Proper way to merge.

#141
Another way to do it - close your eyes, slam on the brakes, then gun it. Humans. They shouldn't exist. I commute on a motorcycle and the amount of dumptiness I see every day is astounding. Everything from people who don't look when they pull out to people who get onto an onramp and then panic stop because it's not what they were expecting for some reason. The sun is out in Seattle. It bakes our brains and makes us even worse drivers than normal, I guess. There were three colossal traffic blunders in front of me on the commute this morning, not just the usual minor attempts at negligent homicide.
 
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#142
I'm in the rush hour grind 2 times a day and, for the most part, people merge correctly. At the speed of traffic, blinker on, allow space between if they are the one being merged into, aiming for the open space AFTER the car in front of them has merged ( every other car ).

On my morning commute this is at 70 - 80 mph. Any slower and you're gonna have a tough time of it. The afternoon commute is 20 mph slower.

The mouth breathers that enter at 30 mph drive me bananas.
The buck knuckles that squeeze 10 inches off the bumper of the car in front of them so there cannot be a merge in front of them make me mental.

But the ones I hate the most? The dumbass that merges from the right INTO the lane than MUST merge to the left. It makes zero sense to merge there. Most of the accidents I see are because of the dumbass merger.
 
#145
MJ5150 said:
A large number of drivers in the Puget Sound lack merging skills. They seem to think it's some kind of competition or ego contest.

-Mike
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A large number of drivers in the Puget Sound region should be taking the bus instead. They should not be in control of a 4,000 lb. machine. They do not have the cognitive skills or attention span necessary to drive without subjecting other, more sentient beings on the road to their blundering.

The behavior when I drive the van is different, but just as bad. Apparently when I turn on a blinker, it means speed up and cut me off. Vans should never, ever be allowed to change lanes according to Puget Sound driver behavior. At least the bike is more of a point and shoot kind of thing where they can't react fast enough to screw me up. Then again, they can't react properly under any circumstances.
 
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#146
Gaolee said:
A large number of drivers in the Puget Sound region should be taking the bus instead. They should not be in control of a 4,000 lb. machine. They do not have the cognitive skills or attention span necessary to drive without subjecting other, more sentient beings on the road to their blundering.

The behavior when I drive the van is different, but just as bad. Apparently when I turn on a blinker, it means speed up and cut me off. Vans should never, ever be allowed to change lanes according to Puget Sound driver behavior. At least the bike is more of a point and shoot kind of thing where they can't react fast enough to screw me up. Then again, they can't react properly under any circumstances.
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This area is ripe for a subway. Wait till the 99 viaduct turns into a pay-to-use tunnel ... MORE congestion on i5 & surface streets :banghead:
 
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#147
catcauphonic said:
This area is ripe for a subway. Wait till the 99 viaduct turns into a pay-to-use tunnel ... MORE congestion on i5 & surface streets :banghead:
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What's going to happen when Bertha gets done? They fixed it, so why scrap it? They could bore holes all over the place with that thing. I'm thinking crosstown, from Ballard to the U-District to Bellevue. Then another one from Ballard to Federal Way via downtown. The east side? Bah. Screwem. They can hang out at Bellevue Square and pretend they are in a city.

I lived in NYC. The attitude leaks out sometimes. Gotta problem with that?
 
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#148
Gorn said:
I don't know what the proper way is but there's the way it works in the real world.

Every morning I take the Cross Island Parkway to the Long Island Expressway. The right lane is backed up a mile before the exit. You can sit on the line for ten minutes or do what me and other unafraid drivers do.

I pass them all and merge right at the end. I cut off hundreds of people and don't slow anyone down. I've been doing this successfully for eight years.

Others try the same thing and fear causes them to slam on their breaks at the last second. Then they sit in the right lane blocking anyone not getting off and hope someone will let them in.

What I do doesn't affect anyone else. What the fraidy cat does can cause accidents.
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There's a similar road in Atlanta. When driving on the north side of 285 you'll come across the exit ramp for GA-400. This exit is usually backed up for at least a mile or more to go northbound on 400. After doing the "right" thing one time and wasting 40 minutes of my life in line just to go southbound where there is rarely any traffic, I've since just gone to the very last point you can merge in and have gotten in at that point. There is always space, and if you merge with conviction you won't block anyone out in the lane you took to get down there. It's safe and it doesn't trouble anyone.
 
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#149
slobake said:
Does this mean that money and power are bimbo bait?
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jmattbassplaya said:
There's a similar road in Atlanta. When driving on the north side of 285 you'll come across the exit ramp for GA-400. This exit is usually backed up for at least a mile or more to go northbound on 400. After doing the "right" thing one time and wasting 40 minutes of my life in line just to go southbound where there is rarely any traffic, I've since just gone to the very last point you can merge in and have gotten in at that point. There is always space, and if you merge with conviction you won't block anyone out in the lane you took to get down there. It's safe and it doesn't trouble anyone.
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I've been doing this for decades. It seems much easier these days since a lot of the people sitting in the 'sucker lane' are texting or surfing the net on the phones while they wait. So the open gaps are much easier to spot and dive into.

I'm in front of them before they even look up from their phone.

And I lived in Atlanta for 6 years, where you really have to drive offensively to get anywhere.
 
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#150
OK, even if you're right about moving over early when a lane ends (you're not) I still submit the main merging problem is obstinance/selfishness/stupidity. Evidence:

This is an interstate intersection in Charlotte. Two lanes from 485 (bypass loop around Charlotte) from the south and one lane from the north merge 3 lanes into one before entering 85S.

IMG_0182.PNG


There is no warning about the 3 to 1 merge ahead of time. As you can see by the red and yellow lines it is already backing up at 4:21 today. The first lane ending signs are posted on either side of the highway after the red line in the photo. "Left lane ends" on one side and "right lane ends" on the other. That's about 1/4-1/2 mile notice.

This merging should be accomplished by the middle lane cars leaving enough space between each other for the lane cars, also with space between, to zipper merge in. But instead all 3 lanes go bumper to bumper trying to protect their place in line and fight for position.

I took this photo last week. One of lane end signs is on the right. Traffic wasn't that heavy but it was already stopped so I had time to grab my phone and take a pic (and leave some space for the bumper to bumper guys to move in).

IMG_4092.JPG
 
#151
nutdog said:
OK, even if you're right about moving over early when a lane ends (you're not) I still submit the main merging problem is obstinance/selfishness/stupidity.
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The stupidity starts and ends with the engineers that designed this clusterleaf. There was plenty of land available to create proper on-ramps that would avoid a 3 into 1 merge.

Drivers are just dealing with a poorly designed road the best they know how.

Despite how much time and resources are wasted at this interchange, I would bet that no engineer lost their job or sleep over it.
 
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#155
Enter the freeway way under speed with your blinker on.
When you have successfully caused several motorists to slam on their brakes, give you the finger as they scramble to avoid a collision, continue down the highway with your blinker on for the next several miles.

This is how I see drivers with many,many years experience do it...
 
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