A slip lane, also known as a filter lane in the United Kingdom, is a road at a junction that allows motorists to change roads without actually entering an intersection.
Some intersections that are controlled by lights offer a slip lane, which allows cars to bypass the lights when they turn. That helps ease congestion and improves journey times, as people turning do not have to stop at the light but can continue at the same speed. There are two types of slip lanes at intersections: slip lanes that end and require traffic to merge to join the main road and slip roads that continue onto the main road as another traffic lane.
Rules
In
Australia, before entering a slip road, drivers must look to ensure that their
blind spots are clear of other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. Drivers must then give way to any pedestrians crossing the slip road. Before joining the main road from a slip road, drivers must give way to all other traffic even if it is faced with a give-way or with other traffic controls.
Pedestrians
In countries such as the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in which partial conflicts between pedestrians and vehicular traffic are not permitted, slip lanes can be used as part of a "walk with traffic" facility. Normally, pedestrian signals in the UK operate on a full pedestrian stage in which all traffic is held at red, and all pedestrian crossings are given a green signal. With a slip lane, pedestrians can cross to the triangular island during the vehicle red phase and cross the road while the traffic from their approach has a green.
Dangers
The organisation Strong Towns argues that slip lanes exist to only prioritise the speed of motor traffic and calls for the removal of slip lanes on local streets.
When poorly designed, slip lanes can be a dangerous design element. For reasons of urban design and pedestrian safety, many road-controlling authorities are actively removing them in urban and suburban settings. Slip lanes may need to be removed if considerations such as pedestrian safety grow to a point that they override the desire to facilitate free passage for cars.
To minimise risks of collision, slip lanes can be shaped to enter the traffic flow at an angle higher than the 45 degrees that is shown in the sketch. Such lanes are called high-entry angle slip lanes.
See also
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Interchange
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Advanced stop line
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Continuous-flow intersection
A continuous flow intersection (CFI), also called a crossover displaced left-turn (XDL or DLT), is an alternative design for an at-grade road junction. Vehicles attempting to turn across the opposing direction of traffic (left in right-hand d ...
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Hook turn
A hook turn ( Australian English) or two-stage turn (British English), also known as a Copenhagen Left (in reference to cyclists specifically), is a road cycling manoeuvre or a motor vehicle traffic-control mechanism in which vehicles that woul ...
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Quadrant roadway intersection
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Seagull intersection
A seagull intersectionJohn Harper, Wal Smart, Michael de Roos''Seagull Intersection Layout. Island Point Road – A Case Study'' 2000 – 2010 or continuous green T-intersection (also known as a turbo-T (in Florida) or High-T intersection (in Neva ...
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Superstreet
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Texas T
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Texas U-turn
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Turnaround
References
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Road junction types
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