# How were you taught to merge onto a freeway (motorway) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489 "2012-10-22T03:50:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/21 "2012-10-22T12:59:02Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Group one proceeds at a steady 30-35 mph the whole way down the ramp, and just seems to expect the freeway traffic to slow down to allow them to enter. They never accelerate on the ramp, they wait until they’ve already entered the freeway… Group 1A (with lots of members, IME) will use the ramp to accelerate to about 5mph under the speed of right-lane traffic. They then merge and travel at their slower speed for a mile or so before accelerating to match the traffic flow. The disruption they cause is a lot lower than Groups 1 & 2, but it’s a mystery why, if you’re willing to travel at the same speed as others, you need to delay doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/22 "2012-10-22T13:13:15Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I usually will be moving fast enough on the ramp to merge very early, sometimes passing Type 2 or Type 3 drivers ahead of me. If it’s a guy who stopped, this is acceptable. With a slow driver, this would be really dangerous - you’re expecting someone who is obviously marginally competent to deal not only with traffic in the right lane, but also with traffic coming from behind him. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/23 "2012-10-22T13:15:49Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > If it’s a guy who stopped, this is acceptable. With a slow driver, this would be really dangerous - you’re expecting someone who is obviously marginally competent to deal not only with traffic in the right lane, but also with traffic coming from behind him. You know what they say, move it or lose it. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/24 "2012-10-22T13:20:02Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I agree with what has been said. At times if I felt the driver in front of me wasn’t gaining speed, I’ve had to slow way down to let them get ahead and then accelerate to speed behind them. Obviously this only works if you have a long ramp so I tend to hang back first to make sure I feel the driver in front will proceed correctly. I agree with hanging back. There’s a ramp in Belfast, Maine ([Waldo Avenue and U.S. Route 1](http://goo.gl/maps/UNwuc)) that is fairly short; most drivers seem to slowly drive very slowly toward the end and often stop if there’s any traffic. If I suspect they aren’t going to merge properly, I’ll sit and wait close to the top of it, then gun it when they’re out of the way. Fortunately, the ramp traffic is only merging onto a 45 mph (approximately 72 km/h) road. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/25 "2012-10-22T13:31:23Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > :eek:😕Wow, that’s pretty screwed up! On the Berlin inner city freeway (where fortunately you don’t drive full freeway speeds, maybe up to about 50 mph) there’s an entrance with a very sharp 270 degree turn right before (because this is in the middle of the city) and literally no on-ramp - you better say your Hail Marys here! [This](https://maps.google.com/?ll=52.493579,13.290602&spn=0.001236,0.003484&t=w&z=19) is what it looks like. There’s one of those in the Virginia suburbs of DC, where a major road merges onto a minor semi-freeway. There’s always a backup where drivers stop at the top of the on-ramp, because there’s no acceleration lane. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/26 "2012-10-22T13:39:35Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > You know what they say, move it or lose it. They also say that the overtaken vessel has the right of way. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/27 "2012-10-22T13:44:30Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > There’s a reason for this rule: physics. The drivers entering the road are trying to gauge your speed. That’s one of the most important duties of the person merging, and _changing_ your speed throws that person off. _Speeding up_ (to “get ahead” of someone merging in, even a detestable vehicle like a slow bus) or _slowing down_ “to let them in” are both wrong and dangerous. > > When I see someone starting down the merge ramp I monitor my speed and try to stay at the rate I’m already going. This makes it easier for the merging person, safer for everyone, and me not a moron. Well. I look at it this way: if they are merging properly, there is no need for me to make adjustments to my speed. If they aren’t getting up to speed, and I can move over, I will to make it easier on them, if not, then I will generally speed up to get ahead of them. If I can safely do neither, and they don’t look like they’re going to yield, I’ll sound the horn to make sure they notice me, and as a last resort, I’ll slow down to make space – not a good alternative, but better than hitting them. I’ve seen some people here stop at the end even when everyone on the freeway already had moved to the left lane to let them in. That’s when you know they’re totally oblivious and not paying attention!:smack: > [@](#): > > That said, there are a few folks I meet occasionally who believe it is not only required that I move to the left lane, at any cost, even if I am disrupting overtaking traffic, so that they can enter the highway on the right, and they apparently believe this with such conviction that they’re willing to die to enforce it. Yes, I meet some of them from time to time. They are certainly idiots, and I tend to just let them go on their merry way. “Go wreck your car far away from me,” is what I think. A fender-bender at 25 mph would be bad enough, I sure don’t want to crash doing 65! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/28 "2012-10-22T17:07:16Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Anyway, many of the entrance ramps actually have _stop signs_ for some reason, making it almost impossible to safely enter, or to avoid almost hitting people who enter the highway from a dead stop. In my area, we have a lot of on-ramps with “metering”: stop lights that allow one or two cars onto the freeway at a time. Major safety hazard, IMO, because of the problem getting up to speed to enter. Around here, if you try to change lanes and use a turn signal, about 9 times out of 10, some crazed idiot (to put it VERY politely, I can’t use more accurate language outside the Pit) will deliberately speed up to cut you off from your lane change. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/29 "2012-10-22T17:21:14Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > … if you try to change lanes and use a turn signal, about 9 times out of 10, some crazed idiot … will deliberately speed up to cut you off from your lane change. Yes, the turn signal as “Please, won’t you let me in?” is ineffective and even counter-productive. Best plan is to accept the burden of matching speed and finding acceptable slots yourself - turn signal thus becomes “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.” ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/30 "2012-10-22T17:57:04Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Yes, the turn signal as “Please, won’t you let me in?” is ineffective and even counter-productive. Best plan is to accept the burden of matching speed and finding acceptable slots yourself - turn signal thus becomes “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.” They do it any time they see a signal, whether you’re politely saying “I’d like to do this” or “hey, jackass, I’m MAKING this lane change”. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/31 "2012-10-22T18:55:22Z")
The problem is that some people are anxious about merging onto the highway. They think “What will happen if I get to the end of the onramp and no one will let me in? I might drive right off the road and die a fiery death! To be safe, I should drive _very slowly_ while merging, so I can safely stop at the end and wait if necessary! What a safe driver I am!” The result is that they creep along the onramp doing 50 mph, while no one passing by in the slow lane wants to slow down by 20 mph to let them in, and so they inevitably stop at the end of the lane and wait for the required **huge** gap in traffic to creep into. What they fail to realize is that no one minds letting in another car in front of them that is going the same speed as them, or faster. If you think that some huge fraction of other drivers are jerks who will not let you in, or who are actively trying to “cut off” your lane change, it’s because you’re driving too slow and no one wants to hit the brakes and get stuck behind you. Speed up a little. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/32 "2012-10-22T19:31:19Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Say a Hail Mary and floor it. Close your eyes too. You don’t want to see if something bad is about to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/33 "2012-10-22T20:05:35Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > The problem is that some people are anxious about merging onto the highway. They think “What will happen if I get to the end of the onramp and no one will let me in? I might drive right off the road and die a fiery death! To be safe, I should drive _very slowly_ while merging, so I can safely stop at the end and wait if necessary! What a safe driver I am!” > > The result is that they creep along the onramp doing 50 mph, while no one passing by in the slow lane wants to slow down by 20 mph to let them in, and so they inevitably stop at the end of the lane and wait for the required **huge** gap in traffic to creep into. > > What they fail to realize is that no one minds letting in another car in front of them that is going the same speed as them, or faster. If you think that some huge fraction of other drivers are jerks who will not let you in, or who are actively trying to “cut off” your lane change, it’s because you’re driving too slow and no one wants to hit the brakes and get stuck behind you. Speed up a little. Where did I say I, or any other driver I’ve observed this being done to, was not matching speed? I didn’t. You chose to read that in to excuse dangerously aggressive stupidity. In this area, you can be 10 or more car lengths in front of the car you’ll be in front of after a lane change, traveling at the same speed, signal that change, and that car will jam the gas to try to keep you from making that lane change. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/34 "2012-10-22T21:35:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I can’t think of a local on ramp that allows me to see traffic on the Interstate. The OP is asking a lot to observe that traffic and pace the car before the ramp merges onto the Interstate. Please tell me where, so I can avoid your location. I’d like to also avoid any locations where lots of people are those Group 1 or Group 2 morons! > [@](#): > > I’m usually too busy looking straight ahead on the on ramp to risk looking at the Interstate. I wouldn’t want to rear end somebody doing 50 mph. Then you’re likely to learn the errors of your ways, unless you’re very lucky. The most common class of moron that I see happen is in those cloverleaves where as I’m merging onto the freeway, if I stayed in my lane I’d exit. This Group 3 moron feels compelled to speed past me as I’m speeding up, so they can get in front of me to exit, and then jam on their brakes. The worst ramps I remember were in downtown Detroit, where the entrance ramp simply angled onto the freeway, with no merge section at all, sort of a “merge or die” intersection. Of course, the traffic to merge into is bumper-to-bumper at 70 MPH or faster. That was a long time ago, and I suspect they’ve been replaced, since I don’t remember ever hitting these after the early 80’s. [rant] Here in NC, the interstates aren’t bad; the worst part of driving here is that the people responsible for street signs seem to get some kind of delight by putting them where you’ve already past the decision point by the time you can see and read them. This made me miss Michigan driving! Well, that and the fact that here in NC, nobody seems to know to treat treat intersections as 4-way stops when the traffic lights are out. Oh yeah, and don’t get me started on driving in snow or ice! [/rant] ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/35 "2012-10-22T22:24:18Z")
Never took drivers ed, but I was told, “do not perform any actions that would cause other drivers to have to avoid you.” It is the person needing to merge that finds the gaps and does the correct speed to flow into one. I never expect the people on the freeway to do anything to help. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/36 "2012-10-22T23:02:49Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > They do it any time they see a signal, whether you’re politely saying “I’d like to do this” or “hey, jackass, I’m MAKING this lane change”. You can choose your slot and make your lane change in such a way that it’s not possible to cut you off - the would-be off-cutter can either acquiesce or rear-end you. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/37 "2012-10-22T23:08:06Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > In my area, we have a lot of on-ramps with “metering”: stop lights that allow one or two cars onto the freeway at a time. Major safety hazard, IMO, because of the problem getting up to speed to enter. I think the metering lights are not quite that bad a problem because they are generally in operation only when traffic is very heavy (and hence, rather slow) on the highway. One of my peeves is those on-ramps, off-ramps, or junctions where the on-ramp and the off-ramp cross (and NOT at nearly right angles). Lemme try to describe it, for those who don’t immediately get the picture: You have an on-ramp, where people will drive on and need to merge onto the highway and then change lanes to the left. Very shortly after that, comes the off-ramp where people on the highway will change lanes to the right and then drive onto the off-ramp. (Get that? The off-ramp comes _after_ the on-ramp!) These ramps are about 100 feet apart, with a right-most lane on the highway that serves them both. So you have on-coming drivers merging into and across this piece of lane (right-to-left) simultaneously with off-going drivers merging into and across this lane (left-to-right). This is just a horrible venue of accidents waiting to happen. My strategy: Get into, across, and out of this lane (either on-coming or off-going) _as quickly and as early as possible_ in order to give other drivers the earliest chance to see what I’m going to do, and the most time to do their thing afterward. The worst drivers are the ones who dawdle for as long as possible before entering or leaving this piece of lane. (I have no idea if I might be able to find a picture somewhere showing this kind of lane arrangement.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/38 "2012-10-22T23:19:13Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > One of my peeves is those on-ramps, off-ramps, or junctions where the on-ramp and the off-ramp cross (and NOT at nearly right angles). Lemme try to describe it, for those who don’t immediately get the picture: > > \ > > My strategy: Get into, across, and out of this lane (either on-coming or off-going) _as quickly and as early as possible_ in order to give other drivers the earliest chance to see what I’m going to do, and the most time to do their thing afterward. The worst drivers are the ones who dawdle for as long as possible before entering or leaving this piece of lane. > > (I have no idea if I might be able to find a picture somewhere showing this kind of lane arrangement.) Okay, I found a picture that I think shows a configuration like this, on the Hollywood Freeway (U.S. 101) in the [vicinity of Ventura Blvd and Cahuenga Blvd.](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/07030/index.cfm) Interesting observation on that article: This describes a formal scientific traffic study. It’s not a popularly-written news article. It suggests that the matter is improved by drivers cooperating with each other, and that in fact drivers often _do_ cooperate with other drivers. Traffic modeling theories typically don’t include driver cooperation as a factor, and thus predict worse congestion problems than actually happens when drivers do cooperate. Whoda thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/39 "2012-10-22T23:49:21Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > One of my peeves is those on-ramps, off-ramps, or junctions where the on-ramp and the off-ramp cross (and NOT at nearly right angles). Lemme try to describe it, for those who don’t immediately get the picture: > > You have an on-ramp, where people will drive on and need to merge onto the highway and then change lanes to the left. Very shortly after that, comes the off-ramp where people on the highway will change lanes to the right and then drive onto the off-ramp. (Get that? The off-ramp comes _after_ the on-ramp!) These ramps are about 100 feet apart, with a right-most lane on the highway that serves them both. > > So you have on-coming drivers merging into and across this piece of lane (right-to-left) simultaneously with off-going drivers merging into and across this lane (left-to-right). This is just a horrible venue of accidents waiting to happen. I **loathe** those. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489/40 "2012-10-22T23:57:25Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Okay, I found a picture that I think shows a configuration like this, on the Hollywood Freeway (U.S. 101) in the [vicinity of Ventura Blvd and Cahuenga Blvd.](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/07030/index.cfm) > > Interesting observation on that article: This describes a formal scientific traffic study. It’s not a popularly-written news article. It suggests that the matter is improved by drivers cooperating with each other, and that in fact drivers often _do_ cooperate with other drivers. Traffic modeling theories typically don’t include driver cooperation as a factor, and thus predict worse congestion problems than actually happens when drivers do cooperate. Whoda thunk it? I think that configuration was fairly common on a lot of cloverleaf interchanges. Having the acceleration lane serve also as a deceleration lane always seemed like a recipe for problems to me. For a better photo, check out [Zoom Earth | Live Weather Map & Hurricane Tracker](http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=44.786788&lon=-68.808347&z=19.5&r=0&src=msa) which shows the I-95 and I-395 cloverleaf in Bangor, Maine. In my opinion, a better way to handle that would be to separate the merging and exiting traffic on a collector road that runs parallel. Kind of like what they do for some of the exits off of I-495 in [Haverhill, Massachusetts](http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=42.779876&lon=-71.116042&z=19.1&r=0&src=msa). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-you-taught-to-merge-onto-a-freeway-motorway/638489.md?page=3)