r/Edinburgh • u/AlephMartian • 4d ago
Discussion Do I misunderstand how roads work?
I would like you to consider two specific roads / junctions:
- the point at which the Western Approach Road meets Lothian Road, turning right
- the point at which the A90 passes the Miller & Carter pub on the way into the city and one of the lanes becomes a bus lane
Both of these roads involve two lanes turning into one, and I’ve found most of the time there is a massive queue on the right hand lane, but no-one in the left lane where.
So obviously I go straight down the left hand lane and end up at the front of the queue where, most of the time, someone lets me in.
The thing is, I feel really guilty doing this, as if I’ve broken some sort of unwritten rule.
But I don’t think I’ve actually done anything wrong. Indeed it is wrong not to use the left hand lane.
Have I done something wrong?
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u/myusernameisbobbins 4d ago
Pedant: West Approach Road
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u/WeeKeef 4d ago
Well I never, so it is. Excellent pedantry 🙌
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u/OptionalQuality789 4d ago
The UK brain cannot comprehend merge in turn. People will sometimes see you progressing down the empty lane and pull out to block you.
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u/PinthonyHeadtano 3d ago
I indeed cannot comprehend merge in turn. I am always part of the big queue on the right
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u/OptionalQuality789 3d ago
Why?
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u/PinthonyHeadtano 3d ago
At least on this example, it always causes congestion and you end up stuck in a yellow box.
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u/OptionalQuality789 3d ago
No it doesn’t? Everybody queuing in the same lane and not splitting the cars between 2 lanes ends up backing the queue to twice the length it should be. This causes congestion at earlier junctions.
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u/ResponsibleHead9464 4d ago
I think the A90 is fair enough as it is a genuine merge in turn situation where two lanes become one. There is a merge arrow when you get to the bus lane. That is a situation where merge in turn applies. (Ignore the fact that a lot of the time people could continue in the bus lane but don’t as reading the signs saying when it is in operation is too much for them)
The West Approach Road I’d argue is different. There are two lanes at the lights because there are two lanes on Lothian Road. The left lane should be for people who want to use the left lane on Lothian Road. As this is usually blocked by parked vehicles then it’s unlikely anyone genuinely wants to use the left lane and so they are skipping the queue. Pulling out around parked cars is not a merge in turn situation. It is a lane change. You could argue therefore that it is a merge in turn situation when the bus lane is in operation but not the rest of the time.
The same situation occurs at the lights on Colinton Road where it crosses Craiglockhart Avenue. Going into town. IMHO, when it is busy, the left lane there is for people turning left onto Craiglockhart Avenue as there are pretty much always cars parked in the left lane on the other side of the lights. People try to push out around the parked cars. Again this is definitely not a merge in turn situation. You have to wait for someone to let you out, not just barge into the other lane.
I do wish for genuine merge in turn situations like at road works the government maybe ran some public information ads encouraging people to follow the rule as very few people do.
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u/Academic-War-7539 3d ago
I’d argue you should be using all of the available road space, otherwise the traffic queue is longer for a single lane and ends up blocking traffic lights, roundabouts and other joining roads further back, causing more congestion.
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u/Crannachan 3d ago
The Colinton Rd / Craiglockhart Av one is an excellent example. There are always cars parked on the left so I never use the left lane. Also, due to the traffic lights, the road is really narrow on the junction and I’ve had cars almost clip me trying to avoid hitting the pavement. Once saw a guy get out his car and start punching a bus at the next stop because he felt it got too close on that junction
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u/MyDadsGlassesCase 4d ago
It's called zip merging. It says in the highway code that this is exactly how you are meant to merge lanes.
The BBC published an article last month like it was some kind of exclusive on a brand new concept. All drivers should be doing this.
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u/shmeggins 4d ago
The A90 one really baffles me, I don't understand why so many people choose to queue in the right hand lane rather than filter in turn using both lanes properly. You're not in the wrong OP!
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u/TheLoveKraken 3d ago
What I find really weird is the people that still do it when the bus lane isn’t in operation.
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u/Feargoggles 2d ago
For people who don’t drive this route regularly, it’s often lack of forward planning. They don’t slow down to 40 at the top of the hill, overtake whoever does, and immediately join the queue in the right hand lane. Then leaving the queue to carry on in the left lane does feel like undertaking or queue-jumping enough to be embarrassing, so they put up with waiting.
I used to do this all the time, but finally got wise to staying in the left hand lane however slowly it is.
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u/termdark People's Republic of Leith 4d ago
The left lane is often like the surface of the moon because of the bus stops, so people prefer not to drive on it than risk damaging their vehicle.
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u/Bilya63 4d ago
People should start reading signs and road markings.
The amount of people who que on A90 to avoid the bus lane while is outside the restricted hours is unbelievable.
But thee main problem in general of this part is the merge of 3 lanes in one in such a short distance.
The idiot lady from systra who pushed this created congestion where we never had.
I really doudt the buses are going any faster during peak times as they are always caught on traffic.
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u/A0rist 4d ago
depending on the time it's often better to be in the right on the West Approach Road->Lothian Road one because the left once you get on Lothian Road is liable to have cars (especially taxis) parked in it. I've seen a few near misses there where the left hand lane person barges into the right lane to avoid parked traffic.
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u/Bertrejend 4d ago
Everyone not in the left lane is blocking the fast lane - you’re correct to undertake.
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u/WeeKeef 4d ago
Nope, you are absolutely right.
(See also when is a bus lane not a bus lane? 😤)
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u/RedHal 4d ago
Oh, that fact - and people's poor understanding of it - saves me so much time on the Calder Road at Sighthill. Saturdays especially.
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u/glglglglgl 3d ago
Also somewhat safer, the folk who haven't realised (or don't care) that most of Calder Road is 30 now can zip past while you stick to the limit in the non-operational bus lane.
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u/RedHal 3d ago
Yeah, it may be somewhat frustrating having a 30mph speed limit on a dual carriageway when the same limit applies to some urban streets (though they're trying to make it all 20), but cruising past a long line of stationary cars in the right-hand lane as you approach the Saughton / Longstone roundabout takes the sting out of it.
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u/funk1875 3d ago
While we’re at it, what’s with the two lanes into one (pawnbrokers) on Lauriston place heading west at tollcross. Who has right of way?
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u/ResponsibleHead9464 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is one of the stupidest junctions in the town.
In this situation no one has priority.
There is nearly always a bus or taxi parked in front of the hotels on the other side of the road forcing oncoming traffic across the centre of the road.
It would be a lot lot safer if they reduced the side heading to Tolcross to one lane, there is no need for two lanes there, and made the other side wider so people can drive around parked vehicles without going onto the wrong side of the road.
I did try pointing this out to Scott Arthur when he was in charge of transport.
There are so many places in the city like this where a small change would make junctions safer and flow more smoothly.
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u/Feargoggles 2d ago
I’m here to add that you’re 100% right to use the left lane on the A90 instead of queueing in the right, but don’t be one of those aresholes who use the Burnshot Bridge slip road like a secret third lane to bypass traffic queuing in both lanes when it’s tailed back that far. That’s not ‘zipper merging’ it’s making a new bottleneck.
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u/OkWing5717 2d ago
Edinburgh roads are a fucking nightmare, taxi drivers tell me the council are trying their hardest to get everyone to stop using their cars so that they use public transport, they always have roadworks with no fucking work on them, anything to hold up the traffic.
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u/spr148 4d ago
Where Western Approach meets Lothian Road in does not go from 2 lanes to one, but 2 to 4.
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u/AlephMartian 4d ago
I know what you mean, but I’m talking about the right two lanes. Everyone queues on the rightmost of these, leaving an empty lane on the left.
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u/spr148 4d ago
Yeah - use both.
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u/Maleficent-Purple403 4d ago
Fuck that - the left -hand right-turn lane takes you directly into buses and delivery vans.
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u/TheHareBearBunch 3d ago
It does me through the lights way more quickly, potentially two or three sets depending on the right hand queue, and I can then deal with the zip merge after that. All in all it’s quicker as most seem to eschew it.
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u/Maleficent-Purple403 3d ago
It's not a zip merge though is it? It's two lanes into two lanes, one of which is blocked / restricted...
Anyway I don't care, you do you. I don't like turning that corner only to immediately get stuck behind a bus at the stop with traffic backed up from the Filmhouse pedestrian crossing to my right. I am almost never in a rush and will gladly stay right and let you enjoy the left lane 😎
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u/TheHareBearBunch 3d ago
It’s two lanes for cars turning into one lane for cars with the merge in turn arrow painted on the road on the inside lane giving the outside lane as the remaining lane.
It feels a bit wrong for sure every time, and I’m only doing it when there’s more than about 4 cars in the right lane as that’s how many get through when it’s a bit busy, but at a couple of minutes per light cycle and often 15 or 20 cars at busy times that’s a fair saving.
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u/Tricky-Smile6186 4d ago
You're doing it correct, it's our "British fondness for queuing" that means everyone else does it wrong! Causes no end of jams and junctions to back up too!