3 Good Things (Redux)

1. Motorways with no hold ups AND everyone driving between 70-80mph AND with sensible distances between the cars AND respectful  displays of 'please-do-pull-out' flashes AND reciprocal 'thank-you-kindly' flashes.  Rare, but divine.

2.  Absolutely amazing and penetrating sunshine this morning setting off some REALLY divine tree silhouettes on the ridge-of-a-hill horizon.

3.  Being remembered and shown sincere love and I-missed-you affection by a dog that sees you only occasionally.

Ah, the benefits of three lanes on a British Motorway.

Here, in Northern Ireland, we just have two lanes. And being on the slow lane, approaching an entry from another road, is a lottery.

I had a bit of instruction form a police motorcyclist once and he trained me in that situation to use the faster lane.

There definitely are road situations where a short burst of driving faster than you usually would can actually be safer and easier to accomplish happily. No where near as many as I like to find, to be sure, but that's one of them. 

I genuinely empathise with your palpable dislike and discomfort of the driving experience, which intermittenlty, under specific circumstances  I share. 

I've HAD to gain an awful lot of driving experience, compared to some, (did 58,000 miles in one year on the midlands road system) so I pass on that advice knowing if taken that it's right.

You will need a procedure, and correct understanding of how your mirrors work and how to move your head to remove the blindspot in order to make such a move in complete safety. Even then you won't always get an opportunity to make the lane change. I prefer to make at least two full observatiosn if I have allowed myself sufficient time to make it easy to judge what speed the overtaking flow is and then I know how big a gap I need to create by indicating early. Once I've set that up, it just takes a few more glances until my space opens up and I'm there.       

 Using the double glance method to evaluate closing speed keeps your attention forwards overall a lot more than taking a long look in the mirror and trying to work it out, which is both scary and dangerous. 

I had a bit of instruction form a police motorcyclist once and he trained me in that situation to use the faster lane.

There definitely are road situations where a short burst of driving faster than you usually would can actually be safer and easier to accomplish happily. No where near as many as I like to find, to be sure, but that's one of them. 

I genuinely empathise with your palpable dislike and discomfort of the driving experience, which intermittenlty, under specific circumstances  I share. 

I've HAD to gain an awful lot of driving experience, compared to some, (did 58,000 miles in one year on the midlands road system) so I pass on that advice knowing if taken that it's right.

You will need a procedure, and correct understanding of how your mirrors work and how to move your head to remove the blindspot in order to make such a move in complete safety. Even then you won't always get an opportunity to make the lane change. I prefer to make at least two full observatiosn if I have allowed myself sufficient time to make it easy to judge what speed the overtaking flow is and then I know how big a gap I need to create by indicating early. Once I've set that up, it just takes a few more glances until my space opens up and I'm there.       

 Using the double glance method to evaluate closing speed keeps your attention forwards overall a lot more than taking a long look in the mirror and trying to work it out, which is both scary and dangerous.