Merging onto an Interstate

In CA at the heavily traveled on ramps they have a traffic signal and when the traffic is really heavy those lights are active and every auto must stop. It lets one auto at a time onto the freeway. If you want to just pass on by there is nothing stopping you. But if a cop catches you it a ticket for running a red light (not cheap now days)

sunkatcher wrote:
Remember; “Education is Our Responsibility”, the key and I have done my share is that drivers will learn when I pull that left hand turn signal on it means I AM MOVING LEFT not I want to move left.

Oh so you just bully your way in?

When towing I try to avoid busy city areas during rush hour. Nothing pisses the rest of the freeway off more than a rig that tries to enter a packed but well moving freeway at 40mph. This creates very dangerous conditions rippling behind you for many miles/minutes on the freeway. If you can't be up to at least the speed limit at the end of the onramp should you really be on the road... especially during rush hour?

When I am in my car I have no problem "flashing a truck or RV in" if they are at least trying to accelerate up to speed (Any tailpipe will tell you the difference between a truck "Flooring it" vs. "Driving miss Daisy").

Do a little prior planning and try to hit cities during off peak hours. It makes your life less stressful and everyone elses too! If you are in your RV you probably aren't worried about being late for work.

Of course I also have no issue letting someone pass me if they want to go faster than me either.

Why are so many RV drivers (and truckers) so discourteous to other drivers then expect everyone else be courteous to them? If you come to a passing lane on a single lane highway SLOW DOWN and let the miles of cars behind you pass instead of speeding up!

Yea, don't try to merge going 20 miles+ lower then the traffic you are trying to merge with.

That being said, 'construction length ramps', you know, the tiny short ramps, seem to pose the biggest problem for me.

And, yes, ramps yield to highways... but toss construction ramps into the equation and sometimes it has to be a negotiation.

Pete_k wrote:
Read this page good into. Merging into traffic But Always remember the road traffic has the right of way. Not you on the merge lane.Pete

That is the biggest issue I see around here-the merging traffic expects the road traffic to yield to them. Very frustrating when towing and I can't move to the left.

It's up to everyone to make it work but push comes to shove, the littlest guy will give in the end.

Aim for the open space and slide in. I find it is not really a big deal.

I did have a lady try to merge between my truck and trailer in 10 mph LA traffic.
Big PITN but her insurance paid everything.

j2catfish wrote:
My understanding of the North Carolina law is that the traffic in the RH travel lane near an on ramp must slow down to allow ramp traffic to enter.
Catfish

Looked it up. that would be wrong. According to NC, DOT. It is not the responsibility of the drivers already on the interstate to make a hole. It is the driver entering responsibility to find a hole.
In other words. When you are on the get on, you better not hit some one already on the big road. they have the right of way.
That being said. It behoves the person on the big road to try to help someone merg, and I do, when possible. I will move over to let them in. However, If there is a vehicle beside of me. I can't move over. So it is up to the merger.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
I like to creep down the ramp with a long line of cars behind me. When I get the freeway I often stop and wait for a space big enough to fit into. Sometimes the people behind me get impatient and blow their horns but I want to do this safely. As soon as I can get on the freeway I move all the way over to the left lane and stay there. This is driving Minnesota style!







B.O.

I don't drive like that on a Minnesota ramp. I have yet to see a big rig do that on any ramp anywhere. My school bus takes over a quarter of a mile to go from 0-55. My RV is a little faster,but not sports car fast.

Where I'm familiar, I try to use interchanges with longer ramps.

The signals on ramps are "ramp metering" signals. They are intended to limit the amount of traffic entering the freeway. There is a phenomemon as demand approaches capacity, you reach a breaking point at which capacity actually drops. If you can keep it just below capacity, you are maximizing the thruput on the freeway. That said, it's far from a cure all. If you hold traffic up for too long, the will just ignore the signal.

Weave Lanes: Generally, they are to be avoided on new construction for the reasons discussed but there are trade offs. Where interchanges are closely spaced and volumes are heavy, they may be the best option available.

Merging: The vehicles on the freeway can move to the left if they choose but legally, they are obliged to hold a steady speed so merging traffic can choose a gap. What they can't do is intentially speed up or slow down to stop someone from merging.

Punch it: sort of true. The goal is to match the speed on the freeway. With a slow accelerating vehicle and a short ramp, that can translate to punch it.