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Lane change on a main road

Highways / Main roads · Alberta Class 5 road test

Signal, mirror, shoulder check; change lanes at a steady speed to pass a slow car

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How to drive it

80 km/h six-lane divided road with a grass median, the view following your car: a slow car doing 50 km/h ahead in the right lane + signal left 100 m early + check your mirror, shoulder check left + the car behind in the middle lane is 2.5 seconds back, a big enough gap here, so move over into the middle lane at a steady speed + signal off + oncoming traffic carries on as usual

Common mistakes

Braked before changing lanes

Road test: automatic fail — L9 Obstructs traffic

Before changing lanes you slowed from 77 to 57 km/h, forcing the car behind to brake. Before changing lanes, keep your foot on the gas, holding your speed or even accelerating slightly, and move over on a diagonal; tapping the brake out of habit drops your speed by 20 km/h, the main-road traffic behind has to brake hard, and the examiner counts it as seriously obstructing traffic.

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No shoulder check before changing lanes

Road test: automatic fail — L2 Right of way violation - vehicle/pedestrian, C2 Fails to check blindspot/late, L11 Hits vehicle/object

Your car hit another vehicle. The shoulder check before a lane change covers the blind spot the mirrors can't see: a car alongside and slightly behind isn't in the mirror, and only a shoulder check shows it; move over without one and you cut right in front of it. Before changing lanes, signal, check your mirror and shoulder check; if the car coming up behind in the target lane is far enough back (you can see its whole front, both headlights, in your mirror), hold your speed and move over, and if not, don't. Forcing it to brake is an unsafe lane change, and you mustn't slow down on the main road to wait for a gap either.

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