It's a Highway, not a Stop Light

[Kogarashi]

Errands today took me one town over to pick up family photos done at a portrait studio there. Going there required taking the two local interstates, which is often a feat in itself, though the alternative--driving all through downtown to get to the second interstate--is a chore all its own.

Now, the city I live in is where one interstate dead-ends into another. Leading up to the second interstate, the first is four lanes across on the southbound side. The rightmost lane has most of the on/off ramps, and peels off entirely for the last exit onto a local highway that borders the south side of downtown. The leftmost lane eventually peels off completely to merge with the second interstate's northbound side. The middle two lanes connect to the second interstate's southbound side, but they merge into one single lane at the last minute before merging. Due to this poor layout, plus the sheer number of traffic heading southbound anyway (as it leads to two other cities plus NYC), traffic is frequently backed up as far back as my exit (#6 from the merge) and often even further. (end of explanation)

So I got on the first interstate and was pleased to see that traffic was still moving smoothly enough that I should have no problems getting all the way into the leftmost lane so I could get on the second interstate heading northbound. I gradually merge over, waiting a bit for the last merge so a car that was coming up could get ahead of me on the left before I finished getting into the last lane. My timing was good, and I was in the leftmost lane by the time the center two lanes began to back up.

Then the car that had passed me on the left (now in front of me) decided it actually needed to be in the middle lanes. So it slowed down, and I followed suit. It signalled, a gap opened up, and it started over.

And stopped, because the car it was merging behind stopped. This left the car in front of me half in my lane, with no room for me to go around, so I had to stop too. The cars in front of the lead stopped car moved on ahead, but that car just sat there for a while, trapping the car in front of me, as well as me and everyone else behind me. Then, about thirty seconds later (forever in driving time), the car seemed to realize there was no one in front of it and went on ahead, eventually merging further right (without signalling).

I still can't figure out what was going on there, other than the one stopped car just not paying attention to the traffic in front of it.

[LillFilly]

Ugh, that's right up there with stopping on the on-ramp instead of going with the flow of traffic until you can merge. I feel your pain.

[protege]

I had some stupid woman in a minivan do something similar yesterday... She was in the middle lane, and wanted to be in the right (exit) lane to get onto I279. Never mind that the middle lane can also go right... But, rather than signal, and wait like a normal person...she simply hit the brakes Not being able to stop on a dime at 40mph, I put the car sideways trying to avoid her dumb ass. I was able to swerve into the left lane and miss her. However, the car behind me didn't have enough time to avoid me (and the truck trying to merge from the *right* lane...and plowed right into her

There are always lots of close-calls at that place, and there have been several accidents. Why? Well, you get too much traffic trying to merge, or even accelerate up to highway speeds. Most people who aren't familiar with the road slow down too much...and then they try to jump 2 lanes to the left to get onto I279 or Route 28. Half the time, they don't even bother signaling...before moving over in front of traffic already doing 50mph or so!

[Andara Bledin]

I want to ask:

What the hell is it with people who absolutely have to be in the left-most lane the minute they get on the freeway, regardless of the fact that they're going 20 mph below the prevailing speed and there are other cars in the lanes they have to cross?

And to every single asshole who waits until the last (or after) second to merge into the mostly-stopped lane they really need to be in, you need to die in a fire. Alone. Either suck it up and get in the lane you already knew you needed to be in and wait with the rest of us, or go past and come back around, and stop being a dick and endangering everybody around you with your sudden stop and merge into a lane that has no room for you. One of these days, someone's going to shoot that hand you're waving, like a wave makes everything ok.... *grumble*growl*snort*

^-.-^

[protege]

I like being in the left lane on the parkway. Mainly because most of the ramps (until you get downtown) are on the right. Several of those ramps (Oakland and Glenwood) tend to back up a bit, and occasionally, some idiot will swerve out into the middle lane, and get creamed But, before I get into the left lane, I make sure I'm keeping up with traffic. I don't leave that lane until I get almost to the Second Avenue ramp. Then I'm good until I have to cross the river to the north shore.

[wolfie]

I want to ask:

What the hell is it with people who absolutely have to be in the left-most lane the minute they get on the freeway, regardless of the fact that they're going 20 mph below the prevailing speed and there are other cars in the lanes they have to cross?

I had someone pull that stunt on me TWICE on I80 Westbound soon after leaving I95 in New Jersey. I was traveling at normal highway speeds in the 2nd lane (there were 4 lanes), he had just come from the on-ramp, and instead of staying in the rightmost lane until he had accelerated to cruising speed, he pulled straight into the 2nd lane, cutting me off. There was nobody in the 3rd lane, so a combination of brakes and a quick lane change on my part kept me from rear-ending him. His next move was an immediate change into the 3rd lane, cutting me off AGAIN. The 4th lane was occupied, and even if it hadn't been, it would have been illegal for me to go there. Fortunately, by this time he had accelerated enough and I had slowed down enough that further braking was able to keep me from hitting him. This guy's attempt to claim a Darwin Award resulted in me taking forever to get back up to speed, since I had well over 40,000 pounds of cargo in my trailer. Yep, some people either don't know or don't care that cutting off an 18 wheeler is suicidal.

[Krivak]

*bump*
Question then: I use our interstate a good portion of times. Its rather unusual if i dont use it at least once a week. I usually prefer the middle lane for the Highway circling our city, but when im going out of town, i always stay in the left lane, because i can avoid most cars getting on the interstate on the right. Is going the speed limit in the left lane bad? Also, is there a some sort of special limit on speed, past the normal speed limit, if you are trying to pass a car/truck?

And wolfie, my general rule of thumb regarding Trucks:
A) The truck has the right of way, period.
B) If you think the truck is going to merge, get the hell out of the way.
C) Trucks and braking on a dime are not, nor has ever been, on good terms with each other. Dont assume they just made up.

[Chromatix]

As far as the law is concerned, the speed limit is The Speed Limit. If you can't safely overtake without breaking it, you Do Not Overtake, no matter how much of a hurry you're in.

Of course, enforcement may be rather lax in some places, but that doesn't change the law.

In Britain, the offside-most lane of any dual carriageway with more than two lanes per side (ie. typical motorways) is supposed to be used only for overtaking. In practice, it is also used when traffic is heavy, and nobody minds that.

You *are* supposed to move back to the nearside as soon as is sensible, and therefore if there's no other traffic around, you are supposed to travel in the "slow" lane - at anywhere up to the speed limit. This is because overtaking on the nearside is illegal except if it is part of a slow-moving queue.

When approaching slip roads you should be prepared to change lanes or speed to let other traffic in, or to be in the correct lane for a diverging junction. Members of the Middle Lane Owner's Club are supposed to watch out for traffic in the nearside lane that is making room for joining traffic.

[greek_jester]

Members of the Middle Lane Owner's Club are supposed to watch out for traffic in the nearside lane that is making room for joining traffic.

That used to be me, but then again, I used to live just off the M1 & the slow lane was filled with lorries travelling at 55mph, so the middle lane was generally treated as the slow lane i.e. those willing to do no more than the speed limit of 70mph. You didn't enter the fast lane without a car that could cruise at 100mph unless the was an accident or roadworks.