Slip-roads

[TheInsanity1234]

Do you stop at the end of the slip-road, or do you slow down and treat the hard shoulder as an extension of the slip-road if it's clear?

Well both are (undesirable) options. I don't think there's any benefit to trying to decide a rule in advance that you would always do one or always do the other.

With fast-moving traffic and a proper motorway slip road I don't think I've ever stopped on the slip road. I can remember one occasion (someone had done what you describe - moved from lane 2 to lane 1 and nabbed my spot) where I extended onto the hard shoulder a short distance. I was accelerating, not slowing down though. Are you talking about continuing onto the hard shoulder while you still haven't figured out yet where you are going to merge into the lane 1 traffic? That's very different to planning a normal merge, losing your slot and then deciding that the best option now is ahead even though you won't quite get there before the slip road runs out so you'll need to extend a short distance onto the hard shoulder.

No, I mean in that situation, and you can see a space ahead that is very close to the end of the slip, and there aren't any clear spaces behind. Do you gun for that space, or do you slow down and hope another one will form alongside you.
Probably would never happen to me over my whole driving lifetime, but now I've said that it's probably going to happen every 5 minutes

[true blue]

I was with a RoADA tutor the other day and argued this very point with him. But then I also strongly disagreed with him in a narrow lane (just possible to squeeze two cars past each other, with high hedges allowing no forward vision, that approaching left hand blind bends in the centre of the road was not the best place to be. He insisted he was right and this is what an examiner would expect and that he knew best because he had got a Gold. I think I might have mentioned something about "excrement from a bull" (I always try to be polite ), slowed down and tucked in at which moment a car came rather quickly round the bend in the opposite direction and partially across the centre of the road. Proved a point I thought. I resisted the urge to rub it in but I think he might have already got the message. He was rather quiet for the rest of the drive. What was also upsetting was that as well as being awarded a Gold he was an ADI.

Interestingly enough I was debating this point with a RoSPA tutor a couple of weeks ago, though in my case the road was not wide enough for two vehicles to pass (would have been possible to mount the verge and crawl past another car, but not at any sort of speed).

I took the view that positioning myself in the middle of the lane was a good trade-off between forward vision and ability to brake and pull towards the verge. Better that any oncoming car and I see each other as early as possible - or so I thought. My tutor would have preferred me hugging the verge all the way around. Would be interested to hear your thoughts though.

[jcochrane]

I was with a RoADA tutor the other day and argued this very point with him. But then I also strongly disagreed with him in a narrow lane (just possible to squeeze two cars past each other, with high hedges allowing no forward vision, that approaching left hand blind bends in the centre of the road was not the best place to be. He insisted he was right and this is what an examiner would expect and that he knew best because he had got a Gold. I think I might have mentioned something about "excrement from a bull" (I always try to be polite ), slowed down and tucked in at which moment a car came rather quickly round the bend in the opposite direction and partially across the centre of the road. Proved a point I thought. I resisted the urge to rub it in but I think he might have already got the message. He was rather quiet for the rest of the drive. What was also upsetting was that as well as being awarded a Gold he was an ADI.

Interestingly enough I was debating this point with a RoSPA tutor a couple of weeks ago, though in my case the road was not wide enough for two vehicles to pass (would have been possible to mount the verge and crawl past another car, but not at any sort of speed).

I took the view that positioning myself in the middle of the lane was a good trade-off between forward vision and ability to brake and pull towards the verge. Better that any oncoming car and I see each other as early as possible - or so I thought. My tutor would have preferred me hugging the verge all the way around. Would be interested to hear your thoughts though.

Given your scenario I would probably agree with you as it sounds like a single track road. Speed would be reduced considerably. On the lane I was on cars drive at a much higher speed than on a single track. On some of the bends it is so tight that the front of a car overhangs well over to the other side of the road making it impossible for cars to pass and as I said before there is no forward vision due to the high hedges. The problem is the lane lulls people into driving faster than is safe and not allowing for bends and pinch points (which constantly catch out the unwary.) The lane is also used by farm equipment. Lost wing mirrors and road blocks due to an accident happen daily.

[true blue]

Thanks for the sanity check! I could/should perhaps have lost a few more mph into the bend, but pleased to hear that my rationale over positioning wasn't reckless.