helping 4whlrs merge

i gave up trying!! waaaayyy too many times they have come up the ramp and settled in beside me making ME have to brake in the HAMMER lane to fall in behind them. thus creating a more dangerous situation. because THEN the cars coming up in the hammer start "freight-training me on the right. making me look like the ###hole!!

 

Let me get this clear, We will offer a death sentence for some one who is being rude or stupid or just not paying attention, but we rarely put to death rapist, murders, kidnappers, or arsonist.

 

Most people just plain don't know how to merge and they seem to think that traffic is SUPPOSED to move out of their way. I had that argument with my brother-in-law several months ago. I finally asked him what the word "yield" means. He got this funny look on his face and then said "well as a courtesy you should move over or slow down". At which point I explained that it's not always possible to move over and that if I have to brake then it causes a chain reaction behind me as well as could cause an accident if one or two people aren't paying attention and/or following the vehicle in front of them too close. I went on to explain the point of the "acceleration ramp". If you are merging into the flow of traffic you should accelerate your vehicle to match the speed of oncoming traffic and at the same time be looking for your "hole" in the traffic and adjust your speed accordingly until you are able to merge. With that said there are too many highways where the ramps are too short or they are used as entrance and exit ramps (don't you hate those) but it is still up to the driver of the merging vehicle to yield to the oncoming traffic. When my daughter was learning to drive a car I spent hours with her just going on and off the freeway. I found every kind of ramp imaginable to test her on. She's 26 years old now and still thanks me for those driving lessons. 10 years driving with no tickets and no accidents and it's paying off for her with low insurance rates.

 

I drive triples (100 feet long). This is the biggest pain in the butt. I have had cars nearly run themselves of the road expecting me to change lanes when I have nowhere to go. And when they are in the middle of my truck I have no way to signal them anything anyway.

 

I can imagine when they see the front of your truck they expect that you have you one trailer like most trucks and they continue to edge up on the entrance ramp. Then you just never seem to end and they have nowhere to go and neither do you. It's their responsibility to stop of course in the end.

I just pull a 53 but was coming down I-95 through CT to cross the GW in NYC a few days ago. There's a lot of merging going on just before you get to the bridge. There was one four wheeler that came on and kept going til they had to almost slam on their brakes. They were honking their horn like that's going to do any good. I'm surprised I could even hear it.

 

kinda like the"you're #1 sign" LOL. most don't realize what it takes to slow down or change lanes in a heavy big truck.

 

I started out driving a straight dump with a pup trailer and I had a guy try to merge onto the interstate between the dump and the pup !! he about went off the road when he realised there was a big metal tounge between the dump and the pup, I just kept my speed and stayed straight hoping he would figure it out before it was too late.....I just had this vision of a twisted metal scrap heap!!! It was a commercial zone and I was grossing over a 100K!

 

I got the finger again just 2 weeks ago. Coming down I-39 by Stevens Point (US-10) I saw the car on the ramp. Looked next to me, and I had a class B produce truck there. Watched the car the whole time and never touched the cruise or anything. Not once did that driver look in the mirror or over her shoulder. She ended up next to me on the rumble strips, fell behind, and moved her hand up and down with the middle finger raised while she passed me. Of course, the produce truck was past me, so she probably figured I did it to be a prick

I'll gladly speed up or slow down to help traffic merge, but you've got to realize that I'm evaluating everything you do while you're coming down the ramp. If you've got no idea I'm there when you get to the end of the ramp, you have a major problem. If I can see that you're simply aware I'm there, I can try to figure out what you're doing and help you merge. If you're slowing down, I'll speed up a bit. If you're speeding up, I'll tap the clutch to disengage the cruise control and engage the infamous Mercedes exhaust brake. Just know I'm there, make the decision without hesitation, and I'll help you merge.