# I'd like to teach the world to merge, in perfect harmony . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737 "2015-10-06T18:01:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/21 "2015-10-09T07:11:35Z")
… that’s the song I sing… Sorry. Tripping on childhood. Carry on. ---
**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 9, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/22 "2015-10-09T14:53:51Z")
> [@OffByOne](#): > > I once had a diesel VW Rabbit that had very weak acceleration. Fortunately, on my way to work, there was a long on-ramp that descended from the overpass to the freeway below. I used that hill to get up to cruising speed so that I could safely merge. Meanwhile, I had my eye on the freeway traffic so I could pick the gap that I wanted to merge into. > > One fine morning, I was already up to about 50 and had picked out my gap in traffic. When I looked back to the front, I was horrified to find that some fool was stopped at the end of the ramp, apparently waiting for the freeway traffic to offer up a chance to enter the freeway from a dead stop. > > Fortunately, I was able to stop in time before hitting the idiot, but that left me in the same situation. There is no rule that you have to let him merge before you do. If you’ve already got your spot picked out, go ahead and merge around the asshole. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/23 "2015-10-09T15:04:08Z")
not the freeway but I’m tired of people on side roads cutting out in front of me 5 inches in front of me! They just gotta be out in front…I am not some grandma driver, I drive the speed limit but mostly on the high side of it! they cut out and then slow down! ---
**Author:** ![Azile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Azile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azile)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/24 "2015-10-10T04:27:33Z")
I’d like to offer a special note of thanks to the trucker on the freeway this morning, who kept on keeping on at his own speed of 50mph rather than slowing down or speeding up so that i, trying to accelerate from zero to merge onto the 65mph freeway from a short on/off ramp, was cut off and had to brake hard to get over before being forced to exit. Real considerate of you, bro! I bet the line of cars behind me was thrilled too! To say nothing of the driver who slowed waaaay doooown to take an uphill curved onramp at 35mph… But that’s another rant. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/25 "2015-10-10T16:12:49Z")
> [@Azile](#): > > I’d like to offer a special note of thanks to the trucker on the freeway this morning, who kept on keeping on at his own speed of 50mph rather than slowing down or speeding up so that i, trying to accelerate from zero to merge onto the 65mph freeway from a short on/off ramp, was cut off and had to brake hard to get over before being forced to exit. Real considerate of you, bro! I bet the line of cars behind me was thrilled too! > > To say nothing of the driver who slowed waaaay doooown to take an uphill curved onramp at 35mph… But that’s another rant. My dad has been a trucker for 40+ years and, having spent a lot of time with him on the road, I have a _great_ deal of respect for the skills and talents needed to drive an 18-wheeler. He has been in exactly one accident in four decades: a compact car driver decided he was going too slow and made the genius decision to cut in front of Dad’s Kenworth and hit his brakes about three feet from the truck grill. The guy wasn’t killed, but his car came out the size of a Coke can. Having said all this: it seems there are far more incidents – anecdotal and in the news – of truck-caused accidents. I have certainly noted an increase in truckers who seem to lack some basic driving skills, but I also tend to closely watch and compare their driving to that of Dad’s. [SIZE=“1”]Truckers: We’re on the freeway. I see you want to get in my lane. I fall back and high-beam you twice. You then move into the lane and tap your brake lights twice to acknowledge the courtesy. That’s how that works![/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/26 "2015-10-10T20:08:04Z")
> [@Azile](#): > > I’d like to offer a special note of thanks to the trucker on the freeway this morning, who kept on keeping on at his own speed of 50mph rather than slowing down or speeding up so that i, trying to accelerate from zero to merge onto the 65mph freeway from a short on/off ramp, was cut off and had to brake hard to get over before being forced to exit. Real considerate of you, bro! I bet the line of cars behind me was thrilled too! > > To say nothing of the driver who slowed waaaay doooown to take an uphill curved onramp at 35mph… But that’s another rant. Good thing was, you didn’t have to accelerate from 0 to 65–just from 0 to 50. Bad thing was, you didn’t notice. How is that the trucker’s fault? Most places I’ve lived, the onus of responsibility for finding a space and filling it is on the merging traffic, not the people already on the freeway. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/27 "2015-10-11T00:07:23Z")
Some drivers are just oblivious. I have a friend who whenever he merges into traffic will not realize he has to until the last 20 feet, then signal and try to merge. He gets annoyed with the other drivers for not dropping back and letting him in. I don’t know how many times I gave him hell for driving in the fast lane on a three lane highway and matching the speed of the driver in the middle lane without passing. Then he starts complaining, “look at this idiot behind me, he’s right on my ass!” ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/28 "2015-10-11T01:32:35Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > See that fine long north-bound on-ramp? > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@44.836449,-93.1612074,903m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) > > That’s a HALF MILE from top to merge. Into a 70 MPH zone. > > At least 60% of the morons who drive down it crawl along at 30-40mph the entire way, then try to force themselves into 70mph traffic at 45-50mph. > > I would love it if the Minnesota Highway Patrol would park at the bottom and start busting people for that crap. When you mentioned this I knew it was in Minnesota, but I thought it would be a [different on-ramp](https://www.google.com/maps/@45.1628516,-93.031386,628m/data=!3m1!1e3) also on I-35E. The long part is the south-bound cloverleaf that passes under a bridge and then has the long acceleration lane. Different topic: I think the worst designs are the old junctions of two interstate (freeway) highways with cloverleafs (cloverleaves?) The curves are just too tight to be able to get up to speed to merge onto the other highway, and as you’re doing so there’s a good chance that there are vehicles decelerating trying to exit as you’re trying to enter. It’s not a problem if all traffic is moving slowly, but I think the real problem is they were designed for much lower traffic density. For my part, I stay in the left through lane whenever possible and if I’m exiting, just be super aware of what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/29 "2015-10-11T02:07:56Z")
Didn’t you say you’re in Jersey? What are these “freeways” of which you speak? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/30 "2015-10-11T13:03:22Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > There’s an especially bad one of these in San Jose, where I-880 (I think that’s the number, the old Route 17) has an interchange of sorts with Highway 101. There are a few of these on I-87 (The Adirondack Northway) Southbound between exits 13 and 2. They are a real pain in the ass to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/31 "2015-10-11T16:32:41Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Didn’t you say you’re in Jersey? What are these “freeways” of which you speak? Yup, I’m in the Tren’un area. The usage comes from being an OutWest native child; there are very few toll roads in comparison to the East Coast and just about everything with four+/- lanes is a “freeway” to me. Just imagine the learning curve I had with freakin’ JUGHANDLES :eek: And figuring out what the freak a TURNPIKE _is_, how to get _on_ it, how to get _off_ it, and when does it become turnpike-y and not free anymore? (I’m scowling at you, I-95!) My puzzlements are witnessed by the nice stack of tickets I’ve accumulated for running through EZPass lanes whilst trying to figure out what happened to my patch of freeway. As an aside: in The West freeways and highways take the definite article. Interstate 15 is “The 15”; Interstate 5 is “The 5”; and Highway 52 is “The 52.” Here, or at least in my part of Here, the article is dropped. A similar situation with “Down the shore.” The “to” was apparently banned from usage in 1771. My fellow Left Coasters at work have confirmed these speechifyin’ oddities. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/32 "2015-10-11T16:42:55Z")
\ I have a classic photo ticket that captured me in the “Oh God, why meeeee?!!” pose as I rolled through the wrong EZPass lane on the Goethals or Verrazzano bridge. Speaking of which, there was some weird little tollgate in Westchester (NY) where one rolls through and supposedly gets a little thing in the mail to pay 50 cents (rather than stopping and throwing coins into a collection basket). I’ve yet to receive this notice, I’m wondering if the East Coast was (again) gaslighting me . . . ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737/33 "2015-10-11T20:05:28Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > See that fine long north-bound on-ramp? > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@44.836449,-93.1612074,903m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) > > That’s a HALF MILE from top to merge. Into a 70 MPH zone. > > At least 60% of the morons who drive down it crawl along at 30-40mph the entire way, then try to force themselves into 70mph traffic at 45-50mph. > > I would love it if the Minnesota Highway Patrol would park at the bottom and start busting people for that crap. They’re just trying to make up for the onramps around Fort Snelling. They’re, like, twelve feet long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-teach-the-world-to-merge-in-perfect-harmony/733737.md?page=1)