Why does merging traffic expect us to slow down & let them in

[Midniteoyl]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

I don't knwo the one who most scared me was driving a pick up with snow plow.

I read the chart.. Nothing in my esperience suggests it is correct..
One of the things I ask the accident investigators is this.. When measuring skid marks to determine vehicle speed, Do you use a different formula for cars and semi trucks.

Answer: NO. (provided all wheels are braking)

Thus, the chart, which shows different stopping distances. ...

Well there is one factor my quesiton does not address. that might account for it. but it only applies to air brakes on a semi, it does not apply to motor homes at all.

on a Semi there is a precision delay before the trailer brakes engage.. Just how long that delay is is in the commercial driver's training manual, which I have read, but since I do not have (nor do I have plans to get) a CDL. I did not give it my full attention. (I do suggest you get one though and keep it with you .. Comes in handy if you ever have to lay flairs/triangles at an accident/breakdown scene. Yup, that's the instruciton manual for that)

Trailer brakes are applied a fraction of a sec before the semi's..

[topdownman]

I'm just wondering. Has anyone had someone dive out of the merging lane and run into the side of your toad? I've almost had that happen several times when someone tried to jump in right behind me and failed to account for a Jeep tailgating me.

[jmugsshow]

It seems, especially with younger drivers, that they use the point and GO method when they get behind the wheel.

[NukeRef]

Since I travel below the speed limit (and I am concerned about the toad), when I see someone merging I would prefer that he speed up and get in front of me. If I have room I will move over, but more often than not I can't so I want them to step on the gas!

The other day the shoe was on the other foot. I was the one who was merging. When I am doing the merge, I prefer to get up to a speed that matches traffic and fall in line in a spot behind the closest vehicle, keeping an eye on the guy in front (proving incontrovertably that I am capable of being on both sides of an issue).

We were returning home from our Christmas vacation visiting our adult children. We took a route home that kept us off the freeway and turnpike craziness but the interstate is just plain unavoidable for the last three miles. This particular on-ramp is built in a "Y" to take traffic from both directions on the crossroad: Westbound traffic makes a left onto the on-ramp, Eastbound traffic turns right and yields as vehicles converge onto the acceleration lane leading to the interstate, the "merge lane" as it were. It's kind of hard to describe the approaches, but as the lanes converge and the elevation changes the view becomes obstructed.

I was Eastbound, and as I made my slight right onto the ramp I could see exactly three cars making laft turns onto the ramp. I knew they had R-o-W so I eased up the ramp expecting to fall in line behind the third car.

I saw the first car go by; I saw the second car go by; due to angle, elevation, and foliage I could not see the third car in either the mirror or the camera but I fully expected it to go by. I neared the end of the ramp I saw neither hide nor hair of that third car. So I slowed to a crawl and craned my neck to see where it went. There she sat at a dead stop waving for me to go ahead!!

I don't know what to say; she was trying to be courteous and in the process created a hazard for us both. She was allowing me to go ahead, which is what I usually want when the other guy is merging.

Watch out for the other guys, their foolish acts may not always be aggressive.

[gutsgolf]

That same thing happened to us recently. I don't know how they find a blind spot with those big mirrors and camera but they do. I lost site of a car and when i finally found it, i think sweat squirted onto the windshield. It was like they just appeared smiling and waving me over. Bless their heart. Got to keep guard up and take it easy.

[JohnBoyToo]

I TRY to scan enough to always know when someone enters 'the blind spots' and until I see them exit the blind spot, I presume they are still there

I guess it's a holdover from the motorcycle days....

Very rare that I am 'surprised' by somebody next to me I didn't know was there,,,
but when it happens, it makes the ole' ticker go ba-dump !!!!

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by MRBB

Just try to stay 3 -5 car lengths behind the car in front of you. There will always be the "toy" car that has to pass you and pull right in front of you so if you have to stop quick you will take them out. Stupid people driving stupid cars.... never fails...

I don't mind when the passer has someone or 80,000 lbs on their butt, but when there is nothing behind them and they dart in, my hand wants to reach for the air horn. I would, but have a fear of foreign objects penetrating my windshield.

It's also a lot easier for a vehicle to slow down and allow someone in than it is to speed up to beat them to a spot that isn't there.

Originally Posted by B Bob

The OP talked about aggressive behaviour. IMHO driving courtesy has declined significantly in the last 40 years. Part of the problem is that we have so many more people here in this country that came from places where driving courtesy is unknown, and chaos is what takes place on the streets. Any one ever driven in Mexico?

I've ridden in a cab in S. Korea. Talk about interweaving pedestrians and vehicles... It flows well, but kinda scary. It's like everyone else know where the other other object is going.

[evesely]

Most Drivers are in LaLa Land or on the Fn...... Cellphone and have no concept of Traffic Laws.

[Snoopkat]

These people seem to seek me out, too. The gene pool could use a little chlorine!!! I tend to hang in the center lane, too, especially going through metro areas.

[Hooligan]

Originally Posted by NukeRef

----saw neither hide nor hair of that third car. So I slowed to a crawl and craned my neck to see where it went. There she sat at a dead stop waving for me to go ahead!!

I don't know what to say; she was trying to be courteous and in the process created a hazard for us both. She was allowing me to go ahead, which is what I usually want when the other guy is merging.

Watch out for the other guys, their foolish acts may not always be aggressive.

The point of my earlier post. --- The vehicle on the expressway has the right of way and is expected to maintain speed and continue, by giving up that right of way, you are not doing the expected and are more likely to contribute to an accident. Doing the unexpected to be courteous is how you get tire tracks up your back... (Pg 96 Motorcycle Safety Manual)
Of course, if traffic permits I will move over or adjust to aid them getting in, up to a point. And where I can I do not run in the right lane going through congested areas...

[Ed S]

I find most are not paying attention to the merge like they should have learned in driving school. So most of the time I do not feel very sorry for them and like to push the envelope by not backing down. Plus I have a major air horn that those who may require the use of it will hit the gravel as I pass by and I know you all know what I mean when when I say you can see the look on their face in the side mirror when that happens.

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by Fred1609

the interesting thing about slow merging vehicles is that the slow vehicle generally has a few vehicles behind it and when the collision occurs, the offending vehicle which is at the head of the pack isnt involved in the collision and drives down the road with carnage behind it.

You are mistaken.....

The slow vehicle on the merge ramp that is waiting for a break to merge into is not at fault, The tailgaters behind it who run into each other ARE at fault.. Had they followed the vehicle in front of them at the PROPER following distance.

1: Some idiot would have cut in

2: They would not have crashed.

[Koop]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

The point of my earlier post. --- The vehicle on the expressway has the right of way and is expected to maintain speed and continue, by giving up that right of way, you are not doing the expected and are more likely to contribute to an accident. Doing the unexpected to be courteous is how you get tire tracks up your back... (Pg 96 Motorcycle Safety Manual)
Of course, if traffic permits I will move over or adjust to aid them getting in, up to a point. And where I can I do not run in the right lane going through congested areas...

If everyone knew (and followed) the rules of the road, we would all know what to expect.

[Francesca]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

The point

is that I'm the only person on the road that knows how to drive.