New law I missed??? Merging traffic?

[ronjhall]

Never realized how bad many drivers are at merging until I bought a RV. An awful lot of people must not have taken a driver training course. :confused2:

 

[sandman2234]

We have a 6 mile stretch of '95 in Bangor with a LOT of merging traffic. Speed limit is 55. I bump the speed to 60 and stay in the left lane unless traffic volumes are low. Doesn't make for any friends, for sure, but I don't care. My job is to keep all four corners on my truck and make sure all the yahoos make it home alive.

Yeah, law says they will yield, but I'm not trusting them with my driving record. Someone blamed the police, but it's a lost cause at this point. I look at this this way, there are 900,000 licensed vehicle operators, and a whole lot more unlicensed I'm sure, here in Maine. Me, or all the law enforcement in the state, will never teach them laws or good sense. It's far easier, and safer, for me to adapt.

I'm not saying that's the "correct" answer, but it's the answer for me. In a fail to yield incident, yeah, they were wrong by law, but THE DRIVER was wrong for allowing to happen. We are the professionals.

I'm at 1.6 million miles, so something must be right.

Yeah, I passed that 1.6 years ago, and made it to 2.3+ before I encountered my first chargable accident, which ended up legally not being my fault, but I still could have prevented it, as well as the guy who was SUPPOSED TO prevent it could have. I was just off my game that day. Currently at 2.6 but only with .3 of safe driving to date. Only a split second later... we all make mistakes, some just worst than others.
David from jax

 

[Runner]

OK, this thread reminds me of some of my pet peeves regarding merging traffic:

1. As a courteous driver, when possible, I try to get over and let merging traffic in. Then, the driver who merged gets on my ***** and is in a BIG hurry for me to pass the cars in the right lane so I can get over and get out of his way. Wish I'd stayed in the right lane and let him fend for himself....

2. People who are SO worried about being courteous and letting the merging driver in, they cut me off if I'm in the left lane to do so.

3. The classic idiot who doesn't know how to match speed to merge when moving my vehicle isn't an option.

4. Worse yet, the one who runs up and STOPS on the ramp.

5. The guy who intentionally speeds up to keep you from merging in front of him. (gets the finger)


As a side note, we have a number of locations around my metro area where they have installed STOPLIGHTS in the merging ramps. Fortunately, these are timed so as to only be used during rush hour, but I still am not sure I see the benefit. The idea is that they let one car go at a time with a 30 second wait in between, or thereabouts...

 

[SPYDERLK]

Totally agree with skyco about slow cars. The freeway speed is 70 where I am at and I kid you not, some lady was in front of me a couple days ago (and a number of cars were behind me) and managed to get up to a whopping 40mph as she merged. So now you have 5 or 6 cars trying to get on a busy freeway all doing 40. Just awesome way to get someone killed. I haven't been that mad in a long time.

I learned a pretty safe trick to that one. As the slow driver youre behind merges you accelerate and pass in the merge lane and merge ahead of them. No problem with traffic coming from behind.
larry

 

[SPYDERLK]

Of course, if a cop sees you do it, then you get a ticket for improper lane usage and the slow merger gets to keep a "clean" driving record....

Yeah, aint it the truth. Much law exists in a headupusbuttus condition. I have hope that an intelligent officer would see the balance of the specific situation and deal a stern warning with amusement. I have done it many times from 1st following vehicle position. With good power available it is much safer than following the legal constraint. :confused3:
larry

 

[sandman2234]

I learned a pretty safe trick to that one. As the slow driver youre behind merges you accelerate and pass in the merge lane and merge ahead of them. No problem with traffic coming from behind.
larry

Not something I would advise, or admit I had done...if I understand you correctly.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

European law is the opposite: Anyone in the right lane HAS TO allow someone coming down the on ramp to enter the right lane. The vehicle on the on ramp has right of way. If you cut someone off, it will cost you your drivers license.

The result is that people do not merge so fearfully and actually speed up as they go down the on ramp.

This particular issue was the single biggest "culture shock" item I experienced when I moved to the US in 2003. It seemed that everyone, no matter what they were driving absolutely 100% had to speed up so that they could cut you off when you were trying to merge, including semi drivers. It seems a national past time to see who can out accelerate each other in doing this. I personally think it is the primary reason why Americans favor big motors (dragsters), since the speed limit is otherwise 70 or in a very few states 75mph on the interstates. Go to Europe and many autobahns allow unlimited speeds yet most people drive cars with engines half the size. Can you imagine what would happen in germany with people doing 130 to 170mph and not yielding to someone trying to merge in the right lane ? Carnage is the word and they have known that for a long time.

It is long overdue that this stupid law be changed here in the US to give right of way to the "weaker party" (the one merging) and those already on the highway simply have to plan ahead when they see a merging lane coming up.

So that is where this thought process originated, in Europe? Maybe we need to limit imigration from there without a complete and totally new driving school requirement.
The laws of the USA in very, very few instances give the right of way to anyone. It does have many instances where a driver must yield to others, but still doesn't GIVE THE RIGHT OF WAY TO THE OTHER DRIVER. Some people assume they have the right of way, but seldom is it the case. Is it a "stupid law", no, not until people quit doing what they should because somebody actually gave the the courtesy of letting them in, and they assume that should be done EVERY TIME they roll up the ramp. So they quit trying to merge and just expect it...
As far as the 100% comment, I wasn't there, but since it takes a massive amount of horsepower to increase the speed of a semi truck when loaded, at 65-70 mph, then most likely what happened was the car in front of you (on the ramp) slowed down the flow of traffic which causes the following distance of the car in front of the truck to decrease because the car driver can (and sometimes will) slow down more for a merging car. Cars just speed up and slow down faster than trucks. Most truck drivers tend to hesitate slowing their truck down unnecessarily due to the problems that will cause them and all the people behind them, but if they have to, they have to. If the car in front of the truck slowed down, which decreased the following distance, your area to merge just went away and your blaming the truck driver whereas the problem actually arose with the car in front of you on the ramp.
David from jax

 

[mitch becton]

if you google interstate merging in the usa all MERGING vehicles must create their own safe enterance into the traffic flow living in atlanta ga for 25 years anybody coming through this area god help you most drivers here appear to have been absent on the driving school day about merging was the subject. 3 mornings a week i have to go from extreme east atlanta to close to the atlanta airport seeing what some of these people do getting into traffic is criminal at best if they would just follow the flow traffic problems would be much easier but apparently the driving gods blessed the few to be exempt from any safety thoughts at all.
this gives new meaning to the local saying of WELCOME TO ATLANTA.

 

[sandman2234]

Hello Mitch, from me and the wife. Having driven thru rush hour traffic two afternoons a week from the north and around the west side of Atlanta, heading south, I KNOW your problem well. Wife says the way she gets to and from Atlanta puts merging and right of way to a whole new level... (She flies into ATL at least a couple times a month). I don't miss it now that my freight lanes have changed, but idiots on the road exists everywhere.
David from jax

 

[SPYDERLK]

Not something I would advise, or admit I had done...if I understand you correctly.
David from jax

Perhaps you dont. In most cases any other action is less safe. The only alternatives I see are stopping on the acceleration ramp, or mergiing into a highway lane that is in a disturbed slowdown mode behind the slow merger.
larry

 

[ol'oilburner]

My opinion is that for the most part, just use common sense. If you're in the right hand lane and you're approaching an onramp where you see a vehicle attempting to merge, if it is safe to do so then you move into the the left hand temporarily to allow the merging vehicle lots of room to merge into the traffic flow, but ultimately it is up to the merging vehicle to safely get their vehicle (car, tractor trailer, bus) speed up to the point where it allows them to seamlessly slip into the traffic flow. There's big difference between braking to slowdown and just letting up ever so slightly to create a 30' space for someone to merge into. All that being said, it is sad that common courtesy on the roads has deteriorated to the point where it is today with people flying everybody the "bird" and all the instances of road rage.

 

[RoyJackson]

My opinion is that for the most part, just use common sense.

Common sense, eh?

If folks used common sense, this thread wouldn't have been posted.

 

[Iowachild]

I noticed the OP stated he drove a truck capable of "left lane speed". As far as I know the speed limit is the same in all lanes in most states and in PA it is unlawful to "cruise" in the left lane for no apparent reason.
Pa. law outlaws cruising in left lane.

 

[The Haymaker]

Yeah, I passed that 1.6 years ago, and made it to 2.3+ before I encountered my first chargable accident, which ended up legally not being my fault, but I still could have prevented it, as well as the guy who was SUPPOSED TO prevent it could have. I was just off my game that day. Currently at 2.6 but only with .3 of safe driving to date. Only a split second later... we all make mistakes, some just worst than others.
David from jax

That's still an impressive number. We just had a guy retire who had not had an accident since 1968, where he was T-boned at an intersection. If you figure in the 100k per year, he definitely had some skill and a whole lot of luck.

I'm still building, never started driving until 1995.

 

[The Haymaker]

Common sense, eh?

If folks used common sense, this thread wouldn't have been posted.

"If common sense was common, the news wouldn't be worth watching" is the line I use while training others.

 

[The Haymaker]

Not something I would advise, or admit I had done...if I understand you correctly.
David from jax

I was thinking the same thing. Here in Maine, a cop would get you for aggressive driving and improper pass. Besides, I think I'd need to fill up the empty spaces under the cornbinders hood.

 

[Smallplot]

You hit the nail on the head with those comments.

This is a significant part of the problem...AND a contributor to higher insurance rates in your state. When people don't know the rules of the road and the MV laws of the state are not enforced, there are more accidents and that results in higher rates even for good drivers because insurance companies factor in accident rates in your area when they calculate your rates. So the cop who lets a bad driver off the hook or doesn't stop them at all does us all a disservice in my opinion.

Kinda have to disagree with you on this. More people speed than try cutting in while merging making speeding a bigger issue. Simply put more offenders will add up to more tickets issued. Besides there are reasons for speed limits, they are just not there to disrupt your schedule.

As far as infractions other than speeding. Remember most people drive better when there is an officer visible which leads to officers seeing less disobedience to these types of laws. It is not the officer's fault people are driving in this manor.

 

[bigdad]

This "Bird Flippin" stuff is getting out of hand. The meaning of that gesture has either lost it's severity or people are just not considering the possible consiquenses. To me, if you give someone the "Finger", you better be prepared to defend yourself or even have on fresh Kevlar.

Thats a pretty serious greeting.

 

[westcliffe01]

David, the simple fact is that there is a much higher traffic density in Germany, going considerably faster than here and it works. All it would take is a simple stroke of the pen to make people behave differently. That and perhaps a few video cameras to bust the bad guys, since the on ramps are not exactly going anywhere, right ? This is NOT like trying to prosecute a "regular" moving violation, since the violation zone is always in the same place.

The logic is that the guy joining the traffic flow is automatically at a disadvantage compared to the traffic already on the highway. He has to speed up, determine the position of any traffic in his lane, adjust his speed to slide in ahead or behind of any traffic. All the while, people in the right lane are being egotistical maniacs "I'm not letting that #@%&$# in front of me, no way !!!" which complicates things significantly. Giving way to someone merging takes hardly anything at all from someone already on the highway. Maybe he has to let off for 10 seconds to make a space for the other person to slide into. This is NOT a big deal. Done it a million times myself and still do. If NOT letting someone into the right lane had significant consequences (suspension for 3 months or worse) then people would change their behavior.

I'm pretty proud of my German drivers license. It cost several thousand $ to get and included close to 40 hours of instruction, (similar in scope to getting a pilots license). If you fail any part of the syllabus 3 times, the likelihood is very good that you will be permanently banned for life from driving. That is a pretty sobering prospect. Traffic violations here seem to have little in the way of consequences unless you kill or maim someone. The most common one is that it increases the cost of your insurance.

So that is where this thought process originated, in Europe? Maybe we need to limit imigration from there without a complete and totally new driving school requirement.
The laws of the USA in very, very few instances give the right of way to anyone. It does have many instances where a driver must yield to others, but still doesn't GIVE THE RIGHT OF WAY TO THE OTHER DRIVER.
David from jax

 

[jeffsw6]

in PA it is unlawful to "cruise" in the left lane for no apparent reason.

PA must have more lanes of road or less traffic than we have in Louisville. Oh, that's right, I've been to PA plenty of times and they don't, it's just a stupid law with no basis in reality.

I bet you could avoid driving along in the left lane when they first built these highways. Now there is more traffic, not much more road, and all the cars wouldn't fit in the right lanes. They don't even fit in all lanes with all drivers using a safe following distance. Too many cars and not enough road to go between them must also be a large part of the problem.

I think road signs could be a lot better. I really don't believe 1/2 mile is a long enough notice to get out of a lane that is about to end. Here in Louisville we have a complex interchange where one lane can only go this way, another lane that way, you know, and drivers do not get to see signs that tell them which lane they must be in until way too late. Even in a passenger car you can't find room to safely change lanes in 30 seconds unless it is 2AM. A big truck driver needs much more notice than 30 seconds to get his rig in the correct lane, the signs should clearly indicate what lane goes where several miles in advance.