CHANGING LANES
A FORMER insurance claim handler has shared his top tips for drivers to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams - and it'll change the way you drive forever.
Shaun Jobber shares quick videos which he captured on his dashcam to help his 100,000 social media followers quickly get from A to B.
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Known as Jobbertok videos, his clips are designed to help drivers understand little-known rules of the road.
In one video, Shaun filmed a line of queuing cars as they approach a roundabout while leaving a merger lane completely empty.
"I wonder if the drivers who fill the left hand lane at a merging lane realise that if they were driving properly those who take advantage of their stupidity wouldn't be able to pass any cars because both lanes would have an equal amount of traffic," Shaun commented.
"This is about keeping junctions and roundabouts behind unblocked."
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The clip shows Shaun driving past dozens of cars which are queuing on the left hand side despite a merger being clear of traffic.
"This very extra lane was added purely to keep a major junction behind unblocked and it works," Shaun explained.
"And no you silly dingbats, you don't have to stop to let cars in because it's very easy to thread your throttle to allow a gap to appear in front of your car at the merge point just like happened here, lovely jubbly, sound as a pound."
In another video, Shaun explains why drivers often get confused and move over into a single lane too soon.
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"As people with common sense would be able to tell you, if you use all the available road space all the way up until the closure and then merge in turn the queue would be a lot shorter so you're not at risk of blocking a roundabout," he said.
"The signs say lane closure in so many yards, not lane closure in so many yards and move over now.
"You're not supposed to move over until the lane closure."
Shaun, who is 32, captured the videos of drivers "acting like sheep" while travelling around Newcastle in Tyne and Wear and Hexham in Northumberland.
The TikToker, who used to work as for a leading UK insurer, decided to use his experience as a motor insurance claim handler to inform drivers in a bid to prevent unnecessary traffic jams.
"This quickly became my niche and grew a following primarily from my videos relating to driving and assessing others' videos from a liability standpoint.
"I noticed that one of the most divisive subjects is the use of merging lanes, lots of drivers think that it's better to move over as soon as they know a lane is closing which is correct in flowing traffic however in congestion all available road space should be used to contain traffic in a smaller area so as to not cause further problems behind.
"I'd heard that Hexham was having this problem most mornings so I thought I'd see for myself what was happening.
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"I do think there could be better signage as you approach, such as 'use both lanes on slip road to turn left'.
"Clearly it was designed this way to benefit everyone, but so few use it as designed that adds to the congestion problem."
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