New drivers often feel anxious about motorways because they've never driven on one before passing their test. The good news is that motorways are statistically the safest roads in the UK — largely because all traffic moves in the same direction at similar speeds.
Before Your First Motorway Drive
- Make sure your car is in good condition — check tyres, oil, and fuel before a long journey
- Plan your route and know which junction you need
- Consider your first motorway trip to be a short, low-pressure journey rather than a long haul
Joining the Motorway
Use the slip road to build your speed up to match the traffic already on the motorway. Signal right and merge smoothly into a gap in the left lane. Give way to traffic already on the motorway — they have priority.
Lane Discipline
On a motorway, you should always drive in the left lane unless overtaking. The middle and right lanes are for overtaking only — return to the left lane once you've passed the vehicle ahead. Staying in the middle lane unnecessarily (lane hogging) is a driving offence.
Maintaining Safe Following Distance
The two-second rule that applies on normal roads becomes at least a two-second rule on motorways — and in wet or poor conditions, double it. At 70mph, you cover around 31 metres per second. Give yourself time to react.
Tiredness
Motorway driving is monotonous, and monotony causes tiredness. On long motorway journeys, take a break of at least 15 minutes every two hours. If you feel yourself getting sleepy, pull off at the next services — tired driving is extremely dangerous.
Pass Plus: If you want structured motorway tuition before driving independently, ask about our Pass Plus courses — they include supervised motorway driving with an ADI.