Advanced Driving Hub

Yes. AFAIK, you are correct. Arrows on the road are only advisory. It is the wording and the signage that make it mandatory. The signage, AFAIK, are the blue circular ones that give a positive instruction. e.g. Turn Left, Turn Right or Ahead Only. You sometimes see them attached to the side of traffic lights where there is a mandatory turn for a particular lane.

All that said, and as legal as it may be, if you can't complete the manoeuvre without having to wait for someone to "let you in" then it is very likely going to piss someone off and a police officer having a bad day may well pull you over and nick you for driving without due consideration for other road users, or maybe just waste your time for 20 mins.

You pays yer money... you takes yer choice.

Strangely Brown wrote:...
All that said, and as legal as it may be, if you can't complete the manoeuvre without having to wait for someone to "let you in" then it is very likely going to piss someone off and a police officer having a bad day may well pull you over and nick you for driving without due consideration for other road users, or maybe just waste your time for 20 mins.

You pays yer money... you takes yer choice.

Or, use lane 2 on approach, when you get there if it's busy or you see Plod, go round the R/A and get into the "proper" lane?

GTR1400MAN wrote:"Drive" along the dual carriageway and tell me what paint/signs says I can't.

Apart from all the writing that says "Woodbridge ONLY" then?
And the traffic separation zone approaching the r/a
And the lane markings that clearly narrow to one on the r/a (bounded by hatching) and only split into two again at the exit

IMHO if you choose to ignore all that (whoever you are and whatever your vehicle) you're being a knob.

It's a while since I've been there, is the Black Tiles still worth eating at?

Just for the clarity, the question was asked to generate discussion and try and get some clarity on the legality (or otherwise) of direction signs.

As mentioned earlier there are only 3 painted road arrows that are mandatory, so the "Woodbridge ONLY" (which isn't one of them but tries to be) was what I thought would generate more discussion. The rest is 'just' traffic management by paint.

So from the discussion no one has pointed out anything legally that prevents it, only conscience and fear of the invisible traffic plod.

PS. Black Tiles - Haven't been there for years. It's off the previous mess of a RAB which could be a topic in its own right.

If we're just looking for excuses to be anti-social and p!ss other drivers off, while secure in our pedantic "I'm doing nothing illegal, officer", is that an advanced attitude?

Converse question - under what circumstances would taking the first exit from lane 2 provide any advantage? I can only imagine one, and it relates to my question above.

PS - so it is. Duh!

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:If we're just looking for excuses to be anti-social and p!ss other drivers off, while secure in our pedantic "I'm doing nothing illegal, officer", is that an advanced attitude?

I imagined the op to be more of a thought provoking exercise. I could foresee a long line of slow moving LGVs in lane 1 and I had to get to the hospital to prevent/watch someone die, so perception wouldn't be a concern.

Still, you raise a good point. I could see BRAKE using that to ban overtaking!

crr003 wrote: Letting a vehicle turn right from the left hand lane.

Waiting here, checking for a gap from the right, traffic approaching the junction from your 2 O'clock . . .
https://goo.gl/maps/2VCoLwVLw672

View from the 2 O'clock lanes:
https://goo.gl/maps/D76M3CyRv182

Yup, both lanes are encouraged for traffic which will turn right and go past you. And, of course, if you're in the 'correct' lane, there's no need to signal . . . so they often don't.

Horse wrote:

crr003 wrote: Letting a vehicle turn right from the left hand lane.

Waiting here, checking for a gap from the right, traffic approaching the junction from your 2 O'clock . . .
https://goo.gl/maps/2VCoLwVLw672

View from the 2 O'clock lanes:
https://goo.gl/maps/D76M3CyRv182

Yup, both lanes are encouraged for traffic which will turn right and go past you. And, of course, if you're in the 'correct' lane, there's no need to signal . . . so they often don't.

Wow - that were all fields when I were a lad.
I used to drink in The Victoria Arms in Binfield.
Bracknell roundabouts were always interesting.

That roundabout, and the one 100m North, save me about 10 minutes a day - that adds up!

crr003 wrote:imagined the op to be more of a thought provoking exercise.

Yes, I understood that, but then the OP seemed to be arguing strongly that the distinction between "legal" and "guidance" was so important that I gleaned the impression that it was indeed more of a personal question.