Pulled by the Police for a Merge in Turn!
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2021
- I've been waiting for someone to send me a clip like this for ages! I was that gobsmacked I even checked with West Midlands police that this was a proper traffic car and not someone impersonating a police officer.
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I’m angry at what you did, but as you haven’t done anything wrong I can’t give you any penalties so I’m going to waste your time instead.”
Yeah, the "not being able to see the signs if you're in the right hand lane" is just nonsense, isn't it? I mean, if that actually affects the cammer and he ends up going the wrong way at the roundabout then that's no-one's problem but his own.
@@TPH250290 also, if that was the case, why was the lane still live!
@@TPH250290 they'll just have to make every road in the country 1 single lane so you can always see the signs
That's why I always make sure the cop states exactly why they pulled me over before we carry on the discussion. If I did nothing wrong and he merely wanted to give me an opinion, I subtly hint to him using my words that as "grateful" I may be for his opinion, this is not an official detention and there is nothing more to discuss.
I'd be filling a report on the officer along with the video for wasting my time for no reason
Hello Ashley, about 18 months ago I had a off-duty police officer pull me for doing almost the same. But I was in a articulated lorry in the left lane. Eventually the left lane merged into the right lane. I drove to the end of the left lane and merged into the right lane. Three or four cars down the queue a black VW-4x4 started flashing his lights and sounded his horn numerous times. He starting waving his warrant badge out of his car and forcing the cars in front to move out the way. He then drove down the grass verge on the central reservation, pulled in front of me and forced me to stop. He ran over to my truck and tried getting in. My doors were locked. So he started banging on the door and waved his warrant at me. I slightly opened the window and asked him what his problem was. He said I was dangerous driving and he called me a 'Fat C**t'. He then got back in his 4x4 and drove on.
Fortunately I have a dashcam. Everything was caught on camera which proved my driving was not dangerous, but most importantly it had a clear picture of his face and his car registration, also the conversation.
I reported the incident to the essex police. I told them about the incident, where it happened (basildon) and it was a police officer. At first the lady on the phone sounded very interested, but she did chuckle and tried assuring me it would not be a police officer. . I was asked to wait on the phone while they did a vehicle check. After a few minutes the lady came back, her tone of voice had changed. She said she could not give me any more information, and someone from Essex police would call me back. (they never did). I was making at least two calls a week to Essex police about the incident, insisting they investigate this incident. After a couple of months I called them and asked which officer I needed to see about this incident as I was going to visit them. I told them I was bringing my sleeping bag just incase. The guy on the phone transfered me to a superior police officer. He said they did not have the resources to look any further into this incident as no one was hurt and it was my word against the third party and no evidence. So I told him I have it all on dashcam. He went very quiet. He started stuttering and said what did I actually want. I said an apology in writing and verbally. He laughed and said "I doubt you will get that". I said we will see, i will get a phone call from you very soon. He asked why. I said if you don't see it, your friends, family and neighbours would. I then put the phone down.
What I did then is spend half a day joining probably 100+ groups in Essex on Facebook. Sell it groups, residential groups, biker groups, neighbourhood watch groups etc etc etc. I posted the video footage on all the groups.
3 days later Grays Police Station called me 😊.. To cut a long story short, I got my apology but only in writing. I got compensation. And I was told this incident has now been put on the police officers record which may affect future promotion.
In total this took 4 months. But worth it 👍
You, my friend, are a king. What an utter disgrace is that this what it takes to get fair treatment these days, but equally - what a victory. I won't go into my own disputes, but this is what it takes. Intelligence, perseverance, courage. I salute you.
Worth reading to the end… bravo sir
What a ridiculously convoluted process to get what could have been sorted very simply with an apology right off the bat - and even more simply with actual knowledge of the Highway Code.
@@hadorstapaI mean it's a lovely story but I'd hazard a guess it's total fantasy, OP has got dashcam videos of the police cutting him off slightly on blue lights, pretty unbelievable he wouldn't upload this goldmine of an incident if it really happened
Yeah, but the police are honest and impartial so surely this could NEVER happen, could it?
Roadworks need big signs telling drivers to use both lanes to queue, and reminders to 'Continue to use both lanes' and then a 'start to merge now' to get it into people's heads that this is how it should work.
Drivers in this country need little cartoons to show every single step
Wouldn’t work unfortunately, as the merging rule is speed-dependent. If traffic is slow, then using all the available space is sensible, but if it’s faster then the merging should be done earlier.
To be honest, even when you get a "Merge in turn" sign, people are twats and try to stop you. Or they get angry,
What's wrong with merge 100 yds, 50 yds, merge now! They should all be merging at the point of cones. If you choose to merge early, your choice. do not shout at those who continue up to merge point!
Increase the distance of merge cones more gradual.
The "Anti-Merge-in-Turn" brigade need some proper instruction - time for a media campaign and road signs that actually say Use all Lanes and Merge in Turn
Been saying the same for years. Whenever these roadwork teams go out to place the cones, that should be a standard sign.
one slight amendment, would be "merge in turn at the merge point.
Exactly but we have this "I was here before you" ego problem don't we?
@@barryfoster453 exactly. A sign saying use both lanes you'll actually get through quicker!
Actually , the rules should change - it should be merge - NOW .
Police officer's ego took a hit
as always
Thats a chip off the shoulder
There's nothing more fragile or tender than a cops ego.
Cops just cannot resist copsplaining.
In an extreme recent case a cops ego caused the death of a man, by kneeling on his subject's neck for over 9 minutes.
That cop now faces many years in jail.
My advice to the cop in this 'incident' is to just think, analyse, then decide if you want to add to a jobsworth perception of policing.
Totally agree. And always record any interaction with the filth, never trust them.
I once got pulled over by a young constable because I was walking on a non pavemented road facing oncoming traffic. He insisted that I must use the pavement at all times. My response was that i do use the pavements when they are there but as there were no pavements i walk facing the oncoming traffic. You'd think that police would know the Highway Code, wouldn't you?
Lucky you weren’t on a pavement, he’d have done you for stepping on the cracks
Hope he gave you a lift to the nearest pavemented area and didn’t just leave you.
@@CycolacFan don’t be silly, he had his little rant and left me there 🙄
@@phillipsiviter2024 well it’s good that he blocked the road for a while to point out how dangerous you were.
I'd have taken his number and complained to his inspector
Clearly looks like the officer pulled him for passing him.
Yeah. I remember that happening here some years back! Cops in left lane doing 40kph in an 80 zone!
Lady behind them signalled, changed lanes and passed them!'
They then take after her, pull her over, and FINE her for, 'overtaking a Police vehicle!' From what I remember it got tossed out of court!
Yeah and even tried to pull out on him too but shat out at last minute. If the driver had of braked then he would have been straight out in front of him, probably causing a crash that no doubt the driver would have been at fault for coz of the slow traffic. And we all would have had to pay for the repairs as tax payers. Time these idiots who enforce the rules of the road actually understood them properly. The rules have changed so much over the years yet their training and the way they approach us haven't.
@@BadDriversOz Always best to have a dashcam, I have x2 to video front and rear
@@videomania666 Yes. I will get a new 1 soon for my new 4WD, along with my old 1!
@@BadDriversOz Agree passed police car
Let's not forget about the self appointed rolling roadblock, who sits in lane 2 and matches the speed of lane 1, stopping anyone from passing
Obstructing the highway and will get points if caught.
That would be me then :) :) :) :)
I have far less issue with someone who does this, than straddle both lanes. It's not great, but if they stay in the lane all the way to the merge point, then by doing this "rolling road block" they actually encourage more people into the 2nd lane, and it can actually correct poor road usage.
Or the worst still, happened to me, lady in front merged quite early, but then stayed in the middle of the road all the way, blocking me
@@helenleary1327 now you have just admitted you are wrong in your driving behaviour why don't you work on changing your attitude.
More danger was caused by having the driver and the undercover police car pulled over on the side of a busy road.
Absolutely. Looking where they are stopped and the lorries having to pull out, it’s a ridiculous situation to deliberately engineer.
I thought exactly the same when I saw another car go wide around them before taking the left turn. Not to mention their cars caused a hazard that may have endangered the officer standing at the side of the road, should another car have crashed into it.
And by pushing through the happily queuing traffic.
When an rpu is bored and has nothing to respond to
So theres a law against wasting police time, how about the police wasting this drivers time... terrible
You could argue that the police officer is wasting police time!
Beats me why they wasted so much time policing peaceful demonstrations provoking people.
@@stationcolossus 😅😄😃😂😁😀😁😂😃😄😅
Traffic cop pulled someone over to chat about their driving, agreed with their explanation and took no action. Insert manufactured drama here.
@@stationcolossus that's 99% of police work. Waste of time
In Germany, the general rule and attitude of drivers when merging is to allow other drivers to join the flow of traffic like a "zipper" - each driver alternating to permit one other driver to join.
Same in New Zealand.
And the rule also specifically says that the merge should happen immediately before the blockage. That helps to use all the available road and avoids the thing we see here where the zipper point has slipped a long way back before the blockage.
Which makes perfect sense and avoids conflict. Brits, on the other hand, welcome any opportunity for displays of self-righteous indignance. This issue has been grinding my gears for forty years. Never underestimate the value of the old British Transport public information films. We could have solved this problem decades ago.
that's what I was taught 'zipper', each car being 1 tooth of the zip.
Same here in the UK. Only people that drive large expensive German cars have exemption! Same as they have exemption from parking anywhere they like in supermarket car parks.
I like how Ashley always stays polite to all parties, acknowledging people make mistakes. And advises to not compete, but set safety as the priority.
Well he doesn’t, he mouthed off an ambulance driver recently
@@kevpage How true is that, explain and provide a link please.
Agreed, l don't see any fault with Ashley O Neal and he is an honest man, as far as l am concerned that what school of motoring needs.
So that pull-over just caused - you've guessed it - yet another merge in turn situation!
indeed, and an unnecessary road-block hazard... an accident waiting to happen.
"you've guessed it" - I read this in Ashley's accent. :-D Must be a phrase he uses often.
Actually a parked vehicle is not a merge in turn; you have to give way to the open lane as they have priority; still a dangerous and unnecessary situation caused by an idiot in uniform who let a little power go to his head.
The copper has took part of one rules and added them to his own personal vendetta, and took advantage of his powers.
Standard practice
AUTHORITAAAAH
If I was him I would've gone for the blue car who had no idea he was there despite all the flashing lights 🤣
Took advantage of his powers, more like “abused his powers” to stop someone who was doing nothing wrong because he was butt hurt at being overtaken.
@@cuddlybear_uk hopefully it's not eye for an eye! Do you know what that means
See, the thing is this. What annoys people in the queueing lane is seeing cars sailing past them in the empty lane. They do this _because_ it's an empty lane. Why is it an empty lane? Because the people patiently queueing have created it! Now instead, if everyone were to use both lanes to queue for the merge, there wouldn't _be_ an empty lane for people to overtake them. Everyone would pick a side and no-one would get annoyed by queue 'jumpers' because there wouldn't be any queue 'jumping'. It surprises me that people can't see this.
dodgydrivers posted an amusing photo the other day. In it the sign on one side of the road said the left lane was closing. The sign on the other side said the right lane was closing. Result: drivers used both lanes and the queues were the same length. Perhaps that's the answer!
What about people who fly down the right side of a 2 lane road leading to a roundabout or other junction where the right lane is for a different direction and they then sit there asking to be let in to the left lane, blocking progress for people who actually need the right hand lane. That’s what annoys me.
Yes. Both lanes should be encouraged into one central lane.
spot on.
@@twistsouth514 That's just rude driving. What they should do is jump the queue, go all the way round the roundabout and join the queue that way.
@@eyesodd thats the smart way 👏
This situation causes so many issues and I think the main fault, apart from ignorance, are the road signs. I have seen it occasionally here in The UK, but mainly in Europe, they often have signs saying "Queue Both Sides" then near where the lanes merge, there are signs saying "Merge in Turn". If the signs were there and clear, who could argue? Sort the Road signage out ;-) Keep up with the excellent Videos.
Why do we need road signs. We don't have signs at every junction saying "use your indicators".
People should be familiar with the highway code - it is freely available afterall.
@@eljay5009 Because people also do it when not recommended - for instance, getting in the left turn only lane and proceeding to cut in front of the straight ahead lane. If marked correctly as a zip merge or merge in turn it allays that frustration.
@@gamerknown People do all sorts of stuff that isn’t recommended. Should we have signs for everything?
Perhaps better education is needed rather than even more signs.
Agreed!
I know about merge in turn but hardly ever do it because I can’t be bothered with the aggro. However, I’ll always let someone in who does merge.
Same here, I’ll tuck in before the merge point too just to avoid confrontation with the ill-informed!
That's fine, there is nothing saying you have to merge in turn.
At the end of the day, the people who give you aggro are the ones allowing the nice free lane for you to use anyway. There wouldn't be any "queue jumpers" if everyone did it properly.... Since there will be no empty lane.
Its not hassle when you just sit there with a couldn't care less attitude they soon let you in.
@@FFVoyager sometimes there are signs saying "Merge In Turn".
Wish traffic coppers spent more time on the motorways knocking off people who hang out in lane 3 for mile after mile...or the "I'm turning right in 5 miles so I'm going to sit in the outside lane of the dual carriageway the whole time..." crew.
If the guy in lane 3 is doing 70 then he's not doing anything wrong. The right lane isn't for crime as much as people seem to think it is :D
@@jimmehjiimmeehh9748 Yes he is, try reading rule 264 of the highway code before making yourself look silly
Hmmm. Not as clear cut as that. The truckers overtaking crawl means being sat in lane 1 or 2 requires very rapid increases in speed to pull into the 3rd lane, which has become choked with faster traffic who have had enough of the snail pace. Of course, as a car driver I’m wanting trucks should be banned from lane 2, but that would create another difficulty for entering and exiting the motorway. The reality here is we need private roads and pricing - not Government franchises, but proper private toll roads which could have their own rules.
Well traffic cops patrol the entire county. Not just the motorways.
@@nockianlifter661 if you`re on a motorway and you cant see a truck overtaking in lane 2 from a distance where you could easily move into lane 3 then perhaps get your eyes tested
I used to totally think this was jumping the queue and don’t remember learning about it when learning to drive so it’s a belief I had for a couple of years. I’ve seen people nearly into each other over stubbornness! Using both lanes reduces traffic
Importantly, it reduces traffic congestion. The traffic itself is just the amount of vehicles on the road. Congestion is when they all get stuck. A traffic jam.
Remember this when you see other drivers speeding past in que to left, or right from either clear lane and apply same methodology in merging from you que of traffic in to the same clear lane as previous drivers you saw passing. Do this only if it is all safe to do so, and prepare for all the troll drivers looking angry when you bolt pass in que of lane you just come out off, if you can avoid faces quick enough lol. 😂
It is one of the reasons why in my opinion you should have to resit the practical test to keep a full license to bring the standard of driving in the UK up a few notches
One of the problems with using all the available road, and mege where the cones start, is drivers in the other lane tend to bunch up purposely to stop you doing it - like you're being punished for supposedly queue jumping. In my view, that is what causes congestion. You also get trucks straddling the lanes like lane guardians, preventing drivers from getting past, again merely exacerbating the hold up. If everyone just left a gap, the whole queue would move quicker.
Typical bully-victim bobby behaviour.
The introduction of dash cams and mobile phones has blasted open a huge hole in the public's trust of the police for which I am truly grateful. They can no longer lie and get away with it - Something that they have done for decades.
They are smarting at this and haven't really recovered.
Drive safe, mate.
Always record the police
Police dash/body cams; quite frequently the video have exonerated the cops as well.
There is this I am ex police but have come across a bully officer twice, the first time i passed like this and later he tailgated me for some time so I did speed away briefly and he stopped me, I pointed out I had rear camera and he force policy on following distance and he claimed to be pol is advance and said he was on operation and left the scene pretty sharpish after that, he was in plain clothes and unmarked car so he should be doing traffic stops.
Second time again different car he followed me and I used a left had turn lane without signal , he stopped me and claimed it was dangerous driving not to indicate in a left hand only lane and he believed I had sped and that that car had no insurance all lies. We debated for some Time but realising I knew him, after my first encounter I explained I knew who he was, unit etc and that he kids at the same school as mine, I also noted the police car he had tyre damage (unmarked non blue light pool car) he is a very short man with a massive chip on his shoulder. He parks on double yellows on a bend to pick his kids up from school guys an idiot. Said he was going to report me but never has he is all guff.
The lady probably wasn't waving her hands. British police from all police forces have an institutional habit of lying for their reason. They require "reasonable suspicion" of an offense and don't actually have to prove it in court so just lie about "having seen X do Y in response to you". "Reasonable suspicion" of "driving without due care" because the other drivers reacted to you for example.
The public also have an institutional habit of lying for their reason
@@radishpea6615 While this is true, I would wager any individual lies less than a British policeman.
But either way it doesn't really matter, just pointing out the reason why some times the testimony of police doesn't seem to match with the video evidence.
@@jimmehjiimmeehh9748
it seems you have posted a concern of mine, a police "hating" post. Watch some of the reality stuff on TV such as Police Interceptors and see that the public also lie and that video evidence shows they lie. Alas some officers do lie but you are wrong to tar them all with the same brush just like tarring all the public with the same brush. Some yeas ago I became the victim of a lying police officer but I only hold that officer responsible, not all officers.
@@radishpea6615 Police Interceptors is the reality..?
Our country is doomed.
@@jimmehjiimmeehh9748 I guess with the amount of scum roaming our streets you are probably right.
As a serving officer myself.... it's worth noting a few things.
Yes, this is definitely a police vehicle, and not an impersonator, a few things give it away, especially the registration plates.
Secondly, I believe the officer was wrong, and merge in turn means exactly that, but you can also use all of the second lane to merge, otherwise you create a scenario whereby the first lane is at a standstill and not moving, and backs traffic up, and the second lane is completely clear, which defeats the point of having a merge in turn across two lanes.
Finally, i'm not sure how many people know this, but legislation states that officers don't need a reason to stop any motor vehicle being driven on a public road, they can just stop you if they want to, usually to check documents, etc. I've been subject to a random stop myself before, and whilst it's slightly irritating, it's not a big issue and it only takes a few minutes, unless of course you choose to kick up a fuss and argue in which case it drags on for longer, and if it's a traffic officer they are more likely to want to go over your car with a fine toothcomb when you argue with them.
And no, I've never fined people for speeding, or issued any fines for that matter, I don't stop random people, I stop people who drive in a manner that draws unwanted attention to themselves. Or those who deliberately and blatantly flout the laws, driving on the phone for instance. I've seized uninsured cars, arrested numerous drink drivers, wife beaters, robbers, burglars, thieves, but before anyone says anything, I'm certainly no "bully", I talk to people in a polite and respectful manner, even if they are using profanities or screaming and shouting in my face.
Can confirm this is a real police vehicle, BMW vehicle tech here and we get the BMW police vehicles coming through the workshop for warranty work. Seems to be the standard spec unmarked 530d with all the right details. Actually got a nearly identical 19-plate parked out back of our workshop right now.
Have seen a few examples of what might be "fake police" BMWs, tends to be the wrong models, something like a X1 that police don't use but with unnecessary details like stickers that could be mistake for hidden lights or camera equipment and one or two that had strobe flickering headlights. Haven't heard of any fake police cars locally though so could be wrong.
Interestingly, vehicle techs might be among the few non-police personnel who get the drive police vehicles on public roads as working on them can involve road tests with both marked and unmarked police cars. Best behavior of course, but quite interesting to see how other drivers react to a police vehicle.
@@AlexConnor_ As mentioned above, I'm a serving officer in a London force. Always quite amusing to see a police vehicle driven out of the yard onto the back of a Babcocks recovery vehicle by a bloke in an orange high viz, the public do give them some funny looks sometimes.
I remember once taking our vehicle to Kwik Fit, for a replacement brake light bulb and tyre pressure which was low.
The guy at the desk asked whether it was tires or lights, "both" was the response he got.
He jumped in and drove it from the forecourt into the bay and onto the ramp, he thought it quite stupid that we weren't allowed to replace brake lights ourselves, in case we caused damage, and only a "qualified" mechanic could do so, he also thought it was stupid that a police vehicle could be 54'd (taken off the road for repair or replacement parts) over something as simple as a £2.50 brake light bulb.
Had a previous occasion whereby a similar thing occurred but this time the Kwik Fit employee was laughing around with his other mechanic mates, and quickly flipped on the blue lights, they found it quite amusing.
Can’t believe a traffic Cop hasn’t read the Highway Code.
Plod are corporates, hence 'officers', they are no longer constables, they are a private armed milita with no lawful powers any more. They have no more authority over general public than anyone else, you operate on consent, we no longer consent to the institutionalised bent criminal militia who pretend to give a shit about our communities and overstep what they were originally employed for!
plod are nothing more than a terrorist organisation using violence/force for the aims of their corporate paymasters, certainly not interested in road safety or adhering to or upholding the law!
@@ynotnilknarf39 somebody seems angry
I used to support the police without question, but I have experienced examples like this over the years (increasingly more recently), and it really dents confidence in their abilities. A motorway traffic cops really should know better. I really hope someone in WM traffic sees this and the education is enhanced. I'll bet he shrugged it off without embarrassment, but he should be embarrassed by demonstrating his lack of knowledge If the woman in the blue car really was waving her arms about, it was probably at the police car for not getting passed as she had moved over to almost scraping her wheels along the kerb; there was plenty of room for him to get through, but he messed around; indecisive as well..
He didn’t like being passed when he’d filtered in, signs should be on the right hand lane not the left.
Also Jealous of a Tesla driver.
Agree completely
@@AlexanderWright1 and then probably not
I've missed important signs on the left because of wall-to-wall wagons but it was on a free-flowing but very busy motorway. Should we _all_ move into the left lane when there are HGVs preventing a view of the roadside?
They are supposed to be on both sides of the dual carriageway.
When I see examples of petty police behaviour, I remember the old adage that paramedics and fire-fighters don't go out looking for sick people or fires, but the police essentially go looking for trouble.
Spot on.
Also, have you noticed, with the emergency services, it's only the police who actually 'speed'.
Any ambulance or fire fighters out there available to confirm what I'm going to say...
The above two services top out at around 40mph where cops just floor it.
@@PeterMaddison2483 I think that's in part because in a car you can speed safely as cars are agile compared to ambulances and especially fire engines full of water, would have no chance of stopping if they were doing 60 down a 30/40 mph road and something happened Infront like an oblivious driver getting themselves in the way
@@Fromatic A Fire engine does NOT carry water as they connect to a water main to obtain water, they just carry all the equipment. Can you imagine how big a Fire engine would be if it did carry all that water... They can pump millions of gallons onto a fire.
it's a fair point, but a daft one. how many burglars/rapists immediately phone the police about what they've done? but those same burglars/rapists would call ambulance/fire brigade if they were injured or home on fire.
yeah, this video is about an inconvenience not a crime, but the copper had good intentions. i've seen the opposite where cops didn't turn up to petty offences by young kids and it turned out county-line gangs had been grooming the kids into crime.
i'd take a talking to every now & again if it reduces accidents/road rage. I do like another commenters idea about a merge in turn campaign.
@@PeterMaddison2483 yes they do, here in the UK at least where this video is also filmed
I've been taught that an early merge is a wrong thing to do as everyone should rather use all the space in both lanes until the final point of the merge, so all the vehicles could continue going further without stopping. This however requires a good driving discipline for everyone involved because many people are actually closing spaces and with upcoming merging vehicles, they simply wait until the front space gets opened, but this causes everyone behind to stop. There are tons of videos how zipper merge should work and this police officer just proved that there are still lot of people that don't understand traffic.
Fine in theory, but in practice, most drivers just try to take the piss by just barging their way in, in order to try and get 1 up on everyone else.
@@Martin4963 ...and many drivers take the piss by driving too close to the car in front and preventing easy merging - worsening congestion.
yeah, if you merge too early, the traffic jam will become even worse, mostly because people refuse to let them in as they see no reason to and they stop in the merging lane. In Germany we call it zipper merging, as like a zipper teeth interlocking when you close it is how you should merge.
@@sadeva6532 I am a professional driver and I drove in many European countries over my 23 years driving experience. I always found German drivers to be the best drivers in the whole of Europe, where everyone knows the law and rules accordingly, so there is no place for misinterpretations. They all know how to drive and everyone behaves very predictably. That's probably why Germany is the only country in Europe, where they allow no speed limits on their motorways, because they know that German drivers are taught very well and all of their drivers know how to drive properly. I completely agree with you. In this scenario presented in that video both lanes should merge using the zipper merging technique using all available space up to the cones. Analogies to queues in the shops have nothing to do with driving on public roads. You have highway code for that, the problem is that the UK drivers mostly have not even read the highway code in their life. Passing a driving test in this country does not demand it, as long as you memorize and practice some possible test questions on a computer software, that's all it takes to pass a driving test in the UK. You should use all available space up to the merging point unless the motorway lane is closed with a red x. Red x means there is a danger ahead and the lane is closed immediately behind the sign, which means you have to change lane straight away. In the scenario presented in the video that was not the case, therefore the police officer was in the wrong. Probably even he never read the highway code in his life.
@@Mario.G oh wow I had no idea. There are a lot of idiots on our roads too, usually those with the high powered three letter cars, but for the most part, most people drive well.
Our driving exam here consists of a number of set driving and theoretical hours which you have to do (e.g. 20 hours driving over motorways and longer distances, day and night, good and bad weather) and about the same amount driving in cities plus 10 hours of mandatory highway code theory on top.
Before you can take your practical test you have to pass your written test. The written test can ask anything from the highway code, so you really need to know your stuff. If you don't pass this test, you're not eligible for the practical test. I guess that is why we really study here, as there is no way around that. Plus the test in itself is costly. And well, this being Germany, most examiners tend to be REALLY pedantic. So if you want to be cost efficient, you don't faff about. XD
What we don't have is the Learner Period though. There is a 2 year trial period where if you cause an accident or are caught even with a smidge of alcohol while driving, you lose the license and have to take another test after driver reeducation (coll. called the idiot test). But in general, if you have your license, you're good to drive alone.
The fact is, the copper in the black BMW joined the queue far too early and didn't use all of the road available to him. If all drivers did as he did they would be slowing down the progress of everyone in that queue. A Neal is right and of course, so is the HC.
The AA says, *_"But next time you find yourself in slow-moving traffic approaching road works or an incident that's blocking one lane, try to resist your deep-seated urge to queue early, use all available lanes and merge in turn when you reach the lane closure."_*
This could be made so much easier by simply introducing a 'zipper merge' sign into the highway code.
Some roads do! and on those roads, people actually do merge in turn, in synchronicity, it's actually beautiful to see it work seamlessly.
@@khalidacosta7133 there is a zipper merge sign?
There are merge-in-turn signs around here and there are still idiots who don't/can't/won't. I had a driver mount the verge and drive into the side of my car some years ago because I'd merged in turn in front of him (and presumably because he didn't react quickly enough to block me). He drove off without stopping so I never got to the bottom of that one.
@@PedroConejo1939 I looked it up and indeed there are different variety of merge-in-turn signs, and I think this is great. Really, it's probably the only way to educate drivers on this topic. I think, if radio stations gave short 20 second tips on these kind of topics, it would help a great deal.
@@artemkatelnytskyi Absolutely. I first encountered zip-merging in Germany in the early 80s by means of short public information films on TV. That was back when the British were still arguing about using headlights in fog and rain. German drivers are much more likely to follow instruction than British ones, especially if it means co-operating with other drivers rather than competing with them. Just watch how they form a Rettungsgasse (gap for emergency vehicles) without any fuss.
If there’s only room for signs on the left hand side then the coned off lane closure should be arranged earlier so everyone has to go by in single file. The motor way cop is So used to everybody following HIM at 69.8 mph that he’s forgotten his Highway Code. You overtook me, I’m outraged
My thoughts exactly. The obvious response to the officer making such a daft assertion is to ask if he believes the roadworks are laid-out incorrectly.
It sounds like the lane closure signs were only visible from the left lane, so if you're not in the left lane to begin with (which is perfectly fine), how are you supposed to know the lane is closed before you see the cones? The lorry driver has a better view because he is much higher.
We don't actually know what the officer said. He may have been perfectly reasonable about it.
Many Police officers seem to know about 80%+/- of the rules and laws. When corrected many take it personally and and take it upon themselves to teach us a lesson for having the temerity to correct them and stand up for our rights and the law.
I have had police officers try to make as much trouble for me when stopped when driving one of my motorcycles. Some have acted like spoilt children when they have been advised correctly, especially when they have called whoever it is they call for clarification. These are the same matters that other cops have been cool with.
Policing must be a tough job, one I cldnt do.
I really hope that officer isn't a motorway cop with a merge like that . Then to pull someone who was driving correctly. How embarrassing no wonder all the roads are clogged.
you'll find that this most likely will be debated amongst traffic police....some will see this as pedante
Shows how ingrained in our culture this attitude is.
You mentioned the correct word ‘Triggered’ .
I think that this officer has become a little bit too used to possessing power and authority, so he is now policing with his emotions rather than his knowledge of the law. [or lack of it]
I think he's a BMW driver before being a police officer. They can't stand being overtaken by Teslas! It's almost as bad as being overtaken by a learner 😏
It's the same law here in Norway. Use all available lanes untill you no longer physically can't. But, some people think it's "cheating" when you don't merge early 🤷🏼♂️
This happened to my dad 30 years ago, so this is not new behaviour from cops. I find it hilarious and frighting how little cops know about the laws.
The officer was not getting enough action, so they decided to make some action. Boredom. 😅
They would camp out at my sister employment petrol station up by the West Brom footy ground, drinking coffee at 3am.
Footy players driving off not paying for fuel or using stolen cards.
Problem with us Brits is that we like queuing too much.
You're absolutely right, and so they take queuing at the box office to the road and effectively ignore the highway code. You're spot on. It's a UK mental problem.
Not overly so. I’m British. I’m from Kent, the Garden Of England. Born in Maidstone and raised in Rochester. Anyway, I’ve seen many a Brit queue jumping, and I’ve even used certain clauses of the Highway Code to justify queue jumping myself.
But if we have legal and safe ways to skip the queue, i.e. Motorcycles filtering, merging in turn, then most drivers throw a fit because they want everyone to have to queue.
Its known as common courtesy. But I'm afraid theres not much of that about is there.
If we all let 1 in to be let in, then 2 Lane merge into 1 works. 'If' though.
I just wish that cones were initially on both sides of the road to ensure that one lane didn't get priority over the other, both were forced into the middle. That way this argument for not pulling over could never happen. Noone would be pushing in because both both lanes would actually need to merge.
It is generally that the full width of one lane needs to close, however most times it could start as you describe and then moved to one lane or another. It isn't like we don't already have road sign which depicts exactly what you describe (i.e. looks like an upside down Y)
People in this country just like queuing and many like taking the law into their own hands to try and "enforce" their self-imposed rules. There is no law to move over until told to. Indeed, when you look at traffic studies, moving over early slows traffic down.
It's a combination of an understandable sense that if you know you need to change lanes you should get it done as soon as you have the opportunity, the fear that if you leave it late nobody will let you in and you'll get stuck, and a sense of fairness causing people to not want to overtake others who are queuing. It's just unfortunate these lead to suboptimal road use.
Can you provide links to these traffic studies?
The driver might of missed some signs on the left side of the road when he was in the right lane...
I'm sorry but that's a poor excuse and then questions need to be asked about the road signage visibility, It is placed somewhere suitable?
If you need to change positions in the road to see a road sign intended for you, then that sign is not appropriate and can be contested in regards to enforcement.
Bang on.
I agree entirely. I wonder if that was part of the conversation?
5:10 - If the signage about a lane closure is on the LEFT hand side of the road then it's not adequate as it could be blocked by lorries. That's a highways agency issue and not a cammer issue.
I've had a similar instance with a traffic cop, where Lane 1 was closed. I was pulled over and accused of undertaking.
I rightly pointed out that the highway code says that passing on the left is acceptable if there is congestion and the traffic on the left is moving faster, as well as that you should merge at the 200 yard marker.
He asked me if I was a bus driver, to which I replied yes, and he said "have a nice day" and that was that 🤷♂️
Love watching these videos. Always learn something new for myself or to look out for.
The viewer was ‘let go’ because the copper had no good reason to stop them in the first place, other than his ego taking hit.
I think he was 'let go' because as the pig talked and talked he began to realise he didn't have any real grounds to do anything to the cammer, collapse of stout party retire with a bit of dignity intact etc.
I agree with you, give crime bodge a watch it shows many situations like this
Yep. If you lick his bum he’ll let you go , start answering back or filming him, well, that’s the rest of day gone and your reg on the anpr databases you’ll be stopped twice a week for ever
@@highdownmartin id stay quite about my dash-cams, allow them to abuse powers and take them to court if that's how they want to act. you do not even need to speak to them, just show your id / licence, you do not even have to sit in the police car. but as you said you stick up for your legal rights, you be on the police force list, the harassment list
Always appreciate how Ashley goes into clips with an open mind, stating a few times that he can't be sure the merge was the reason for the pull.
Not shocked to see the comments not following suite and lots of anger and hate brewing at what could very well have been a stop for a clear vehicle defect or the like.
Hope it wasn't a stop for that merge!
ASHLEY HAVE SUCH A CALM RELAXED PERSONA. I IMAGINE THIS HELPS A LOT IN YOUR JOB AND MAKES YOUR VIDEOS VERY WATCHABLE.
I find it funny that you remark, in capital letters, about Ashley's calm persona.
The officer did exactly the opposite as to what they should have done... "I would like to commend you sir on your driving, using the road capacity to the maximum, not speeding up the outside, and merging in a courteous manner", meanwhile back on planet self importance "How dare he!, does he know who I am.... well he soon will". Acting as we all have tome to expect, what a shame.
Surely, pulling over without using all the available road, just makes the line longer than it needs to be, potentially interfering with other roads further back. If everyone just drove as far as possible to the point where the merging takes place it will clear safer with an adult one-to-one merging.
If you were meant to merge 100 yards back that is where the cones should have been.
Exactly correct. If people used the merge and turn as it should be we wouldn't have all the agro of people not allowing others to merge.
"Surely, pulling over without using all the available road, just makes the line longer than it needs to be."
No, all else being equal it would have no effect on the line of traffic/flow of traffic because the rate through the constriction will be the same regardless and that is the limiter. It would only become an issue if the backed up traffic went far enough to obstruct a junction up the road or whatever.
So in practical terms it's actually better to merge as soon as possible simply because you're less likely to be purposefully obstructed by other road users.
@@jimmehjiimmeehh9748 It has been proven that if vehicles merge at the 'pinch point' where the arrows are, it provides a much more fluid method of joining the queuing traffic. The problem is ALWAYS those drivers who close the gap to merging traffic.
@@paulhebblethwaite7168 Proven where, by whom, and in what experimental model. Or are you just saying that because you saw someone else say it?
Either way you have to be careful with urban planning and traffic management, they're ideologically driven "pseudoscience" at the best of times.
Look up, for example, how much traffic management is dedicated to making car use less convenient so as to disincentivise it so as to try to "reduce pollution".
Everyone should merge AT THE END as a zipper merge. Worst thing is people merging early, then some people driving fast to the end. It causes the left lane to stall and the right lane to move faster. If everyone merges at the end as a zipper, both lanes move faster in tandem.
I think the first flash of the blues may have been to discourage passing the slow to stationary traffic too fast and the 'delayed' reaction was to the dashcammer going all the way to the start of the cones instead of pacing for a gap to open up a few car lengths back. As traffic starts to move again, 2:44 I would be pacing myself to fit in behind the mk2 Focus in front of the orange Yaris, not trying to get as far ahead as possible. On seeing the dashcammer trying to get as far ahead as possible they probably took that to be a sign of an aggressive driver and not one concerned with traffic flow or other drivers, and therefore someone who should be questioned about their actions. They may not have indicated either which could be the final straw for the officer. The reasons the officer gives may be their attempts to dissuade a driver who utilises the 'open to interpretation' elements of the highway code for their personal benefit, neglecting safe and road sharing driving attitudes wherever they can because 'it's legal'/'they're not breaking the law'. Like someone who will do the speed limit everywhere their vehicle is capable of it, even when a lack of visibility doesn't enable that speed to be undertaken safely, but it's legal so anything that goes wrong is automatically someone else's fault/not their fault.
The dashcammer should not have gone for getting in front of the Q2, at the point they're 'trying to merge' they're barely in front of it, You can hardly see the front bumper in the rear camera meaning there was far from a 2 second gap back to them even at those speeds, and you see even less of the rear of the I20 they're supposed to be falling in behind, potentially with the intention to push further forward had they not the knowledge of a police vehicle further back that would most likely hear a horn they would reasonably expect to have blared at them for trying to go even further forward than they did. The dashcammer forced deviation in the Q2's actions as it was (they can clearly be seen to brake prior to it being necessary as traffic ahead stops, and with the traffic stopping again this highlights the serious hazard the dashcammer is posing by not planning to merge in a manner that enables them to set up the safety spaces required to avoid incidents and harsh braking. With how little time the traffic was actually stopped for, the Q2, without the dashcammer acting in the way they did, could have avoided stopping at all, but the dashcammer impeded the flow of traffic more significantly by going as far as they did. Had the dashcammer paced themselves to fit in with traffic further back, they could have kept moving in lane 2 while not impeding constant motion at that time in lane 1.
I believe there are potentially genuine safety concerns behind all of the officer's actions.
Edit; Corrected 2 grammar issues I noticed after posting. 'Q2'd' changed to 'Q2's' (mistyped originally) and a later 'but' changed to 'by' (possibly mistyped then autocorrected).
Nicely said
This scenario can be resolved easily by clear signs stating to use both lanes until merge point, and to merge in turn, so there's no misunderstanding, with added warning signs re speed and distance from merge point.
Personally, I find people get less triggered if, when preparing to merge in turn, you slow your speed to pass the queuing lane at only a slight speed difference (or maybe something like 10-20mph if the other lane is completely stopped) rather than "whizzing to the front to slam on your brakes and push in at the last minute". This also gives ample opportunity to observe the behaviour of other drivers already in the other lane and pick an appropriate merge point in plenty of time before actually needed. In this case it could also have allowed time to observe the blue lights on the police car and give way to the vehicle which, for all he knew at 2:35, could have been starting to respond to an actual emergency - generally a bad idea to pass a vehicle showing blue lights...
I do the same, slow down to a crawl about 5-8 car lengths before the merge and slowly move forward. If the traffic to my left stops then so do I. Then I’ve got a bit of space in front to match the traffic as we start moving and also pop a long indicate on. Keeping an eye for the driver who will close any gap and if so then let them get ahead. Be mindful that the mental state of quite a number of the drivers near the front will resent you having an “advantage”, so patience and respect from me goes a long way. My golden rule is always give a friendly wave when you merge. I think the police driver left the “warning” too late for a proper reaction from the cammer. My first thought would be to be start planning where to go it it was a genuine emergency-the head of the queue would provide most options anyway!
100% agree. Keep speed difference low, slow down near the end of the lane, do not try to charge ahead of a car, do not try to barge in: put the turn signal on and wait patiently. If someone barges forward, let them. When someone leaves a gap for you, use it and then thank them afterwards. A bit of patience and courtesy goes a long way on the roads today.
I think part of the UK answer is to use the empty lane but travel very slowly, just rolling along and if the full lane is moving keeping level with the adjacent car. This usually results in those behind using both lanes and avoids the aggression of people aggrieved at being passed.
Thanks for continuing to highlight this issue, Ashley. Congestion is bad enough and merge-in-turn helps to alleviate some of that. The idiots (I used to be one of them, until I learned better) that block the open lane to stop people "jumping the queue" should be prosecuted when caught. As an aside, there's a motorway junction around Manchester, where people use Lane 1, side by side with those in the slip road, to queue for the exit: but then you do get queue jumpers, driving past the queue in Lane 2, then stopping at the front of the exit queue to try to force their way across. If you are not aware of this local insanity, it can be terrifying when you suddenly come across these idiots stationary in lane 2 while you're doing a legitimate 70 mph, and while nobody in the queue wants to let them across. Now I know about it, I always slow around these situations and prepare to move into lane 3 if necessary (it's a 4 lane motorway at this point)
It's not the A57(M) where it exits onto the A5103 is it that you're talking about? Absolute nightmare!
On a number of occasions i have used the "empty" lane when traffic needs to filter into one lane. I often wondered why the queue was so long when the one lane was empty! I wouldn't say that i remembered that both lanes could be used until safe to merge, it just seemed common sense!
Sadly common sense isnt very common
@@samsara3694 if ur at a que in the store with only 1 till open. 3 people are waiting in front off you then another till opens, you’re gonna go to the other till aren’t you 😂 same scenario just with vehicles instead.
I passed a line of traffic queuing from beyond the 800 yard marker the other day, including three people sat with their hands out the window signalling I was in the wrong, and a so called 'professional driver' who sat 3 inches from the car in front to prevent me merging at the lane closure point. The herd mentality in these situations totally baffles me, especially as so many will get to their destinations and complain about how much traffic there was!
@@samsara3694 Please hand your license in. You’ve posted this comment on a video that is explaining how to merge in turn, yet you still call it queue jumping, when it is emphatically not.
And yes, whilst there will always be the same amount of traffic in terms of number of cars, the actual space they take up will be halved by fully utilising both lanes until the closure point, reducing overall congestion.
@@samsara3694 50 cars per lane, 100 in total
The point isn't about there being less cars in the queue, it's about using all of the available space to prevent overall congestion and reduce junctions from being blocked etc.
I'm afraid that merging early to be seen as not jumping the queue is only adding to the problem, as a lot of people have this mentality to avoid any potential confrontation.
Funnily enough I was in that queue myself a few days ago. I was there about 2pm and the traffic was very slow moving and was backed up to nearly junction 3 exit of the M5. The only think I can think of is that the police were very much fed up themselves of waiting so long! Hardly an excuse though!
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it. It depends on the situation.
I had a very similar reaction from a police officer when driving down a part time bus lane outside of the restricted hours. He backed off as soon as I mentioned the times stated on the signage. I think the problem was that I was the only one who had read and understood the sign, and so stood out, while not actually doing anything illegal.
Corrupt Police everywhere, absolutely no reason to pull the driver over, just shameful!
Plod was upset by the innocent Tesla driver's actions, so he decided to have a word.
"Oi! You can't do that", said Plod.
"What did I do?" said the innocent Tesla driver.
"You passed a lot of vehicles before merging" said Plod
"But so did you, officer" said the Tesla driver
In Belgium, we had a "highway ad" explaining how to properly merge into traffic. It said the same thing, you merge until the very end of the road. You don't start merging a couple of meters before it. So when I did that once in Switzerland, mate...people were pissed off at me and nobody made room for me xD
I always use all the space available. No point in switching lanes early. Follow highway code. I've had a few occasions where other drivers have challenged me on using all the road and merging in turn during slow moving traffic. Just stay calm, de escalate the situation and bring out the highway code application and inform them. Here it seems the officer did not know, after all he is human and can make mistakes. Thanks for sharing this Ashley, good learning point for all.
Wham Bam Tesla Cam!!! Ooopsssss sorry wrong channel......
SSSPECIALLL!!! Sorry wrong channel 😂👍
But are you satisfied @DCD?
My goodness, if the Traffic Police don't understand the merge in turn rule, how the hell are the rest of motorist supposed to. There needs to be a return of the Public Service announcement shorts showing how to m/i/t, and lane discipline on roundabouts. That way we will all be singing from the same hymn book, thus reducing road rage etc.
It is little remarked, when the subject of merging in turn in the U.K. comes up, that this was a fairly quiet change in the Highway Code. The Highway Code as recently as 1996 (and possibly later, although I have not checked) used to say "91. In a traffic hold-up, do not try to 'jump the queue' by cutting into another lane or by overtaking the vehicles in front of you." This explicit prohibition had been in the Highway Code since at least the 1950s. Despite the flurry of news articles in the past half decade, I think that it hasn't yet reached a lot of people that the Highway Code no longer talks about queue jumping as it did for some 40 years.
Making use of available space,good driving!
Many times I have turned right in the left hand lane on roundabouts that are congested or stationary.
I have been doing this for 40 years without any problems.With consideration ,observation and planning,other road
users don't even notice I have done it
What people don't seem to understand is that merging early just makes the queue even longer.
The police often seem to lack the knowledge to back up what they say and often have a mentality that they are always right, when often they are not. It is little wonder you get incidents like this. I would also say this is a typical BMW response but that may be unfair. It's more the police picking on someone for not doing as they feel someone should irrespective of whether that person was in the right or not.
Merge lanes are to stop junctions further back being blocked so that’s why people should use both sides.
The copper got the arse when he realised he had moved over too early and his ego was bruised. He could not let it go.
The officer shouldn't of even merged when he did, which indicates to me he was certainly triggered by someone using all the road space like you should do, and filtered in at the merge point before he did.
It annoys me to high heaven when everyone will congest one whole lane causing a tailback onto further roads because they're not using the lane next to them up to the merge point. It's infuriating to actually see the stupidity of it.
Shouldn't HAVE ffs
@@LadyBovine OK dude, seems you're also triggered easily like this cop, sorry your life is so miserable that my misuse of the word upset you so much.
To be honest, I love it when people only use one lane and leave the other one completely free for me to get ahead.
@@MrcVirus Thank you :)
@@_.Madness._ Generally I do too, but usually I have to deal with the constant machos who think they're saving society by moving their car across both lanes to block me coming down and the constant arguments when trying to merge because they lack any common sense can be annoying to also deal with
4:12 Wait, which page tells you a manoeuvre is illegal if "ladies are waving their hands" ?
Merge in turn is what it says in the book. That is clearly what your driver did. The problem is most drivers have never read the Highway Code since passing their test. There has probability been many editions, that aim to make the road a safer place to drive or ride on. Over time, it has been proven that merge and turn is the best way to keep traffic flowing. That said before I got into advanced motorcycle riding I also used to get avoid seeing other drivers ‘jump the queue’. But now I have to read the Highway Code regularly and know better. I think the government should bring back public information films on TV to educate drivers to the changes that affect all road users. Well done. Good video.
We had a similar incident. M9 motorway south bound. Long term roadworks. Huge temporary signs. "Merge in turn ahead" for several signs every 100 to 200yds, then the signs change to "merge in turn now". A Landrover Discovery police car in lane 1, decided that us proceeding down lane 2 was unnacceptable and pulled out infront of us sharply into lane 2, even though the signs were still at their "merge in turn ahead" stage and we hadn't even reached the "merge in turn now" signs. All rather unnecessary. We knew the signs and the road as it was a daily journey at the time.
should have reported the prick for dangerous driving!
I'm sorry but HWAT? I was taught to use WHOLE length of the road that is not closed before merging to ease congestion. It's not like (in some cases kilometers of) the road will suffer if people use it until the merging point.
I am very much a drive to the end of the merge in turn and then merge. That is what it’s there for. Especially ones that are not temporary due to road works. It is to stop traffic backing up onto another section of road usually. So it irritates me like many others I’m sure, when people straddle both lanes or pull out to prevent you getting past. If they have decided to merge early that I’d their choice. I will always indicate and wait to be allowed in and although it irks me when people don’t allow me in as it feels like it isn’t a’merge in turn’ then and because it shows their lack of understanding of the Highway Code.
I am a big believer everyone should be required to have a one hour (min) driving refresher every 5 years. It would hopefully improve people’s driving behaviours significantly.
And with respect (Ashley please feed your thoughts on this) I don’t agree with one week pass courses. I do think they’re designed around a test route and you’re being taught to pass a test. Not taught how to drive.
I have long thought that periodic short courses should be introduced, similar to the short courses used to retrain for a specific purpose (eg Speed Awareness) with intensive classroom tuition based around specific areas of driving like lane discipline, the two-seconds rule, zipper merging and so on. I remember my driving instructor back in 1961 congratulating me on passing and telling me, "Now this is when you start learning to drive. You should never stop learning from your experience." I have never forgotten his words. Thank you, Keith Kidger, I remember you well.
In north wales where I live they’ve taken to putting up signs to tell the drivers to use the whole length of the 2 lanes to merge in before the roadworks. It’s been done now for many years. Those who want to pull in early do so but it makes sense to keep the traffic flowing rather than blocking the inside lane & having the 2nd lane clear. This tbh should be common sense to everyone. But clearly because of drivers who can’t deal with the merging in process & who clearly have made complaints to police & roads department. They’ve at last made signs that justify the drivers doing the right thing in using both carriageways to reduce the hold ups caused by lane merging. This officer was clearly working on his bruised ego. It’s simple to use both lanes to merge & keep the traffic flowing. FYI what I do hate is the many HGV drivers who pull out & block the outside lane so both lanes can actually be used. Shouldn’t they be prosecuted for driving without reasonable consideration for other road users ....??? Just a thought ... Rant over
Get in to the left as soon as you see the merge sign.Don't jump the queue, without q jumpers the traffic will move swiftly along.2 million kms as a professional driver. And I stopped many a bmw, audi and other knobs jumping the q by blocking them with my truck all over the UK.
@@irishboer7124 how is everyone stopping to get in to one long queue that goes back further then is needed faster then two lanes taking turns to merge? There's a reason why blocking "queue jumpers" as you put it is illegal in some countries. While there is nothing stopping people from using all lane space before merging in the UK, in fact it is encouraged.
The problem here is people merging way way to early because they do not want to be blocked at merging. This creates a free lane and people with common sense use the free lane. However! I do understand when people take advantage of this and aggressively push in using intimidation. That pisses me off. When people use both lanes you tend to find people "generally" merg in turn. When people merge early that creates a vacuum in the road and then they get pissed off when other users plug that hole. As a very experienced driver I have to say I hate approaching merge in turns for this reason. People create problems that dont need to be created. Use both lanes people. it's not rocket science.
There is no such thing, as a perfect driver. However, there is also no such thing as a perfect police officer. I think the officer just needs to read highway code and I hope he sees your video Ashley
Nobody expects perfection. What they expect is for the police to be reasonable people who know the law and not hypocritical bullies.
@@buggs9950 agreed according to Roadcraft the Police drivers and rider's handbook.
Police and other emergency service driver and riders should be exemplary driver and riders. The attitude of police (D and R) towards their driving is noticed by the members of public and influences other road users. Always be aware that you are seen as a role model and can influence the behaviour of other road users for the better. If other road users see you with a courteous attitude and an obvious concern for safety, they're more likely to behave in the same way..
As a professional driver for many years, I agree totally with everything you said in this video. To add to your closing comment. It's important as a road user to read a new updated copy of the Highway Code when one is produced, as rules are updated from time to time and ignorance of it is no excuse in the eyes of the law - which is rather ironic in this footage.
Hang on a moment while I turn on my clairvoyance so I will know the next time the HC is updated. 3 months on from 29 Jan, what proportion of motorists, bikers, cyclists, and pedestrians, have got themselves a new copy of the HC, or browsed it online? People learn from (a) observation and (b) word of mouth and (c) biased 3rd-party info in the media and lastly (d) looking at the HC.
The real cause of the problem is a lack of education by the DfT - they need to run a large scale public campaign to encourage the correct use of merge in turn. As things stand, I DON'T drive to the end because, regardless of what THC states, it's clear to me that there are enough people who still get triggered by it so as to make it an unsafe manoeuvre due to the potential for road rage. It also worsens congestion WHILST people don't adopt it, hence why I say that large scale education on the subject is required.
So glad people on here at least get this. The amount of times I use the whole lane and drivers won’t let me in at the other end. I hate it when other road users block the lane too to stop you going any further. I drive HGV and I see a lot of ignorant HGV drivers blocking the lane to stop people using the full potential of the road. I’m sure too that if I’m in the right hand lane the person on the left has to give way to you if necessary. They have a better view of what’s going on as the person on the right only has his mirrors, especially in a HGV. That’s the rule for overtaking anyway. Rule 168 of the Highway Code.
That clown would be better off getting a job as a Covid warden.
or a door supervisor at asda 😂
Bouncer at mothercare would be about his limit
The H.C. recommends the zip in left, right, left, right in cases like this where there is a lane closure for whatever reason. The copper obviously didn't know the law sufficiently for him to report the driver and that is not unusual as they have little training on the law relating to traffic matters even as traffic officers.
There’s a well known black spot for congestion fairly local to me, where the Northbound A417 goes from dual carriageway into single carriageway before you head down to the Air Balloon roundabout. Correct merging definitely helps here, although you don’t always see it being used.
I drive that road a lot (or, at least, I used to) and it is notorious for congestion at busy times. I'm not usually one for signals on roundabouts but that one needs them at peak times!
Thanks for clearing up the merge-in-turn rule. I also assumed that traffic should use both lanes and "zip" merge at the end, similar to what happened here. People don't like doing it though. While the M5 J1 roadworks were happening, there were even signs from the M6 link road as you come off the junction telling you to merge in 300 yards, 200 yards etc and still people were jumping in before that. You got the occasional person merging at the end but most of the traffic seemed to be in the left lane, or people were jumping in.
well you carry on leaving it to the last moment eh, because 'rights' and the HWC...
"I didn't expect such poor knowledge from a motorway cop". That is basically down to training. Traffic law is exceedingly complex, and there used to be many months of book learning as well as the driving aspect before someone earned a white cap. Blame the public and successive governments for such a situation of poor standards of knowledge across policing. It doesn't help either that the offence that would be likely used is one of ver few traffic offences that use subjective criteria, that of a careful, competent, considerate driver for a without due care prosecution. Being the only person doing a certain thing sticks out like a sore thumb as a potential indicator. After all, the majority of drivers are supposedly "careful, competent, considerate" drivers
Thanks for this video. This situation causes so much aggravation and accidents I suspect that I think it's one of the rare cases a bit of public information and education through TV and media generally would be justified. I would suggest the majority of drivers do not understand the principle because they have never really thought about it and it isn't covered sufficiently in driving instruction and tests.
I think our “queue early” mentality comes from our OTT good manners spilling into the driving seat and not effectively trained out of us during driving lessons (reinforced if anything, albeit with good intentions behind it)
My partner is American. She was trained to use all available lanes until instructed to do otherwise. At which point, vehicles ‘zipper’ merge (ie: you let one vehicle in, then you go; and so on down the queue). She was really surprised it wasn’t covered when [re]learning to drive here in the UK, but it just being an instruction in the Highway Code.
Practical experience beats theory when it comes to reducing congestion. Time we had “use all available lanes” and “give way to one merging vehicle” emphasised in our driving lessons
I agree, maybe even having some signs which say: "Use both lanes during congestion." to get people to use all the road space.
My instructor taught me to use all the lanes, always go for the shortest queue at the lights check the signs on bus lanes and use them when they are not in operation. Must just be down to the individual instructors I guess.
West Midlands Police abuse the use of blue lights at break times I've witnessed them using blue lights to go to chip shops/Takeways at break times and shift changes. Also when they've stopped at red lights not stopping drivers that have blatantly running red traffic lights. I'm not the only one in my area that have lost respect for the local Police. So i'm afraid this behaviour off the Police doesn't surprise me. Ashley keep up these videos and lessons to improve my driving standards Thanks.
I saw that first hand in Whitechapel Road, Aldgate, E London while I was on my lunch break. Blues & twos from a police car which crossed to the wrong side of the road. Then 2 officers got out & went into Subway (not the Underground station the takeaway).
I tend to queue early these days because of the poor understanding of the Highway Code. I don’t get upset by those who choose to follow the code and merge later, but I can see people in cars around me getting annoyed. Truck drivers edging into the second lane acting as rolling road blocks need training.
Isn't that the issue? People simply don't look at the Highway Code after passing their test - otherwise we wouldn't see this happen.
@@WerdnaLiten It’s because emotion is a far more persuasive force than reason. They see it as losing some competition and the sense of loss makes them angry. That’s the trouble today, too much emoting and not enough reasoning.
the police generally have a very poor understanding of law IME
Generally? Maybe not. Some do seem to know less than they should.
@@TheRip72 In My Experience
It's just a poor understanding generally. If they don't like something, then that's an enforceable law
Perfectly acceptable, Traffic police state the at slow speed traffic should merge ’like a zip’ . Unfortunately arrogant drivers in the left lane tend to think they own the whole road and won’t allow this to happen, hence causing more chaos.
I work as a driver for a truck repair workshop and we were only discussing this subject in our tea break the other day, people just don't seem to understand about merging, maybe there needs to be a public information ad on TV or something.
I think once the officer had committed to putting the blues on, then realising he’d made a mistake, had to save face and still pull the Tesla over and try to justify why he stopped the Tesla.
I don't think he realised he'd made a mistake.
@@RBMGT4 oh I think he did as he crouched and waffled it dawned on pc savage the he had nothing...
The only bit of dangerous driving I see here is actually the police officer forcing the Tesla driver to stop on a high speed dual carriageway. That could have caused a way more serious incident than the few dented egos of the cars the driver passed.
I was pulled for speeding many years ago - I was doing 57 in a 50 (although the officer claimed it was 61, which was nonsense but 57 was still speeding so still bang to rights). I found a quiet road to stop on & when I explained why I took so long, he said that his blue lights were sufficient warning to other motorists to make us safe.
Police Officers Prefer the Public to Pull over in a safe spot, The Police officer was just doing his job...
The reason why they prefer to be in a more safe and Populated are if you safety reasons due to the number of Assaults that occur on Emergency workers He was quite patient with the Driver and doesn't seem to be forcing him to do anything...
Some people don't understand merge in turn, always take advantage of this to get ahead
put up with being though of as rude and inconsiderate of others then, simple really
Looks like a classic case of the officer reacting emotionally (didn't like being passed, doubly didn't like that it was a Tesla) and then not having the humility to accept that they'd ballsed up.
Also "The lady behind you didn't like the way you followed the law perfectly" isn't a reason to pull someone over.