Merge In Turn Creates Best Flow For Everyone 

I used to be a space closer, thinking I was in the right, until I spoke to a neighbour who was a police officer and he explained the correct way to do this. The thing I see all the time is people parking themselves in the right lane to stop others using it. Often buses and lorries which is incredible considering they’re professional drivers.

You need your own TV show. It's good that all your subscribers see content like this, it's certainly changed my driving attitude. But imagine how much safer the roads would be if you were on national TV.

I hold my hands up and admit I used to be one of those thick headed drivers that got triggered by drivers who I thought were just trying to queue jump, I did attempt to block them more than once, I was ashamed once I realised how much sense it makes to merge in turn, I take the same approach as your viewer now and just de-escalate when I come across drivers who act like I used to

Fortunately, being retired, i'm never in a particular hurry to get anywhere. I'll virtually always stay in the left lane, and let anyone in/merge ahead of me. It's easier, and less stressful.

The guy getting out of the Audi reminded me of the same situation when 2 guys were battling over a space on a merge in turn. One of them was I’d say, mid 40’s the other was easily retirement age. They were brake checking, fists waving and they eventually stopped one behind the other at some lights were they both got out screaming the odds. We ended up alongside them in the next lane. I kept quiet but the girl I was teaching had her window down and shouted to them “ grow up, it’s like playschool “ Now I don’t approve of getting involved in things like this but they looked over, then at each other & got back in their cars 🤣 I did speak to my Student and told her she shouldn’t have got involved but they had looked over and I think it was a reality check that a teenager had told them off 🤣

Excellent video. 100% agree. Baffles me that some folks don't get it. When going up the right hand lane before a merge in turn, I find it best to reduce my speed so that I am not whooshing past the left hand lane. A slower, steady speed is less triggering to other drivers. Then, when I reach the merge point, slow and put the left turn indicator on. Be ready to wait if you encounter space closers, but the creep forward is a useful technique to demonstrate intent to merge. Finally, give a thank you signal to the car behind when you are let in. They are only doing what they are meant to do, but a little courtesy costs nothing, leaves you feeling happier and (who knows) you might need their courtesy again a little bit further along the road!

We have relatives and friends living in many countries in the World and when they visit so many are impressed by the courtesy shown by drivers here in the UK . So maybe we should slap ourselves on the back for the majority of road users here are considerate with road going courtesy (?) . Thanks Ash !

I've been saying this for over 20 years. Merge In Turn signs should add the word MUST to it.

We here in British Columbia had a pretty good publicity campaign a few years ago. The called it a “zipper merge”. If you think of how a zipper works, it’s a good analogy. It works for the spreading out before the signals too. Great segment, thanks very much.

There really needs to be a massive publicity campaign on this. But when we had very little publicity regarding the new HC, what hope is there for merge in turn!

When I was young you used to have public information films, and this would be a perfect subject for one of these films to get the correct method of merge in turn out in the public awareness. Perhaps someone could suggest to the government that they start producing these short films again.

tbh its something i didn't give much thought to & will generally get in the other lane to avoid stressing at not being let in, but your videos made logical sense to me that actually its better to leave it late to help traffic flow.

Remember, letting someone IN or OUT is not a sign of weakness, you are taking control of the situation. Someone has to.

Re: "If they didn't want you to use that road space they'd just cone it off earlier." I completely agree Ash and have often said the same thing myself. The issue is though, all those misguided drivers would then expect everyone to start merging even earlier!

The whole I'm in front mentality is just pathetic. We all started from different locations at different times and will arrive at different destinations at different times. Lets work together to get to those destinations as safely as possible.

having been in stressful situations where traffic blocking is a problem, i try to avoid getting into them in the first place. As a taxi driver I can use the bus lanes to overtake, but due to the weird way the city is laid out and the poor signage, I tend to stick with the queues to avoid being in the wrong lane when I get to a junction, or if it doesn't make alot of difference due to openess of the road. my methord of whose nose is further forward normally works well for merge in turn, but as you said there are still going to be idiots who close down the space.

Merge in turn, it’s really simple but here in Scotland people get over to the left way to early & I’ve had lorries that are in the left lane pulling to the right to stop me or anyone else preceding to a more appropriate merge point🤬I once was traveling south from Aberdeen on the dual carriage way when I passed one lane blocked sign, everyone was pulling over to the left & started queuing, I carried on in the right lane as I couldn’t see any problem ahead. There was nothing ahead, the sign had been left up by mistake. That was a great example of people wanting to queue.

For as long as there are people on this earth, there will always be problems. Not only with driving, but with EVERYTHING.

I come across so many Kings and Queens in London who try to box me out of 'their' lane because they've been sitting in it for longer. From the way people comment on your videos I feel that all of them are subbed to you, so I'm glad you're covering it!

Hi Ashley, thank you very much for this great explanation. I'm going to admit that until a few months ago, I didn't fully understand what the words "merge in turn" meant. I'm not sure if I missed it in my driving lessons (20 years ago) or if it simply wasn't taught to me, but because all the examples of "merge in turn" that I see regularly are on roads that aren't straight, I genuinely assumed that the words "merge in turn" meant "2 lanes become 1, but be careful because it's happening round a bend where visibility is reduced". Aside from my own stupidity, I can only put this down to the nature of the roads in my area and how those in charge of choosing wording for road signs love to miss out words, e.g. "workforce in road", "dual carriageway ahead", "road ahead closed". I understand why they do this, and I'd never misunderstood these other examples, but "merge in turn" I got wrong for 2 whole decades. But as a driver who did and still does care, I wonder if I'm not the only one who misunderstood this. I guess I should have looked it up in the highway code if I was unsure, but I never even questioned it, just as you'd never question "workforce in road". Thanks Ashley for a great video!

It's interesting. I was always the person who wouldn't let anyone in but now I'm the one that goes to the end and merges in. I've also noticed I also let people in now without bother

Wow great to see a clip from Japan! Don't usually see dash cam videos from there. Interestingly it seems they also use the flash hazards as a way of thanking other drivers. A universal language.

Confident enough to push forward yet wise enough to know when to hold back 👍

I remember driving in the left lane of a clearway one day and some road works blocked the right lane later on down the road (sign just after a roundabout but a good distance away from the road works). People had gotten into the left lane early. Temporary lights at the works held us all up when two cars (a BMW and a VW) had raced off the roundabout up to the road works in the right hand lane. The BMW managed to merge at the very front of the queue at the red traffic lights but the VW was unable to merge in time. When the traffic lights went green, the BMW went on their way but the few cars in front of me closed the gap blocking this VW and I could see he was getting more and more impatient, due to their steering inputs and lurching on the throttle, so I left a decent gap in front and the VW pulled in front and put their hazards on to say thank you. Wasn't long before both cars disappeared into the distance but that was ok because they no longer presented any hazards to me as they were both in front. Furthermore, it didn't cost me any more time to allow the VW in as a good volume of cars behind me also managed to get through the lights. Even if I were to get stuck at the lights after allowing the VW in, at least it deescalated a high risk situation.

Got to learn to read peoples driving styles it helps. Always one or two triggered individuals in a queue. Keep spreading the message.

It'd another good video. The message is to use the available space. If you look up "Queuing Theory" it'll explain. 2 supermarket checkouts can reduce service time by >50%. 2 traffic lanes can accommodate > twice the volume of throughput vehicles. Good video. Made me rethink my attitude towards use of the 2nd lane in a queueing situation.

Thank you for explaining things in a much clearer way than I can! Personally I always leave a good gap in front for someone to slide into and have my speed about 1mph below the people in front. I usually observe that the people in front (usually blocking) have a very jerky merge were as I just carry on 1 or 2 cars merge in and then after the blockage the whole queue just drifts up to the post-junction speed.

I agree with the sentiment and totally support your intent. BUT there are 2 problems (1) If we all as a rule give in then the reward ratio for the aggressive drivers goes up, so they and others like them are encouraged to do it more. (2) Whilst there is still a significant ratio of selfish drivers on the road then there is always a high risk that two selfish drivers meeting each other

Interesting thumbnail for this video Ash. It looks as though you are driving a totally open air car whilst basking in the sunshine!

im not sure what it is but i love watching you drive and demonstrate stuff whilst driving your tesla. something about it is really nice.

It’s the vans, trucks which straddle both lanes to prevent people from driving properly which get my goat. Why do they do it?

Saw a case of this a couple of days ago. I was following behind where 2 lanes merge to 1. Ute was trying to bully a smaller car out from merging. Small car held its ground. And then on came red and blue lights in the back of the small car. Instant karma for the space closer!

On my old commute between Liverpool and Scotland, the worst bit was often where the m58 meets the m6, it goes from 3 to 2 lanes with clear signage re merge in turn, initially I was a berk and with everyone else got into the inside lane and closed the spaces, but I realised it didn’t make sense so looked it up in the code, sure enough it says what is preached here so I started letting people in, that led to annoyed honks from behind so eventually I’d do what others did come past the stationery traffic and merge in turn, loads would block me and others including lorries who would move out and we all ended up sitting there for about a mile backed up from the junction. It taught me to always try and let it flow, don’t be a berk and go to fast in the outside lane (winds people up) and try to politely nudge in at the merge, in the 10 years I did this trip 2-3 times per month there was almost always some kind of battle between drivers, which then just led to more delay.

Anyone I've told about merging in turn has said it's not possible. I hadn't actually remembered it's in the highway code when I began saying people should adopt that method when a lane closes, it just seemed logical anyway. The first two cars do all the work ion deciding who goes where, everyone behind has the work done for them so everybody should love this part of driving.

Keep space! Simples! Sometimes the space is already there for you, but quiet often you have to " manufacture " it for yourself. It's what's known as "self preservation ".

There are times when local knowledge can help these situations, a queue of very slow or stationary traffic in lane 1 may be for an exit far ahead which you may or may not need to take. Using lane 2 could create a dangerous situation if you can't get back in until close to the exit, staying in lane 1 if you don't yet know that you don't need that exit may mean you're just adding to congestion. Personally if I'm in a lane 1 exit queue close to said exit, I'm looking down lane 2 for vehicles that want to change lanes late, giving them space could save an accident.

In Jersey there's a tiny roundabout that gets a ton of congestion, so to combat it there are filter in turn signs all around it. All the Jersey drivers have learned to go one after the other and it works perfectly. It's like clockwork. Beaumont roundabout if you're interested.

I think because the outer lane generally closes people react by gap closing, maybe if both lanes merged to the centre first then went left or right after it may help to get a merged system better also as others have said never enough info done on HC or changes on averts on TV

I agree with your view on the problem, but you failed to mention space closers in the outer lane When I’m driving a truck or towing a heavy trailer I’m in the near side lane and I’m an easy target for gap closers trying to squeeze in front 2 or even 3 at a time at the end of duel lanes I need more space to stop so leave a bigger gap, I take longer to start off of this creates a bigger gap, but some still think it’s a good idea to put themselves in a dangerous area of road Starting a manual truck from a dead stop is quiet an event, if the outer lane didn’t have as many gap closers as well and we all shared the space 🤷‍♂️👍

Lane markings can be so worn out at these type of junctions they can’t be recognised, even worse at night time or in wet weather. In unfamiliar territory it can be very difficult to assimilate choice for correct lane. Only thing to do is slow down and cause congestion!

Because of my temper I move over early so I don’t blow up when I don’t get let back in!! Every days a learning day.

I came upon the back of a queue of near stationary traffic on a national speed limit dual carriageway. The distance between the back of the queue to the 800yard warning sign for lane closure was probably about a mile in itself. I carried on until about 400 yard warning sign and joined then. I didn’t have any trouble joining as I’d been reducing speed all along and looking up ahead for spaces, no one gave me grief. The length of that queue could have had dangerous consequences, and yet some people still believe they’re being honourable by queueing early. We are not in competition with one another to get to the same place.

This is one of various things ultimately the Police and authorities need to tackle. 1) Lane discipline - middle lane motorway drivers oblivious to the proper use. 2) Merge in Turn - The self-declared 'police' heroes who would rather force you off the road than actually allow roads to work properly. Both require the police to prosecute individuals, because if people aren't directly punished they'll not learn. Driving schools need to teach this, the Highway Code needs to be far clearer, and Police need to stomp on the individuals that decide to enforce nonsense.

Well in Czech Republic we call this merging "the zipper rule", it's in the road code since 2000, but still there are some "justice" fighters blocking both lanes or driving on the bumper of the cars in front of them when it comes to the merging. On the other hand there's also that kind of drivers, that are merging into the continuing lane, who, after a car in front of them merges like 10 meters before the end of the lane, just have to jump that one extra car in the continuing lane. So there's some ego compensation on both sides (or in both lanes in this case ;) ). Luckily, over the years, there's definitely a progress, so most of the time the merging is working just fine, majority of drivers found out that if they behave by that rule, it really makes the traffic go faster as it eliminates lot of braking/stoping and accelerating.

I do feel it’s getting better. The person merging can help the situation. Your merge at 5:55. You pull up with a good space behind the black Fiesta and left a nice gap. If you’d have pulled up beside the Tesla, appearing to compete for that space, you may have triggered it. The black Merc which you ended up in front of was never really in a battle for the space as your choice of positioning made it plainly obvious where you expected to merge. I have found it works better if you indicate the space you intend to use, perhaps one car behind that which maybe you could have used, early and non aggressively, just as you did here.

Ashley’s videos should end with Wordsworth and Coleridge’s line - “The still sad music of humanity.”

Being "sensible/grown up" really shouldn't be difficult but, sadly, a certain mindset prevails. I've had the misfortune to view 📽 where a minor disagreement escalates into an "aggrieved person" who is coming at you with a Hammer or other weapon...... scary stuff!! Perhaps the 118k Subscribers on here will lead by example and try to de-escalate a situation before it goes too far. Discretion is the better part of valour. Stay safe everyone 👍

Courtesy to other road users includes those behind as well as those wanting to pull in ahead of you. There are merge in turn situations which people use it to overtake. I used to go into the right lane of my local hot spot to prevent outrageous overtakes by matching my speed with left lane and negotiating the space early doors.

Merge in turn is such a simple concept, but it relies on something that the rules can have no control over...the average motorist has a very selfish need to be in front. So many people seem to be tight for time, and they see even a fraction of a second is going to make them later than they already are. Expecting people to use both lanes and then, at the end of them merge politely, in turn, without getting wound up, thuggish or obstructive, is a lot to ask of many modern motorists. The other issue is the 'my car is newer/more expensive/faster than yours' attitude. Many years ago I was given a gobful of abuse from a driver who (wrongly) perceived I had held him up, and told me I should have let him past because he had a Mercedes! He failed to appreciate that overtaking me in a 40 limit, when I was driving at 40 (probably more like 45 tbh), was just plain wrong. He'd bought an expensive, fast car and felt he could do what he wanted, and yet delayed his journey to 'put me right'. People need educating, unfortunately too many feel they know it all. I've been driving for nearly 40 years, and Ashley is still teaching me stuff.

There is a road I have to drive down on a regular basis. It's a duel carriage way which is usually a 60, but due to road works is a 30. The cars do not do 30, they all do 50+ and the left hand lane is coned off and is a merge now. I've tried to do this, but 1 driving at 30 is dangerous to begin with because the cars come speeding up behind you and nearly drive into the back of you. I've tried to merge but I had to completely stop because a car was coming up behind me at over 50 and would have done right into the back of me, so now I move over well before and let them undertake me.

The bypass near me has something like that two lanes at the lights, one lane a short time later. Its slightly less clear though because although the road that merges leads towards the motorway, part way along there's a turning to the right, where traffic inevitably have to stop to wait for an opportunity to turn. It's hard to know who's in the right lane because they're taking the right turn, or because they want to head for the motorway. So I just usually wait to see what speed they're adopting, whether they're trying to get ahead of me or falling in behind and act accordingly. Like you say, it's not worth it for being one car length further up the road

I wonder if another element of hesitation for some to take the opportunity to use the existing space, is the hassle they might experience? If you've suffered repeatedly from people who block your safe merging attempts you might think it's not worth it. Keep banging out the message, because we can all ultimately benefit from using the roads fairly. Driving is a privilege not a right.

Trying to jump the queue would be driving in the oncoming lane(s) or driving on the pavement. Using a lane that has been built to be used is far from queue jumping. Don't know why people won't get it.

There are many such roads in Ipswich and Colchester. Especially A12.

Every day on my journey home along a dual carriage way with road works that end with a merge in turn, the left lane is one long queue as far as the eye can see while the right hand lane is virtualy empty. Everyone is frantically trying to get into the queue on the left to just sit there and it beggars belief. I just do what you are supposed to do and drive slowly down the right hand lane passing 100’s of cars all the way to the front and then gently zip merge without a fuss. The look you get from the drivers who have sat for a long time in the left as you pass them by makes my day but I do feel sorry for them for their ignorance and their lack of understanding. I am happy for them to sit in the left as it allows me to reduce my journey time and stress on the commute home. The biggest problem with the queue however is they block several roundabouts on the approach to the merge in turn and causes gridlock for others going other directions but they can't see the problem they are causing becasue they believe they have to form an orderly line and wait their turn. Madness.

I love these merge in turn videos, it's an important message to get out. For the sake of balance, it would be good to see examples where people try to merge in turn where they shouldn't, or do it very badly. It would help convince skeptics that we're not being biased.

Great video Ash, and don't be daft as there's no need to apologise. When it comes to merge in turns the only time I've seen one work well with people is the one on Princess Elizabeth Way in Cheltenham which is a little bit concerning. I think I mentioned on one of your previous videos about having to tell my parents that someone was doing the correct thing as they thought they were queue jumping. This was approaching the M48 Severn Bridge westbound as the bridge is currently down to one lane due to roadworks. I did notice that since that day there are now signs approaching the lane closure telling people that they need to merge in turn when the traffic is busy.

It's always that 'one car in front' mentality around these types of junctions causing the issues, so by that it all comes down to ego at the end of the day. Their ego's will not allow them to yield and let someone in. I see it all the time. I no longer queue for nothing if there are two lanes then I'm using them. You are right that people need to change BUT the problem here is, in the UK people love to queue and it's also that simple, Brits love to queue for nothing 😆

I was taught within the last 5-6 years and familiarized myself quite well with highway code stuff for the theory part of the test. Whether it helped me know this information or not, I did learn a bit from having a CBT. I would imagine the ones that don't get the merge-in-turn aren't really that good of a driver in the first place, and I would suspect a lot fall under a certain age bracket perhaps. I'd also believe that the general mentality of the driver is a factor.

8:08, it may be a touch late for the Maserati to merge as the lane is narrowing but maybe someone a couple of cars back closed the gap on him and didn't want to go one by one, and he was then left with nowhere to go, but had spotted the gap created by the cammer and decided to fit into there instead. I've definitely been in similar situations that lead me to also do that because I didn't feel like coming to a complete halt in lane 2 was safe for me or for traffic further behind who are trying to keep flowing.

It’s the road network demonstrating natural selection! This with. Low IQ queue early. I’m happy to make great progress in these situations 😂

Happened to me today at a junction that has two lanes to go forward that then merge, one right (with one forward lane) and one left lane if people only use one forward lane it will block people trying to go left so you need to use both but people refuse to or hate you doing it

I sometimes wonder whether road markings inadvertently give the wrong impression. In the examples in this video, there are left pointing arrows towards the end of the offside line. Do these give the impression to some people in the inside lane that they have 'right of way' and that it's up to the people to their right to do what they can? It's often worse with road works, where it seems it's always the offside lane which is closed closed, with all traffic having to move left. I wonder whether closing the nearside lane at the point of merge might make a difference.

9:38. I wish I could have shown you an example of that on the M6 J8/M5 roadworks. Fortunately, they’re now gone (anyone who lives in West Mids area will probably remember as they went on forever) but, at one stage, on the two lane exit slip, it merged into one lane further down before the 6 joined the 5, so the left merged into the right. Despite signs saying “merge in turn. Use both lanes” 98% of motorists queued in the right hand lane. There was all the blocking etc going on that we saw in the video and it was mental. Everyone slowed everything down by just queuing for no reason. I think two big factors were perception that you’d be “pushing in” and also that you wouldn’t be able to get in as nobody would leave a gap for you. A few times I followed someone in the right hand lane and signs said “merge in turn 100yds” yet they decided to try and get in then, rather than just carry on to the end. I reckon it took more time doing that then driving another minute or so to the merge point.

That VW and Audi drivers were along side Edgbaston Cricket ground in Birmingham.

There's always one who spoils the flow and the fact is we all benefit from it. Maybe not at that exact time but later on at another point in time.

Clip just before the 5 minute mark. Had a similar situation a while back but lanes reversed. I was in the left lane when a car two spaces ahead of me moved to the middle of the 2 lanes and blocked a car in the right lane. Car directly in front of me didn't want to let the car on the right past also. Car in the right lane revved his engine loudly and moved forward very slightly and stopped (gave the impression he was going to steal the gap). Car in front must have thought he was going to lose the gap and shot forward into the car in front. So the guy that blocked the lane and the guy that could not afford to lose a space both lost out having to stop to exchange details. One of the reasons I now use a dashcam, although I may have had to edit out my giggles at that crash.

I think a lot of people get this issue confused with getting in lane for a turn off, and while I'll still provide room for those late in the queue, because it can often be people genuinely late to get in lane, and what's the big deal anyway, with lane narrowing, there's no turn off. And all that extra space for cars to use up.

Do a video about time dependent bus lanes, I think a lot of the confusion comes from bus lanes that switch from temporary bus lanes to permanent bus lanes part way down the road, which I think leads to people who miss signs (floor watchers) to end up with a fine and never go in the lane ever again, even if it's midday Sunday and the sign clearly says Mon - Fri 16:00 : 19:00

Ashley, you should see the state of the traffic at the end of the M58 at Wigan, it's a nightmare for the lack of merge in turn.

Good video. I've always found it baffling when driving in the UK why people somehow don't understand this. In the country where I live, merging in turn is compulsory. If you fail to allow cars to merge in turn, it's a stiff fine and 3 points on your licence. Also I don't get the thing about "they're jumping the queue". The whole point is that there isn't a queue, there are two queues. Before the merge point, both queues move at the same speed, because people are merging in turn. It's blindingly obvious. So there's no anxiety about being in the "slow queue", because there is no slow queue. It's all so obvious, I'm genuinely puzzled why some UK drivers still don't seem to get this. (To be fair, I've experienced similar weird behaviour in France too, so it's clearly not a UK-specific thing.)

I think the "you're not skipping the queue in front of me!" attitude is all about not letting Audi (or BMW) drivers get away with their self-important antics. Even though you've proved they get to their destination no quicker in an urban environment - it's about teaching them a lesson! It's about false notions of bravery and chivalry - not being a pussy and giving in to these bullies! Like, in a traffic jam, there's traffic coming from my left, but completely stuck. If it's a Mini with a cute young lady behind the wheel, trying to get out - I'll throw her a smile and wave her out in front of me If it's a businessman in an Audi, Merc or BMW, who even moves as if to ram my car to bully his way in - I'll slam the door shut! He's NOT getting out, and I'll make the "wanker" gesture towards him (because that's what he is) It's about standing up for yourself and never letting bullies win! Being able to look at yourself in the mirror - "I stood up to an Audi wanker today, I am proud of the person looking back at me ..." (... until your car gets crashed into, costing you hundreds more on your insurance every year because of your misplaced notion of chivalry and bravery. Was it worth it? Very probably not!)

Unrelated. Ash. please check out the Viola Beach crash. I think this sends a big example of preparing to drive in another country, where they can have different road features such as traffic lights on motorways. Maybe consider doing something on these issues at some point?

Yes , the A 174 near Hemlington " Teesside the lanes changes into one

In the first viewer clip I find it interesting that it's the Ford that's closing the gap. Most of the time it's vehicles in the left lane that are space closers, this is a rare case where the space closer is in the right lane.

I think people in general have the mindset of “I’m going to have to move into that lane at some point, might as well do it ASAP” and they probably feel traffic jams are inevitable whatever they do.

Here's the thing: If all (or at least the majority) of drivers were on board with this whole concept of using both lanes and then merging in turn, we would have both lanes with approximately the same queue length. Which would not generate this feeling amongst many drivers that it's queue jumping. But because so many drivers are not onboard, we often end up with a huge disparity in queue lengths and this contributes to the mistaken view that those who are doing it correctly are queue jumping.

Your right…but as pointed out many people don’t do this. That’s the prob. So do we do it correctly or do we do what everyone else does to avoid confusion? This points to single lane being safer because the situation doesn’t arise. It’s the difference between theory an reality. 2 tipbits. In some situations my sat nav tells me to take X lane and stay in lane….are people just doing what the sat nav says? Probably. If you leave a gap…eg merge in turn or zipper, some people close behind will beep their horn at you-telling you to speed up and close the gap.

This is normal in Germany and it works well for traffic flows.

Alive and well thanks Mr Ashley. I played the video loud enough for the other half to overhear, despite my explanation of using all the road space and how it helps traffic flow, she still seems reluctant to engage. Hopefully hearing you stress the point she might start listening. 👍

Amen.

Ah yes the battle between those using the available tarmac and those who think you should sit and queue just like they are and serve your time. In merge in turn situations I will always go to the front and put the indicator on and wait for someone to let me in. No harm done. Half the time it comes down to holding your nerve with the space closers or getting across them before they get the chance to be stupid about it. By the way I’m a big believer in allowing the traffic to flow and will always do my bit to help that where I can.

Been driving for over 35 years and your videos have helped me look at my own diving and habits and make changes for the better so thank you. Driving standards in UK city’s are at a low standard and if I was in power drivers would be taking a test every five years. Thoughts? Education empowers people.

It would be helpful if the powers that be would revise the road signs from simply saying "MERGE IN TURN" to something like "USE BOTH LANES AND MERGE IN TURN". It wouldn't stop the idiots, but it would leave drivers in no doubt that it's okay, neigh, required to use all the road space, and to let others merge as necessary. Part of the problem may stem from the days when roadsigns, especially at busy junctions and intersections, used to say "GET IN LANE". Even a PIF from the then Ministry of Transport, used to reinforce that notion, with a voiceover that said something to the effect "Choose your lane early. Get in lane, and stay in lane". We don't see any PIFs on the telly these days. Me, I just like to get to where I'm going with the minimum of bother, and definitely without declaring war on anyone!

When I lived in South London you never got out of your car to have a word with the other driver. Unless of course you think you're hard enough to stop a bullet. Never get out of your car to "have a word" because you don't know who the other driver is or what might happen.

In both of your examples it worked well but where it gets more of a problem is when in the second case rather than slot in behind the Tesla as you did you tuck up tight behind the Fiesta and try to get in front of that as well after it pulls in front of the Tesla, sometimes with another car behind that runs right down to the point of the road narrowing and on to the chevrons also trying to get in front of the Tesla, at times if you don't block at a certain point you would need to actually stop completely to let in even more vehicles, if you try and leave a safe gap in front even more cars will keep using it to overtake and one lane will stop completely. Sensible from all works but not only are there people who will block others there are people who rather than merging will accelerate down the closing lane until they are actually touching cones and then when they run out of space assume the car along side which has already let several cars in will brake to a stop to let them in.

Good video

It's horrible when you're in the wrong lane at a roudabout/juntion and lovely when you're let back over. Too many times I've had to go the wrong way because I'm unfamiliar with the roads and the sat-nav is very late with directions (I'm litterately "Which lane, which lane, WHICH LANE!!...." Sat-nav "Get in tthe right lane", I'm in the middle lane with no hope of going right)

There’s a stretch of road near me, it’s 2 lanes for around 150 yards then mergers together. Just after the merge there’s traffic lights for a blind T junction and the other end is a roundabout. The 2 lanes are there solely because traffic backs up onto the roundabout which then gridlocks the entire town for all of rush hour. People will drive on both lanes to block any potential mergers which makes everyone stay in the left lane which causes back ups. There’s a full 150 yards of road left untouched. I wish the council would put some signs up at least, “use both lanes.” I wish they’d get a couple of officers out, directing traffic to use all the space and punishing people who close space or block the right lane. A week would be enough to get people into the habit because it’s the same cars and people every day.

We need public information films with you in, and adverts

I’d just like to challenge you on something Ashley. You talk here about best flow and the reason for two lanes at traffic lights being to get more cars through the junction. All true, but if everyone left the “correct” amount of space as you see it when stopped, a whole car length plus between yourself and the car in front then the capacity of all junctions would be severely reduced.

immature and selfish springs to mind. really good informative video but the people that don't do it correctly do the same thing in all aspects of life 🙄

If suddenly a lane is blocked due to an accident or incident people will go out of their way to help each other move over. Why is it so different when the road markings show you exactly where to perform the same manoeuvre?

4:30 - that is pretty much every two lane into one junction for me, driving in London. :(

Thanks for this Ashley. A good reminder. I really don't remember being taught anything about this when I learned to drive, 30 or so years ago. I don't know whether others' experience was the same. If so, is that perhaps part of the problem?

My attitude is changing when it comes to merge in turn on the motorway I feel people should merge in turn around 30 yards or so from the road closed sign if the traffic is moving maybe even go a bit closer to it but if traffic is at a standstill I can see the person waiting a good while especially due to the stubbornness of some drivers my attitude used to be they never let me go so I'll do the same but I feel like that's changing now

Great video. I get frustrated by people who don't use both lanes and when you merge why do they bunch up? Merge in turn please and allow it to happen

The problem with merge in turn is not its basic definition - if everybody did it, Ashley is correct, there would be no issue. But in this video Ashley _mainly_ focusses on the ills of the space closers, whilst not addressing what I experience to be the most typical source of the problem - and that is the impatient, selfish, "queing is for you but not for me" driver. The typical way this goes down is as follows: a lane is closing. Notice is given of the lane closure shortly. And this is the cue for people in the lane that is going to close to safely merge in at a responsible point. But some drivers don't do that. Instead they speed their way down the closing lane and then instead of merging safely, they try to force their way in at the last possible moment, creating a pinch point that causes everyone else to react to their bad driving. Now let's say that happens to me - I am in the live lane and the lane adjacent to me is closing. And some guy comes barelling down the closing lane that he's had ample notification about, and tries to force his way in right at the end. Let's say that despite his bad driving, I just default to merge in turn and let him go. I agree, it's the right thing to do. But I don't agree that the other driver merged in a responsible way. All I did was react to him in the best way possible. But wait, the scenario isn't finished. Now, having gone with merge in turn, yet another driver has follwed right behind him and is also trying to force his way in. And now you have to ask yourself: who is responsible for merging in from the closing lane? Surely the ones who are in the lane that is closing carry that responsibility. And this is where the problem comes from because the selfish attitudes of these drivers irritates people. And then there is stubborness from the people who merged in plenty of time further up the road. And hence this sort of issue occurs.

There is a perfect example of roadworks merging coming back into liverpool down the east lancs. I always use the available space on the lane what is closing to my advantage. I don't get these people who tail back in the traffic 1 mile earlier 🤣

I wish everyone could just let things go on the road, would help a ton. Someone being stubborn and won't let you in? Just let them do whatever, they won't get triggered, a single car backwards is negligible time difference and we all get on with our day.