About driving

Key driving skills

Merging

Sometimes on a road, two lanes will merge into one lane.

The lanes merge where the broken lane lines stop. It's important to make sure that all vehicles from both lanes have plenty of space to merge safely. The instructions in this section show you how.

Merge like a zip

The best way to merge is like a zip - where a vehicle from the left lane goes and then a vehicle from the right lane goes, and so on.

As you merge, let one vehicle from the other lane go first, and then go.

Leaving a merge lane after turning right at an intersection

Some roads have a merge lane to help vehicles that have turned onto the road join the traffic flow.

If you are in a merge lane at an intersection:

• show you want to merge by signalling for at least three seconds
• check your left side using the mirrors
• move into a safe gap in the traffic
• adjust your speed and following distance.

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Last updated: 27 September 2010