In addition, not only is this rule taught in Driver’s Ed, it’s on the driving test (remember “up, up and away”).
And if you want to merge early, don’t try to force me to do so, or block the other lane. I’ve had people pull halfway out into the clear lane, sometimes with hardly any room.
In addition, if I’m the last car in a line, just fall in behind me, don’t go out of your way to get in front of me (making me slow down) and then stop to make another turn (making me stop, too). One of my rules-of-thumb for driving is that if you’re driving properly, your driving should never force another driver to do something.
EmAnJ - that’s the one. Right by Gulf Canada Square.
kelly5078, that’s what I do, too. If I can’t see around you, you can go and take the hit - fine by me. This also applies to left turn situations, when the oversized vehicle waiting to make a left turn oncoming towards me is completely blocking my view - I am truly empathetic to the people waiting behind me, but I WILL NOT go until I can see what I’m turning into. You can blow that horn until the cows come home, and take whatever risks you like when it’s your turn.
Oh, in addition to that one - when you’re waiting to make a left turn behind an oversized vehicle, don’t just follow them through the turn - wait until they’ve gone far enough so that you can see the lane (and traffic light) that they were blocking the view of. I’ve almost got caught by that a couple of times.
If you’re speeding on by and going to cause a shockwave in traffic, you can go fuck yourself if you think I’m just going to sit there and allow it. I’ve got a nice, safe car with airbags, so if you want to risk the accident, go right ahead and hit me.
Otherwise, stop being a dick.
I’ll repeat that the ONLY appropriate way to use the lane which will be eliminated it to match the speed of traffic in the remaining lane and merge at the choke point. It is NOT appropriate, EVER, to simply zoom by all the cars in the continuing lane and cut in at the choke point. This creates traffic shockwaves which slow traffic even further.
But of course, all of the slowed traffic is behind you, so why should you give a shit, right?
… and here we go …
I was specifically taught, and of course regulations vary by state, that using the left lane to partially complete a left turn into traffic from a side street is permissable. The way many traffic patterns function in town, it is the only way possible to complete a left turn from a side street.
Crap, I thought this was a pit thread…well, if I get a warning, so be it.
Okay, crazyjoe, here’s the scenario- I’m driving on a two lane interstate and there is construction ahead and a sign that says “Merge ahead- lane ends in one mile.” Almost all the other drivers start merging right away- causing stop and go traffic for the whole mile ahead of the actual lane closure. I decide that I will merge when it is practical and reasonable. I pass those that are creating a worse jam than need be until one of them decides to pull halfway into my lane, and sit there, straddling the lanes.
So who is really doing everyone the disservice? Those who merge way too early, or those of us who are trying to take full advantage of the road, thereby shortening the length of the bottleneck?
I would say that the person that merges late is usually, almost always doing everyone else a disservice.
It really depends on the situation. What I commonly see is in effect line jumpers at merge points that make everyone else stop by forcing their way in. If they had merged earlier, traffic could continue flowing.
So these line jumpers create stop and go traffic out of what could be a constant smooth flow just so they can jump ahead of 20 cars. I see that as jerkish as well.
You’re just plain wrong, sorry.
It’s your problem to make sure the lane is clear/will be clear by the time you enter it. According to you, what are sidestreet-to-arterial road drivers supposed to do? cross over the double-yellow lane and turn directly into traffic travelling at speed?
Here:
Illinois:
Two-Way Left Turn Lanes
Two-way left turn lanes are marked with yellow lines and white arrows. A left turn may not be made from any other lane when a turn lane is provided. A vehicle may not be driven in the lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into the roadway or when preparing for or making a U-turn when permitted by law.
California:
Center Left Turn Lanes
A center left turn lane is in the middle of a two-way street and is marked on both sides by two painted lines. The inner line is broken and the outer line is solid. If a street has a center left turn lane, you must use it when you turn left (CVC §21460.5 [c]) or start a permitted U-turn. You may only drive for 200 feet in the center left turn lane. This lane is not a regular traffic lane or a passing lane. To turn left from this lane, signal, look over your shoulder, and drive completely inside the center left turn lane. Do not stop with the back of your vehicle blocking traffic.
Vehicles using the center turn lane.
Make sure the lane is clear in both directions and then turn only when it is safe. Look for vehicles coming toward you in the same lane to start their left turn.
When turning left from a side street or driveway, signal and wait until it is safe. Then you may drive into the center left turn lane. Enter traffic only when it is safe.
Pennsylvania:
TURNING FROM OR INTO A CENTER TURN LANE
If you see a lane in the middle of a two-way street marked on both sides by two (2) lines — one (1) solid outer line and one (1) broken inner line — it means this lane may only be used for left turns (Refer to the diagram in Chapter 2). Drivers traveling in either direction must use this lane to begin their left turns, **and drivers entering the road may also use this lane to end their left turn from a cross street before entering the traffic stream. **
There are many possible traffic conflicts in this situation:
• When you enter the center lane to turn left into a driveway or cross street, you must watch for both oncoming vehicles in the center turn lane and vehicles turning from driveways and cross streets (on your left) into the center turn lane.
• When you are turning left from a driveway or cross street into a center lane, you must watch for through traffic coming from your left, as well as for drivers who are already in the center lane preparing to make a turn from either direction.
This is what I see, too. If people would merge in when they could, instead of driving to the end of the lane and merging in from a stop, it would flow better.
Neither is doing anyone a service. In a perfect world, where everyone was considerate, you would use both lanes until the choke point, then take turns merging. This would get everyone through in the fastest time.
But this never happens. Typically many people, wanting to avoid the hassle of attempting to merge at the chokepoint with some self-righteous driver who doesn’t understand the above concept, will merge early. These people do cause things to slow somewhat, but traffic can still move steadily when this happens.
What makes it worse is people who see a now empty lane and think, “there’s no reason for me to wait behind ALL these people, I will use this empty lane and zoom on by”. Then they force themselves in at the chokepoint, to noticeable disagreement from many drivers. Oftentimes they do force themselves in, by adopting a threatening position (angling the car toward the continuing lane and inching toward the line, waiting for that one intimidated driver who will stop to let him in). This creates traffic shockwaves of stop-and-go motion that considerably slow the line.
The proper response is to MATCH SPEED with the people in the continuing lane, and then merge slightly before the absolute cutoff point. Every time I have done this (which does, indeed block the folks who want to zip to the end and cut in), EVERY TIME, traffic flow improves noticeably up to the choke point and beyond.
Apology accepted.
If there are more cars behind you than there are in front of you, *you *are the problem.
I never said anything about forcing my way in, in fact, I am quite able to merge smoothly. I just don’t like to be forced to merge half a mile before need be by some self righteous person. I don’t jump out of my lane to pass 20 cars.
Picture this- the highway is down to one lane for 300 yards. What makes more sense- having the traffic merge into one lane half a mile before, creating a much longer bottleneck, or having everyone merge smoothly where the cones actually start?
Never knew it was allowed anywhere. I wish it were legal in NJ because I see folks do it occasionally and, as long as they are careful, they are able to turn in situations that would be much more dangerous (IMHO) if they didn’t use the middle lane.
I looked up the NJ traffic regs and couldn’t find a thing about it. Oh well.
“Anybody driving faster than you is a maniac, and anybody driving slower than you is an idiot.”
- George Carlin
Shouldn’t this be more like "if there are cars behind you, then you are the problem. " After all, if there are cars in front of you, you are only the problem if you had the power to break the Pauli Exclusion principle but refuse to based on pique.
Sorry, crazyjoe, but I am one of those folks you dislike who goes to the merge point.
I used to always merge like a good boy way in advance. About ten years ago I realized two things:
- Nobody will ever change. This is a religious war in which there are the “early mergers” and the “late mergers”. I cannot change any of them.
- The whole Merge Point scenario is a Prisoner’s Dilemma—a situation where if folks all cooperated things would go better, but any one person can “defect” and get through faster than the cooperating folks.
Given 1 and 2, since this has been and always will be, I decided to become a late merger. I don’t drive to the merge point and sit there (even I have scruples!) but I don’t merge in at the beginning of the backup.
When I was a “cooperating” early merger, I was frustrated that folks would let all of the late mergers in, thereby rewarding their behavior. Since this situation is permanent, I joined the dark side.
I have long desired a state law mandating a “zipper zone” where traffic must alternate, using both lanes, up to the merge.
I don’t have a cite, but I worked for 10 years in the deductible department for an insurance company and saw this happen frequently. The middle cars would usually attempt to subrogate against the original offender, but in the interim, they were at fault for the damage they caused. (I never paid attention to what states those happened, as there are no-fault states and blah blah blah).