โNov-14-2014 05:02 PM
โNov-15-2014 01:12 PM
โNov-15-2014 01:07 PM
grumpysmurf wrote:
Its Memphis! In Texas rule of Thumb is biggest truck goes first. Plan fact of the matter is this has to be Obama's Fault.
:h
โNov-15-2014 12:52 PM
โNov-15-2014 12:51 PM
valhalla360 wrote:
If you can't get over you are legally required to hold a steady speed, so merging traffic can find a gap and merge...so it sounds like you did the right thing.
Shrug and move on.
โNov-15-2014 12:27 PM
xteacher wrote:
Through a busy part of any town, I try to stay in the second lane to avoid merging problems.
โNov-15-2014 12:18 PM
B.O. Plenty wrote:
Your first mistake was driving alongside a semi...or anybody else. If something happened, and it did, you had yourself boxed in with no place to move. One of the first rules of Defensive Driving is to leave yourself an out...
B.O.
โNov-15-2014 10:45 AM
Gdetrailer wrote:valhalla360 wrote:Gdetrailer wrote:TucsonJim wrote:
One of my bestest friends is a long haul truck driver. He said he enounters this situation frequently. He does not brake, and he does not speed up. He said he'll simply run them out of room to merge and they will be forced to either merge properly or hit him. In 20 years of driving, he's never been hit. He said to keep your speed and sooner or later they will have to take action to properly enter the roadway.
I had this happen in multiple states this last summer, so it's not just Memphis.
Absolutely terrible advice.
As a driver YOU should be ALSO driving DEFENSIVELY.
Driving defensively is keeping an eye to ALL vehicles around you.
That means you know if someone is beside you (passing lane), someone is behind you, someone is in front of you and YES SOMEONE MERGING BESIDE YOU.
Driving defensive also means you ARE READY TO ADJUST YOUR SPEED AND OR POSITION AT ANY TIME IN ORDER TO PREVENT YOU OR ANY OTHER DRIVERS AROUND YOU FROM CAUSING AN ACCIDENT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
The rules of the road IS COURTESY TO ALL DRIVERS INCLUDING THE MINDLESS AND SELFISH IDIOTS.
There ARE times when you simply are not able to adjust speed or change lanes however YOU often have a hand in that by driving way to close to the vehicle IN FRONT OF YOU. That's right YOU have some control of the gap in front of you and it is YOUR responsibility to maintain some safe distance (remember the three second rule?).
I see way too many selfish drivers every day, I try to accommodate them as much as possible when it is safe for me to do so.
WE ALL MUST SHARE THE ROAD (and that includes the selfish ones to).
tusconjim actually gave the correct answer. The rules say the driver in the right lane must hold a steady speed. The guy on the ramp then has the option to speed up, slow down or worst case drive on the shoulder for a while.
Nothing worse than trying to merge and when you speed up, the guy in the right lane speeds up, then you slow down and so do they.
Following the rules is the right way and least likely to cause an accident.
That is the BOOK "answer", however the "book" NEVER, EVER was designed for RUDE AND SELFISH DRIVERS.
The "book" ALSO INCLUDES DRIVING DEFENSIVE which is as I mentioned above in my post.
The DEFENSIVE POSITION is all about AVOIDING CAUSING ACCIDENTS.
I deal with a lot of Pittsburgh "drivers" and a lot of New Yorkers along with Eastern Ohio drivers and not to mention a heck of a lot of rude RVrs and truckers.. Talk about extremely rude folks.
The driver in the right lane should ALWAYS be in defensive mode since not only do you deal with on ramps you must deal with OFF ramps along with the Left lane(s).
That means even though the book says to maintain speed, it does not mean you have the right or rules on your side to INTENTIONALLY BLOCK traffic from ANY DIRECTION. The rule about maintaining speed no longer applies and YOU should take action to allow for smooth merge on or off provided you do not present a hazard to drivers behind, beside or in front of you.
The drivers behind you MAY NOT SEE the driver merging beside you and you have a high chance of causing the drivers behind you to HIT the merging vehicle.
Yes, there will be those rude folks who will try anything but you are not in the "right" to block or impede their movement. Doing so can be considered AGGRESSIVE DRIVING..
No matter how stupid the other driver is you have no right to retaliate and drive aggressively.
Best thing is to do the best you can do under the circumstances and move on..
โNov-15-2014 09:52 AM
โNov-15-2014 09:46 AM
โNov-15-2014 09:33 AM
valhalla360 wrote:Gdetrailer wrote:TucsonJim wrote:
One of my bestest friends is a long haul truck driver. He said he enounters this situation frequently. He does not brake, and he does not speed up. He said he'll simply run them out of room to merge and they will be forced to either merge properly or hit him. In 20 years of driving, he's never been hit. He said to keep your speed and sooner or later they will have to take action to properly enter the roadway.
I had this happen in multiple states this last summer, so it's not just Memphis.
Absolutely terrible advice.
As a driver YOU should be ALSO driving DEFENSIVELY.
Driving defensively is keeping an eye to ALL vehicles around you.
That means you know if someone is beside you (passing lane), someone is behind you, someone is in front of you and YES SOMEONE MERGING BESIDE YOU.
Driving defensive also means you ARE READY TO ADJUST YOUR SPEED AND OR POSITION AT ANY TIME IN ORDER TO PREVENT YOU OR ANY OTHER DRIVERS AROUND YOU FROM CAUSING AN ACCIDENT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
The rules of the road IS COURTESY TO ALL DRIVERS INCLUDING THE MINDLESS AND SELFISH IDIOTS.
There ARE times when you simply are not able to adjust speed or change lanes however YOU often have a hand in that by driving way to close to the vehicle IN FRONT OF YOU. That's right YOU have some control of the gap in front of you and it is YOUR responsibility to maintain some safe distance (remember the three second rule?).
I see way too many selfish drivers every day, I try to accommodate them as much as possible when it is safe for me to do so.
WE ALL MUST SHARE THE ROAD (and that includes the selfish ones to).
tusconjim actually gave the correct answer. The rules say the driver in the right lane must hold a steady speed. The guy on the ramp then has the option to speed up, slow down or worst case drive on the shoulder for a while.
Nothing worse than trying to merge and when you speed up, the guy in the right lane speeds up, then you slow down and so do they.
Following the rules is the right way and least likely to cause an accident.
โNov-15-2014 09:09 AM
โNov-15-2014 08:55 AM
dadmomh wrote:
Totally agree on the DEFENSIVE driving, regardless. Moving along.....you could not have been in a worse place in this country, IMHO, than I-55 and I-40. We moved to Memphis in '89 and it was all under construction. 25 years later it's still torn up with no completion in sight. Would rather drive in Chi! And, so much for "gentile southerners"....Memphis has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen. They're rude, discourteous, are under the opinion that faster is better and will cut you off in a heartbeat. If there is any possible way to get from Point A to Point B without going through Memphis, we do it. For future info, if you can work it, get off I-55 at I-155 toward Dyersburg - this is north of the interchange from H***. South on Hwy 412 and either end up in Jackson or cut through on some county roads. Yes, it's out of the way, but lots easier on the nerves....and the vehicles.
Totally agree on leaving distance in front of you, and three seconds is probably not sufficient when you're running 20K+ pounds down the road.
However, speeding up and slowing down in the right lane because you think it's what another driver needs makes YOU unpredicable and does not give the other driver enough time to make a decision about slowing down or speeding up. The advice is to maintain your speed so you are predictable.
In '89 Memphis was a different place....very, very glad to have moved east on I-40. Sorry for the jangled nerves, but you escaped unscathed. Hope not to have offended any Memphians, but you know I'm right.
**OP, just noticed you're from LR, sorry but you're out of luck avoiding that interchange unless you go zig zag to Helena, AR and across that bridge. The bad news is that there is/was construction just south of Memphis on I-55, so you have another opportunity to get slammed.
โNov-15-2014 08:47 AM
โNov-15-2014 08:23 AM
Gdetrailer wrote:TucsonJim wrote:
One of my bestest friends is a long haul truck driver. He said he enounters this situation frequently. He does not brake, and he does not speed up. He said he'll simply run them out of room to merge and they will be forced to either merge properly or hit him. In 20 years of driving, he's never been hit. He said to keep your speed and sooner or later they will have to take action to properly enter the roadway.
I had this happen in multiple states this last summer, so it's not just Memphis.
Absolutely terrible advice.
As a driver YOU should be ALSO driving DEFENSIVELY.
Driving defensively is keeping an eye to ALL vehicles around you.
That means you know if someone is beside you (passing lane), someone is behind you, someone is in front of you and YES SOMEONE MERGING BESIDE YOU.
Driving defensive also means you ARE READY TO ADJUST YOUR SPEED AND OR POSITION AT ANY TIME IN ORDER TO PREVENT YOU OR ANY OTHER DRIVERS AROUND YOU FROM CAUSING AN ACCIDENT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
The rules of the road IS COURTESY TO ALL DRIVERS INCLUDING THE MINDLESS AND SELFISH IDIOTS.
There ARE times when you simply are not able to adjust speed or change lanes however YOU often have a hand in that by driving way to close to the vehicle IN FRONT OF YOU. That's right YOU have some control of the gap in front of you and it is YOUR responsibility to maintain some safe distance (remember the three second rule?).
I see way too many selfish drivers every day, I try to accommodate them as much as possible when it is safe for me to do so.
WE ALL MUST SHARE THE ROAD (and that includes the selfish ones to).
โNov-15-2014 08:14 AM