Around here, there are two lanes on the highway each way and not much traffic. I head to work after the busiest time so there are rarely more than a few cars on the road with me. Yet, drivers still insist on staying in their lane when I am entering the highway. I don’t want to say they’re all Massholes but it tends to be them. I wonder if they don’t do it at home because of crowded roads so it doesn’t occur to them to do it at all?
So, do you move over if there is no one in the passing lane?
I slow down to let the person merge in front of me. Much safer than changing lanes, at least around here.
I guess if the road were totally empty - but we don’t have that kind of thing in the Bay Area.
I usually notice the car(s) coming down the ramp to merge and will move over to leave the right lane empty for them. Sometimes I’m not paying attention and don’t.
I move over if I can. If I can’t I adjust my speed to allow for a smooth merging, sometimes that means slowing down or speeding up depending on the situation.
Depends on the situation. I’ll do whatever is easier for both of us. Either adjust my speed to give them an opening or move left to let them in. Sometimes it just isn’t practical to do either and they have to slow down and wait for another opening.
I don’t drive in the right hand lane. That is for exiting and entering the highway. Only morons stay in the merging lane when they drive a long distance.
Maybe in your state/area. Here, there are often 8-15 miles between exits. The right lane can hardly be called a “merging” lane over most of the highway in VT.
Well, in my state we have four goddamn lanes for the freeways. Four. It’s called civilization. And only morons drive in the right hand lane.
The left hand lane is for people flagrantly violating the speed laws, which is de riguer in California. The middle two are for drivers over the age of 45 who want to go slightly above the speed limit, but not really fast. People who drive less than the speed limit and exit and enter the freeways drive in the right hand lane. And the ones who stay in the right hand lane for distance always see the same signals from other drivers: a raised middle finger.
I was taught that the people coming onto the highway has to yield to the traffic. Apparently I’m the only driver on our roads that was taught this, so most of the time I move over because the person on the on ramp has no clue how to merge.
I get over if the left lane is empty. But if the driver in the right lane can’t or won’t get over, it’s up to the driver entering the freeway to merge into a gap, ahead of or behind that driver. You shouldn’t be expecting that driver already in the lane to “make room” for you, you should already be aiming for a gap.
I checked the New Hampshire driver’s manual, and people on the freeway there are supposed to make room for people merging. In California and Minnesota, where I have gotten driver’s license, the burden of responsibility is on the merging traffic. People already on the freeway are supposed to maintain course and speed so as to make things easier for the merging traffic to find an empty space rather than a couple tons of metal. So, I usually don’t move over, as the handbook says not to.
Because when I am exiting and entering, there you guys are, blocking traffic, slowing it down, by driving 30 mph when other people are trying to get up to speed to get on, and have to slow down quite a bit because you are there tootling along at 30, oblivious to everyone else you are blocking, whistling your little tune thinking that everyone must yield to you and that they are driving like maniacs thinking that they are assholes for flipping you off, when in fact it is the asshole tootling along at 30 that is a hazard to everyone on the road. The only thing worse is being trapped as a passenger with a driver like that. Right lane drivers are only slightly less dangerous than drunk drivers. Learn to drive.
I usually drive in lane #2 (or whatever the lane once over from the right lane is called.) So it’s not an issue. Or the fast/faster lanes depending on how many lanes available and what my mood is.
Something I’ve noticed: Many nervous drivers stick to the right lane, but move over reflexively when they they see someone a quarter-mile ahead about to enter, instead of observing and then adjusting speed and lane position as necessary. This is more dangerous. I’ve always said I feel safer driving in the company of fast drivers, than slow and nervous drivers because the latter are harder to anticipate and usually not as competent.
I’ll move over if I can, if not and if the merger has the speed I’ll make sure there is a sufficient gap in front of me. If they are lollygagging then I’ll see to it they’ll need to merge somewhere behind me.
Yeah, they’re Massholes. I drive 128 daily. We need to add something to the drinking water to fix this crap.
I will either move over (if there is room) or let someone merge. If we don’t have zipper-like merging, it makes traffic worse. People should understand this!
Well, in south of my province we have the 401: up to eighteen lanes, North America’s busiest, the world’s busiest for trucks traffic, carries 60% of Can/US trucked trade, and has North America’s busies multi-structure bridge. It’s called civilization, but I call it hell. The only reason we don’t call it a parking lot is because a highway that intersects with it is was already called the Don Valley Parking Lot. Pulling over into the next lane to permit a merge is not an option because the next lane is bumper to bumper.
Now up here in the north-west where I live, we have one lane each way for our highways, including the one that heads south to New Orleans (61) and the one that is the only road connection between the eastern and western halves of Canada (11/17). It’s called bush. Pulling over into the next lane to permit a merge is not an option because there is no next lane.