Getting the Bird at on ramps.

[99metro]

I agree with Christ. Hypermilers should strive to be great defensive drivers. There are extremely few drivers out there actually practicing true defensive driving.

[p38fln]

For the OP's question - Slowing down is the only safe thing to do in that situation. Speeding up wastes a lot of fuel, takes a lot of attention from the road, and puts you in the other cars blind spot, and then the other car in your blind spot as you pass.

You do have the right of way if you're already on the highway, however a very small adjustment in speed is usually all it takes to help someone move - never more than 5 MPH in my experience.

I used to drive a semi truck governed to 60 MPH in states with 70 and 75 MPH speed limits - this technique worked very well for me. I still got flipped off a few times (Some people are total idiots that do not pay attention to anything), but for the most part it works.

Also, in the 75 MPH states I would take the backroads, such as US-30 instead of I-80 in Nebraska, which got rid of the entire problem and gave me a far more relaxing drive.

I'm not even going to mention my opinion of tailgating trucks - other than I'm so happy that some states are finally joining the TACT program

[Joenavy85]

people are just as clueless about merging on this side of The Lake too, they get mad that you aren't doing 10 over the limit, or they try to merge going 15 under, and get mad that you don't slow down to let them in (since the guys in the left lane are too busy going 20 over to pay any attention to others on the road)

[zonker]

I think here in Calif, the law allows the right of way for the merging vehicle.

EDIT - just fact checked the freeway traffic has the right of way.

EDIT EDIT - now I'm finding evidence that supports my first hunch...

I slow down to let them in, or try to move over when I am not obstructing faster moving traffic in the lane to the left of me.

[zonker]

OK, here's the CA law... it seems to leave a door open for either side of the debate to present their case as being correct.

21804. (a) The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a
highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall
yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 620,
approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate
hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic
until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.
(b) A driver having yielded as prescribed in subdivision (a) may
proceed to enter or cross the highway, and the drivers of all other
vehicles approaching on the highway shall yield the right-of-way to
the vehicle entering or crossing the intersection.



Sec. 620: The term "traffic" includes pedestrians, ridden animals,
vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or
together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.


My understanding of that gibberish above is the freeway traffic has the right of way when someone is unreasonably trying to merge (not entering safely with correct space or speed), and the freeway traffic is obliged to let him in once the merger has been safe and prudent.

Lots of wiggle room there to support the merger or the mergee...

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by zonker

OK, here's the CA law... it seems to leave a door open for either side of the debate to present their case as being correct.

21804. (a) The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a
highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall
yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 620,
approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate
hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic
until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.
(b) A driver having yielded as prescribed in subdivision (a) may
proceed to enter or cross the highway, and the drivers of all other
vehicles approaching on the highway shall yield the right-of-way to
the vehicle entering or crossing the intersection.



Sec. 620: The term "traffic" includes pedestrians, ridden animals,
vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or
together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.


My understanding of that gibberish above is the freeway traffic has the right of way when someone is unreasonably trying to merge (not entering safely with correct space or speed), and the freeway traffic is obliged to let him in once the merger has been safe and prudent.

Lots of wiggle room there to support the merger or the mergee...

It's not gibberish, and there is no "wiggle room".

Right of way laws are universally applicable (even on the Left coast), although few drivers today understand the concept of right of way or heed it.

The vehicle ("ALL traffic") on the thoroughfare has the right of way. All entering traffic (read: those about to merge or actually "enter") MUST yield to it.

Part two of your law addresses a car that already DID yield and has entered the highway successfully and safely. Others approaching from behind must then yield to that vehicle. In other words, you can't rear-end a vehicle traveling in the same direction as you are, that has already entered the roadway before you approached it, even if it is moving more slowly than you.

The OP is following the law and does not need to be traveling more than the minimum allowable speed limit, especially if he is in the rightmost lane, which is where slower moving traffic (such as him) belongs.

If they flip you the bird, smile and wave at them. If they hit you, expect to be paid 100% for their failure to yield right of way.

[jtbo]

Road limit 62mph or 74.5mph, but my car is only allowed to go 50mph, lot of those situations.

Main problem is that people don't estimate speed of other cars, they just check that there is a car, quick glimpse and think car will drive speed they would drive.

Luckily there is not many those kind of highways in here, but maybe that makes problem even worse.

Slowing down does not much good when there are several of them coming bumper to bumper at 55mph, when they should do 60 or more when merging, that would not be a problem then, but as they do 55 they are too slow to get all ahead, but I can't accelerate every time there is someone merging either, also changing speed is just adding the confusion of merger, so there is not much to do to them.

There is road sign, triangle on it's tip for a merger, it really is their job to do it properly, but I do help them every time it is possible, nobody just can't drive so well that it would made poorest driver to manage ok, there are sometimes situation where poor driver is getting pissed, that is they are so poor that they don't even see their own errors, like presuming speed instead of judging the speed.

It is important to remember that we are all on road together and everyone is just a piece in a puzzle, if everyone work together things work out, but if someone is not playing together then even efforts of all others are not enough to make traffic work, however better to keep trying and eventually more and more are trying, making traffic better.

[piers.singer]

The British Highway Code states that a driver trying to enter traffic on a dual-carriageway or motorway should (i.e. must) match his speed to that of the traffic. That is to say that it is his responsibility to merge safely, giving right of way to the high-speed traffic by default.

Most drivers (who will often be travelling at much higher speeds than merging traffic), however, will usually change lanes to give space if it is safe to do so or, if they are travelling at a more reasonable pace, will signal to merging traffic to enter, having given them safe distance. Courteous bunch, us Brits.

Officially, however, the onus is on the merger to enter traffic safely.

[Christ]

On heavy traffic trips, which I don't make often (except while on duty), I would rightly say that 30% of my actions involve a signal to another operator, whether it be lane change, slow moving/hazard vehicle, upcoming conditions change, etc.

I signal drivers that it is reasonably safe to merge, or get back into the right side after passing, or that they should pass, so on...

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by piers.singer

...Courteous bunch, us Brits.

Officially, however, the onus is on the merger to enter traffic safely.

Yep, however they do this by either a) matching speed and looking for a gap, or b) trying to merge in a nose to tail line or by c) merging at 40 (traffic travelling 60+) and when they have no gap, stopping at the end of the ramp until there is a gap - which there never is.