On 20/04/2021 12:09, fred wrote:
Two lanes merging into one. Arrows clearly define which lane merges into which. At the merge point who has the right of way ?
In law, neither has right of way, unless road markings and signs say
otherwise.*
I only ask because in certain parts of the country if a lane is closing and prior warning is being given all the sheep immediately abandon the about to be closed lane. Same sheep take great umbrage if one tries to merge at the head of the queue as recommended. (i..e) Zip merge as opposed to a comb merge)
To me the obvious choice should be a one to one merge at the merge point but lots of pillocks take offence.
The Highway Code says:
'Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when
vehicles are travelling at a very low speed'
The AA advice is that it all depends upon the circumstances:
https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice.../merge-in-turn
* I have seen this. The situation was a dual carriageway that ended and
became a single carriageway on a left hand curve. Unfortunately, not
everybody noticed that the dual carriageway ended there, resulting in a
couple of fatal head-on crashes when vehicles travelling at high speed
in lane 2 carried on round the curve as if it were all dual carriageway,
ending up on the wrong side of the road. To avoid these accidents, the
highways authority closed off the end of lane 2 with a physical barrier
and put a give way line on lane 2 where the lanes started to converge.
This made all traffic exit the dual carriageway in single file and did
stop the type of accident that had happened before. Unfortunately, it
also meant that a car in lane 2 trying to get to the give way line
before a slower vehicle in lane 1 was forced into a rapid left - right -
left manoeuvre. That proved beyond the capabilities of some, notably the
teenage driver of a heavily overloaded car with almost bald tyres and
badly maintained brakes, bringing other teenagers back from a party. He
lost control coming out of the bend and went head on into a car coming
the other way. The road has since been made dual carriageway up to the
next junction, where they built a roundabout.
--
Colin Bignell