Joining and leaving a motorway

By the end of this topic you can

• You can explain who is banned from using a motorway.
• You can use a slip road and acceleration lane to match the speed of motorway traffic.
• You can merge into a safe gap, giving way to traffic already on the motorway.
• You can read exit signs and countdown markers to plan your exit.
• You can leave a motorway and adjust to lower speeds on the slip road.

What you need to know and understand

• Only people with a full licence for the vehicle category may drive on a motorway; learner permit holders may not, even with an instructor.
• Passing your test gives you a certificate of competency, not a full licence, so the motorway ban still applies until your full licence is issued.
• When joining, give way to traffic already on the motorway.
• Do not drive on the hatched markings at the end of a slip road.
• Advance signs give the distance to the next exit, starting about 2 km before it.
• Countdown markers with 3, 2 and 1 bars show 300 m, 200 m and 100 m to the exit.
• If you miss your exit, carry on to the next one; never reverse or cross the hatched area.

Joining: build speed, then merge

1. Use the slip road and acceleration lane to build up speed.
2. Signal right early so motorway drivers know you are joining.
3. Check your right mirror and look over your shoulder for a gap in the left lane.
4. Adjust your speed to fit into the gap, giving way to traffic already on the motorway.
5. Merge smoothly into the left lane and cancel your signal.
6. Stay in the left lane until you are settled at the speed of traffic.

Leaving: plan early

Know your exit number before you set off. When you see the 2 km sign, check you are in or can safely reach the left lane, and be settled in it well before the countdown markers.

1. Signal left around the countdown markers.
2. Keep your speed until you are in the deceleration lane, then slow down.
3. Check your speedometer: after a long time at high speed, 60 or 80 km/h can feel very slow.
4. Watch for sharp bends, queues and lower limits at the end of the slip road.

Being helpful to joining traffic

When you are on the motorway and see vehicles joining ahead, move to the next lane if it is safe, or adjust your speed so they can merge. Do not race them to the gap.

Common mistakes

• Joining too slowly, which forces motorway traffic to brake.
• Stopping at the end of the acceleration lane when a gap could have been found.
• Cutting across the hatched markings to join early.
• Leaving the move into the left lane until the last few hundred metres.
• Misjudging speed on the exit slip road and arriving too fast at the roundabout or junction.

Test yourself: Joining and leaving a motorway

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.