no one knows what 'yield' means, and other rants

[mpvue]

each morning I go through this; vehicles entering the highway without yielding to traffic. they just merge right in, many times forcing the travel lane cars to either slow down, stop, or marge into the passing lane.
to maintain my speed, I usually try to open up room for them, but I'M not required to do that, THEY are the ones w/ the yield sign!
the other morning I moved over to let a red prius in, but he immediately got up to speed, as if to keep me from merging back into the travel lane. so now I was in the unenviable position of being in the passing lane and not being able to move over (all the while having someone on my tail, because obviously 75mph was not fast enough for him on this 55mph 2 lane). I got close to 80 to be able to get in front of the red prius and let the car behind me pass.
I wish people would anticipate the actions of those around them a little better.

related to this are the ones who drive all the way to the end of the entrance ramp and just stop. the idea of using the length of the ramp to get up to highway speed is foreign to them.

 

[Hokiefyd]

This bothers me as well. Merging drivers feel they are entitled to merge at whatever speed they please. Or, they'll give you the finger if you don't happen to switch lanes. Sorry, but if I'm already in the road, switching lanes is my option. The merging driver isn't entitled to my spot on the road. They can either speed up to merge ahead of me or slow down and merge behind me. That is their responsibility.

It also bothers me that people will turn right into traffic on a 4-lane road right in front of somebody. Yes, the person traveling in the right-hand lane has the option of moving over to pass, but the entering driver is still putting upon the driver already on the road to do something because of his action.

 

[cchase]

Around here, YIELD means "get out of my way" and STOP means YIELD. In my experience.

 

[The motor guy]

I constantly have this problem. I'll have like 2 vehicles in front of me on the on ramp forcing me to enter the freeway at 50mph.

 

[earlyre]

'round here, no one seems to understand the concept of a turn lane. road in question is 5 lanes wide (2 each way, turn in middle), 45mph.

so the other day i am headed to work, granted running a bit late, and doing @least 10mph over posted limit,(around 55mph).
jerk in a big work truck(bed replaced w/toolboxes, ladder/pipe racks etc.)turns across 3 lanes (2 oncoming, and the turn lane), and then takes sweet old time getting up to the speed limit while staying put in left hand (passing)lane.

now correct me if i'm wrong, (it has been 16yrs since i was in drivers ed) but wouldn't the proper thing have been to cross the 2 lanes of oncoming, and either stop or creep in the turn lane until you can safely merge??
I even had my headlamps on to make it easier for others to see me..
but what can i expect in a town where people can't figure out turn signals either...

 

[eljefino]

Be honest, are you speeding? I feel it's reasonable for the yielder to enter at the speed limit or WOT, whichever is slower. A speeder should take it upon themselves to undo speeding if conditions require.

Entering a highway at the speed limit and keeping it for a few seconds to look out for cops or get a feel for the flow is pretty reasonable. It is the "slow lane".

Most treacherous yielding I ever saw was last winter in Massachusetts after a huge snowstorm. Snow piles were higher than drivers' windows. Half the drivers did a hail mary approach while the other half stopped dead. The speed up and break down lanes immedately following on-ramps were full of snow, too. Saw a class B truck get sucked into a snow bank when its passenger side tires clipped the snow.

Roads were dry and up to classic Massachusetts zany driving styles. State Troopers were all over but all busy with some hazard to navigation or another.

I suspect the driver in the high speed lane is a "herder" who tries to goad others into going faster so he'd be unlikely to get a traffic ticket. I let 'em by but don't take insult by their tailgating.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
each morning I go through this; vehicles entering the highway without yielding to traffic. they just merge right in, many times forcing the travel lane cars to either slow down, stop, or marge into the passing lane.
to maintain my speed, I usually try to open up room for them, but I'M not required to do that, THEY are the ones w/ the yield sign!
the other morning I moved over to let a red prius in, but he immediately got up to speed, as if to keep me from merging back into the travel lane. so now I was in the unenviable position of being in the passing lane and not being able to move over (all the while having someone on my tail, because obviously 75mph was not fast enough for him on this 55mph 2 lane). I got close to 80 to be able to get in front of the red prius and let the car behind me pass.
I wish people would anticipate the actions of those around them a little better.

related to this are the ones who drive all the way to the end of the entrance ramp and just stop. the idea of using the length of the ramp to get up to highway speed is foreign to them.
\


I about hit somebody yesterday because the idiots that are supposed to yield didn't, so the idiot in front of me with the right of way STOPS! These people are nuts.

John

 

[HerrStig]

The Motor Vehicle Code in Rhode Island, as I have discovered, requires cars on the traveled portion of limited access highways to YIELD to cars entering the highway, or to change lanes. I was taught in driver's school it was the polite thing to do. I have never seen it enforced there. The purpose, I am told, is to give drivers entering the highway a "fighting chance". Today, a driver in the traveled lane will run you right into a bridge abutment rather than change lanes so you can merge.

 

[TallPaul]

I hate when there is 100+ yards of open lane in front and behind me and some distracted driver comes down the ramp right to the same spot I am in. Only time you should have to make room is when there is so much traffic they can't possibly find an opening.

Get a big nasty rusted full size pickup and just ignore them. There is room on the shoulder of the road. They will eventually learn if that keeps happening. Of course I am joking and would not do this, but it's the way you feel after this keeps happening.

 

[JHZR2]

The thing that gets me is when someone is in the right travel lane, has full open view, and nobody next to them, but doesnt get over.

The point about those in the travel lane speeding is a good point too. Too many people think they are above the law in terms of their max allowable speed, and then want to complain about others.

 

[JamesBond]

I believe that most (all) traffic problems are the result of people following too closely. I swear that during drivers ed in the city where I live they teach people to only drive in the right lane and stay as close as possible to the car in front of you. This makes entering and exiting the highway very difficult, and all the while, the left lanes are empty.

Cars enter highway on ramp, people in right lane have to brake or move to a "faster" lane (usually both in that order), people in faster lane then brake or move into "even faster" lane and so on, creating an instant traffic jam.

To Earlyre,
I hate that situation, and I have been ticketed for pulling into that center turn lane just as you described. -Turned into center lane, crept along off the gas, then pulled into driving lane when clear- Now I just wait till the road is clear in both directions which sucks for the people waiting behind me but too bad. The worst driver in that situation will pull into the turn lane and use it to accelerate up to traffic speed, freaks me out.

 

[brianl703]

What gets me is when I'm in the right travel lane, because I'm not driving as fast as traffic is normally going in the left lane, and there's someone in the left passing lane who won't pass, but rather prefers to drive next to me. I wouldn't even care about this except that said person in the left lane is forcing everyone to pass them on the right, so *I* get tailgated in the right lane!

Then again, I've been tailgated in the right lane even when the left lane is empty for as far as you can see.

Apparently a lot of drivers out there who just don't get how it's supposed to work.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
What gets me is when I'm in the right travel lane, because I'm not driving as fast as traffic is normally going in the left lane, and there's someone in the left passing lane who won't pass, but rather prefers to drive next to me. I wouldn't even care about this except that said person in the left lane is forcing everyone to pass them on the right, so *I* get tailgated in the right lane!

Then again, I've been tailgated in the right lane even when the left lane is empty for as far as you can see.

Apparently a lot of drivers out there who just don't get how it's supposed to work.


Yeah, I see that a lot in DE, MD and VA... the king of the left lane, doesnt have to get over for anyone, and keeps aligned with you. Even if you speed up, they will too!

 

[bigmike]

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Then again, I've been tailgated in the right lane even when the left lane is empty for as far as you can see.

Apparently a lot of drivers out there who just don't get how it's supposed to work.


That's the same as people parking next to you even though the parking lot is empty. It must be some sort of safety feeling, or something like that that a group provides.
On long highway trips I always see groups of cars traveling together and usually they tail gate each other. I avoid them like a plague along with big rigs. I either accelerate to loose them or slow down to keep them in front of me. I just prefer to travel alone with as little cars around me as possible on those long highway trips.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
the other morning I moved over to let a red prius in, but he immediately got up to speed, as if to keep me from merging back into the travel lane.


I'm sorry. You lost me at a prius getting immediately up to speed.

 

[01rangerxl]

Charlotte has a lot of aggressively slow drivers who seem to thrive on creating merging hazards.

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Originally Posted By: mpvue
the other morning I moved over to let a red prius in, but he immediately got up to speed, as if to keep me from merging back into the travel lane.


I'm sorry. You lost me at a prius getting immediately up to speed.

but I was driving a 4cyl auto Camry, so yeah, the prius had a distinct power advantage...

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
The Motor Vehicle Code in Rhode Island, as I have discovered, requires cars on the traveled portion of limited access highways to YIELD to cars entering the highway, or to change lanes.

I'm surprised at this, because most all entrance ramps I'VE seen have a YIELD sign on the ramp, although as I said, moving over (if you can) is just common sense courtesy.

 

[javacontour]

I don't know how it is where you live, but here in IL, there are usually TWO signs for an on-ramp.

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a112.pdf

You have the yield sign. You also have the merge sign. So there are actions for both vehicles.

Here is what is says on page 65 of the PDF above regarding merging.

Quote:

Merging Lanes
This sign tells you that two lanes of traffic going the same direction will soon merge into one lane. Be ready to either change lanes or allow other traffic to merge into your lane. Merge signs appear on expressways just before expressway ramps. The driver on the expressway slows down to let the driver on the ramp merge.


It appears the driver on the freeway MUST allow the driver entering the expressway to get in. That may mean changing lanes or altering your speed to allow it to happen.

FWIW