Late Mergers/Lane Changers: Do You Let Them In?

[Gugny]

 

I dealt with this daily for years.

 

My vote is that it depends on my mood, but I would say that 90% of the time, I did whatever it took to keep them from merging.

 

Connecticut and New Jersey license plates ... they had no chance at all of me letting them in.

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Gugny

[WhoTom]

In the situation shown above, where the other car is in the wrong lane and wants to quickly get into a turning lane, it depends whether the other driver is being polite or being an a-hole. (I voted "depends on my mood" because that was the closest option. I suppose my mood affects my interpretation of their actions, to an extent.)

 

But when a lane is ending, say in a construction zone, I let the late mergers in because it's better for traffic flow to keep all available lanes occupied for as long as possible.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-mergers-are-good-for-traffic.html

 

 

[Jauronimo]

I try not to reward blatantly bad behavior but I'm not risking an accident.  I try to be mindful that there are drivers who might not be familiar with the area or intersection and just not know what the turning lane options are until its too late.  

[qwksilver]

It depends on my mood. Miami has the worst of the worst. Plus if you get into an accident only 50% probably have insurance. 

Agree with others, I try not to reward a$$holes.

[Gregg]

4 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I try not to reward blatantly bad behavior but I'm not risking an accident.  I try to be mindful that there are drivers who might not be familiar with the area or intersection and just not know what the turning lane options are until its too late.  

 

Same here. I am not risking an accident either. I usually let someone cut in if they are following the rules. But if it's an a-hole driver (and you can tell who they are) then I won't let them in unless it involves causing an accident. 

[Jauronimo]

3 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

It depends on my mood. Miami has the worst of the worst. Plus if you get into an accident only 50% probably have insurance. 

Agree with others, I try not to reward a$$holes.

I'm in Houston and road rage is a serious concern.  Situations like the one in the OP have been settled with guns which has me thinking twice about hand gestures, use of the horn, and other enhanced traffic techniques.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Called: Merge Weasels.

 

Yes. It's better to utilize all lanes.

 

One caveat. "Zipper" it up. Take your turn.

 

There are even signs:

 

"Use all lanes, merge at merge point."

[dpberr]

I do.  I try not to create potential for a crash or road rage incident that I have to deal with or someone else behind me has to deal with.  I'll take the 15 seconds to let them in.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

48 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

I dealt with this daily for years.

 

My vote is that it depends on my mood, but I would say that 90% of the time, I did whatever it took to keep them from merging.

 

Connecticut and New Jersey license plates ... they had no chance at all of me letting them in.

 

Yes... That guy is an a-hole... BUT drivers can't have a single file line stretch all the way to next light causing gridlock. 

 

 

[Gugny]

9 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I'm in Houston and road rage is a serious concern.  Situations like the one in the OP have been settled with guns which has me thinking twice about hand gestures, use of the horn, and other enhanced traffic techniques.

 

This is one thing about which I've recently become far more cognizant.  Although, I did give someone the finger yesterday because he was riding my ass as I slowed to take a turn, then he laid on his horn.  So he deserved it.

 

But it's something I try not to do.  I've had a couple scary situations, one of which resulted in someone following me to a gas station (I eventually lost him).

 

A road rage incident led to someone getting shot in our local Walmart parking lot late last year.  That's scary.  I need to be more diligent in refraining from the hand gestures. 

[WhoTom]

Different scenario, but one time we were on an I-90 on-ramp trying to merge. The car in the right lane refused to move over even though there was nobody in the left lane. I had to slow down and thread the needle between that car and the one behind it. Then I noticed the car that wouldn't let us in had a WWJD bumper sticker. My wife grumbled, "Jesus would have let us merge, you b****."

 

I love that woman.

 

[Jauronimo]

17 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

This is one thing about which I've recently become far more cognizant.  Although, I did give someone the finger yesterday because he was riding my ass as I slowed to take a turn, then he laid on his horn.  So he deserved it.

 

But it's something I try not to do.  I've had a couple scary situations, one of which resulted in someone following me to a gas station (I eventually lost him).

 

A road rage incident led to someone getting shot in our local Walmart parking lot late last year.  That's scary.  I need to be more diligent in refraining from the hand gestures. 

Some of the local news.  Google Houston road rage for good reading.

 

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2023/01/17/441553/man-who-killed-teen-in-road-rage-incident-gets-30-year-sentence/

 

https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2022/07/28/couple-charged-after-viral-video-shows-woman-firing-into-car-with-2-year-old-in-houston-road-rage-incident/

[Gugny]

Just now, Jauronimo said:

Some of the local news.  Google Houston road rage for good reading.

 

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2023/01/17/441553/man-who-killed-teen-in-road-rage-incident-gets-30-year-sentence/

 

https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2022/07/28/couple-charged-after-viral-video-shows-woman-firing-into-car-with-2-year-old-in-houston-road-rage-incident/

 

Unbelievable.  Wow.

[qwksilver]

37 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I'm in Houston and road rage is a serious concern.  Situations like the one in the OP have been settled with guns which has me thinking twice about hand gestures, use of the horn, and other enhanced traffic techniques.

Road rage is a huge issue here as well. Just plain sad.

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Geeze... And some people think Chicago is bad!... It's like Sunday Mass here compared to other places.  I just drove into Brooklyn a few weeks ago. Place is a zoo!

 

Anyway... Still remember what my brother would say, he was an OTR trucker:

 

"They will not look at you in Chicago when they cut you off, in NYC, they'll stare you down an cut you off."

 

I made sure to stare people down a few weeks ago! 😆 I had a rental with Texas plates.

 

 

 

[Not at the table Karlos]

This image depicts a dick move. Pretty much any other type of merging the zipper method is the correct way. People for the most part are selfish and cause a longer delay by not letting people merge correctly. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Not at the table Karlos
Stupid phone

[Mike in Horseheads]

I always try to get in the middle lane if there is one, until I get near where I'm getting off

[ExiledInIllinois]

37 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

I always try to get in the middle lane if there is one, until I get near where I'm getting off

You are a gentleman.

 

What?  You don't do a "Chicago Exit"??? ....That is, drive hard in the far left lane and then cross over 4 right lanes at last second to make the right hand exit? 😆 

 

 

Anyway... One time a few years ago my older sister was driving me on the Kensington Expressway into BFLo. The expressway was going down to one lane on right for construction. She is zooming ahead on left... Now, traffic wasn't at a standstill, plenty of time to get over right and keep flow going. Not a time where all available lanes needed to be used with a high merge point near the dwindling lanes. She actually was causing more "slack" in traffic by NOT zippering it up early...

 

Anyway the exchange went like this:

 

[Sister zooming ahead on left]

 

Me: "Geeze!  [Her name here] what the heck you doing, get over, don't be a merge weasel!"

 

My older sister: "I am a lady, they'll let me in!"

 

😆🤣😂 I immediately lost the battle and just thought to myself: "Just let it go Eric!"

 

That's the mentality that exists out there. /smdh...

[ExiledInIllinois]

WTF is that leaking all over highway? It's China, gotta be benzene or something:

 

[Your Brown Eye]

Nope, don't be an a-hole. If someone behind me wants to let them in fine, but not me. There was a long light at a hoity-toity town in the Rochester and someone coming in the other direction with their $80k SUV was in our turning lane wanting to turn into an establishment between the car Infront of me and myself blocking everyone that needed to use our turning lane from doing so, including me. On top of that a black BMW tried to the same thing right behind them. They did so in such an a-hole way that I pulled right up to the car infront of me, and the SUV was trying to inch their way in between us and I inched my Chevy POS up and blocked them off and we sat like that through a 3-4 minute red light, until we got the green.