01/10/2026
This I agree with its Merge in turn ! It’s not pushing in it’s in the highway code to keep traffic flowing at the zip
🚗 MERGE IN TURN. WHY DOES A ZIP BRING OUT THE WARLORD IN PEOPLE?
Most people manage to zip up a coat without declaring ownership of one side, blocking the other and shouting, “YOU SHOULD HAVE JOINED AT THE COLLAR.”
Put them in a car, though, and suddenly it’s the Battle of the Traffic Cones.
Someone uses the available lane and Derek immediately appoints himself Head of Border Security.
He moves across to block them, closes every gap and guards the rear bumper in front like it contains the last packet of toilet roll in a pandemic.
“You’re not getting in front of ME.”
Lovely, Derek. The roadworks are three hundred yards away, but your ego has already closed both lanes.
Then comes the window-down lecture: “WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING!”
Yes. In one enormous queue stretching back towards your childhood, alongside an empty lane you’ve collectively decided is haunted.
🚧 Now for the important part:
When traffic is queuing at very low speed and two available lanes narrow into one, use both lanes as directed by the signs and markings, then cooperate at the merge point. One vehicle from one lane, then one from the other. Like the teeth of a zip.
Those countdown signs warning of a lane closure tell you what is coming. They are not, by themselves, instructions to immediately abandon an available lane and begin a three-mile conga of resentment. Follow the actual signs and markings.
Using the available closing lane properly does not automatically make someone a queue jumper. Leaving it empty pushes the queue further back, potentially blocking nearby junctions and holding up people who aren’t even travelling through the roadworks. Your personal queueing philosophy has now acquired innocent bystanders.
The Highway Code’s Rule 134 recommends merging in turn when it is safe and appropriate at very low speeds, such as approaching roadworks or an incident. It does not recommend it at high speed.
That distinction matters. This is not permission to hurtle past queuing traffic, dive into a disappearing gap or ignore lane closures. A lane closed by a red X is closed it is not your personal express route to the cones.
Keep your approach slow and controlled. Check mirrors and blind spots, signal before moving across and leave room for each other.
If you’re merging, wait for a safe gap rather than forcing your way in.
If you’re in the continuing lane, allow space rather than accelerating to slam the door.
Straddling both lanes to stop others passing turns you into a mobile road closure without the training, the authority or even a decent hi-vis jacket. Deliberate blocking can amount to careless or dangerous driving, depending on the behaviour and circumstances.
Sitting millimetres from the bumper ahead to protect your precious patch of tarmac makes cooperation harder and increases the risk of a collision. You haven’t defended your honour.
You’ve removed your safety gap.
Your driving licence did not come with a sheriff’s badge.
You are responsible for driving safely, not handing out roadside punishments.
It also isn’t a certificate confirming you finished learning.
The Highway Code is worth revisiting, however long you’ve been driving.
Both drivers have a part to play.
Take turns, leave space and keep it calm. Nobody needs to win a merge.
Have you been blocked while using an available lane properly?
Or were you taught to move over early and only later discovered how merging in turn works?
Sheena Ahmed
Motorvation School of Motoring
