Leaving a motorway

Unless you’re going to the end of the motorway, you’ll leave by moving left from the left-hand lane into a slip road. Position yourself in the left-hand lane in plenty of time.

Plan well ahead, particularly on motorways with three or four lanes.

Road signs

Use the road signs and markers to help you time your exit and use your mirrors and indicators appropriately.

You’ll have plenty of time to observe the signs and markers, so there’s no need to rush.

One mile before the exit

There’ll be a junction sign with road numbers, unless there are exits very close together.

Half a mile before the exit

You’ll see a sign with the names of places you can reach from that exit.

Countdown markers

These are positioned at 270 metres (300 yards), 180 metres (200 yards) and 90 metres (100 yards) before the start of the slip road.

Where a lane splits off from the motorway as a dedicated lane, countdown markers aren’t provided.

To leave the motorway

Use your mirrors and signal in good time. Remember to use the MSM/PSL routine.

Get into the left-hand lane early. On a motorway with three or four lanes, this could mean changing lanes more than once. You must follow the MSM/PSL routine for each change of lane.

Don’t

• move to the left more than one lane at a time
• cut straight across into the slip road at the last moment.

The hard shoulder is not an exit road, and you must avoid queuing on it.

Occasionally, where motorways merge, there may be an exit just before the one you intend to take. In these cases, or where there are service areas near to exits, look well ahead for the direction signs to ensure you take the right exit.

If you miss your exit, carry on to the next one.

Speed when leaving a motorway

After driving at motorway speeds for some time, your judgement of speed will almost certainly be affected: 40 or 45 mph (64 or 72 km/h) will seem more like 20 mph (32 km/h). Stay aware of your speed.

• Adjust your driving to suit the new conditions.
• Check your speedometer. It will give you the accurate speed.

Remember, even if you don’t have to reduce your speed because the road you’re joining is a dual carriageway, drivers of some other vehicles have to obey a lower speed limit. Be aware that they may reduce their speed.

Reduce speed at first

For the sake of safety, reduce your speed until you’re used to the change of conditions. It could take you time to adjust.

Motorway slip roads and link roads often have sharp curves, which should be taken at much lower speeds.

Look ahead for traffic queuing at a roundabout or traffic signals.

End of motorway

There will be an ‘end of motorway’ sign wherever you leave the motorway network. This means that the road you’re joining has different rules.

Remember to watch for any signs telling you what these are, particularly • speed limits

• a dual carriageway
• two-way traffic
• a clearway
• a motorway link road
• part-time traffic lights.