Traffic challenge

Paul 61 wrote:

ECones wrote:
We were headed into Memphis this week, pulling the TT in the right lane on I-55 with a semi next to us in the left lane. As we approached an entrance ramp at about 60 mph, I watched an SUV coming up the ramp pacing us. She could have speeded up a tad and gotten safely in front of us. Or she could have slowed down a tad and gotten safely behind us. But no. She continued to match our pace until we both arrived at the entrance ramp at the same time. She wound up driving in the entrance ramp right next to our pickup, looked over at us, and started honking. What the ..... ? :?

I guess we were supposed to get out of her way somehow, but running over the semi didn't seem a good option.

I have had this to happen several times in different locations and have come to the conclusion that the majority of drivers entering the interstates do not know how to enter traffic or just plain do not like living. When it is heavy traffic beside you and behind as for as I am concerned they just going to have to hit the ditch. What else can you do??

I use this as an example - not to pick on Paul.

What would your actions be if that vehicle getting on was a fully loaded double bottom gravel train? If your actions would be different then, then you must consider that you are displaying an "it's all about me" attitude, and you wanting someone to take the ditch, even if they are wrong, is also risking someone losing their life over an "all about me". Not something I would want on my chart when I finally meet my maker.

On the other hand, a little inconvenience on my part even when someone else is wrong gets me some karma somewhere down the line. I meet stupid drivers on the road every day. I expect that the guy next to "is stupid" no matter what. I won't be risking me or them, I'll make allowances for their stupidity and go on. JMHO

What I hate are the on-ramps that angle right into the hwy without paralleling for a good distance. Especially if the view of the folks coming onto the hwy is restricted, they can be very dangerous.

Most on-ramps in Ontario are pretty good, but there's one near us that I'm always very careful around. Sometimes you see folks who were unprepared and had to come to a full stop before entering the hwy.

But generally it's just been the distracted drivers that are my problem. Cell-phone or whatever ...

captnjack wrote:

93Cobra2771 wrote:
I have found that my turn signal mirrors are awesome in the OP situation. People tend to start diving for cover when they come on. Especially when they realize they are in a spot that might not be easily visible to me.

I also tend to not run in the RH lane in congested areas with lots of on and off ramps. However, there are times where you have to get off at the same time someone is getting on. Makes things interesting. For them.

People dive for cover when your turn signals on your mirror come on? That sounds almost magical. Where can I get a pair?

Seriously though, If someone is too distracted to see 50 feet or more of truck trailer combo, what makes you think your mirror signals will do the trick?

What makes me think it? It has happened. Not every time, but it has happened. Nothing magical at all.

I few giant yellow blinking signal lights on the side of the TT would be cool too.

ECones wrote:
We were headed into Memphis this week, pulling the TT in the right lane on I-55 with a semi next to us in the left lane. As we approached an entrance ramp at about 60 mph, I watched an SUV coming up the ramp pacing us. She could have speeded up a tad and gotten safely in front of us. Or she could have slowed down a tad and gotten safely behind us. But no. She continued to match our pace until we both arrived at the entrance ramp at the same time. She wound up driving in the entrance ramp right next to our pickup, looked over at us, and started honking. What the ..... ? :?

I guess we were supposed to get out of her way somehow, but running over the semi didn't seem a good option.

I have had this to happen several times in different locations and have come to the conclusion that the majority of drivers entering the interstates do not know how to enter traffic or just plain do not like living. When it is heavy traffic beside you and behind as for as I am concerned they just going to have to hit the ditch. What else can you do??

93Cobra2771 wrote:
I have found that my turn signal mirrors are awesome in the OP situation. People tend to start diving for cover when they come on. Especially when they realize they are in a spot that might not be easily visible to me.

I also tend to not run in the RH lane in congested areas with lots of on and off ramps. However, there are times where you have to get off at the same time someone is getting on. Makes things interesting. For them.

People dive for cover when your turn signals on your mirror come on? That sounds almost magical. Where can I get a pair?

Seriously though, If someone is too distracted to see 50 feet or more of truck trailer combo, what makes you think your mirror signals will do the trick?

proxim2020 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
Yep, it`s called "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" it can be written on the merging vehicle as well as the vehicle on the hwy!

It is the job of the person behind the wheel to keep things safe, for both you and the people around you. If this means slowing down, speeding up or changing lanes then that`s what you have to do. I believe that was covered in drivers ed!

In Texas you have no obligation to slow down. The law clearly states that the traffic on the highway has the right of way.

Sec. 545.061. DRIVING ON MULTIPLE-LANE ROADWAY. On a roadway divided into three or more lanes and providing for one-way movement of traffic, an operator entering a lane of traffic from a lane to the right shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle entering the same lane of traffic from a lane to the left.

This law applies to traffic entering the freeway as well as lane changes. The person on the right has the responsibility to not create the accident. It's pretty simple. If a vehicle merging from the right hits you, it's their fault. The transportation code also gives the person entering the freeway options to temporarily ride the shoulder if necessary.

Sec. 545.058. DRIVING ON IMPROVED SHOULDER. (a) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of a roadway if that operation is necessary and may be done safely, but only:
...
(2) to accelerate before entering the main traveled lane of traffic;
...
(5) to allow another vehicle traveling faster to pass;
...
(7) to avoid a collision.

So an accident is the best defense because yielding is the law? Remind me to be extra cautious in TX!

valhalla360 wrote:


As I said, states can override sections of the code but most follow it.

Worst case senario if there is an accident and you were clearly not holding a steady speed, you can still be held accountable for intentionally blocking the merging vehicle at that point it won't matter.

I'm not trying to be a pest, but I don't want too much misinformation to be out there. First, there is no legal requirement to maintain a set speed while someone is trying to merge from the right. Not in the Uniform Vehicle Code and not in the California Vehicle code (and probably in no state vehicle code). As we have explored in this thread, maintaining a speed is often a good idea for predictability, but it is not always the best idea.

If someone already on a highway (who legally has the right of way) speeds up to prevent a safe merge for a vehicle entering the road, then they would likely have some liability in any accident despite the fact that they have the right of way. Having the right of way is one thing, but stubbornly preserving that right in the face of an impending collision is another. Sometimes the best course is to yield to let an ignorant merger ahead of you. Other times it is better to edge ahead so the person knows to get behind you. And finally, if a driver is unsure what to do, then keeping the steady speed could be the best choice.

However, I can see a case in our hypothetical where someone who could have slowed down to prevent an accident in but didn't can be held liable as much as someone who sped up to prevent a merge could be liable. In both instances, the driver on the highway had the right of way but could have prevented a collision and is obligated to do so.

In any case, please don't tell people they are "required" to maintain a set speed by law. Not true. It is also not true that a person that hits you while merging is always at fault, as another poster wrote. The law is in the non-merging driver's favor, but in terms of liability there are always exceptions.

I have found that my turn signal mirrors are awesome in the OP situation. People tend to start diving for cover when they come on. Especially when they realize they are in a spot that might not be easily visible to me.

I also tend to not run in the RH lane in congested areas with lots of on and off ramps. However, there are times where you have to get off at the same time someone is getting on. Makes things interesting. For them.

ECones wrote:
We were headed into Memphis this week, pulling the TT in the right lane on I-55 with a semi next to us in the left lane. As we approached an entrance ramp at about 60 mph, I watched an SUV coming up the ramp pacing us. She could have speeded up a tad and gotten safely in front of us. Or she could have slowed down a tad and gotten safely behind us. But no. She continued to match our pace until we both arrived at the entrance ramp at the same time. She wound up driving in the entrance ramp right next to our pickup, looked over at us, and started honking. What the ..... ? :?

I guess we were supposed to get out of her way somehow, but running over the semi didn't seem a good option.

For the 1st time, we had the EXACT same thing happen to us in Wa. this past August. I was accelerating in the right lane of a 2 lane ramp to get onto the interstate. Out of nowhere a lady in an SUV comes racing up in the left lane. She started to pull up next to our truck just as I was getting to the point where the 2 lanes changed to one and I started to panic and I leaned on the horn. Fortunately she backed off. Scared me and left me kinda shaky after - what if?? From now on I will be more aware of what can happen and will be more vigilant.

When you are accelerating on an on-ramp with your 50' overall length with 7 tons of truck and TT, what do you do? I have been in the habit of focusing on what's coming down the highway in the right lane to see if I will have room to merge onto the right lane of the highway ahead of me, not on someone who *might* suddenly appear beside us.

Accelerating is out of the question. Hitting the brakes hard probably isn't a good idea because you may not know what's behind you. If someone can't see your signal, that's not helping anything. What if the person realized they couldn't pull over into a highway lane and tried to swerve in front of you? If you are lucky, may there'd be room to pull onto the shoulder on the right? Should you drive down the ramp straddling both lanes? Get a really loud horn (train horn sound would be nice)? Should you slow down as quickly and as safely as possible and like it or not, just let them in as best you can? Should you perhaps drive at a slower speed than posted on the entrance ramp or should you accelerate quickly to get up to highway speed asap? Always drive along a 2 lane ramp in the left hand lane?

What to do in this situation is a good question. Doesn't seem to be any single correct answer. 40 years ago I had my own copy of our Motor Vehicle Act and I seem to recall that the person who is farther ahead has the right of way when merging. Either I am mistaken or they changed that at some point. I can't find any reference in our current MV Act what the rules are for this situation. I would have thought that having to merge like a zipper would be written in rule books somewhere, but I guess not. But I think the driver in the leftmost lane has the right-of-way regardless of relative positions?

Not much out there from experts on this subject and nothing when it comes to an RV. This blog post talks briefly about "squeezers" in BC. Youtube vid Traffic expert on merging from US traffic expert (one lane ramp, no RV tho.) Also this from DrivesmartBC.com

Seems like the first thing to do is always drive defensively and do what's safest for everyone on the road. If the other driver is a total idiot, you can't change their driving habits or the habits of the rest of the world so be safe and let it go. DW always says never to finger anyone either because you never know who has a gun.

Too many drivers don't use signals. Many ignore them or don't or can't see them. Signs may be posted, but many can't seem to read. Seems like after you get your driver's licence, you can throw the rule book away and make your own rules.... The regulatory rules will only apply if you ever cause an accident.

The thread has morphed into a lot of posters giving their own scenarios. The gist of it as I understand it is this- the driver is in the right lane and basically boxed in in heavy traffic. A car is attempting to merge onto the freeway by riding side saddle next to the op's vehicle. In this situation I'm inclined to make the merging vehicle adjust their speed rather than the vehicles beside me and behind me. Yes, it is the law and yes, it makes better sense to have one car maneuever than 3 or more.

There is also the issue of the ignorance many drivers have over the procedures for merging into traffic. That could be helped on a state level with some PS announcements and some signage on the roads. Whether due to age or inexperience, or they are just used to seeing traffic move over for merging vehicles, they think that is what you are supposed to do. Just as the driver that jockeys for a spot in front of you, then slows down abruptly for the red light, they do not care or realize that a truck/trailer combination can't stop or go or switch lanes like their passenger car does.