smkettner wrote: My cruise is usually at 55 mph and I let them work it out. Trailer or not people still aim for my door handle rather than the 300 yards or open space in front of or to the rear of me.
If the speed limit is 70, and most traffic is moving at 70, you should never have a problem at 55, in that it is the responsibility of the merging vehicle to accelerate to the point where he is AT OR JUST GREATER THAN the speed of the traffic flow. Would make for great merges if at least half of the drivers actually understood the principle. If a person is driving a vehicle that can only obtain 35 - 45 mph by the end of the merge ramp, driving needs to be confined to secondary roads, or get a vehicle that has the capability of executing a proper merge.
Since I can't read the mind of the other driver, I try to maintain my speed, as they will be using it as a gauge for their entry onto the highway. I may end up slowing down a bit, if they are pulling in front of me, or speeding up a bit, if it looks as if they are going to let me pass.
I do the same things in my car, and I really don't see much difference....just a bit longer. They see that (usually), so they will adjust accordingly. If you slow down, it throws them off, as I'm sure you are probably the only one who does it!! I think a lot of drivers, would rather pull out behind an RV, just as I would rather pull out behind a Semi.....than in front of it!
Just my $0.02.....and I'm probably gonna expect some change!!
DH Bill / DW Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris The Paps! Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie and Annie
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
Purchased April Fools Day, 2008 The Pets
Merging is designed to permit vehicles to enter and exit a highway without causing disruption in the flow of traffic. Highways are equipped with on-ramps and off-ramps, which generally connect to acceleration and deceleration lanes.
The idea behind this is when you pull onto the entrance ramp, you slowly begin building velocity. At the point where you can make eye contact with the highway, you need to immediately start assessing the gaps and the speed of existing traffic. From here, you should turn on your signal to reflect your intent to other drivers to merge onto the roadway.
Then use the acceleration lane to match the speed flow, and ease your vehicle into an appropriate gap before the acceleration lane ends. Some highways give you slabs of asphalt that are long enough for a jet to take off; others, especially on the East Coast, are so short you will need to make quick decisions or yield.
A successful merge entails you entering the highway almost at or at the speed limit, while causing no disturbance in the speeds of the vehicles behind you.
Here is a little somethng I seen in a E-Mail the other day to help you with the road rage that we all encounter almost every day.
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
outdoorsman2007 wrote: I hold my lane and my speed. It is their responsibility to merge in around me.
When in a higher traffic area, and when there are 3 lanes, I always move to the middle lane and stay there. That way faster traffic can pass on the left and merging traffic can move in without worrying about me.
That's what we do too, works well in most cases.
Deen - Vancouver, WA
'02 Dutch Star 4090 (41+', triple slide)
435/1200 ISC Cummins/Banks PowerPak
'08 Honda Civic/dolly
'05 Honda Odyssey/dolly
NRA Benefactor Life Member
FMCA f47302s, Life Member: Good Sam, Newmar DP Owners Group
51st yr of RV'ing
Bucky Badger wrote: Merging is designed to permit vehicles to enter and exit a highway without causing disruption in the flow of traffic. Highways are equipped with on-ramps and off-ramps, which generally connect to acceleration and deceleration lanes.
The idea behind this is when you pull onto the entrance ramp, you slowly begin building velocity. At the point where you can make eye contact with the highway, you need to immediately start assessing the gaps and the speed of existing traffic. From here, you should turn on your signal to reflect your intent to other drivers to merge onto the roadway.
Then use the acceleration lane to match the speed flow, and ease your vehicle into an appropriate gap before the acceleration lane ends. Some highways give you slabs of asphalt that are long enough for a jet to take off; others, especially on the East Coast, are so short you will need to make quick decisions or yield.
A successful merge entails you entering the highway almost at or at the speed limit, while causing no disturbance in the speeds of the vehicles behind you.
turninghawk wrote: If a person is driving a vehicle that can only obtain 35 - 45 mph by the end of the merge ramp, driving needs to be confined to secondary roads, or get a vehicle that has the capability of executing a proper merge.
Try telling that to the driver of an 80,000# 18 wheeler!! They need a good laugh every once in a while!!
Yield is the most misunderstood and ignored word in the English language.
I don't recall seeing many (if any) "Yield" signs on any interstate or freeway ramp. If there is a sign, it usually says "Merge" and is commonly located on the triangle median between the two lanes, visible to both drivers.
For what it's worth, "Yield" and "Merge" have distinctly different meanings in traffic laws.
Here in WA the law says there is an implicit Yield sign at the end of EVERY on ramp. It's in the drivers manual too. Sign doesn't have to be there, the merging traffic MUST yield to mainline traffic.
Great-Dane wrote: When I drove a 5vr I had this problem. With Motorhome, not so..
All my years towing a 5vr this was an issue. I think largely because people are focused on your pickup truck and treating it as if empty. They think you should be able to stop or speed up on a dime which isn't true under load.
With MH, they get scared and either speed up or back off. I do nothing.
Thats been my experience so far. I'm sure I'll have an idiot some day to deal with but find it much less in a MH as compared to towing a 5vr or trailer.
That all makes sense. Driving a smallish Class C motorhome, I find that other drivers tend to overestimate my size and speed, giving me too much leeway. I learned to never slow down for a car trying to merge onto the highway -- he will never take advantage of the opportunity, and we could both end up just going slower and slower ("You first!" "No, you first!"). Sometimes it makes sense to speed up, since I'm often traveling at a lower speed than the prevailing traffic.
Offline
Online
