# Drivers are going crazy//When someone signals, you let them change lanes!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339 "2011-07-26T01:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/41 "2011-07-26T17:35:56Z")
I have a few opinions on this matter. It is the responsibility of the person merging or changing lanes to do so safely and if I have to swerve or slow down significantly to avoid a collision, you’re the one driving unsafely. That said, even in a travel lane, out should leave a sufficient buffer in front of himself so that, if someone wants to merge in front, one need only slightly let off the gas for a few seconds at most to let them in or if they’re coming up in the merge lane beside or slightly behind, have enough room to speed up slightly and let them in behind. To that end, people who speed up and prevent merging are assholes, and I see it all the time. Unfortunately, depending on how the traffic is going, it sometimes means that I have to make lane changes without signalling because signalling actually makes it MORE dangerous, as they’ll try to speed up and I may get hit while in the process of changing lanes. Even more frustrating is that I do have a led foot and tend to speed, but I also like to leave a nice stopping cushion as a precaution; however, I find in heavier traffic I often have to leave a cushion that I’m less than comfortable with people people will just zip right into any space their car will fit into without regard to their own safety or those around them. Specifically to the OP, however, under typical circumstances, I will always either slow down or speed up slightly to let someone merge if it’s safe. However, if they are failing to reach highway speeds before merging or staying in the merge lane despite having plenty of room to merge, I assume they’re likely distracted and I will generally pass them rather than have a distracted driver in front of me. Also, when there is a merge lane in stop-and-go traffic, I have little issue letting someone in front of me, and I too try to take the first reasonable merge opportuntiy. However, those who zip right to the end past good merge opportunities or, worse, run on the shoulder to get farther up can kiss my ass. Again, it is the person merging who has the responsibility of entering traffic and if you pass up other opportunities for the sake of getting 5 car lengths farther ahead at the cost of more impact on traffic and greater risk, you can just keep waiting. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/42 "2011-07-26T17:38:38Z")
By the way. When one is merging onto the highway, it is THEIR job to get up to highway speed, it is not the job of those already on the highway to slow down or “let” anyone in. DAMNIT! **Blaster** beat me to it. But he wouldn’t have if my stupid connection didn’t pick just this moment to go bonkers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/43 "2011-07-26T17:43:22Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > If someone puts on a turn signal, I try to let that person in. That said, there are many people out there who use a turn signal not as a signal of intention or as a request but rather a signal that they’re coming on over so you’d better move the fuck out of the way. The fact of the matter is I have the right to the lane I’m currently in, not you. So when you move over when I’m not letting you, I’m in the right and you’re in the wrong. Obstructionist driving is against the law here (and quite possibly where you are, too, since it’s rude and dangerous). > [@lazybratsche](#): > > Being confused about the flashing light invitation to change lanes clearly shows that Ascenray is clueless on the highway\. I don’t think we can assume anything about how clueless **Acsenray** is - I’ve been a driver for 28 years, and I’ve never heard of flashing your high beams to let someone know there is enough room. I’ve never considered that I _needed_ the help - I can judge if there’s enough room just fine for myself. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/44 "2011-07-26T17:53:37Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > By the way. When one is merging onto the highway, it is THEIR job to get up to highway speed, it is not the job of those already on the highway to slow down or “let” anyone in. DAMNIT! **Blaster** beat me to it. But he wouldn’t have if my stupid connection didn’t pick just this moment to go bonkers. 😃 Well, it is your job to come up to bandwidth. You can’t expect Blaster to type slower just because you want to get your post in ahead of him. If you had indicated that you wanted to post he might have slowed down … or he might have typed faster so there was room behind him. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/45 "2011-07-26T17:57:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’ve been a driver for 28 years, and I’ve never heard of flashing your high beams to let someone know there is enough room. I’ve never considered that I _needed_ the help - I can judge if there’s enough room just fine for myself. I’ve seen and used the flash in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams and backups, when traffic is nearly at a standstill. I’ve never seen it when traffic is moving normally. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/46 "2011-07-26T18:01:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > At this time of the evening, the traffic was relatively light, so I was moving along at 50 m.p.h. as I merged from the on-ramp and signaled to begin the first of several necessary lane changes leftward. That seems a little slow to merge on to most highways, doesn’t it? I think I’ll agree with several other posters…I think that flashing lights guy saw you entering the highway slowly and assumed you were being overly cautious. He flashed his lights to let you know to g’head and merge. He was probably pissed that you didn’t promptly and smoothly enter traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/47 "2011-07-26T18:07:56Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > That seems a little slow to merge on to most highways, doesn’t it? Did you read the rest of my post? These are not freeways barreling through the countryside in straight shots. These are urban commuter roads with multiple splits and merges, lane narrowing, etc. It’s rare that traffic even gets up to 50 m.p.h. in the city at all. Most of the time, because of the congestion, you have to enter that highway from a complete stop and I can assure you no one is going 50 m.p.h. when they merge then. And, again, given the distance between us, I could have been going 25 or 30 and still shifted lanes without ever getting close to this guy. It was not conceivable that I would have looked for a signal from this guy to let me know it was safe to change lanes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/48 "2011-07-26T18:08:08Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > The problem is that many drivers think the turn signal means “ready or not, here I come.” I’m reminded of a time in Houston on a metro freeway when I was in the right lane, and the on-ramp was one of those poorly-designed horrors where cars suddenly emerge from a lower level. Wile E. Coyote, Sooper-Genius barreled up that ramp doing 60, secure in his entitlement to merge even though there was no room. Hmm, do I 1) floor it and rear-end the car in front of me to create room, 2) jam on my brakes so I get rear-ended by the guy in back of me, or 3) veer into the left lane and get squashed by a semi? I chose 4) continue at current speed with warning honk, leaving behind an irate would-be merger who absolutely _knew_ that dammit, roaring up the ramp at high speed means you’ve _gotta_ let me in. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/49 "2011-07-26T18:13:25Z")
I just got back from a month long, many thousands of miles road trip in a 35 foot long RV towing a car. Accelerates like a dog, brakes like a dog, and handles like a drunken sailor. I spent many a terrifying hour driving on highways and interstates in heavy traffic in towns we had never been in before. Let me tell you, do THAT for a vacation and you’ll have a new “appreciation” for people that can’t drive, won’t cooperate, won’t get out of the fucking way, and don’t have a fucking clue on how to merge. I have a newfound respect for truck drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/50 "2011-07-26T18:22:32Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > You probably drive too fucking slow. If there’s enough room to “land an airliner or two” or “veritable acres of space,” just signal and get over already. I hate waiting for people like you to decide if 5 car lengths is enough room to merge. I will block people from changing lanes if I have seen them sitting with their blinker flashing but not moving over even when there is plenty of opportunity. My feeling is that they’re shitty drivers and I don’t want to be stuck behind them. By preventing them from getting in front of me they become someone else’s problem. That probably makes me a bad, but typical, driver. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/51 "2011-07-26T18:26:12Z")
I wonder if driving is a little bit like intelligence when it comes to self-evaluation. People will almost always over-estimate their intelligence. I’ll be it’s the same with driving skill. Similarly, dumb people are always the first to talk about how dumb other people are. Maybe bad drivers are the first to complain about other’s driving skills. Not directed at OP, just making an observation. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/52 "2011-07-26T18:57:33Z")
I have, on occasion, flashed my lights to let someone know that I saw them, recognized their intention to merge, and would be patient while they shifted into my lane. I’ve never noticed anyone confused by that. Of course, a lot of my commuting is on the Beltway around DC, where there is pretty much never a textbook amount of space for changing lanes. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/53 "2011-07-26T19:07:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’ve been a driver for 28 years, and I’ve never heard of flashing your high beams to let someone know there is enough room. I’ve never considered that I _needed_ the help - I can judge if there’s enough room just fine for myself. I remember seeing it done 50 years ago and quite often since. It’s still widely practiced by truckers and a lot of people who travel truck shipping lanes (especially at night) It was probably more prevalent in the days when two lane highways were the norm for truck routes. A large semi passing another semi has a harder time judging the end of his trailer against the front end of the cab of the semi he just passed. The driver in the passed truck had a better view of the situation and his courteous signal was a quick flash of his bright lights. That flash enabled the passing driver to spend less time in the passing lane “danger zone”. The passing trucker sometimes fires back a quick “thank you” by flashing his running lights. Traveling overnight through Texas last June I saw truckers still doing this and I still do it myself. It usually results in a “thank you” flash from the trucker. I learned this language on Route 66 as a young boy riding light at night from St. Louis to Albuquerque. Back then all the truckers used these signals and were grateful (thank you flash) when auto drivers participated in the signaling. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/54 "2011-07-26T19:12:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I wonder if driving is a little bit like intelligence when it comes to self-evaluation. People will almost always over-estimate their intelligence. I’ll be it’s the same with driving skill. Sure is. Everyone who drives more cautiously than you is an idiot and obstruction. Everyone who drives more recklessly than you is a maniac. Both are dangers. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/55 "2011-07-26T19:14:56Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Maybe bad drivers are the first to complain about other’s driving skills. Not directed at OP, just making an observation. > [@Bosstone](#): > > Sure is. Everyone who drives more cautiously than you is an idiot and obstruction. Everyone who drives more recklessly than you is a maniac. Both are dangers. Both of these are why I pretty much need an Ativan before getting in the car with my mother. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/56 "2011-07-26T19:23:47Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > But TWENTY car lengths? **He’s too scared to merge because someone flashed his headlights or honked TWENTY car lengths behind him?** They must have been McLaren F1s to make up twenty car lengths and block him in the 1 second it would have taken to change lanes. …[we have a thread right now in the pit](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615650) about a guy who had merged in front of someone on a highway in a way the other guy didn’t like and the guy threw a ratchet through his window… So, yeah, I understand why \*\*Acsenray \*\*would be cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/57 "2011-07-26T19:40:38Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > You are speaking of the generic ‘zipper’ merge, which I always honor. This stretch is not a zipper merge. This is a three-lane highway (in each direction) with a two lane exit (with ample signage) at the bridge. Right lane must exit, middle lane has option, third lane is always thru-traffic. Third lane is not merging, it is straight-through. Here is the place around here where this happens. There are 4 lanes going north, the leftmost a carpool lane, and two lanes exiting. These usually move faster, and are “exit only” for the last 1/4 mile or so. There are always idiots in the leftmost of these lanes who zoom up to just before the ramp then push their way in. I used to try to let them in, but there are always some people who feel they have to leave a car length per mile per hour of speed. People doing this makes congestion worse. The right through lane is always slower than the middle lane strictly because people brake when these clowns enter and thus slow up traffic. A road can handle lots of traffic, but slows up when people are changing lanes or braking to keep distance. That’s why traffic speed up after an entrance ramp, even when there are more cars, and why metering lights improve the flow of traffic. The only other time I won’t let someone in is if there is tons of space behind me, but the clown has to speed up to try to push into the one car length in front of me. That is fairly rare. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/58 "2011-07-26T19:55:30Z")
> [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](#): > > …[we have a thread right now in the pit](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615650) about a guy who had merged in front of someone on a highway in a way the other guy didn’t like and the guy threw a ratchet through his window… > > So, yeah, I understand why \*\*Acsenray \*\*would be cautious. Oh please. The OP in that thread admitted he escalated that situation by giving the guy the finger; that’s not the same thing at all. I have never once seen anyone get upset over merging into a football field-sized gap. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/59 "2011-07-26T20:02:31Z")
I’ve seen enough crazy behavior on the road and an almost daily stream of accidents to give people a wide berth when they show signs of odd behavior. Why wouldn’t I? ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/60 "2011-07-26T20:23:43Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Oh please. The OP in that thread admitted he escalated that situation by giving the guy the finger; that’s not the same thing at all. I have never once seen anyone get upset over merging into a football field-sized gap. Yes, he merged and then they flicked each other off. **And then he got a ratchet through his window.** I’ve seen people get pissed off at the smallest, stupidest shit imaginable. _shrug_ I can see not wanting to cause a situation if one is unsure of what the other party intends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339.md?page=4)