Motorway rules
You are in the left-hand lane and vehicles are waiting to join from a slip road ahead. What is the safe, considerate thing to do?
- Speed up so they cannot pull out in front of you
- Keep exactly the same speed and ignore them
- Adjust your speed or move to the middle lane if it is safe, to help them mergeCorrect
- Move onto the hard shoulder to give them room
Why?
Joining traffic has to merge into gaps in the left lane. Rule 259 of The Highway Code says that although drivers already on the motorway have priority, you should help vehicles join safely — adjust your speed, or move to the middle lane if it is clear, so they can merge.
Highway Code rule 259