Idiots that can't/Won't merge properly.

Guy:Incognito

For anyone who knows and drives in Tallaght, whats with the high proportion of idiots that take the right turn off the N81 (Tallaght By-pass) onto the old bawn road that don't understand teh concept of merging or are just plain ignorant and feel they should'nt have to merge behind someone who they feel was behind them when the two lanes were stationary waiting to turn right?

Forgive my crude drawings but I'm probably legally retarded when it comes to art.

In the first pic it shows teh two lanes and where they end up. The way I treat this turn (and every other merging situation) is on a one one one one basis (one from each lane) so I position myself just behind (half the car) the car tha was to my left when we turned (or just infront, depending on speed etc when we get to the straight) so that everyone merges nicely. Now, increasingly, and often older male drivers in big cars refuse to give way. Taking pic 2, say I am car 3,

I'm obviously in the position to take up in the line between car 2 and 4, which logic would dictate, the driver in car 2 ecides it's his road and speeds up to an overtaking position (half his carover the centre line) to try and push me back in the que. The options I then face are 1. speed up to hold my line and force him further out,or 2. break hard to avoid hitting the kerb that slopes into the lane form the left. My question is, why the hell are people so ignorant in this position? When you dont automatically give way to them they begin to rant and indicate that they are in the right and one guy in particular, after I had taken the decision to hold my line , took down my reg and waved the paper at me. I subsequently gave him the finger na dheaded on my way ( in case you happen to be readign this or are this idiots son/daughter, it was a thin middle aged, grey haired man, driving a 97 d silver E200 and turned into millbrook lawns at the Irish school).

This happens 2 or 3 times a week, with people glaring at you for having the audacity to exit a corner ahead of them. I dont know where these people think the cars to the left of them are supposed to magically dissappear to. Anyway, rant over, jsut wondered if anyone else uses this turn and has experienced the same thing?

John R

Some years ago I used to use that turn regularly and yes I encountered the exact same muppetry.

I was coming from the Square and the way the light sequence worked I'd often be at the front of the left hand queue with 1 or 2 cars having already stopped in the right lane. One of my driving habits has always been to pay attention to the lights and take off as soon as they change. Most times I'd be through the junction before the car on the right had even started moving but every now and then one (usually a middle aged male in an expensive car) would take a violent exception to being "jumped" and would make a mad dash for the overtake despite me having a considerable head-start.

One nut even tried overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic, he got about 1/2 a car length in front and tried pushing in, I didn't back off and both he and the poor b*stard that was coming the other way had to make an emergency stop to avoid a collision.

Back then I drove a bit of a banger that apart from being grossly underpowered (0-60 in 45 seconds, no joke) was mechanically sound but it had it's fare share of dings and bad paintwork. I really didn't care if some fool in a new exec saloon scraped into it but I can't imagine why they would risk damaging their pristine motors over nothing though, really stupid.

AMurphy

Welcome to merging in ROI, My take on the subject is very few know how to do or allow reasonable merging to take place.
First with constant tailgating, it is next to impossible to merge without being aggressive.
Everyone believes they are in the ROW lane, hence the other merging car should always yield.
I have encountered this problem at intersections, on ramps to teh M50, where 2 lanes merge to 1 before hitting the highway, etc. and even merging from on-ramps back onto the highway. 2 to 1 lanes as at the ends of dual carriageways.
As well, If I allow the one car, possibly slight ahead of me to merge, the car sitting on its tail EXPECTS or assumes its them I am obliging.

Forget it, the only way I see to merge is drive a wreck and carry a baseball bat.

It's very like Shaghai style, if you get the tip of your fender ahead and in front of the adjacent car, you get ROW.... irrespective of what else is occuring.

Manic Moran

If it's a consolation, similar things have been known to happen on this side of the Atlantic as well.

However, popular conception has it that everyone drives around with a gun in the car, so people tend to be a bit more polite.

NTM

(Seriously, people around here seem fairly well behaved when it comes to merging or letting people into traffic. When it comes to letting people overtake, on the other hand, that's an entirely different kettle of fish. Similarly, California when it drizzles is kindof like Ireland after a quarter-inch of snow. People just can't adapt to the new road surface.)

AMurphy

Manic Moran wrote:

.....
NTM

(Seriously, people around here seem fairly well behaved when it comes to merging or letting people into traffic. When it comes to letting people overtake, on the other hand, that's an entirely different kettle of fish. Similarly, California when it drizzles is kindof like Ireland after a quarter-inch of snow. People just can't adapt to the new road surface.)

Never had any problems overtaking, unless you are talking about some eejit sitting on my tail with the HID's singing the hair on my neck.

Well the first days rain, can be a bit hairy, that blend of Oil and water is pretty slick, especially on interchanges.... I've only completed a 270º once and that was enough for this year.

RobertFoster

I don't know the road, so excuse me if it seems like a stupid question Ste, but if you know you're going to lose your lane, why don't you approach in the right hand lane?

BrianD3

Well I think the road design and markings are part of the problem. It looks from this example that it's not clear which of the lanes ends and merges into the other lane. Somebody has to have priority and this should be made clear (eg with "curly" arrows in the lane which is coming to an end)

unkel

I know the junction and I've experienced the same merging issues there. Pretty much the same as merging in any other situation in this country though

John R wrote:

he got about 1/2 a car length in front and tried pushing in, I didn't back off and both he and the poor b*stard that was coming the other way had to make an emergency stop to avoid a collision

You should have backed off. I appreciate the other driving was acting the tit and you were merging properly, but by not backing off, you knowingly put him (and others) in unnecessary danger

BrianD3 wrote:

Somebody has to have priority and this should be made clear

The whole point about merging is that there generally is NO priority. There doesn't need to be any. Drive on the continent and you'll see it working very well everywhere all the time

RobAMerc

I was on my way down the M50 the other day (in the correct lane) with the usual row of idiots outside me going nowhere.
There was a black Alfa GT outside and a bit behind me which had been there for 2- 3 mins when I encountered my first need to move out into the overtaking lane. I accelerated and indicated to move into the outside lane, which I didn’t realise belonged to the Alfa driver. He accelerated too, for no reason other than he didn't want me getting out in front of him and I almost took his nose off as he tried to block me getting out. I backed off and gave him a good eyeful of finger.:mad:

I was tempted to follow this dick home and teach him a thing or two about road manners, this was one of the most dangerous things I have ever had done, he almost deliberately caused an accident.

I must say, since buying a cinquecento, I have noticed a huge amount of bullying on our roads, coz funny it never happens in my other (physically much bigger car) as I think they feel I could pulverize them.;)

BrianD3

unkel wrote:

The whole point about merging is that there generally is NO priority. There doesn't need to be any. Drive on the continent and you'll see it working very well everywhere all the time

Common sense and being reasonable would suggest that people merge in a "zipper" formation in heavy traffic but is this stated anywhere in the Irish ROTR? I don't think it is. Also, what happens if there is a crash? If there is no priority, how can it be determined who is at fault?

Also in this example in if someone is not familiar with the road layout they might think that the drivers in the other lane are in the wrong lane and that they're trying to queue jump and barge in (which is extremely common on Irish roads)

spockety

Yup, I live in Old Bawn, I stopped using the left hand lane of the bypass junction for turning years ago. Just use the right hand lane, and when you come around, allow whoever is to your left to filter in. Stress free!

ballooba

RobAMerc wrote:

I must say, since buying a cinquecento, I have noticed a huge amount of bullying on our roads, coz funny it never happens in my other (physically much bigger car) as I think they feel I could pulverize them.;)

I wouldn't act like that guy but I would breathe a sigh when I see a 1 litre Cinquencento pull into the fast lane in front of me. The Cinquencento will probably take a couple of minutes to accelerate the 10mph or so necessary to complete the manouveure. By which time I will have had to reduce my pace to 60 mph or so and a line of trraffic has built up behind me.

Then the inability of certain people to use their wing mirrors comes into play then. But that isn't anything to do with it being a Cinquencento though.

jd

ballooba wrote:

I wouldn't act like that guy but I would breathe a sigh when I see a 1 litre Cinquencento pull into the fast lane in front of me.

Overtaking lane. It is not a "fast" lane.

ballooba

By Fast Lane I meant overtaking lane. I do understand what it is for.

My point stands though. Cinquencento's are a little bit annoying when you are cruising along at 120kmph+ and one pulls out in front of you.

AMurphy

BrianD3 wrote:

Common sense and being reasonable would suggest that people merge in a "zipper" formation in heavy traffic but is this stated anywhere in the Irish ROTR? I don't think it is.
Also, what happens if there is a crash? If there is no priority, how can it be determined who is at fault?

Common sense would, but that appears to evaporate once a body is placed behind the wheel of a vehicle, along with courtesy and god manners. :rolleyes:

what happens in a crash situation?. dunno about there, but here, both parties are deemed at fault, unless there are some mitigating circumstance, like one is drunk, etc.