A driver who admits to using the controversial ‘slingshot’ technique at roundabouts has said that people are free to criticise him for it, because it is a little bit naughty.
While the method itself isn’t an offence in itself, it could be considered an offence if you are spotted and deemed to have been driving inconsiderately or misusing the lanes of the road.
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So, in case you’re not aware of what goes on, we’ll just lay it out for you.
As any driver will be able to tell you, sitting in queuing traffic is no fun whatsoever.
But, it’s something that we have to do sometimes when the roads are busy.
Sometimes queuing at roundabouts can be particularly tedious, especially when everyone is sitting in line to go in the same direction, meaning that the right hand lane is totally unoccupied.
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With that in mind, some drivers have found a method of bypassing all of that traffic and getting to where they want to go quicker.
It’s the ‘slingshot’ method, and requires going into that right lane, cruising past all of the people sitting in traffic, then going the whole way around the roundabout to get to your eventual exit, thus managing to circumvent a lengthy sit in the queue.
Again, this isn’t illegal, but you’d be forgiven for calling someone who does it a bit of a d***.
This opinion isn’t controversial, it’s even one that is shared by one of the biggest proponents of the technique.
On TikTok, he goes by the username @jobbertok, and he’s been advising people of how to merge lanes in the most expedient way, as well as advocating the slingshot method, for a good while now.
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Even he reckons that he should be open to a bit of criticism for the way he chooses to get around roundabouts.
In one of his videos, he said: “I’ll never accept criticism on my merging of lanes videos, because that’s how you’re supposed to use the road.
“But, please – by all means – bully the hell out of me for doing a slingshot on a roundabout, because that’s not how you’re supposed to drive.
“But, I still take advantage of a situation and get where I’m going quicker.”
He then finished with his catchphrase: “Lovely jubbly, sound as a pound.”
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In the comments, people have been queuing up – if you’ll excuse the pun – to offer their own opinion.
“When you know your local roads, a cheeky slingshot is elite,” one said.
“In my eyes as long as you’re not adding to the traffic it doesn’t really matter,” said a second.
However, not everyone is so keen on it.
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A third person commented: “Then others do the same thing and you've blocked the right lane for no reason.”
Still, as we’ve pointed out, it’s not illegal.
But, as we’ve also pointed out, people might think you’re being a d***.
Tom Wood