Advanced Driving Hub

This evening I did something rather silly. Joining the A34 southbound at Chilton, it is a fairly short slip road.

I accelerated down the slip, looking to merge in the usual way. There was a car in the inside lane which obviously couldn't move out due to press of traffic. I was not in a screaming hurry so thought I'd just drop in behind her. But then she slowed down and hung in my blind spot. Short slip, so I slowed again, and so did she, still in my blind spot. We then had a few seconds of stand-off getting slower and slower and running out of slip road until I finally braked and dropped in behind at about 15 mph. Quick mirror check, all clear, signal, out into Lane 2 and blast past. Muttered comments

These things happen. In retrospect it would have been easier if I had just pressed the go pedal earlier and gone ahead, but not being in a hurry ... sometimes it's better to get going and not being too considerate of the other person ...

Mea culpa mea maxima Saab

Jim

The short length of slip roads usually don't allow much time for speed adjustment, go faster uses that time and distance more quickly. ie You can't win

Horse wrote:The short length of slip roads usually don't allow much time for speed adjustment, go faster uses that time and distance more quickly. ie You can't win

If you can't win, you need something with more power

Surely, Jim, if there's a choice, ahead is usually better??

Oh yes, in retrospect I should have pressed hard on the go-pedal. But sometimes things just happen.

'Hi thee behind me satan'....generally works well even in a lowly 110bhp MX5 as long as you don't go below 5k revs.

Triquet wrote:These things happen. In retrospect it would have been easier if I had just pressed the go pedal earlier and gone ahead, but not being in a hurry ... sometimes it's better to get going and not being too considerate of the other person ...

Mea culpa mea maxima Saab

Jim

Not forgetting that you're in a "Give Way" situation!

superplum wrote:Not forgetting that you're in a "Give Way" situation!

I bit my tongue.

In some countries it is accepted that the priority vehicle will accelerate to allow the joining one to slot in behind; in equally as many it is not the custom to move over to allow vehicles to join. The moving over technique is sometimes practiced but certainly not reached the degree of being expected as it is in the UK.
We all of us from time to time forget our training and even if only briefly revert to soft mode.

sussex2 wrote:In some countries it is accepted that

Something I've voiced before is whether [eventually] autonomous vehicles will be reprogrammed to 'drive like the locals'?