So, am I just a shoddy driver?

[finpos]

For as long as I've been driving ("a while"), if I've been exiting a motorway and wanted to take the right hand lane further along the slipway where it divides, I've entered the slipway as soon as possible and cruised along parallel to the dotted line on my offside, making directly for said right hand lane. Never thought anything of it.

I was doing that earlier and a fellow citizen who had been following behind on the motorway overlook me as I entered the slipway, then stuck on his left hand indicator and muscled in in front of me with glance of disdain.

"How rude" I thought, only for someone else to do exactly the same thing, but by now he was running out of slipway on which to exit so the whole thing was accompanied by brakes and horns (his horn, mine get honked twice a year; once on the way to the MOT and once there).

My opinion is of course that i am in the right as they were crossing the dotted line so they should have been jolly well making sure they merged appropriately with traffic already there. But am I right or merely going senile?

f.

[mistergixer]

Obligatory paint diagram required.
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[keggyhander]

Don't think any of you were correct.

If you're going left at the end of the slip, get onto the slip ASAP, and stay there till the end.

If you're going right at the end of the slip, delay leaving the motorway until the point where the right hand side of the slip intersects with the left hand side of the inside lane.

What retards usually do, is hug the left until they are about a hundred yards from the end of of the slip, then change lanes, causing those in the left to slam on. It's natural to assume that a car hugging the left is going to turn left.

I would imagine that getting on the slip at the first opportunity (when intending to turn right) is what caused your problem.

[blurredman]

I remember exiting a motorway once, I indicated left and as i got onto the slip way I entered the right hand lane of the exiting slipway.

Another driver who thought he could do a quick manoeuvre thought to try and overtake me as he thought I was going to use the left lane. He had to brake and wait in line after he realised that I was keeping to the right.
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

Looking at a local (typical) motorway junction :-

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=52.187984,-0.898921&spn=0.001256,0.003449&t=k&z=18&vpsrc=6

There is no right or left of the sliproad until you're way into chevron land - prior to that it's just a wide lane. If you're already on it, it's yours - the other driver is the one changing lanes. Since the lane then splits into two, you should position yourself in the lane at the earliest point possible so that you're already in line when the divider starts, rather than staying on the left and making a lane change.

So, get on the slip road as soon as possible, and if turning right then hug the right and own your line. Let the mongs who want to cut in at the last moment or are too dozy to spot the one mile, half mile and 300 yard countdown signs honk all they like, they'll soon get back to licking the inside of their windows.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Rogerborg]

You're right, they're being a bit Foreign. They don't even teach them basic queuing in Italy or Poland.
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[finpos]

Thanks for the opinions which I'm glad to see mostly support me being right and thanks for Shaggy's google image which is exactly what I'm talking about and also wins the "spot the microlight" contest.

[sickpup]

[stinkwheel]

If you want to see misplaced rage on a motorway, you should have seen the state of the guy behind my van the other day when I stopped at the end of a sliproad when joining the M6 on account of not having at least one from 1) Enough power, 2) A short enough vehicle or 3) A large enough space to safely join in a smooth manner.

He fair carried himself on, leaning on the horn, banging on his steering wheel, revving is engine then pulling alongside me once there was a big enough gap and taking the oppertunity to sound his horn some more while shaking his fist.

All in all, he made quite a spectacle of himself.

Regarding the OP. I agree with you. You are already on the sliproad, the other drivers are wanting to change lane into the one you are occupying. It is incumbent on them to wait for a gap, check their mirrors, indicate THEN manouver into said gap.

And fr the record, like you, I always try to join a sliproad as soon as it is wide enough to accommodate my vehicle and get into the correct lane for wherever I'm going at the top of said sliproad as soon as possible. Joining late is where accidents happen and shows a lack of both observation and anticipation on the part of the late joinee.

The fact that their road speed was so much higher than yours suggests they swung across from lane 2 straight into the sliproad or they would have been behind you when you joined it.
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[D O G]

A bit annoying perhaps, but not in the wrong I'd say. There is a natural line to an exit, and exiting ASAP when you want to be in the RH lane is not 'natural', so understandable that people had a 'wtf' moment when you do that - I know I would if I were exiting and overtaking at the same time.

If you do go slow, I'd probably go for an early exit, but keeping to the left more, allowing enough room for faster traffic to exit and overtake at the same time - after all they're not going to impede you. Once they're gone, then move to take the RH lane.

Of course each situation is different, so continual obs of traffic and what people coming up behind are doing/may do would affect your position.

[finpos]

[Rogerborg]

Where's T.C. when you need him?
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[The Disapproving Brit]

[Johnser]

Do you slow down (significantly) before entering the sliproad?

In normal traffic situations, it helps traffic flow if you do your speeding up/slowing down in the sliproads. If you'd slowed down 10 or 15 mph to enter the sliproad, while not exactly wrong, might go some way to explain the other drivers' reactions.

[Alex A]

Personally, I can't be bothered slowing right down just for an exit and will therefore plan where possible and safe to get past any existing or potential 'slip road obstacles', which may require a late exit and quick manouver.

But, in doing so, I don't necessarily consider myself in the 'right', and certainly wouldn't express anger towards the more pedestrian motorist for being a tedious lane hogging slow coach.

[st3v3]