Terrified of motorways :(

LegacyUser

Please help me, me and boyf have moved house, well moving in end of the month and he said it would be easier and cheaper to go on the motorway to work, I hate motorways, I hate merging, I hate the idiots who cut me up, I hate everything about it.

I can't afford a pass plus course, can anyone just help me with the main 'rules' of the motorway and how to get over The Fear.

The worse thing for me is coming on and off, whilst on it, I would happily sit in the first lane behind a lorry at 50! lol

Thanks in advance.

jaaavaaa

You should not drive on the motorway alone until you are completely confident. It's dangerous for you, and it's dangerous for every other driver out there. Until you can afford driving lessons, I'd advise you to get a lift or public transport. It's really just not worth the risk.

Saruman

Do you have a full license? Sorry but if you have to ask the question about rules of the road and are terrified of driving on the safest type of road there is, then you have no business behind the wheel of a car.
Sorry if I am harsh but it has to be said.

Get lessons & get confident.

I will give you one word of advice about merging. NEVER merge slowly, always merge at the speed traffic is moving which is usually going to be between 80kph and 120kph and usually the latter.

partyguinness

No 1. -You are not allowed on a motorway with a provisional license and I assume you also have your "L Plate" up...

enda1

Who's to say she doesn't have a driving license?
You can also pass the driving test without knowing anything about motorways.

You are not allowed practice driving on motorways before beomming a licensed driver and there is no test of competency on motorways.

As another poster said, get some calm and reasonable person (not your boyfriend for your relationships sake ) to guide you through the whole thing.

Some simple advice. Only move out of the leftmost lane if:

• The lane you are in is signposted to become an exit lane (not so common but happens on the M50 new bits)
• You want to overtake a driver in front of you
• There is an incident ahead and you need to avoid it (again rare but happens - this doesn't mean swerving, but means moving out in due time)

Most important rule - move back into the leftmost lane at the earliest oppertunity.

To exit is kinda easy.
Be in the leftmost lane in good time (it sounds like you will be there anyway). Then when you get an indication of the distance to the junction be prepared for the distance to it. There are then on your left makers beginning 300m before the exit begins (I think), starting with 3 black slashes on a white backround, then in 100m 2 black slashes then in another 100m 1 black slash. When you reach the 100m slash start indicating to exit after checking your mirrors of course. In 100m the exit will now start.
As soon as the exit starts check mirrors again, in particular left wingmirror and with little glance over shoulder follow the hard shoulder line as the new lane is formed. Reduce your speed through engine braking and light braking as you exit the motorway. Voila. Sounds long when written out but is realy not so bad. Bitta practice.

To enter, try to build up speed as much as possible in the entry lane - have an idea of how long the entry lane is (this can vary a bit disconcertingly, especially on M50 and when there are road works).
Be aware of speeds of drivers coming along on the road you are trying to enter. If the road is busy tr to match the speed on the road and enter behind a car, indicating well in advance. Irish drivers can be awful regarding "letting" drivers enter as we seem to think it is. If you feel you are having difficulty entering the road, indicate well in advance and don't try to enter in front of people, insert behind them.

Good luck and get professional lessons if needed or else a good friend/relative who is also a good and confident driver.

partyguinness

enda1 wrote: »

Who's to say she doesn't have a driving license?
You can also pass the driving test without knowing anything about motorways.

You are not allowed practice driving on motorways before beomming a licensed driver and there is no test of competency on motorways.

As another poster said, get some calm and reasonable person (not your boyfriend for your relationships sake ) to guide you through the whole thing.

Some simple advice. Only move out of the leftmost lane if:

• The lane you are in is signposted to become an exit lane (not so common but happens on the M50 new bits)
• You want to overtake a driver in front of you
• There is an incident ahead and you need to avoid it (again rare but happens - this doesn't mean swerving, but means moving out in due time)

Most important rule - move back into the leftmost lane at the earliest oppertunity.

To exit is kinda easy.
Be in the leftmost lane in good time (it sounds like you will be there anyway). Then when you get an indication of the distance to the junction be prepared for the distance to it. There are then on your left makers beginning 300m before the exit begins (I think), starting with 3 black slashes on a white backround, then in 100m 2 black slashes then in another 100m 1 black slash. When you reach the 100m slash start indicating to exit after checking your mirrors of course. In 100m the exit will now start.
As soon as the exit starts check mirrors again, in particular left wingmirror and with little glance over shoulder follow the hard shoulder line as the new lane is formed. Reduce your speed through engine braking and light braking as you exit the motorway. Voila. Sounds long when written out but is realy not so bad. Bitta practice.

To enter, try to build up speed as much as possible in the entry lane - have an idea of how long the entry lane is (this can vary a bit disconcertingly, especially on M50 and when there are road works).
Be aware of speeds of drivers coming along on the road you are trying to enter. If the road is busy tr to match the speed on the road and enter behind a car, indicating well in advance. Irish drivers can be awful regarding "letting" drivers enter as we seem to think it is. If you feel you are having difficulty entering the road, indicate well in advance and don't try to enter in front of people, insert behind them.

Good luck and get professional lessons if needed or else a good friend/relative who is also a good and confident driver.

The point being made..is that you are not allowed to drive on a motorway with a provisional license. As she is asking these questions, it is fair to assume that she does not have a full license and not legally entitled to drive on the motorway.

When applying for the full license you are tested on the rules of the motorway...you are not tested when applying for a provisional license as you are not allowed to drive on it.

LegacyUser

I do have a fully licence, have been driving for 6 years but have managed to avoid the motorway bar 2 or 3 times. There are too many idiots on there.

I have always driven safely on there but it is other people I am wary of.

iheartny

I think if you've passed your driving test and theory then you're well equipped for driving on a motorway. I passed my test in august last year and it was a good few months before I dared driving on a motorway! It's a scary thought!

The first thing I did was get my sister (you could ask your boyfriend/a close friend/family member you trust) to be with me in the car when I first encountered the motorway. She was there to help me find which lane and tell me when and where to indicate....etc. This was really helpful. I then took the same route a few more times on my own and familiarised myself with other drivers and their habits.

As partyguinness said just stick to the basic principles...stay in the left hand lane, enter the motor way at a good decent speed (when entering a motorway people in the left hand lane do tend to move over into the middle lane to let you in!!) and make sure you are in the left hand lane to make your exit. If ever you cant make it over in time to get off at your exit then go onto the next - this shouldnt happen though!!

I was just as nervous as you are but I really think the only way to get over this is to face your fear. You could even try running the route during the early hours just so you know your exits/lanes well when the roads are clear of traffic.
Also remember although you might be travelling at 60/70mph so is everyone else so it's all just slow motion when you think about it.

I had one passplus lesson on the motor way; my driving instructor told me to always have a mental picture of what's on the road behind you and to never ever argue with a lorry!!!! hehe! I'm not scared about motorways in the slightest now and although I get a little nervous when I approach a new roundabout with multiple lanes, it's not the end of the world if you go the wrong way, just stay in your lane )

Good luck and embrace the motorway!! Now!!

LegacyUser

As said above,
When merging the most important thing is to keep your speed up, dont merge too slow or crawl out as this is dangerous.Get up to 100kph at least!!
And remember they really are the safest roads, its easy to say but just try not to panic. It may look daunting but its a lot easier than you think.

LegacyUser

Thank you, I just wonder what you would do if people DIDN'T move over, what would happen? That is the biggest fear.

I know I have done it before but going from nothing to twice a day every day fills me with dread and fear.

KevR

My advice would be to go out for a few practice runs late in the evening (9:30/10pm while it's still bright) when the motorway is a lot quieter. Drive along and exit off and then merge back on at every junction you pass (not on the M50 though). After a few junctions, turn around and head back home and exit/merge a few times on the way home.

It will help build your confidence up and then you will be better equipped for using the motorway for your commute to work when it's busier.

When I first started driving I was terrified of going out in the crazy Galway traffic at busy times. I started going out late in the evenings and that built my confidence up. Then after a while I decided to drive to work in rush hour traffic - the first few days were pretty nerve wrecking but after that I never looked back.

partyguinness

Unregistered wrote: »

I do have a fully licence, have been driving for 6 years but have managed to avoid the motorway bar 2 or 3 times. There are too many idiots on there.

I have always driven safely on there but it is other people I am wary of.

Make sure you stay away from the overtaking lane and sitck to the inside (far left lane). If you are driving too slowly other drivers will think you are an idiot...;)

Make sure you have a car in decent condition...tyres, fuel etc.

ronkmonster

partyguinness wrote: »

Make sure you stay away from the overtaking lane and sitck to the inside (far left lane).

Don't use the far left lane on the M50 as they are the exit lanes for junctions. Unless you want to get off and get back on every time (or merge a lot which you don't seem to want to do)

If you are nervous stay away from M50 as it's too inconsistent at the moment. (some places with 4 lanes, 2 will exit off and 2 will continue on the m50 - others only have 3 and only 1 is exit)

Saruman

They are marked differently on the M50 so there should be no mistaking them for normal lanes.

KevR

Unregistered wrote: »

Thank you, I just wonder what you would do if people DIDN'T move over, what would happen? That is the biggest fear.

I know I have done it before but going from nothing to twice a day every day fills me with dread and fear.

Don't panic if people don't move over/block you in. You might end up driving in the hard shoulder for a bit which is not the end of the world.

Someone ignorant fool blocked me in when I was merging onto the Athlone Bypass before. I reached the end of the merge lane and had to drive a small bit in the hard shoulder before I could safely merge. The merge lanes on the Athlone Bypass are shorter than motorway merge lanes though so it might not have even happened to me that one time if I were on a Motorway instead of a Dual Carriageway.

It rarely ever happens (it has never happened to me on a motorway) - most people will leave gaps so you can merge or they will move over if they see you are running out of merge lane.

If you build your speed up enough when on the ramp it will give you loads of time to merge when you get to the broken white line of the merge lane.

seamus

Unregistered wrote: »

Thank you, I just wonder what you would do if people DIDN'T move over, what would happen? That is the biggest fear.

I know I have done it before but going from nothing to twice a day every day fills me with dread and fear.

You know what? In all the thousands of times I've merged onto a fast-moving motorway/dual carriageway, I can count on one hand the amount of times where someone didn't give me room to get in.

If the traffic is tightly packed, it will be slow-moving and you can just merge in gently when someone lets you in - same as you would pulling out into traffic. If the traffic is heavy but fast-moving, it won't be tightly packed and you will have enough room between vehicles to move out into the lane. The key is to get yourself up to a good speed by the time you're down/up at motorway level.

You can tell what the traffic is like as you enter the sliproad. If it's slow-moving, you can saunter on down (in fact, you'll probably be queuing). If it's fast-moving, stick yourself in 3rd or 4th gear, put your foot to the floor and aim to be doing between 80 and 100km/h before you get to motorway level.

Once you're there, you have 300-400 metres of lane before you *have* to merge. Use your right-hand mirror to see if it's safe to pull out into the lane. If it's not, wait for the approaching vehicle to pass and then pull out. If you get to the bottom and there's a car beside you on the lane matching your speed, then aim to accelerate in front of them or slow down and let them pass before pulling in behind them.

The latter is the safer option, but sometimes both of you slow down and nobody gets in. If this occurs, shift into a lower gear, put your foot to the floor and accelerate in front of them before moving into the road.

enda1

partyguinness wrote: »

Make sure you stay away from the overtaking lane and sitck to the inside (far left lane). If you are driving too slowly other drivers will think you are an idiot...;)

Make sure you have a car in decent condition...tyres, fuel etc.

What kinda advice is that!!
How can she ever expect to build confidence if people tell her stuff like that.
The overtaking lane(s) can be necessary to use at times. This kinda fear incitment pushes people into dangerous driving patterns and especially into the situation which is her fear of people not leaving room for her to merge. Many times people should move into the overtaking lane whenthere are merging drivers approaching, both to allow for slow drivers entering not to cause them to brake and to allow room for merging drivers.

And to the above posters no knowledge of motorway driving or even rules of the motorway is required to pass the driving test - it helps but is not strictly necessary.

And how does one feel that having passed the driving test adequately prepares you for motorway driving. My driving test was done in Churchtown test centre and as far as I know there were no merging lanes, or dualcarriageways so completely untested skills.

OP, take it easy and just get some practice. If it comes to an emergency and no one lets you enter, there is always the hard shoulder to use. Just don't panic, indicate in time and be aware of what's around you.

Beta Ray Bill

Hi OP

I know that Motorways can be scary for some people. but ya have to get over that.

Statistically speaking they are one of the safest roads to drive on.
Yes people may cut you up etc but that's all ok. Just stay calm and relaxed while driving

Also I know this may sound stupid but if you are commuting Via motorway I wouldn't worry to much about driving at high speed. they are jammed in the morning times!

I wouldn't say practice on a motorway. as that could be a dangerous if you are afraid of them. I think what you need to do is get your head around the whole idea of loads of cars moving at 100kph and you driving with them.

Oh The Humanity

Motorways are the easiest of all types of driving. Nothing new in it at all.

Merging, the main rule is to signal and check your blind spots like a maniac all the time. If there is one thing people dont do and that could cut down on a lot of messing its check the blind spot BEFORE you change lanes or merge.

Another thing, stay OUT of the overtaking lane unless you are overtaking. You need to be doing the speed limit and making progress.

Just learn the rules, its very easy.

Do not be hesitant or change your mind, if you miss a slip road do not jam on at the last possible second and try to cross lanes to get up it, just continue on and go up the next slip.

Roundabouts. If you miss your turn off go around again and try it again, again dont jam on and try to rectify your error. There is always a second chance at anything you need to do so just use your noggin and get out there.

Being afraid is pointless. You have to do it, so learn it and do it right.

enda1

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

Motorways are the easiest of all types of driving. Nothing new in it at all.

Merging, the main rule is to signal and check your blind spots like a maniac all the time. If there is one thing people dont do and that could cut down on a lot of messing its check the blind spot BEFORE you change lanes or merge.

Another thing, stay OUT of the overtaking lane unless you are overtaking. You need to be doing the speed limit and making progress.

Just learn the rules, its very easy.

Do not be hesitant or change your mind, if you miss a slip road do not jam on at the last possible second and try to cross lanes to get up it, just continue on and go up the next slip.

Roundabouts. If you miss your turn off go around again and try it again, again dont jam on and try to rectify your error. There is always a second chance at anything you need to do so just use your noggin and get out there.

Being afraid is pointless. You have to do it, so learn it and do it right.

You don't need to be "doing the speedlimit".

The_Conductor

1. You are merging with traffic. It is your duty to exploit a gap in the traffic to your advantage. It is not up to other motorists to 'move over'. You have to match the speed of oncoming vehicles as closely as possible- in order to merge into a gap.
2. Different types of vehicles have different speed limits on a motorway- and different rights. E.g. a truck will have a lower limit than a car. Also- there is a minimum speed- aka- no vehicles are allowed drive at below 50kmph)
3. While the comment about fuel, tyres etc may have been a bit brusque- its accurate. If your car does not have good brakes and tyres along with sufficient fuel- don't go on the motorway.
4. It is an offence to drive on any part of the motorway that is not a carriageway- for example the hardshoulder. You can get penalty points and a fine for your trouble if you do so.
5. Have you ever practiced emergency braking? Make sure you are fully alert and aware of what is happening with the traffic in front of you. If you see red brake lights ahead of you- prepare to brake.

Driving School Ireland have a very good webpage specifically dedicated to motorways here

Safe motoring.

seahorse

Unregistered wrote: »

Thank you, I just wonder what you would do if people DIDN'T move over, what would happen? That is the biggest fear.

I know I have done it before but going from nothing to twice a day every day fills me with dread and fear.

Sorry OP, but it fills me with dread and fear to think there may be drivers out there on the motorway (which I use every other day) who actually expect other drivers to "move over"! as they merge:eek:

That is NOT the way it works! Drivers do not move over into another lane in order to accomodate merging traffic. Apologies if I've taken you up wrong but if I havent please closely study the motorway section of 'The Rules of the Road' before you go anywhere near a motorway.

KevR

seahorse wrote: »

That is NOT the way it works! Drivers do not move over into another lane in order to accomodate merging traffic.

You aren't required to move over into another lane but I regularly see people move over as a courtesy to allow people to merge more easily. Also, people do it as defense mechanism - afraid they might be in the merging person's blind spot so they pull into the other lane to gaurentee not having a collision (see below).

Rules of the road, motorway section wrote:

Avoid staying in other drivers' blind spots

And when approaching a junction you should leave a gap between yourself and the car in front so there is enough room for people to weave.

While there is nothing in the rules of the road that says you must move over to allow someone to merge, it is quite a common occurence and is definitely an appropriate action to take on certain occasions - it benefits you and the person trying to merge. Taking the approach of possibly blocking someone in because you aren't required try to facilitate them isn't something I would do. Where possible I (and loads others I see daily) facilitate the person merging without any inconvenience to ourselves or others.