L00b Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Joining motorways or dual carriageways in France is a bit of a nightmare as the slip roads are usually all of 20 yards long and French drivers rarely move out of the inside lane for merging traffic. The correct manner of merging on a M'way (according to French road rules) is for the car coming onto the M'way to adjust its speed and 'slot in' with cars already on the inside lane. Doesn't matter how long the slip road is, the onus is on merging car not to make itself a nuisance. Forcing cars already on the inside to take any form of evasive action (braking, getting onto the overtaking lane) when merging is a cardinal sin (garanteed test fail). When overtaking they usually pull in front of you far sharper than over here - often just a couple of car lengths in front- totally unneccessary given their motorways carry far less traffic than ours.Perhaps because over there, people are taught to drive on a M'way (compulsory training and, where the exam centre is near enough to a M'way, the test must include a small section of M'way driving - mine did) and that (i) the overtaking lane is, well, an overtaking lane, and (ii) you are not supposed to cruise or spend any more time in it than is necessary to complete the manoeuvre. BTW, did you know it is an offense there, not to maintain your indicator whilever you are in the overtaking lane? I know a few people who got done for it at month end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I didn't know that, I often wondered why lots of people seemed to leave the indicator on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobydotcom Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 When you say dithering do you mean people going through the correct procedure at traffic lights? That is, hand brake on, gear in neutral until the light goes to amber at which point check mirrors, engage gear, release hand brake and set off having checked that no one is jumping the red lights from another direction. Is it that sort of dithering to which you refer? Surely a better red light test would be to ensure all drivers approach green lights and be prepared to stop should the light change to amber and stop if safe to do so? Rather than accelerate when the amber light comes on thinking that you can get right through the junction as other drivers will be dithering at their red light change sequence. you mean making unneccesary checks for nervous and incapable drivers hand brake on, bitiing point, 4thousand revs when you see amber, release hand brake and boot it easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magilla Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 So what additions would you like to see and why? Some form of spacial awareness. I often see people who have no idea how big their car is, they're unable to overtake parked cars unless the opposite side of the road is completely empty. Some motorway driving, the notion of "getting upto speed" as you change lanes seems to have been completely lost. Now it's just pull into an overtaking lane and accelerate at your leasure, holding all the other cars up behind you. Lots of people now assume the middle lane is the slowest, for no reason I can fathom, they never pull over even if the left lane is completely empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Anyone taking a driving test should also be made to spend a few minutes on the road as a cyclist so they can see how dangerous the roads are from a cyclist's point of view. They'd be a lot more considerate to other road users then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 The correct manner of merging on a M'way (according to French road rules) is for the car coming onto the M'way to adjust its speed and 'slot in' with cars already on the inside lane. Doesn't matter how long the slip road is, the onus is on merging car not to make itself a nuisance. Forcing cars already on the inside to take any form of evasive action (braking, getting onto the overtaking lane) when merging is a cardinal sin (garanteed test fail). BTW, did you know it is an offense there, not to maintain your indicator whilever you are in the overtaking lane? I know a few people who got done for it at month end It's hard to get up to motorway speed on slip roads that short (and I've got a 2.5 litre V6 engine). Yes - knew about the indicator. Can't remember when I last saw a traffic cop on a French motorway though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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