Last update ~ 6th April 2012 ~ CS

Registered Charity No. 1015977

Blackpool & Fylde Advanced Motorists Group

Bafam IAM Group No 5200

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Although many people do not travel extensively on our motorways, most of them will perhaps be a little bit more apprehensive and yet nevertheless take for granted that they are adequately safe when driving on them.  Statistically, our motorways are our safest roads.  A dual carriageway is a far more dangerous environment to our safety but the dangers there will not be considered so much even though that type of road is driven along much more commonly.  Familiarity breeding contempt perhaps !


Whatever your frequency of travelling down a motorway might be, remember that the road signs and markings and gantry signs used on motorways are unique and you cannot rely on simply trusting that you will be able to understand what they might mean.  YOU MUST KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN.  Read the Highway Code to keep abreast of those motorway information sources.


With the following bullet points, we want to raise here some safety issues that must be considered by drivers, especially Advanced Drivers, before entering a motorway and whilst travelling along it and before exiting it.


The first thing you are going to deal with, even before you get onto the carriageway, is the slip-road.


· The nearside lane as you enter the main carriageways from the slip-road is Lane 1, the next Lane 2, then Lane 3 and then Lane 4.


· The slip road provides space and time to merge smoothly into the existing carriageway traffic


· Slip roads themselves might have more than one lane .. if it’s busy, as advanced drivers we might make more progress onto the motorway itself by using the right hand side of the road but be aware if you are using that right hand side … you don’t want to inconvenience any vehicle approaching the motorway using the left hand side of the slip road.


· Slip roads might have multiple entrances onto the main carriageway so observe well in advance the signboard details provided to tell you how they are laid out … for example ~

· there could a simple slip road that joins an existing Lane 1,

· there could be a slip road that itself forms a new Lane 1,

· there could be an early and later staggered entrance from the slip road onto Lane 1 again, the early one maybe forming a new  Lane 1, the later one simply joining that Lane 1 so be aware by observing and understanding that slip road signboard   information.


More importantly, use the full system of car control in plenty of time to ~


· collect the information you need to know about the layout of the slip road and how it joins the main carriageway, the traffic on the slip road and the main carriageways and the right shoulder check is vital as you approach. If a signal is required, give that information by indicating at the start of the paintwork ghost island at the lower end of the slip road entrance … give those drivers in Lane 1 time to react to that signal and note, the ghost island has a solid white line surrounding it, so do not cross it except in an emergency.


· get into the correct position on the slip road for entering Lane 1


· travel at the appropriate speed down and along the whole of the length of the slip road prior to entering Lane 1 at that Lane’s current   speed … a short slip road length might require some positive acceleration to achieve that current speed so don’t be too slow on joining


· select the most appropriate flexible gear so that you can then


· accelerate towards and onto the carriageway smoothly and safely at Lane 1’s traffic speed at the end of the slip road.


Now that you are on the carriageway, you will be expected to make progress.  These actions should be followed when travelling down a motorway … all points are important but they are not in any particular order or indeed exhaustive ~


· Stay in Lane 1 where possible


· Travel in the centre of the lane for good lane discipline and leave yourself room to manoeuvre. Consider the minimum two-second rule.


· Overtake the vehicle in front only from the lane to your right …. Do not overtake that vehicle by going around it via the lane to your left … it is illegal.  There are exceptions to that rule, the essence of which will be when your traffic flow is faster than those slower-moving or queueing vehicles next to you in that right hand lane.


· Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front …. What is the rule of thumb advice and what guidance can you remember seeing on a previous motorway trip to reinforce that separation distance?


· Never travel three or even four abreast … it is dangerous … you need a place of safety should anything happen and with a line of vehicles across the motorway, you haven’t got one should anyone of the other drivers go pear shaped.


· Never maintain any length of time in the blind spot of another driver either when you are overtaking it or it is overtaking you


· Keep scanning that far distance as if your eyes are on full beam, the middle distance, close up and behind … regular scanning is advised but consider repeating it at least once in every five or ten seconds … depending on how busy it is. Remember, travelling at 70mph, you are moving at over 100 feet per second ( 30 metres/sec ) or in round figures about 4 double-decker bus lengths per second.


Be careful now as you plan to overtake or change lanes on a motorway so consider the principles of the Overtaking Triangle.


· From the actions of other drivers in front of you, try to interpret what they may be about to do before you decide on your manoeuvre. You may wish to draw their attention to your intended overtake once you have applied your indicator by flashing your headlights. Carefully observe their reaction and also taking into account any vehicles behind you before executing the manoeuvre.


· Consider your judgement of the speed and distance between you and the other road users and be aware of the applicable maximum permitted speed limits for various classes of vehicles ~

· 70mph for motorbikes, cars, 39 feet maximum length coaches and HGV’s less than 7½ tonnes

· 60mph for cars or vans towing anything or if less than 7½ tonnes, an articulated vehicle or one towing a trailer and the remaining    HGV’s exceeding 7½ tonnes … beware that some of them will be exceeding their speed limits.


· A left hand bend is more problematic for an overtake …


· Lane 1 certainly and Lane 2 to a lesser extent will be occupied by HGV’s or “heavies”, perhaps with hidden cars in between them maybe wanting to move out, so before you overtake a vehicle on a left hand bend, be sure you can see ALL the vehicles that are going to be involved in your manoeuvre and try to predict their actions. An early view can be obtained by watching these vehicles as they intially enter the bend.


· Ensure you have sufficient spare mph capacity before you decide to overtake as you don’t want to exceed the limit in the overtake


· A left hand curve might be long distance curve and the vehicle in the lane to your left will have a shorter journey to get around it and if you are both travelling at 70mph, they will get around it before you and you will be left behind  and you might also lose sight of those

 involved vehicles and more importantly they might lose sight of you (conversely for a right hand bend of course).


· Follow the safe system of car control for the overtake or lane change … some salient points ~

· If there is a necessity to give a signal, plan sufficient time to allow your indicator to flash long enough for other drivers to see and react   to it. A suggestion here would be one indicator flash for every 10mph of your speed before you move (70mph = 7 flashes)

· When making the right shoulder check, look into all the lanes to your right ( or left if you are returning to the left after completing an overtake )

· Avoid unnecessary lane changes

· Watch out for those vehicles overtaking you as at some point you will be in their left blind spot


Remember, when and if you are going to overtake, build up the speed of your vehicle in your existing lane to match the new lane speed before you enter it ... don’t go into the new lane and then build the speed up.  Similarly when you are returning to the lane on your left, enter that lane at your existing speed and then prepare to slow down once you are in it.


As you are now about to leave the motorway on the exit slip-road, reinforce your actions appropriately according to the system of car control


· An advanced driver will have planned the journey and know which exit to take well in advance


· Exit Information signs are common on all motorways


· First information signboard is normally at one mile before the exit detailing the exit number, the distance from the exit and the road destinations leading from the exit. You might however have first signboards placed at less than a mile, depending upon road local configurations in the area so read the information carefully. At 70mph at that first signboard, you have only about 50 seconds to travel before leaving the motorway exit ….


· Under normal circumstances, a half mile signboard becomes the second sign in sequence that repeats the mile board information.


· Countdown markers are next at 300, 200 and 100 yards before the exit.


· A third and more detailed direction signboard is located at the beginning of the exit slip road.


· Use the full system of car control, more than once up to the exit and collect the information that you need to know in plenty of time before the slip road from the advance direction signs. Give information to other road users by signalling from Lane 1 at the 300 yard countdown marker, if one is necessary, to give those other drivers time to react and be aware of you.  Importantly, you must be beware of the action of those late movers wishing to leave the motorway who might cut across your path from Lanes 2 and beyond so take effective observations through your offside mirror in particular and carry out a final right shoulder check.


· Get into the correct position as outlined above and if you are not already in Lane 1 and the motorway is busy, plan an entry into Lane 1 earlier, rather than later by again using the system of car control in that instance


· Match the current road speed along Lane 1 and then lose any unwanted speed on the slip road by acceleration sense with light and not heavy braking


· Select the most appropriate flexible gear so that you can then consider the safe exit from he slip road and entry onto the new road again using the safe system of car control at that instance


· Accelerate at the appropriate point on the new road away from the hazard that you have just dealt with but remember to look for the new road speed as you drive along the slip road and don’t exceed it.


Watch out for clues as to what other road users might be doing and keep practising your predictions and as a final thought, can you imagine what might happen next in the following scenario?




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Driving Matters ~ Motorway Driving