Merging in Traffic
By toddjes
@toddjes (6)
United States
May 27, 2009 12:33pm CST
So I am going to use this forum for some venting. I hope no one minds! I think we have all experienced the "last minute mergers" and wanted to know what everyone else thought! Every day on my hour commute, I pass a school which has been under construction for the whole year and the traffic is bottlenecked from 3 lanes into 1 with CLEAR markings! Yet, every morning, a stream of people will hold out in the far right merge lane until they are physically unable to continue in the lane and then they will move to the middle until the same thing happens then they finally, rudely, merge into the through lane.
So, what happens here? Do they really think that there is some reason that they should not have to wait patiently in line? Do they think they are running later than anyone else? I just don't get that way of thinking! I think that I should wait in line like everyone else and be patient. I don't think I should get stressed about whether or not someone else is going to let me in or if I will make someone so mad that they want to ram my car or that I should push myself in line.
So - do last minute mergers pose a threat to driver safety or do they help the flow or traffic?
2 responses
@maezee (41988)
• United States
27 May 09
Nice topic. This bugs me a lot too, especially with it being "construction season". I'm seeing this situation a lot in where I live.
These types of people are actually going against traffic and putting everyone else in danger, if you ask me. We successfully merge by finding our place into traffic, usually when someone lets us in or when there's a sizable gap that we can fit through between two cars - and this works for us. Aggressive mergers aren't paying enough attention, and just assume that everyone & anyone will let them in - when it shouldn't be that way.
If there's someone trying to cut in front of me (merging), I sometimes just speed up so they physically can't, and have to wait their turn (like they should have to anyway). Sometimes this doesn't work out, but it usually does. It's so annoying when people can't be courteous drivers - it makes it so much harder for EVERYONE around them. 
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Welcome to myLot, by the way! 
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Welcome to myLot, by the way! 
@toddjes (6)
• United States
27 May 09
Thanks for the response! I like myLot so far - a great forum to vent!
My husband speeds up so they can't get in front of him and sometimes the other person doesn't stop and my husband won't back off and they nearly crash. I get upset with him because that isn't very safe either, not that he is in the wrong! People get crazy in their cars though and it seems like they think the blocker is being rude when really, they were making an assumption that wasn't correct. It is really hard to commute for distances and it would be easier if they would just do it nicely!
@wakinsey (141)
• United States
30 May 09
I would have to say they pose a threat. Some of the important skills in driving are thinking ahead, staying calm, and not making irrational decisions. When you merge recklessly, you don't use any of these skills and you put yourself and other people in danger.
