Pulled by the Police for a Merge in Turn!

I’m angry at what you did, but as you haven’t done anything wrong I can’t give you any penalties so I’m going to waste your time instead.”

Roadworks need big signs telling drivers to use both lanes to queue, and reminders to 'Continue to use both lanes' and then a 'start to merge now' to get it into people's heads that this is how it should work.

Hello Ashley, about 18 months ago I had a off-duty police officer pull me for doing almost the same. But I was in a articulated lorry in the left lane. Eventually the left lane merged into the right lane. I drove to the end of the left lane and merged into the right lane. Three or four cars down the queue a black VW-4x4 started flashing his lights and sounded his horn numerous times. He starting waving his warrant badge out of his car and forcing the cars in front to move out the way. He then drove down the grass verge on the central reservation, pulled in front of me and forced me to stop. He ran over to my truck and tried getting in. My doors were locked. So he started banging on the door and waved his warrant at me. I slightly opened the window and asked him what his problem was. He said I was dangerous driving and he called me a 'Fat C**t'. He then got back in his 4x4 and drove on. Fortunately I have a dashcam. Everything was caught on camera which proved my driving was not dangerous, but most importantly it had a clear picture of his face and his car registration, also the conversation. I reported the incident to the essex police. I told them about the incident, where it happened (basildon) and it was a police officer. At first the lady on the phone sounded very interested, but she did chuckle and tried assuring me it would not be a police officer. . I was asked to wait on the phone while they did a vehicle check. After a few minutes the lady came back, her tone of voice had changed. She said she could not give me any more information, and someone from Essex police would call me back. (they never did). I was making at least two calls a week to Essex police about the incident, insisting they investigate this incident. After a couple of months I called them and asked which officer I needed to see about this incident as I was going to visit them. I told them I was bringing my sleeping bag just incase. The guy on the phone transfered me to a superior police officer. He said they did not have the resources to look any further into this incident as no one was hurt and it was my word against the third party and no evidence. So I told him I have it all on dashcam. He went very quiet. He started stuttering and said what did I actually want. I said an apology in writing and verbally. He laughed and said "I doubt you will get that". I said we will see, i will get a phone call from you very soon. He asked why. I said if you don't see it, your friends, family and neighbours would. I then put the phone down. What I did then is spend half a day joining probably 100+ groups in Essex on Facebook. Sell it groups, residential groups, biker groups, neighbourhood watch groups etc etc etc. I posted the video footage on all the groups. 3 days later Grays Police Station called me 😊.. To cut a long story short, I got my apology but only in writing. I got compensation. And I was told this incident has now been put on the police officers record which may affect future promotion. In total this took 4 months. But worth it 👍

The "Anti-Merge-in-Turn" brigade need some proper instruction - time for a media campaign and road signs that actually say Use all Lanes and Merge in Turn

Police officer's ego took a hit

I once got pulled over by a young constable because I was walking on a non pavemented road facing oncoming traffic. He insisted that I must use the pavement at all times. My response was that i do use the pavements when they are there but as there were no pavements i walk facing the oncoming traffic. You'd think that police would know the Highway Code, wouldn't you?

Clearly looks like the officer pulled him for passing him.

See, the thing is this. What annoys people in the queueing lane is seeing cars sailing past them in the empty lane. They do this because it's an empty lane. Why is it an empty lane? Because the people patiently queueing have created it! Now instead, if everyone were to use both lanes to queue for the merge, there wouldn't be an empty lane for people to overtake them. Everyone would pick a side and no-one would get annoyed by queue 'jumpers' because there wouldn't be any queue 'jumping'. It surprises me that people can't see this. dodgydrivers posted an amusing photo the other day. In it the sign on one side of the road said the left lane was closing. The sign on the other side said the right lane was closing. Result: drivers used both lanes and the queues were the same length. Perhaps that's the answer!

More danger was caused by having the driver and the undercover police car pulled over on the side of a busy road.

So theres a law against wasting police time, how about the police wasting this drivers time... terrible

I like how Ashley always stays polite to all parties, acknowledging people make mistakes. And advises to not compete, but set safety as the priority.

In Germany, the general rule and attitude of drivers when merging is to allow other drivers to join the flow of traffic like a "zipper" - each driver alternating to permit one other driver to join.

So that pull-over just caused - you've guessed it - yet another merge in turn situation!

Let's not forget about the self appointed rolling roadblock, who sits in lane 2 and matches the speed of lane 1, stopping anyone from passing

This situation causes so many issues and I think the main fault, apart from ignorance, are the road signs. I have seen it occasionally here in The UK, but mainly in Europe, they often have signs saying "Queue Both Sides" then near where the lanes merge, there are signs saying "Merge in Turn". If the signs were there and clear, who could argue? Sort the Road signage out ;-) Keep up with the excellent Videos.

As a serving officer myself.... it's worth noting a few things. Yes, this is definitely a police vehicle, and not an impersonator, a few things give it away, especially the registration plates. Secondly, I believe the officer was wrong, and merge in turn means exactly that, but you can also use all of the second lane to merge, otherwise you create a scenario whereby the first lane is at a standstill and not moving, and backs traffic up, and the second lane is completely clear, which defeats the point of having a merge in turn across two lanes. Finally, i'm not sure how many people know this, but legislation states that officers don't need a reason to stop any motor vehicle being driven on a public road, they can just stop you if they want to, usually to check documents, etc. I've been subject to a random stop myself before, and whilst it's slightly irritating, it's not a big issue and it only takes a few minutes, unless of course you choose to kick up a fuss and argue in which case it drags on for longer, and if it's a traffic officer they are more likely to want to go over your car with a fine toothcomb when you argue with them. And no, I've never fined people for speeding, or issued any fines for that matter, I don't stop random people, I stop people who drive in a manner that draws unwanted attention to themselves. Or those who deliberately and blatantly flout the laws, driving on the phone for instance. I've seized uninsured cars, arrested numerous drink drivers, wife beaters, robbers, burglars, thieves, but before anyone says anything, I'm certainly no "bully", I talk to people in a polite and respectful manner, even if they are using profanities or screaming and shouting in my face.

I know about merge in turn but hardly ever do it because I can’t be bothered with the aggro. However, I’ll always let someone in who does merge.

The copper has took part of one rules and added them to his own personal vendetta, and took advantage of his powers.

One of the problems with using all the available road, and mege where the cones start, is drivers in the other lane tend to bunch up purposely to stop you doing it - like you're being punished for supposedly queue jumping. In my view, that is what causes congestion. You also get trucks straddling the lanes like lane guardians, preventing drivers from getting past, again merely exacerbating the hold up. If everyone just left a gap, the whole queue would move quicker.

I used to totally think this was jumping the queue and don’t remember learning about it when learning to drive so it’s a belief I had for a couple of years. I’ve seen people nearly into each other over stubbornness! Using both lanes reduces traffic