Motorway driving tips

By driving defensively, and observing the correct motorway etiquette, you can minimise the risk that you will be involved in an accident on the motorway, allowing you to hang on to your precious no claims bonus, as well as helping to avoid causing congestion problems.

Get up to speed on the slip road before you merge with traffic, as if the cars you are moving in front of have to slow down suddenly, this could cause a dangerous motorway pile up.

Unless you are overtaking, always drive in the left hand lane. Staying out in the overtaking lanes, often erroneously referred to as the fast lanes, disrupts the flow of traffic, potentially causing miles of tailbacks.

In dry conditions, you should always stay at least two seconds behind the vehicle in front, so that if they stop suddenly you have a chance to react. In wet conditions, you should leave a gap of around five seconds, as it is harder to stop in the wet, and visibility tends to be poorer.

If you have left a decent gap between yourself and the car in front, there should be little need to use your brakes unless you are approaching a queue. Most drivers will automatically brake when they see the brake lights of the car in front coming on, which can cause a dangerous chain reaction.

Before changing lanes, indicate your intentions far in advance of the manoeuvre, and before you move out, be sure to check your mirror and blind spot to see if the coast is clear.

Avoid driving alongside other vehicles for any length of time, as not only does this mean you do not have an escape route for emergencies, but it also places you in their blind spot, which means they might try to change lanes without seeing you.

When nearing the back of a queue, use your brake lights early to alert the driver behind you to this fact. In poor visibility conditions, you should also use your hazards. Keep a safe distance from the back of the queue, and continually check your mirrors for approaching vehicles, so that you can move out of the way if necessary.

When leaving the motorway, keep up your speed until you enter the slip road, although if the slip road is short or includes a tight bend, there may be no safe way to do this.

Keep a keen eye on the behaviour of the driver in front of you for signs that they may be planning to overtake, such as checking their mirrors or blind spot, drifting to the edge of the lane, or moving up close behind the vehicle in front of them, and make sure to give them extra space.

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