Travelling on dual carriageways or motorways are normally very relaxing, but we will need
to concentrate when leaving the fast-moving flow of traffic if we are to keep safe. We
must plan our exit, position our car in the correct lane, and then slow the car down before
approaching the next junction. If we make a mistake during this process we may put ourselves
in danger, so in this video we will show how to leave dual carriageways safely.
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We must plan well ahead for our exit, as we will need to get our car into the correct
lane in good time. If we are using a sat-nav then this will be easy to do, but if not then
we will have to keep a look out for the correct road sign. Once we are within half a mile
of our exit, we position the car in the left lane so we are ready to take the slip road.
We indicate left at the 200 yards sign so other drivers know what we are intending to
do, but we don’t start slowing down yet as this could impede following traffic.
If there is a choice of lanes on the slip-road we would normally take the left lane initially,
and then get into the correct position before approaching the next junction. However if
we know the slip road is fairly short and we are about to turn right then we could leave
the dual carriageway straight into the right lane of the slip road. If we need to change
lanes on the slip-road we always use the MSM routine to ensure our safety.
Once we are in the slip road we cancel the indicator straight away, as it could cause
confusion if we left it on. Even if we intend to turn left at the next junction, we prefer
to cancel the indicator, wait a little and then indicate left separately, so that following
traffic know that we definitely intend to turn left.
Once we are on the slip road we start braking gently, then firm up the braking force to
smoothly slow the car down. We try to use the whole slip road to slow the car down evenly,
rather than brake late and hard just before the next junction. The benefit of this is
that it is a lot more comfortable for our passengers, reduces brake wear, and ensures
we don’t surprise following traffic.
If we need to signal where we are going, we usually indicate about half way along the
slip road, to give plenty of warning to other drivers - especially if a lane change is needed.
Next, we need to select the best gear for the speed we are at as we approach the next
junction. We usually use the ‘block change’ technique for this, as it’s easier to change
directly to the gear we need and miss out any gears in-between. In this case we select
2nd gear to approach the roundabout carefully, and then continue with our journey.
Let’s watch this slip road once more without the pauses. We signal left, choose the left
lane, cancel the indicator, start braking, signal left again, and then block change to
second gear.
Let’s watch as we use three different slip roads to leave this dual carriageway.
At this slip road we need to turn right at the next roundabout, so we decide to enter
the slip road in the right lane - as this is easier than changing lanes on the slip-road.
The second slip road has a bend on it, so we reduce our speed and change gear before
we steer to the left. This will keep the car in balance and reduce the chance of losing
control.
This last slip road is much shorter than usual, so we have to brake much more firmly than
normal to reduce our speed in time before we steer around the tight corner.
So, remember to Get into the left lane ready for the exit
Choose which lane to take on the slip road Cancel the indicator and brake progressively
Approach the next junction carefully
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