On the Road Again – On-Ramp Bad Behavior
There are many things about other drivers that frustrate me, not that I ever do these things. Things such as running red lights or stop signs, driving at excessive speeds on any roads, or cutting in and out of traffic just to get ahead of all the other vehicles.
To me, one of the most frustrating and dangerous is drivers who misuse the on-ramps to transition roads with fast traffic. There are three ways of driving on an on-ramp that are dangerous. Driving too slowly, not paying attention, and driving fast and cutting across lanes to the fast lane as soon as possible.
When driving on an on-ramp, it means that the driver is about to merge into traffic, which in most cases is driving at speeds of 55 MPH or faster. This means that the driver on the on-ramp should but often does not accelerate to match the speed of the vehicles into the lane they will merge.
Not providing space so that another driver can merge into the lane you are in, or where two lanes narrow to a single lane, is dangerous and discourteous! Cutting off other drivers probably will not get you where you are going any sooner.
Then there are the drivers who drive at whatever speed they have chosen and just drive without paying any attention to the traffic into which they will merge. Some drive too slowly. Others drive too fast. This requires the other drivers to take whatever action is needed to prevent a collision. By paying attention to the traffic in the merge lane, you can adjust your speed to fit into an open space without causing problems for other drivers. Also, paying attention is a key part of driving safely.
On my way home this afternoon I saw a driver enter the freeway ahead of me and move across the lanes to their left to get to the number one or fast lane. At least they were accelerating to fit in the next lane. The driver was lucky that there was room for them in each of the lanes to their left.
The worst case of this type of driving I saw was several years ago in Orange County. I was headed north on Interstate 5. I was in the number three lane. There was a car to my left in the number two lane. A car entered the freeway a bit ahead of us and slowly, five to ten miles per hour slower than the other traffic and moved to the left to access the carpool lane. The driver to my left and I both had to hit the brakes to prevent hitting the pokey driver. After the numbskull was out of our way the driver to my left and I exchanged glances and shrugged our shoulders.
As a driver, each of us is required to be aware of the conditions on all sides of us, regardless of the conditions. Courtesy does not cost you a penny.
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Happy travels!
