Closed lane etiquette on Cotter Road

Solidarity said :

Wait, are you getting huffy because people are using a traffic lane avaliable to them?

+1

I always find it interesting when approaching a roundabout to go straight ahead and notice that there’s a long queue of cars in the left lane going straight ahead, leaving the inside lane free for me to drive straight through. Or when you enter a carpark with a boom gate and drivers just follow the car in front rather than dispersing evenly across the different gates.

Just because you enjoy queuing and choose to be farther back in the queue doesn’t mean everyone should. In the situation you describe, I usually do join the through lane quite early for the sake of ease, but I do that with the knowledge that my other option is to use the closing lane and force my way in, which is usually the quicker option.

This has nothing to do with etiquette; it has to do with choices and whether ease or speed is most important to you at the time you’re faced with the decision.

Solidarity said :

Wait, are you getting huffy because people are using a traffic lane avaliable to them?

As in, huffy because people are driving completely within the law?

Woah….

It’s also legal to drive in the right hand lane at 75kmh in an 80 zone. Not necessarily the most efficient way to go though.

Having said that, there’s no point getting the shits and blocking people from merging just because they’ve used the right lane, which (as already pointed out) is legal.

chilli said :

Another Cotter Road etiquette/road rule question – I sometimes use Lady Denman Drive to go to Woden in the mornings and at the intersection of Cotter Rd (ie at the roundabout) the traffic often backs up for more than a kilometre down Lady Denman. This blockage is mainly caused by cars that are travelling north on the Cotter Road still entering the roundabout, even though the traffic in front of them is at a standstill, and stopping in front of right and left turning cars from Lady Denman.

Does anyone know the rules about this? Are cars allowed to enter roundabouts if the exit they want to take from the roundabout is too full for them to make it through without stopping in the roundabout and blocking cars at other entry points? I know it’s inconsiderate, but is it legal?

I’ve seen cops actually writing tickets for people blocking intersections by queuing through it and then the lights change, leaving them stuck in the intersection.
I don’t know if you can be done for “blocking a roundabout”. Probably not. And being a fuckwit *still* isn’t illegal.

Another Cotter Road etiquette/road rule question – I sometimes use Lady Denman Drive to go to Woden in the mornings and at the intersection of Cotter Rd (ie at the roundabout) the traffic often backs up for more than a kilometre down Lady Denman. This blockage is mainly caused by cars that are travelling north on the Cotter Road still entering the roundabout, even though the traffic in front of them is at a standstill, and stopping in front of right and left turning cars from Lady Denman.

Does anyone know the rules about this? Are cars allowed to enter roundabouts if the exit they want to take from the roundabout is too full for them to make it through without stopping in the roundabout and blocking cars at other entry points? I know it’s inconsiderate, but is it legal?

Use all available lanes up until the point of the merge…end of story.

It would be different if it were at the intersection where the monaro, meets morshead and pialligo where people dart up the middle lane then push into the left lane, but where two lanes merge into one use them both right until the end.

Wait, are you getting huffy because people are using a traffic lane avaliable to them?

As in, huffy because people are driving completely within the law?

Woah….

EvanJames said :

The ones using the lane to overtake the line of traffic are too important to have to wait like everyone else. They’re also way cleverer than the poor sheep stuck in the long line. As a bonus, when they push their way back into the line, the cars behind have to slow and brake to let them in. Repeat for each smart/important person.

Yep. I bet they spent $500,000 on their houses, too!

GBT said :

But hey, it’s not like this is a new topic on RiotACT.

Why use one lane when you can use two!

You will never convince some people that they shouldn’t push in right at the end. They figure because it’s not illegal then hey, it must be the right thing to do.

It is undeniable that it takes longer for two lanes of traffic to merge at the chokepoint than for one lane to just drive on straight through.

The only person that it is more efficient for to drive up to the choke point then force their way back in is the person doing it, end of story.

But hey, it’s not like this is a new topic on RiotACT.

sepi said :

One line of traffic driving smoothly is faster than a messy/rough merge with people braking to let others in.

Yeah, it’s a tricky area really. You would think if everyone knew that they would be forced into 1 lane up the road, then by merging at 60kmh and driving thru the ‘bottleneck’ at that speed you would have a faster journey.Unfortunately, the variation in human nuture (plus add in those that didn’t know you ahd to merge till they got there) means we are stuck with an overly slow bottleneck where people seemingly try to barge in, whilst others who have been waiting fight back, thus making it slower and more frustrating for everyone – with both sides blaming the other! Hahahaha! Can’t see this issue changing anytime soon…
They just need to make the WHOLE of Streeton drive one lane (from Hindmarsh lights) for the duration of the roadworks, then everyone is forced into option A! Hahahaha! 🙂

sepi said :

One line of traffic driving smoothly is faster than a messy/rough merge with people braking to let others in.

Presumably this “messy/rough” stuff you’re talking about is in reference to StormBoy’s illegal antics at the merge point?

Driver training.

One line of traffic driving smoothly is faster than a messy/rough merge with people braking to let others in.

Holden Caulfield said :

“Surely the most efficient way is for both lanes to be full of cars right up to the point of closure, and then merge alternately?”

You would think so. At the very least it would stop the so-called “queue jumpers” but apparently the majority of road users either can’t merge or are afraid of doing so.

There’s two lanes there, to the merge point, which are open to all road users. The answer is pretty clear to me.

Yes, it is clear. If you prefer to vegetate in a quasi-stationary line of traffic and you choose to ignore the clear, free, open lane on your right, and then you choose to drive aggressively, dangerously, and/or furiously to prevent the users of that open right lane from merging at the merge point, then it is *you*, Stormboy, who are in the wrong. Very much so.

It’s about time the police stopped obsessing on speeders and drink-drivers and pulled over a few tailgators and idiots who can’t merge.

Just try Mugga Lane – you should be able to pull over a whole queue of 6 cars all driving dangerously close to each other in no time flat.

Efficient, etiquette and merge – these words are not known to Canberra drivers. All Canberra drivers care about is getting from A to B in the shortest time possible and to hell with what happens inbetween.
It’s not their fault, it’s instinct and the actgovco which makes them the way they are – for instance, if actgovco were serious about speed cameras, there would be one on each side of the road at schools, not plonked in the middle of a parkway “to reduce accidents”.

EvanJames said :

The ones using the lane to overtake the line of traffic are too important to have to wait like everyone else. They’re also way cleverer than the poor sheep stuck in the long line. As a bonus, when they push their way back into the line, the cars behind have to slow and brake to let them in. Repeat for each smart/important person.

I don’t see the point in forcing everyone to merge early. It makes more sense to use both lanes, up the merging point, as you can fit more cars in. If people actually used the road available to them then there wouldn’t be any issue.

EvanJames said :

The ones using the lane to overtake the line of traffic are too important to have to wait like everyone else. They’re also way cleverer than the poor sheep stuck in the long line. As a bonus, when they push their way back into the line, the cars behind have to slow and brake to let them in. Repeat for each smart/important person.

It’s nice to be important but it is important to be nice.

The ones using the lane to overtake the line of traffic are too important to have to wait like everyone else. They’re also way cleverer than the poor sheep stuck in the long line. As a bonus, when they push their way back into the line, the cars behind have to slow and brake to let them in. Repeat for each smart/important person.

“Surely the most efficient way is for both lanes to be full of cars right up to the point of closure, and then merge alternately?”

You would think so. At the very least it would stop the so-called “queue jumpers” but apparently the majority of road users either can’t merge or are afraid of doing so.

There’s two lanes there, to the merge point, which are open to all road users. The answer is pretty clear to me.

I feel your pain longshanks. Went through there this morning for the first time in a long time and it is exactly as you describe. Those that slip up the right lane and merge at the last moment are taking advantage of the more considerate motorists. The vehicle types are very predictable (you know who you/they are). Muppets like these get no opportunity to merge/push in front of me and are greeted with a smile and a finger.