Night lane closure on the Cairo Ring Road
At 22:30 you are driving a family car on the Cairo Ring Road in right-hand traffic. There are three lanes in your direction and the posted limit is 90 km/h. You are in the middle lane at 80 km/h. Ahead, a construction crew has closed the right lane: orange cones taper left over about 80 m, starting 150 m before a lit barrier. A temporary yellow sign shows a black arrow bending left. The permanent white lane lines are worn and partly covered by fresh black tarmac. A traffic police officer stands at the taper facing you and waves a red-lit baton toward the left lane. A car is 12–15 m behind you, and a lorry is alongside in the left lane, slightly ahead. Your headlights are on low beam, the road is dry, and you have not driven this stretch before.
1. Rank the instructions you must follow - police officer, temporary sign, permanent markings, flashing amber beacon - and explain how each affects your next move.
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The police officer ranks first. A police direction overrides signs, signals and markings, so the baton waving left tells you the left lane is the intended path and that you must not continue straight in the middle lane as if nothing were happening. The temporary yellow arrow sign ranks next: it is placed for this closure and confirms the leftward taper. The permanent white lane lines rank below the temporary layout because they are worn and partly covered; do not treat them as an invitation to stay in the closed lane. The flashing amber beacon is a warning, not a green light: it means proceed only with caution after you have understood the layout and yielded where necessary. In practice: slow early, obey the officer, follow the temporary arrow, and use the permanent lines only as a general guide once the taper is passed.
2. Describe the mirror, signal, position, speed and gap sequence for moving from the middle lane to the left lane before the taper.
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Check the interior mirror, then the left mirror, then a left shoulder blind-spot check. The lorry is slightly ahead in the left lane, so signalling immediately does not give you the space: signal left, ease off the accelerator to create a gap behind the lorry or let it draw ahead, and do not cut across its front. Keep at least a two-second gap to the vehicle ahead, more at night. Move left only when the left mirror shows the lorry is clear or sufficiently far ahead and your blind spot is empty. If the gap does not open before the cones, slow further and merge behind the lorry rather than forcing a late lane change. The car 12–15 m behind is close, so brake progressively and check the mirror before reducing speed.
3. What speed and following distance would you choose through the taper, and what would make you stop instead?
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Reduce to a speed that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear - typically around 40–50 km/h in a lit but narrowed construction zone, and lower if workers, plant or debris are close to the lane. Keep at least a two-second gap in dry conditions and extend it to three or four seconds at night or if the surface is uneven. Do not use the higher 80–90 km/h approach speed as a target through the taper. Stop instead if the officer signals stop, if the left lane is blocked by plant or a vehicle, if you cannot see the taper because of glare or dust, or if the car behind is closing too fast and you need to let it pass before committing.