(23 Mar 2016, 11:31 am)palatine3833 wrote If you weren't in a situation to slow down, therefore the cars behind you wouldn't have been either, therefore the bus wouldn't have been able to pull over at any point.  Had I been the X12 driver in said situation, despite wondering why am I on the A1231, I would have stopped in the outside lane, applied my handbrake, put my hazards on and read a book until the rush hour traffic had ceased and then continued on my journey when the road was clearer.

EDIT: I've just realised you meant that you were on the A1 at the time - on the Birtley exit slip road, trying to merge onto the A1.  Therefore, since you were trying to merge onto the A1, technically you should have backed off to allow traffic on the existing carriageway to pass and merge safely .

EDIT 2: I'm not condoning the actions of the X12 driver as he shouldn't have cut across, but I'm saying the situation could've been avoided.  Also, I'm not saying all Arriva drivers are perfect, because trust me I know they're not .