Anyone else notice increased road rage toward you?

As for merging I always let someone in and if the car behind me rides my bumper to prevent someone to merge I let a second car merge in front of me...makes life less stressful and a few seconds doesn't break my schedule.

And yes, all sorts of vehicles do the Lane-Change-Lambada to challenge me...funniest is a white Lamborghini that I see regularly on my am commute...comes from behind like a bat out of hell to cut in front of me...and yep I let him in! I figure he needs the Egoboost to beat the Ecoboost.

Ebm said:

I hate the idiots who wait until the last possible second to merge right before their lane ends. Especially construction on the highway. One lane is closed ahead. Some tool thinks he can skip the line and go straight to the front. Ain't happening. You get your ass behind me. I hate the fact people feel so entitled these days. Horrible trait to have.

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I thought you were supposed to wait until the end of the merge and then alternate with the cars in the other lane.

It seems like it gets FUBAR when people merge early, then others go past them to merge at the end, causing strife.

I always just go to the end and then merge in an alternating fashion.

-T

Trackaholic said:

I thought you were supposed to wait until the end of the merge and then alternate with the cars in the other lane.

It seems like it gets FUBAR when people merge early, then others go past them to merge at the end, causing strife.

I always just go to the end and then merge in an alternating fashion.

-T

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Hmmm...NO. Waiting to *near* the end is fine, but waiting until the end is a dbag move. I don't know that there is any hard rule on what near the end is vice at the end, but if you have waited to the point where you really can't proceed further in the lane, you waited too long and you can't safely merge smoothly without slowing down traffic flow. So the difference between near and at is somewhat dependent on traffic flow.

For example, in fairly light traffic, you can merge out of an ending lane without even slowing down. If you wait until the last minute, then you are forced into an extremis situation and may be forced to brake to keep from going into the cones. This braking starts working backwards and goons up traffic behind you.

The same concept is true as traffic slows down, even down to 5-10 MPH. I guess at stop and go speed it doesn't really matter, but if the people in front of you are merging, then the zipper has already started. Join in.

NoVaGT said:

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:lol::amen:

There are multiple posts and videos on the intertubes showing how to merge. Most, if not all, are some form of:

1. find your spot
2. speed up or slow down to merge into it

https://www.defensivedriving.com/safe-driver-resources/how-to-merge-into-traffic/

As for the people who zip to the front of the line to merge at the last minute, there are some studies that show that's the "correct" behavior.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/traffic-lane-zipper-merge.htm

The Zipper Method is the correct way, and it does mean waiting until the lane is ending.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merge_(traffic)

If used correctly (and the people that merged early actually allow you to merge and not block you out of moral superiority) traffic moves much quicker than using ANY other method. Scientifically proven.

It’s supposedly the most efficient way or merging but only if everyone does it in that manner. There are some horrible merges in down town chicago where you have maybe 50 yds of on ramp onto the fast lane. Sometimes you just have to be a jerk to get in.

We have to zipper merge into a single lane right by my workplace of 4,500 + every day. It fucking sucks and I hate everybody.

Rcmchicago said:

There are some horrible merges in down town chicago where you have maybe 50 yds of on ramp onto the fast lane. Sometimes you just have to be a jerk to get in.

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There was an on-ramp like this near my old home, and it was near a truck stop. Big rigs fully loaded trying to merge with only 50 yards of space. There was also a stop sign 100 yards BEFORE the onramp, giving a grand total of less than 200 yards of acceleration space before joining the freeway. At the merge point there was a narrow bridge with no shoulder so at the end of the ramp it's merge or go off the bridge. There was a crash every week for two years before they demolished and rebuilt the ramp.

In this case no amount of "friendly driving" would have helped, it was just crazy dangerous.

People in central Florida just drive horrible regardless of the car you drive. I have noted extra aggression from German brands and rusted out civics/accords from the 90's. I just ignore the crazy people and go with the flow of traffic.

bluefirestarter said:

People in central Florida just drive horrible regardless of the car you drive. I have noted extra aggression from German brands and rusted out civics/accords from the 90's. I just ignore the crazy people and go with the flow of traffic.

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Yep. I live in Central Florida as well. Speed limits don't mean anything. People drive horrible and I see multiple violations on a daily basis. Cops here are pretty much useless. They don't enforce any traffic laws.