So how do you merge onto the highway?

If people would leave proper following distance there would always be enough room.

My driving instructor told me 'the good driver is rarely noticed'. He was talking about how most people don't realize how many trucks there are on the road. The reason for that is that if driving properly they don't stand out. It's also the reason some think all truck drivers are aggressive tailgaters who cut people off all the time. They notice those ones but the rest just blend in.

Merging is one time where a truck will often be noticed though. We can't always get up to speed by the time we merge and of course we need more space. Most people see us and give us the needed space.

If you never drive in the right lane near ramps and have tunnel vision you may never see a truck merge I guess.

 

Always signal. You will find that most of the time people will let you in. Sometimes I SLOWLY force my way in. It gives the ones that are not considerate time to make a different route. If you rush and get in an accident, it's your CDL and it can waste a lot of time. If they have nowhere to go. I stop.

 

I remember travelling through Columbus (I think). Four lane highway, I-70, headed west. I am in the right lane and it is almost 5:00 pm so I am in rush hour traffic. Here comes a little red sports car with the top down and the driver is on the phone. I can't move over because the traffic is crazy. I slowed down some to try to let him in but he just paces me. He NEVER looked up. His lane was about to end with no more room to merge due to a concrete wall. He just started coming over right at my passenger door. That is when I decided to lay on the air horn. He was in his own little world and never even saw me. How do you NOT see a semi?? When I hit the horn, his phone went flying into the backseat and he hit his brakes. THAT is when he finally came back to reality and realized that he was driving and not in his office anymore and it occurred to him that he may want to pay attention to what he was doing. I hate using the air horn, but sometimes you have to.

My point to this is that even 4-wheelers don't know how to merge. I would imagine that they "know" how to, but so many people just assume that other drivers will make room for them. Sometimes you CAN'T make room for them due to the flow of traffic. Just pay attention when you are driving and either speed up or slow down some until you can find room to merge. Most people are courteous and realize that a semi is a large vehicle and they will make room for you. But some don't.