# Dumbasses who don't know how to drive on highways **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 5, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713 "2003-09-05T13:13:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Computer\_Guru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Computer\_Guru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Computer_Guru)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/21 "2003-09-06T14:33:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AmericanMaid \* > \*\*I don’t understand these idiots who come to a complete stop on entrance ramps to highways. Is going from 0 to 55 the best plan for them once they see an opening? And they never see an opening! They just sit there as car after car whizzes past them, creating a long line of pissed off drivers behind them who actually know how to merge. I haven’t taken drivers ed in ten years but do they skip merging nowadays? I understand that no one uses their directional signals anymore, it’s a lost cause. But coming to a complete stop before entering a highway? Words desert me. > > This past year, I found out there are some adults who still avoid highway driving and only use the highway when there’s no choice. I did that when I was 17 because I was a new driver and scared. But fully functioning adults who avoid highways in 2003? The hell? > > If you don’t know how to drive in every situation, get the hell off the road because you’ll probably end up killing someone. \*\* Well, there are sometimes you can’t get on because drivers on the highway are rude and don’t even bother to give you an opening, which forces people to stop. Not to mention that around here, ramps are not long enough for people to get up to speed and find an opening. Anyway, yesterday I was getting on the highway, and a person wouldn’t go any faster than maybe 50-55 mph in a 65 mph zone. Of course, you know there always has to be a line in the left hand lane going 70+ mph, so you have to wait in this dangereously slow line because some idiot doesn’t know what the accelerator is. ---
**Author:** ![Computer\_Guru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Computer\_Guru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Computer_Guru)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/22 "2003-09-06T14:36:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jayjay \* > \*\*My god…we don’t even call it any kind of lane in Pennsylvania. It’s just the shoulder. And driving on it is considered dangerous and to be avoided unless you have mechanical problems. \*\* Are you familiar with 81? Geesh, it’s hard getting on that highway. You have to be aggressive because of the bad ramp constructions. ---
**Author:** ![Computer\_Guru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Computer\_Guru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Computer_Guru)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/23 "2003-09-06T14:38:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Epimetheus \* > \*\*And in traffic school in Missouri and Kansas the rule is yeld the right of way for merging traffic. In other words get out of the right lane so the line of cars trying to merge can. I have seen State troopers pull over cars for no other apparent reason than the refused to follow this rule. > > Seems this happens very rarely here, I only rarely see some older guy slowing down real slow, or even more rare is them stopping. Moving more than 100 feet in the breakdown lane in Missouri is also a ticketable offense. \*\* I believe that people in the right hand lane should be curteous and get over or slow down or do whatever to give them an opening. Of course, it gets on my nerves when they get into the fast lane and don’t speed up. Geesh, you are not going to get pulled over and it’s safer IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/24 "2003-09-06T15:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, maybe the concept is too advanced for you. Ahh, I think I found the problem; you must drive in bumfuckville where it is _possible_ to get on a highway without starting at highway speed. Try that round here and you have two choices: 1. Never get on the highway. 2. Pull on the highway, and be rammed from behind while you try to get up to speed. Christ, try driving in a fucking city sometime. If you’re not willing to drive maybe 30 feet in the breakdown lane, your ass is toast. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/25 "2003-09-06T15:13:10Z")
I drive in a city. It’s even a real city with traffic jams and pollution. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/26 "2003-09-06T15:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Computer Guru \* > \*\*Are you familiar with 81? Geesh, it’s hard getting on that highway. You have to be aggressive because of the bad ramp constructions. \*\* Nope. I live in Altoona. I’ll admit that, like the **vast majority of Americans** I live in “bumfuckville”, as someone posted above, where you don’t have six lanes of insane people trying to prove Darwin right every day, twice a day, at 80 miles per hour. I’ve never had occasion (deliberately) to drive in either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Or any other city of that size, either. I’ve passengered in San Diego and on the Capital Beltway. That’s more than close enough for my taste… ---
**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:** [September 6, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/27 "2003-09-06T17:53:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by badmana \* > **Heh, driving issues are something of a peeve of mine.** Yeah, we already know you are an aggressive risk-taker with [“driving issues”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=208774), obsessed with calling other motorists “fuckers” and bragging about your tailgating habits.\*\* > [@](#): > > What I do for these oblivious drivers is back off 100-200 feet (sometimes just crawling along) and make a run for it _before_ they stop on the ramp. I have yet to have been stopped on the ramp due to drivers who can’t drive. I have even passed these fuckers while they are still on the merging lane. I admit, it’s mostly because I don’t want to get caught behind these fucked up drivers.\*\* Were you by any chance in central Ohio last weekend, **badmana**? You sound a lot like the driver who apparently was frothing at the mouth behind me because I had only gotten up to 40mph halfway up the highway entrance ramp, and figured he just _had_ to pass me on said ramp and then flash me unflattering sign language to express his frustration. Oooh, the unbearable rage of not being able to go as fast as you want whenever you want! The lack of immediate gratification in your driving endeavors must be _horrible_ for you. Not as bad as the slew of tickets, sky-high insurance rates and long hospital stays I foresee in your future, though. ---
**Author:** ![CharlesW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/87869e/32.png) [@CharlesW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharlesW)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/28 "2003-09-06T19:19:35Z")
The people I hate on the onramp are those that refuse to accelerate till the very end. They go up the onramp at 30-40, and then at the very end accelerate to match freeway speeds. Please note the guy in the large truck behind you can’t accelerate that fast (I am working on changing that), and I need more of the onramp to get up to freeway speeds. So if you are going 30-40 I can’t accelerate past that till the very end then I end up merging at 50 - 60 into trafic doing 65 - 70. Also because I have to floor it to even get to 50-60, and in my trucks current modified state that causes some black smoke from the exaust. Now not only am I merging at a slower speed, but the car behind me has to slow down because he can’t see. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/29 "2003-09-06T20:00:37Z")
Well Chuck, sorry that some drivers are making merging more complicated for you in your modified truck. Hope you get that fixed soon. When that happens, you could try staying well back of the other guy, allowing you all the room you need to accelerate to highway speed once the other guy has merged onto the highway. On the other hand, if you were following too closely you’d have a harder time getting up to speed in time. Course, it could be tricky if you were bombing down the ramp at 65 in a truck, looking over at the last minute to find that a) there was a car traveling in the spot into which you needed to merge, b) another vehicle was in the lane directly to the left of that car, not allowing him to switch lanes to get out of your way, and c) somebody tailgating _you_ up the ramp, so that you had no way to safely apply your brakes. Could be nasty. I’ve seen it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Computer\_Guru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Computer\_Guru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Computer_Guru)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/30 "2003-09-07T03:33:25Z")
I just did something stupid today. I changed lanes when getting on the highway right in front of a truck. Luckily I did speed up from 35 or 40 mph to 60 really fast, but geesh. What was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/31 "2003-09-07T15:31:47Z")
I consistently drive in the right (slower) lane. I do this because 1) I don’t like to drive like a bat out of hell and 2) I don’t mind yielding to merging traffic. It’s easy. You can usually see when somebody needs to get of the freeway at an on-ramp. Just ease off on the accelerator a little and make a space in front of you, or speed up a little to increase the space behind you. I actually consider it an interesting experiment in applied physics to work out the best way to do this. Or, if there’s room in the next lane to the left, I’ll shift over to let the other driver in. I don’t usually need to though, because I watch ahead and adjust my speed accordingly. Try it, it’s kinda fun. (Ok, maybe I have weird ideas of what constitutes “fun.”) It’s amazing to me that most people don’t think this way. My S.O. doesn’t. He just drives like there’s no merging going on. The only time I usually get annoyed at merging drivers are the folks who don’t take advantage of the gaps available to them. I figure they’re mostly uncertain or un-confident drivers. But they’re the ones that make me mutter “Whaddya want – an engraved invitation??? Sheesh…” as I drive by them. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/32 "2003-09-07T15:38:11Z")
I have developed a question based on the feedback in this topic. Why do driving rules differ state to state? Wouldn’t it be much more practical to have National driving rules and standards? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/33 "2003-09-07T16:24:23Z")
AmericanMaid: Do that and there will, no doubt, be a heated argument about state’s rights over federal rights. ---
**Author:** ![mdf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@mdf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713/34 "2003-09-07T16:28:15Z")
Here’s a general rule I try to apply - If you’re not _actively_ trying to contribute to the smooth flow of traffic, you’re probably doing something wrong. I find it can be applied to almost every driving situation. If you can clear the right lane to allow merging trafiic on the road, do it. If you can accelerate a little more to complete a pass and clear the lane for faster traffic closing on you, do it. It’s based on a cardinal rule, which everyone on this board should be familiar with - Don’t Be a Jerk. We all know how well **that** works. -mdf [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbasses-who-dont-know-how-to-drive-on-highways/199713.md?page=1)