ok to drive straight on at this junction?

aristotle25

If I am in the left lane of this junction beside the black car (see link) is it ok to drive straight on towards Kevin Street?

The road markings show arrows to suggest I can but this means two lanes have to merge into one just past the lights and drivers in the right lane tend to dislike this.

Any views?

http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=google+maps&hl=en&ll=53.338215,-6.269567&spn=0.000013,0.011319&fb=1&gl=ie&hq=google&hnear=0x48670e80ea27ac2f:0xa00c7a9973171a0,Dublin,+Co.+Dublin+City&cid=0,0,14179187141338221046&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=53.338255,-6.269891&panoid=Ks1uBVbIzNP1W8XjRAH_TQ&cbp=12,111.24,,0,11.97

Bigcheeze

Looks fine. Maybe other drivers think there's an unwritten rule that cars in the left should take the left prong of the fork on the other side.

Alanstrainor

Yes perfectly fine.

aristotle25

Thanks. I was beginning to think it was wrong as some drivers on the right lane loose the plot when I do that.

inforfun

By the looks of it, both the left and the right option of the fork end up in 1 lane.

Ridiculous lay out of you ask me.
But since there is 1 lane clearly having an arrow pointing right, personally i would only use that one to go right of the building.
Left lane to go left of the building, middle lane to crash your car into the building.

Alanstrainor

It's a bad junction, so I can see why people might go spare, but the way it's laid out there's no issue using the left most lane to go straight.

Taltos

I would view this a bit differently.
Left lane to go left of building
Middle lane to to to right of building
Right lane to turn right across junction

Don't think both left and middle lanes should join further ahead, but where a driver attempts to do so they must give way to cars on their right.

IMO anyway.

inforfun

I think Taltos is on the money there.

Zoomed in to much first time i looked and didnt see that option.

Left lane should have an arrow pointing left. Would make that crossing more clear i think.

Bigcheeze

inforfun wrote: »

I think Taltos is on the money there.

Zoomed in to much first time i looked and didnt see that option.

Left lane should have an arrow pointing left. Would make that crossing more clear i think.

No it wouldn't as there is a 90 degree left turn and a street that is left of centre. If it was a left turn only arrow, you couldn't take the latter.

There are four options from the junction, left, right, and two straight-ish routes.

coolisin

It is two tight a junction for three lanes there anyway.

Sometimes you need to be more in the left lane to go straight on anyway, as the people turning right can block your progress.

Anan1

aristotle25 wrote: »

Thanks. I was beginning to think it was wrong as some drivers on the right lane loose the plot when I do that.

It's fine. you just need to make sure you're not alongside another car when the road narrows into one lane. In my experience, a lot of these issues are caused by drivers not planning far enough ahead.

peter_dublin

Anan1 wrote: »

It's fine. you just need to make sure you're not alongside another car when the road narrows into one lane. In my experience, a lot of these issues are caused by drivers not planning far enough ahead.

Exactly, I drive this junction everyday and 9/10 times the issue is as you described, usually the left hand driver hasn't left / given space to the car in the right hand land to merge, I treat it as if the two lanes merge once you cross the junction which they basically do but some seem to think its two unmarked lanes and go all mad max.

inforfun

Bigcheeze wrote: »

No it wouldn't as there is a 90 degree left turn and a street that is left of centre. If it was a left turn only arrow, you couldn't take the latter.

There are four options from the junction, left, right, and two straight-ish routes.

First of all, that crossing more or less lacks space for those 4 options but it is as it is.

You are dealing with 3 lanes and 4 options.

Left lane for taking the 90 degree one.
Middle lane for the 2 straight'ish ones
Right lane for taking the right turn.

Normally a set up like this would suit everybody. But again, that whole set up there is dodgy due to lack of space.

Given the space available, one of those 3 lanes should go.
Keep 2 lanes, left for the left turn and left straigh'ish, and right for right turn and right straight'ish

djimi

Theres a few junctions like that around town where there are two lanes who can both go ahead to merge into a single lane on the far side of the road.

Depending on the junction I tend to take the left hand lane if possible. This is only really because traffic in the right hand lane is more likely to have to stop than traffic in the left hand lane.

Bigcheeze

inforfun wrote: »

Given the space available, one of those 3 lanes should go.
Keep 2 lanes, left for the left turn and left straigh'ish, and right for right turn and right straight'ish

Makes no sense. Most of the traffic there is going straight (right-ish) and right. By forcing all of that traffic in to one lane, you dramatically reduce the throughput of the junction and create massive traffic backlogs.

Bigcheeze

djimi wrote: »

Depending on the junction I tend to take the left hand lane if possible. This is only really because traffic in the right hand lane is more likely to have to stop than traffic in the left hand lane.

Often parked cars block the left lane on the other side of the junction. All these merges work just fine if people queue in both legitimate lanes and just merge in turn.

munchkin_utd

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Often parked cars block the left lane on the other side of the junction. All these merges work just fine if people queue in both legitimate lanes and just merge in turn.

+1

the problem is that there should be markings indicating 2 lanes through and beyond the lights and THEN a wee curvy arrow on the road with accompanying sign indicating that a merge is required.

In the UK such a scenario is very common through traffic light or roundabouts that you have 2 lanes exiting (to boost throughput on the junction) which merge very quickly afterwards.

If the 2 lanes beyond the traffic light were clearly marked then parking beyond the junction should be less likely to happen, if only as you'd probably clap down a fresh visible double yellow there when marking the lanes properly.

aristotle25

Again this morning I get blown out of it by a guy who just isn't able to read road markings.

I was waiting at lights in left lane, 3 cars in middle lane to my rights and 1 in right lane going right. Lights go green and we all take off, I slowly take off to let two cars go ahead from middle lane and we are getting past the far set of lights at this stage and the 3rd car from the middle lane decides to speed up to get near by back right bumper and then just holds pace there, neither letting me out properly or trying to pass me out.

That carrys on another 20 yards or so until the road tightens and I am ahead of him anyways so he goes behind. But not without loads of blowing the horn.

What is wrong with drivers?!!

Funnily enough there is never an issue coming out from town at the Karma Stone lights on wexford st where two lanes merge into one and it is nearly always of case of people merging one after the other with no agro.