When checking the position of traffic for merging you should?

Merging

As a driving instructor merging is something that I find people struggle with on a daily basis.  Does the thought of dual lanes coming to an end cause you concern or create road rage towards other drivers?  Do you find it feels like a competition with other drivers to get to the front of the cue?  Have you ever found yourself at the end of a merging lane not able to get into the right lane?  Have you ever come into peak traffic for no real reason other than 2 lanes are trying to merge together?

I will try to take some of the confusion out of merging and some of the habits we see in other drivers and give you the shortened version for those who want to know how before reading all of the reasons.

Plan ahead.

Match the speed of the traffic accordingly and be checking your mirrors at the same time.

Plan for the space you are going into, one car from each lane if you can.

Indicate your intentions for 3 seconds and shoulder check in this time.

Merge across; giving a wave to acknowledge the other driver is always a courteous thing to do.

Gradually adjust to a 3 second safety space as traffic speed picks up.

The ideal way to merge is to treat it like a zipper and one car at a time from each lane merges together.  This isn’t law but is a great idea.

One of the things about merging is that not all merging lanes are the same.  There are 3 types of merging with different responsibilities of who gives way.

1. Where 2 lanes become one with give way lines and the road narrows; the car in the left lane must give way to the car in the right lane once the give way lines have started.  Before the give way lines start then the rules are the same as changing lanes in dual lanes situation.
2. Then the last one where the road narrows without give way lines; the car which is in front at the end of the lane goes first.

Being able to merge effectively and efficiently should start with a plan, when we  can see the sign saying Left lane ends ahead, is a good time to start.  The first problem we have is so many drivers don’t look ahead far enough and even when they do don’t always read signs.  How many times as drivers have we had to think twice about what speed zone we are in and can’t remember seeing a sign for it, even though there will have been more than one.

A few of the things we need to consider first is; what is the speed zone we are in, what volume of cars we have around us, what speed are we doing compared to the speed the other cars, what give way lines are ahead, are there large vehicles around us that will need extra room to merge, how much vision do we have ahead and what speed are the vehicles ahead doing?   All of these questions effect how well 2 lanes merge together and this is why we need to plan well ahead of where the lanes end.

So the plan doesn’t always start with us getting into the right lane immediately. If we all get into the right lane as soon as we can then the problem arises, especially when there are high volumes of traffic, we can cause a traffic jam behind us as too many people are trying to merge too quickly.  At times with less traffic volume then getting over early is a great idea and can help vehicle flow as the situation is now different.  Not merging too early helps prevent that driver who sees a clear left lane and thinks they can rush past some of the other cars and then try to squeeze in at the end of the lane just so they can get to the front quicker.  Firstly they are failing to give way on a give way line but secondly they are slowing the vehicle flow for all those who have merged correctly and are very inconsiderate. 

So does that mean we shouldn’t let drivers merge in from the left lane even if they are on a give way line? No it doesn’t mean that.  Like I said earlier a merge lane should work like a zipper and have one car from each lane merge together.  The drivers in the left lane should be setting their speed, selecting a space to be able to merge while the lines are lane lines not give way lines, indicating and then coming across.   But if the driver in the right lane speeds up to try to stop that driver from merging then they can create a very dangerous situation as the left lane ends as they have nowhere to go.  Some drivers have this crazy idea that they are going to get to their destination faster if they get one space further but it is NOT going to change your trip time in any way! This is a very poor driving behaviour with no winners.  It then takes longer for all drivers to get back up to speed causing more congestion.  It sort of defeats the purpose of trying to push in when no drivers are going anywhere fast.  It isn’t hard to be courteous.

Putting our indicators on immediately without checking our mirrors to see if there is a space for us to go into isn’t the best idea either as we are telling drivers in the other lane that you are coming over NOW even if you are not ready to.   We need to check our side mirrors to see who is beside us and if there is a space for us to go into.  We also need to consider what speed the cars in the right lane are doing.  If they are planning ahead and committing to going past you before you merge and are carrying more speed then you, putting your indicator on can cause serious concern for them as they will think you are going to come over without checking and will probably brake hard to avoid you.  This causes problems behind them especially if there is traffic close behind.   If you then don’t follow through and merge that driver has no idea what you are planning as you have given them mixed signals of what you are doing and causes problems with vehicle flow.  Remember your indicator is the only real way that we indicate to other drivers what we are planning to do.  So don’t indicate until you are planning to merge.

I have mentioned a couple of times about vehicle flow.  We need to understand how very important this is if we are going to merge effectively and efficiently.

One of the ways we help flow is by making sure that we are doing the same speed as the other lane when we merge together.  So if the other lane is doing 60klms then we need to try to do as close to that speed as well but if the traffic speed is 40klms then we need to match this as well, this will help to make the merge more seamless.   We shouldn’t need to brake much at all, especially if all drivers are planning ahead, for you to come into the lane if your speeds are consistent.  We also need to take into consideration what speed the traffic ahead will be doing.  If there are a lot of cars to merge or if someone is going slower ahead then that is going to dramatically affect the speed everyone will have to be doing by the end of the lane.  You may need to be making adjustments as you watch the traffic merge.   

I see on a regular basis when drivers are trying to merge that they unconsciously go slower.  Probably to help with mirror and shoulder checks and to plan for their space but this means the other lane has to slow to your speed to allow for you to come over.  This in turn then slows all traffic behind you which effects vehicle flow.  To help avoid this we need to plan ahead earlier where your space is going to be, this will give you more time to make decisions instead of indicating, checking mirrors and blind spot as you are merging.

 Planning ahead is also going to allow for larger vehicles, trucks, caravans or a tradie with a long trailer need more space to merge.  Don’t stay next to a truck when it is trying to merge, they won’t always see you and you don’t give them anywhere to go.  A truck has bigger blind spots then a car so you could be creating a very dangerous position for yourself and anyone in your car.  Keep checking the side mirror on the truck to see if you can see the driver.  If you can’t, then they can’t see you either and you are in their blind spot.  If you see a truck ahead trying to merge then adjust your speed to either go in front, if you have time and space, or stay behind them  to give them room.

Speaking of blind spots, how long should you do a blind spot check for?  The B Pillar, side pillar, in your car will prevent you from always seeing a car coming past you.  It is only a small period of time that you won’t be able to see the other driver in your side mirror because of this pillar.  So you only need to turn your chin to your shoulder to be able to see if someone is just to the side of your car.  If you have been checking your mirrors regularly, every 7 seconds, you will know if there is anyone beside you but you still need to check.  If you turn your upper body around to look, this can potentially effect where you are steering and you don’t always see traffic speed ahead changing while you are looking behind.   Your side mirror shows you what is further behind your car and this allows you to see ahead at the same time.  So use your side mirrors more.

One of the things you will notice while merging is that you are probably going to have less space between you and the car in front than is ideal but you can adjust that again once everyone has merged and speed is increasing again.  Gradually get back to 3 seconds over the next few hundred metres so that you don’t interfere with flow and others merging behind.

To summarize all that I have said, the correct way to merge is;

Plan ahead.

Match the speed of the traffic accordingly and be checking your mirrors at the same time.

Plan for the space you are going into, one car from each lane if you can.

Indicate your intentions for 3 seconds and shoulder check in this time.

Merge across; giving a wave to acknowledge the other driver is always a courteous thing to do.

Gradually adjust to a 3 second safety space as traffic speed picks up.

I will finish saying that this is the way I teach to merge and other people may have a different but effective way and that is fine.  I understand all driving situations are different and I would be writing all day to cover all potential situations. This is just a guide to make you think and maybe answer some questions you may have. 

Thanks and I hope you enjoy.

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What should your speed be at the time of merging?