no he sped up to be at the side on me and tried to force me to change lanes when I couldn’t as the lane was occupied
Something I have seen myself in lane one of a duel carriageway st Peter's way between Bolton and Manchester
Can't get over to lane 2 so I slow down a touch to allow the car to slot in the car on the slip road also slows down now we are in an awkward game of chicken where one of us needs to make a move
Yeah I just used my bikes power to get out of the situation but I think people don't know how to merge or how to treat mergers
30 minutes have gone by and I'm laying in bed trying to sleep just thinking ' lorry 🚚 , mirror 🪞, shoulder' lorry, mirror shoulder.'