How can I tell if it is safe to change lanes?

I have not long passed my test in the UK and am using green P plates in the hope that people will give me a little more time/space.



Anyway, I am having major problems safely changing lanes as I am never sure how to tell if there is a big enough space for me to move out into.



Example- today I was on dual carriage way on inside lane doing 50mph. I had to move out into the overtaking lane so that I could take the next right hand turn across the other side of the dual carriage way to get into the local area. When I checked my right hand mirror, there were about 6 cars in the outside lane coming up behind me much faster than I was going, some of which were indicating that they were going to take the right hand cut off. There was little to no space for me to pull out into the outside lane. How can I tell if there is enough space for me to pull out into? Especially when there are no cars letting me out... I just had to slow down a lot (which is lucky cos there were no cars close behind me this time) and let the 6 cars queue up then I had to squeeze in behind them to wait to do right hand turn since I got stuck in left lane...



Yeh - I need more practise but I just don't know what to do in some of these situations without your driving instructor telling you u know?How can I tell if it is safe to change lanes?
What you need to do is match your speed to that of the lane you want to move in to. Check mirrors and blind spot for cars, indicate and move out when safe. If you're going roughly the same speed, and you indicate, the person in the right hand lane will probably let you out.How can I tell if it is safe to change lanes?
you usually have to get to the same speed or slightly more to get on another lane... but if there's not enough time, just make sure you indicate with plenty of time and move in. sure cars behind might brake but most of the time people dont let people in so your only choice to force yourself in...
You want a space large enough so that no other driver has to adjust their speed to accommodate you. If you have any doubt that there is not enough room to move over, don't.



If you miss your turn simply take an alternate route. Such as a left turn onto the next two lane road, a u-turn, a right back onto the highway when safe and a easy left on the road you wanted.



That people are coming up rapidly tells me you are driving much slower than the normal speed of traffic for that road. Either pick up the pace or pick an alternate route that does not involve high speeds.