Quote Originally Posted by dml1954 View Post
The people causing the blockage are the ones in the blocked lane who race along it and cut in at the last second causing everyone in the open lane to slow down and stop, thereby causing the tail back. I cant believe that the people supporting this practice on here are so dull as to believe that they are in the right. Driving without due care and attention and dangerous driving are just two of the offences that come to mind if an incident occurred. Speak to the police if you dont believe me.
There are a lot of holes in your rationale. The lane is not blocked until it becomes blocked - if there are say 100 meters to go until the lane is blocked then it is to be used. People are not always racing along, sometimes they are travelling at the appropriate speed. In the example Barry and myself use above, the traffic is bumper to bumper and moves at walking pace causing a tailback onto a very busy roundabout. I drive along the empty lane, signal appropriately near the end of the lane and if no one lets me in, I stop and wait patiently. I am not causing anyone to slow down or stop and am not contributing to the tailback - quite the opposite. I don't do it for my own means but because as an advanced driver it is the correct thing to do. Much the same as joining a motorway, you are supposed to use all the road not cut across the chevrons when other drivers are not expecting it or before they have a chance to see you signalling that you are joining. We do have an odd sense of fairness in this country.