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I try not to honk at people. The only time I do is when I haven't allowed enough time to get where I'm going, even on the best traffic day, and am responding to others in a knee-jerk fashion.
In the grand scheme of things, little things like taking too long to turn or pulling out in front of me so that you can go slower than I am are exasperating, but they don't really matter.
Who knows what that other person is going through. Patience might not make it better, but it might not make it worse.
Then we have the case of the bozo in the red Neon with handicap tag...Parmer northbound crossing 620, bozo is in left-turn-only lane, decides he doesn't want to turn and proceeds to move to the right--into a space occupied by MY VEHICLE!(60mph limit here, BTW). He swerves back into his 'lane' which is now COVERED with yellow striping to indicate that it's NOT A LANE ANYMORE! Bozo hardly alters speed, tries again to pull directly INTO a vehicle(well behind me at this point, thank goodness), swerves back onto the median, continues ALMOST to the railroad crossing, then finally bulls his way into a lane that had NO ROOM for his vehicle to safely enter. Bozo then drives all the way past Lakeline and halfway to Avery Ranch Blvd. with his right-turn signal on...never did move to the right lane. DANG!!!
(Disclaimer...bozo looked like a male but it's not always easy to tell here in Austin. Not important to the story, but I did make reference to 'he, his')
All this talk about merge lanes guaranteeing the opportunity to join the flow of traffic basically ignores the laws of physics(and likely the tight spacing of the 55-65mph traffic that has the right-of-way). This might explain the way plenty of folks around here just cruise down the merging lane and when the solid white line on the right pushes them over, they just pull in...existing traffic be damned! Never mind that they are going well less than the speed of the traffic they are joining...necessitating a chain reaction of heavy braking and creating the 'slinky' effect we all enjoy so much.
Can't tell you how many times I've seen a merging vehicle match the speed of the vehicle directly next to them and just pull in when the ramp runs out! No need to adjust your speed...it's a merging lane--keep going! Uh, NO! One of these days that flowing traffic may have nowhere to go, horrible Austin traffic and all. That merging lane doesn't vaporize the vehicles already moving in the traveling lanes.
Various entrances on to 183 work this way. Skippy enters the on ramp at whatever speed pleases him/her and proceeds to bull into the 65mph traffic already flowing smoothly. Never mind the quarter-mile gap behind the car they just cut off...they never saw it because they didn't look because they think the merge lane guarantees a gap in traffic exactly where their car enters the highway. Doesn't work that way folks...especially in those li'l bitty '2000 lb' cars mentioned earlier. Don't make 65mph traffic yield to YOU when YOU are supposed to yield to the flow of traffic. And yes, you might even need to stop in the merging lane , rather than make 60mph traffic slow down for YOU.
On the other hand, you MIGHT need to stop texting long enough to scan the oncoming traffic for opportunities to enter the flow without making every other vehicle adjust for YOU.
Again, stopping in a merge lane is WAY MORE DANGEROUS than squeezing in the gap between two cars going 65 mph and making the latter one slow down (which they should have done to begin with as a common courtesy).
Tell me, coachrick (every time I see your username I want to say cockroach ), how much time does it take your vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 65? You're either going to slow down freeway traffic to 35 mph while you slam your accelerator or you're going to slow down freeway traffic enough to fit another car in the lane. Either way, your presence is going to slow down traffic in normal conditions. And if a car slams on their brakes to accommodate you, they obviously weren't paying much attention or were simply being an @sshole.
Of course everyone doesn't merge perfectly, but what you're advocating makes the situation so much worse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moonlady
sonofgray - I wish it were that easy on GH/360 but at 5:30 it can be a bit trickier. Oddly enough - I do exactly that getting on 360 at 183 - I rarely have a problem merging because I always accelerate to the speed of the traffic and there's always enough room to merge. Not so at GH - the traffic is bumper to bumper and I've even had people speed up to cut me off!
Well, yeah, 360 at 5:30 ain't going nowhere. I unfortunately know that first hand (I live off of 360). Basically, in that case, I just very slowly roll down the merge lane and once traffic starts moving, I pick my gap and make it clear that I'm going to fill that gap whether you want to be nice and let me in or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jobert
People spend too much time looking at where they want to go instead of looking for other people. It tells me that subconsiously they are very egocentric and may not be aware of it..
Exactly. I think the ONLY way to be a safe driver is to know ALL the vehicles that surround you and anticipate their intentions. Too many people don't use their rear view mirror enough.
Example from today: on I-35 just north of San Marcos, a dude in his 2001ish Jeep Grand Cherokee must have had a busted radio because he was jamming to music with headphones on completely oblivious to the 15 or so irate drivers - myself included - behind him that would like to go faster than 65 mph in the left lane.
The #1 reason I will honk (and I do) is when I am traveling on a road, say 360, traveling the speed limit in the right lane, and someone pulls out (from Westlake drive for example) and I have to drastically slow down to accommodate the intrusion into the roadway.
Those are times I wish my vehicle had an air horn.
This is such a classic thing to do among Texans! Pull out and make someone else brake.
Quote from thesonofgray:
"Again, stopping in a merge lane is WAY MORE DANGEROUS than squeezing in the gap between two cars going 65 mph and making the latter one slow down (which they should have done to begin with as a common courtesy).
Tell me, coachrick (every time I see your username I want to say cockroach ), how much time does it take your vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 65? You're either going to slow down freeway traffic to 35 mph while you slam your accelerator or you're going to slow down freeway traffic enough to fit another car in the lane. Either way, your presence is going to slow down traffic in normal conditions. And if a car slams on their brakes to accommodate you, they obviously weren't paying much attention or were simply being an @sshole.
Of course everyone doesn't merge perfectly, but what you're advocating makes the situation so much worse. "
Well, let's see...never heard the 'cockroach' thing in over 20 years of being Coach Rick.
None of my above story pertained to a merge lane but was about someone plowing through the MEDIAN @ 50+ mph because he was too lazy to correct his mistake by taking the proper route from his LEFT TURN ONLY lane. But, back to the 'merge' lane... I think you're giving WAY too much credit to the motorists who aren't interested in slowing to allow another vehicle to simply merge into traffic at their own chosen speed. Remember, I've observed many folks 'merging' into the vehicle DIRECTLY NEXT TO THEM...at 65mph, no less. BTW, my vehicle gets to 60mph right skippy, 281 twin-turbo horsepower and all .
Do you really expect the 'courteous' driver to slow down 65mph near-bumper-to-bumper traffic in order to allow another vehicle to merge? There's a reason that the merging traffic yields to the flowing traffic. I would dare say those who believe the left lane should NEVER contain a vehicle in front of them at anything less than warp speed wouldn't slow down for their MOTHER trying to merge into THEIR lane.(even those folks travel in the right lane sometime)
It would be nice if all the highways had three lanes, allowing the continuing traffic to travel without clogging the far right lane, thus allowing the blissfully ignorant mergers to just pull out willy-nilly into traffic. Unfortunately, it seldom works that way, especially with the 'entry lane becomes exit-only lane' set-up on many of the highways around here. That's the reason that Slick the merger needs to WAIT for an opportunity to merge, NOT just plow down the merge lane and pull over when the pavement runs out.
If I'm in the right lane and the vehicle behind me is so close I can't tell what model it is, I don't think the outcome would be too pleasant if I were to slow down in order for 'unaware dude' to pull into traffic.
Quote from thesonofgray:
"Again, stopping in a merge lane is WAY MORE DANGEROUS than squeezing in the gap between two cars going 65 mph and making the latter one slow down (which they should have done to begin with as a common courtesy).
Tell me, coachrick (every time I see your username I want to say cockroach ), how much time does it take your vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 65? You're either going to slow down freeway traffic to 35 mph while you slam your accelerator or you're going to slow down freeway traffic enough to fit another car in the lane. Either way, your presence is going to slow down traffic in normal conditions. And if a car slams on their brakes to accommodate you, they obviously weren't paying much attention or were simply being an @sshole.
Of course everyone doesn't merge perfectly, but what you're advocating makes the situation so much worse. "
Well, let's see...never heard the 'cockroach' thing in over 20 years of being Coach Rick.
None of my above story pertained to a merge lane but was about someone plowing through the MEDIAN @ 50+ mph because he was too lazy to correct his mistake by taking the proper route from his LEFT TURN ONLY lane. But, back to the 'merge' lane... I think you're giving WAY too much credit to the motorists who aren't interested in slowing to allow another vehicle to simply merge into traffic at their own chosen speed. Remember, I've observed many folks 'merging' into the vehicle DIRECTLY NEXT TO THEM...at 65mph, no less. BTW, my vehicle gets to 60mph right skippy, 281 twin-turbo horsepower and all .
Do you really expect the 'courteous' driver to slow down 65mph near-bumper-to-bumper traffic in order to allow another vehicle to merge? There's a reason that the merging traffic yields to the flowing traffic. I would dare say those who believe the left lane should NEVER contain a vehicle in front of them at anything less than warp speed wouldn't slow down for their MOTHER trying to merge into THEIR lane.(even those folks travel in the right lane sometime)
It would be nice if all the highways had three lanes, allowing the continuing traffic to travel without clogging the far right lane, thus allowing the blissfully ignorant mergers to just pull out willy-nilly into traffic. Unfortunately, it seldom works that way, especially with the 'entry lane becomes exit-only lane' set-up on many of the highways around here. That's the reason that Slick the merger needs to WAIT for an opportunity to merge, NOT just plow down the merge lane and pull over when the pavement runs out.
If I'm in the right lane and the vehicle behind me is so close I can't tell what model it is, I don't think the outcome would be too pleasant if I were to slow down in order for 'unaware dude' to pull into traffic.
I cannot believe that anyone is unaware of the bolding above. No, fast-moving traffic on a freeway does not yield to merging traffic from an on-ramp (thus risking being plowed into by the 18-wheeler going the speed limit directly behind them and unable to suddenly slow to that the nimnull merging can get on as they please), any more than traffic exiting the fast-moving freeway yields to traffic on the access road (that's why those pretty yellow signs are there directing you to yield, because apparently some people don't get this basic law of physics).
Nah, not even close. The only true way that no one will ever honk at you is to drive a burnt orange Chevy Tahoe or Avalanche. People in Austin will most respect you for your gas guzzling practices and the fact that you worship your longhorns. Just think about it people. Driving a car in Austin will never be cool. The more gas you guzzle, the more respect you get in Austin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano
You are a blatant exaggerator and always have been. It is that simple. No one honks at you because you drive a car. I drive a car most of the time. So does my wife. So do my kids. So do the majority of the people I work with. There will never ever be a longhorn or burnt orange anything on my vehicles (or me). I have only been honked at if I did something stupid on the road.
If they honk at you - it must be the finger you have extended they don't like.
Well, let's see...never heard the 'cockroach' thing in over 20 years of being Coach Rick.
None of my above story pertained to a merge lane but was about someone plowing through the MEDIAN @ 50+ mph because he was too lazy to correct his mistake by taking the proper route from his LEFT TURN ONLY lane. But, back to the 'merge' lane... I think you're giving WAY too much credit to the motorists who aren't interested in slowing to allow another vehicle to simply merge into traffic at their own chosen speed. Remember, I've observed many folks 'merging' into the vehicle DIRECTLY NEXT TO THEM...at 65mph, no less. BTW, my vehicle gets to 60mph right skippy, 281 twin-turbo horsepower and all .
Do you really expect the 'courteous' driver to slow down 65mph near-bumper-to-bumper traffic in order to allow another vehicle to merge? There's a reason that the merging traffic yields to the flowing traffic. I would dare say those who believe the left lane should NEVER contain a vehicle in front of them at anything less than warp speed wouldn't slow down for their MOTHER trying to merge into THEIR lane.(even those folks travel in the right lane sometime)
It would be nice if all the highways had three lanes, allowing the continuing traffic to travel without clogging the far right lane, thus allowing the blissfully ignorant mergers to just pull out willy-nilly into traffic. Unfortunately, it seldom works that way, especially with the 'entry lane becomes exit-only lane' set-up on many of the highways around here. That's the reason that Slick the merger needs to WAIT for an opportunity to merge, NOT just plow down the merge lane and pull over when the pavement runs out.
If I'm in the right lane and the vehicle behind me is so close I can't tell what model it is, I don't think the outcome would be too pleasant if I were to slow down in order for 'unaware dude' to pull into traffic.
I don't know what it is...I see 10scoachrick and my brain says cockroach instead. It likes to rearrange letters apparently.
Just a few things: I'm not trying to defend stupid drivers. Obviously, driving into another car is not a very smart thing to do. I'm just saying that there will ALWAYS be a gap between cars moving at a fast speed. And when you merge onto a freeway, the safest way to do so is to speed up, not slow down, and place yourself in that gap, even though the car behind you will undoubtedly have the slow down to accommodate the extra car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady
I cannot believe that anyone is unaware of the bolding above. No, fast-moving traffic on a freeway does not yield to merging traffic from an on-ramp (thus risking being plowed into by the 18-wheeler going the speed limit directly behind them and unable to suddenly slow to that the nimnull merging can get on as they please), any more than traffic exiting the fast-moving freeway yields to traffic on the access road (that's why those pretty yellow signs are there directing you to yield, because apparently some people don't get this basic law of physics).
Where do people get these ideas?
I didn't realize traffic laws were also laws of physics.
Nah, not even close. The only true way that no one will ever honk at you is to drive a burnt orange Chevy Tahoe or Avalanche. People in Austin will most respect you for your gas guzzling practices and the fact that you worship your longhorns. Just think about it people. Driving a car in Austin will never be cool. The more gas you guzzle, the more respect you get in Austin.
True, driving a burnt orange Excursion with a UT flag on each window, oversized off road tires, and a sticker with Calvin relieving himself on a A&M logo will pretty much allow a driver to be able to disregard most traffic laws _and_ be able to park in handicap parking spots with impunity in Austin. Worst part is that it will take forever to get anywhere due to having to deal with all the guys who will instantly want you to become their best buddy and all the women who will want to have your children (regardless of the gender of the driver).
I've seen drivers in Mercedes AMG SL's reduced to tears due to all the honking and overall feelings of inferiority in this cruel town.
Coach Rick -I think you get it. Several people on here assumed I am the terrible driver for attempting to merge safely, while the reality is a lot of drivers (I call them the mergees) have no interest in giving you space to merge. As for your comment "Do you really expect the 'courteous' driver to slow down 65mph near-bumper-to-bumper traffic in order to allow another vehicle to merge?" Well - yeah, I do. Whenever I'm in the right lane and I see someone attempting to merge, I adjust my speed to allow them to enter safely. It's the way I was taught to drive. There's nothing more annoying though than slowing down to let someone in and they make no attempt to speed up or merge properly. It happens occasionally (but I don't honk at them).
I get on 183 SB at Oak Knoll and there is this nice long ramp to get up speed. I check the traffic in the right lane and position myself to pull out where there's a break - always doing the speed of the existing traffic- and I have actually had people speed up at the last minute and cut me off. What the heck? At that point I'm either driving on the shoulder or I have to slam on the brakes. I just don't get that mentality.
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, then finally bulls his way into a lane that had NO ROOM for his vehicle to safely enter. Bozo then drives all the way past Lakeline and halfway to Avery Ranch Blvd. with his right-turn signal on...never did move to the right lane. DANG!!!
, rather than make 60mph traffic slow down for YOU.
), how much time does it take your vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 65? You're either going to slow down freeway traffic to 35 mph while you slam your accelerator or you're going to slow down freeway traffic enough to fit another car in the lane. Either way, your presence is going to slow down traffic in normal conditions. And if a car slams on their brakes to accommodate you, they obviously weren't paying much attention or were simply being an @sshole.
I unfortunately know that first hand (I live off of 360). Basically, in that case, I just very slowly roll down the merge lane and once traffic starts moving, I pick my gap and make it clear that I'm going to fill that gap whether you want to be nice and let me in or not. 
.
