I think what the OP is mostly talking about is driving during a horrible traffic jam, caused by the merge. During similar conditions, I’ve seen looooong stretches of empty road where people have merged early. All the other cars are doing 0-10mph in the jam up, and I have the opportunity to go 30mph in the free lane. Sorry guys, under those conditions, I’m taking the road less travelled. Since it is bumper to bumper already, waiting until the very end to merge isn’t going to make it worse.
Under normal conditions, where traffic is flowing anywhere near the speed limit, and there is space to merge, one should merge with time to spare, to prevent the “emergency” lane change.
Sorry. If the majority of us have taken the effort to merge in the first 1/4 mile, you can bet we don’t owe you any favors if you race up the last 1/4 mile (for a total of 1/2 mile… what signs give you 2 miles to merge?!). You can well bet that we’ll give you the evil eye and curse your name.
The sign says left lane merge right – if I’m in the right lane, and decide not to give you a space to move into, it’s your problem not mine.
This reminded me of an incident about 10 years ago. I was crossing a 3 mile long, 2-lane, no-passing bridge, doing the speed limit. A big truck came up behind me, tailgating so close that all I could see in my mirror was his grille. He passed me illegally, and continued on his merry way. I saw him exit about 5 miles farther along and began timing - I was 15 seconds behind him. He risked our lives and those of the others on the bridge for 15 seconds over 5 miles.
This is the most idiotic “insult” I always see on this board. WTF does that have to do with anything? :rolleyes:
For the record, I merge when there’s a space…granted, it may be at the later part of the imminently closing lane. There are times when merging in early may be more beneficial to you.
It’s more about timing and courtesy, not really using it up “just cuz I can!”
Thank you, LolaBaby, for mentioning the SUV comment. I had a long discussion with the not-so-dearly departed fatherjohn about this very topic. Folks, not everyone who drives an SUV is an ignorant jerk who can’t drive. To assume otherwise is to buy into a stereotype, and stereotypes are the perfect example of the ignorance we try to fight here.
And for the record, I drive a 10-year-old Mazda 626.
A lot of people have yet to figure out how to merge onto a sparsely crowded highway*. Do you really expect them to figure out how to zip when a lane is closed?
*For the record, people: The person ENTERING the highway has the yield sign. That means it is that driver’s responsibility to merge. If you already happen to be driving in the right lane, you can do one of two things:
If it’s reasonable and you feel the need to be uber-polite, move to the middle lane.
OR,
Simply maintain your speed.
As the person merging, it is MY responsibility to either speed up to get in front of you or slow down and get behind you. Please, for all that is holy, do NOT try to second guess what I’m doing and try to accomodate me by slowing down or speeding up. It throws off the whole freaking system.
Chique has it right. The most efficient, time and cost effective, way to merge is to use both lanes until the merge, then do a “my turn, your turn” scenario at that point. It uses both lanes to their maximum extent, and saves on fuel and time for everyone when used. Sensible states even have signs that say “use both lanes until merge point”.
Of course, people are neither efficient nor sensible.
Well, I’m not going to try to teach the “late mergers” the concept of taking your turn and being polite. It seems a bit late in life for that if you are old enough to drive.
I will note, however, that the people in the orange vests who put those signs up to merge really wish you would cut it out.
“The late lane merge phenomenon occurs, when some drivers try to avoid slowing traffic by traveling in the lane that is about to end and then attempt to force merge at the last moment. This is an extremely dangerous driving maneuver for the driver, other motorists on the road and workers in the construction zone. This type of late merge may cause hostility among the other patiently waiting drivers. It also increases delay among the traveling drivers by creating a sudden interruption of traffic flow and increases the risk of safety hazards to all.”
Interestingly enough, though, (from what I read), traffic engineers would agree with Lockfist that people should not try to block out the late-mergers. Apparently, traffic flow as a whole is improved if no one has to come to a complete stop. Therefore, the nice folks who keep an empty space in front of their cars to allow for merges and to allow for reaction time (you know, the ones Lockfist says don’t know how to drive?) are the good drivers. So the best thing to do is maintain the space in front of you, and let karma catch up with the folks who don’t understand how to take their turn in line.
–jack
Once again I find myself reduced to saying, “What Qadgop said.” (And Chique before him!)
Assume the situation where two lanes of traffic are reduced to one, with the right lane closed in 2 miles. All too often it seems to me that people merge early such that traffic greatly slows in the left lane, leaving the right lane virtually open for much of the final mile or so before the merge.
What benefit is conferred by merging in this manner? Do you have some theory of fluid mechanics that suggests this method results in the entire body of traffic clearing the bottleneck faster than if everyone stayed in their lane until merging one-for-one at the merge point? No one yet has identified the “magic point” at which folk should merge. When does the right-laner become a jerk for not merging?
If I see the situation I described forming, I will get into the open lane, and drive past the slow moving people who have already merged. I do not wait until the last moment, but merge somewhere close to it when convenient. Someone ALWAYS either intentionally lets you in or leaves enough of an opening to get in. Then when I get to the merge point, I let in at least my one car. Heck, if someone is being a real jerk, I’ll let him in too. And I don’t ruin my mood by dwelling on it. What good does that do? Why are things improved by my getting upset and passing judgment on strangers?
Are such self-empowered traffic cops active in correcting strangers’ behavior in other aspects of life? Walking down the street? At the supermarket or the theater? Or is it just the ton of metal that gives them authority?
I just don’t understand the logic here. And, having read a number of Quadgop’s posts, I get the feeling that means that I am the one who is wrong 8-0.
Could someone explain it to me?
This is the way I conceptualize it. Let’s say two lanes of traffic. Left lane ends and merges right for 1 mile. 65 mph speed limit, with 45 mph limit in construction zone.
If the traffic flow is MORE than capacity for one lane at 45 mph, then you have a backup no matter what, and then I would think that using the left lane to the last possible foot to push the maximum number of cars to the choke point as quickly as possible would in no way help increase the total number of cars through the choke point, save time, or save gas.
If the traffic flow is LESS than capacity for one lane at 45 mph, then there would be more space than cars needing it. The issue here would be to try to get the merges done at speed and without anyone stopping and disrupting traffic flow. It seems to me this is best accomplished over time (like an onramp) so people can merge using slight speed adjustments, rather than at the last second which is going to resemble a 4-way stop more than an onramp merge.
Gosh, why would you think it wouldn’t be a popular POV? Just because you drive like an arrogant, self-absorbed, prick and instead of regretting it, actually revel in it? Why would that be unpopular? Just because you are so much more important than every other driver on the road? Why the fuck do you think it’s an unpopular? Knob.
People are slamming on their brakes because selfish fuckwads like yourself are not merging properly but are instead trying to get ahead of everybody else and end up causing more stopping on the highway. I’ve always wondered what idiot fucks like yourself thought about while they chat on their cell phones and merge late. Now I know that your a self absorbed, prick. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Bearflag.
Do you idiots not get the fact that the “merge police” you hate so much exist as a result of your own selfish actions. Everyone else in that lane are merging when they can, while traffic is still flowing. Then some my-god-i’m-so-much-more-important-than-everyone-else piece of clymedia goes by. Your actions piss a lot of people off, which leads to more anger on the road, which leads to more accidents and other incidents. So quit the bitching about a problem you fucking created.
Is a factor contibuting to congestion the failure of folk in the lane that will remain open to leave enough space between vehicles to allow merging?
What if folk in both lanes adjusted their following distances (and their speeds to the extent necessary) to permit free merging at all points up to the merge point? Instead, it seems folk feel that they merged at what they individually consider the optimum point, after which they ride each other’s bumper to stop all the folk who are doing it “wrong.” So a possible free flow becomes stop and go.
Well, I’ll try to explain why this type of behavior ruins people’s moods.
I’ll use a move ticket line as an example.
You decide to go see a movie. As you walk up to the Googleplex, you see a longish line of people. Drat! This is the beginning of the traffic jam. In a real traffic jam, you have to just move with the herd until you find out what is up, but at the movies, you can tell your buddy, “Hey, wait here a sec, let me go see what is up.” So you wander to the front, hoping that the line you see is just for the hot new movie out (Star Wars XXVII: Attack of the Clichés), and that other lines are open for folks who want to see other movies. But no, there is only one ticket seller working. Drat! This is the point in a real traffic jam where you see the “Lane Closed Ahead: Merge Right”. You now know the situation. There are plenty of empty ticket lines, but the are CLOSED. The only way to get to where you want to go is to somehow get into the one line leading to the only open ticket seller station. What do you do now? Do you go back to your bud, say “grin and bear it”, take your place in line with the folks who got to the line at the same time you did and tell jokes until you get to the front? This makes you an “early merger” in a traffic jam merge.
OR, do you go back to your bud and say “Dude! Quit wasting your time back here with all these sheep! There is a line up there with NO ONE in it! Let’s pass all these clowns!” Then you and your bud stroll quickly up to an empty ticket window. Bummer! No matter how fun it was to pass all those folks waiting in line, this line isn’t going to get you anywhere. Hey, no problem. Just look for someone a little older and smaller and scared, or talking to their friends, or distracted on their cell phone in the real line, and break in line in front of them. Wicked! Look at all the time you saved! And since it was faster for you to do it that way, then it must be faster for EVERYONE to do it that way. You are a “late merger” and proud of it. Whoah, I wonder why all those folks are giving me the dirty looks. What good does that do? Why are things improved by them getting upset and passing judgment on strangers?
Think that’s a pretty weak analogy. If needed, I’ff get back in more detail later, but now have to get to work. We may need to start a whole new thread on the ethics of cutting-in-line.
Briefly, on the two lane road, both lanes were viable options prior to the merge. How does this equate to standing in front of a closed cashier?
Might be more apt if the second line closed at some point, forcing the people already in that line to either merge into the first line, or go to the end of it. But cashiers rarely work that way. IME, they generally tell folk to stop getting in their line, and process all the folk already there.
Or flip it around. Everyone is standing in one line, and a second cashier opens right as you walk up. Are you obligated to allow 1/2 of the folk already in line #1 to move over to the second cash register in front of you?
Astounding. I am completely amazed at the lengths some people will go to justify rude and dangerous behavior. Do you REALLY know why there’s a traffic jam at the merge point? Obviously not. It’s because people like you speed by everyone else, come to the end of the lane, jam on their brakes, and shoehorn themselves in front of some poor unsuspecting sod. Said unsuspecting sod suddenly has his following distance reduced to about 18 inches and has to slam on the binders, making everyone behind him do the same. Wham! Traffic jam.
The reason construction signs are placed two miles before a merge point is neither to tell you you HAVE to merge immediately, nor (contrary to your antisocial opinion) to allow you to time your swerve at exactly 1.999 miles. It’s to let you know that, sometime in the next couple miles, you need to merge. And, yeah, when exactly one needs to merge is pretty subjective. Some of us can deal with that. Personally, I just try to be considerate of my fellow drivers and not add to the traffic problem. Obviously, you have other priorities.
I’m surprised that anyone would admit to, let alone take pride in, being a complete asshole.
I agree with you totally here. This would absolutely be the best way to go.
Yep 8-). If you’ll check the link I posted earlier, you’ll see Michigan is experimenting with signage to dynamically mark the “optimum point” to start actually merging. It looks like a great system, if anyone bothers to pay attention to it 8-0.
Actually, Dinsdale, I think you have hit upon the real crux of the issue:
People just have different ideas of the proper merge point, and it creates a lot of hard feelings. Then, once you sprinkle in a few real assholes in both camps, the road wars start 8-).
They were in line before me. They deserve to go first. That is the function of a line.
Ah well, how about if we agree that there are two schools of thought to this argument and that it would help EVERYONE if the damn DOT would be a bit more specific in their signage?
Just because I’m a “late merger” doesn’t mean that I’m a “piss-poor merger” who cuts people off and slams on the brakes. It is possible to merge late and merge smoothly and politely. Now that you have demonstrated that you don’t know the difference and that you rashly jump to irrational conclusions about people’s character, I know that you are ignorant as hell, and I encourage you to stick around on these Boards with the hopes that you might learn a thing or two. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Dumbfuck. :rolleyes:
while the model of using both lanes until the merge point then taking turns to merge makes the most mathematical sense, I suspect that once human nature is taken into the equation, the Michigan system scenario linked to by Hamlet is probably the best.
