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Old 11-04-2015, 05:38 PM
Status: "I must be “really retarded”" (set 4 days ago)
 
19,899 posts, read 20,619,739 times
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Light changes. Indy 500 to the first block jam the brakes and make right turn.
No signal. 3 times today. Once in the morning, twice this evening.

What happens here is the frustration of everyone being in a rush and backed up at the light so when the light changes everyone rocket fires and the jerk who rockets and then jams the brakes to make the turn with no warning causes everyone behind to slam on the brakes so said idiot can make his turn while the anticipation of doing 50 in a 30 to the next light is crushed like a kids dream on Christmas morning when he doesn't get the toy he wanted so badly.
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Old 11-04-2015, 09:55 PM
 
1,403 posts, read 1,530,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lifetimeliguy View Post
places where you are guaranteed to see "late merging"

- before the third bridge on the Robert Moses Causeway on a hot summer day (where it merges into one lane)
- BQE exit on the Grand Central Parkway westbound just before the Triboro
- Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridge exits on Cross Island heading towards Whitestone Expwy

the BQE exit scares me because people merge from the left lane onto the exit at the last possible second. This stops traffic entirely of course. And I'm sure it's the same people who do this every day...
Going from the left lane at the last moment to merge into stopped traffic is not late merging. It is bad driving.

Cross Island North onto Throgs Neck: There are TWO lanes for that exit. Right lane of CIP is exit only. Middle lane is exit or continue. It is appropriate to use either lane (which is why they have two exit lanes). The merge is near the end of the ramp right before you get on the bridge itself. People should use both lanes, maintain speed and zipper merge where the lanes merge (that is a late merge). I am on that road quite a bit and it always works how it should. Every so often there is the idiot who drives the left lane of the CIP and cuts over at the last minute - that is not a late merger.

Opposite direction is the same. Two lanes exit to CIP south. Merge is at the end of the ramp. Same procedure. A late merger uses both lanes and zippers at the end. An early merger would get into the right lane as early as possible (maybe mid-span), despite the left lane being unused. All this does is slow down the right lane and create an unused center lane. Again, they provide two exit lanes for a reason.

Then there is the CIP south onto LIE East. There is an exit lane which usually gets backed up into the right lane - sometimes as far back as Northern Blvd. That is not a late/early merge situation. People sometimes don't realize how early they need to get over. Then there are the twits who drive the middle or left lane and then cut over at the last second.

A late merge is not cutting across traffic, riding zebra stripes, cutting people off, blocking the right lane or getting around traffic. It really doesn't relate to exits - it is about lanes ending causing merge of traffic.

You have a situation where three lanes merge down to two. Let's say the left lane is ending. Early mergers would move from left lane to middle lane well before the lane ending - let's say a 1/4 mile or more. Late mergers would wait until the lane has almost ended and merge in. Typically, all the lanes would be traveling pretty much the same speed and the merge would be smooth.

People early merging is a problem. By changing lanes early, they cause a slowdown in the middle/right lanes. It then empties the left lane, making that traffic move faster and creating a larger speed imbalance prior to the merge. Ironically, it is the speed balance they cause which frustrates the early merger (he's moving faster than me! No fair! Waa Waa!) while also slowing things down for everyone.
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Old 11-04-2015, 09:59 PM
 
1,403 posts, read 1,530,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hotkarl View Post
Light changes. Indy 500 to the first block jam the brakes and make right turn.
No signal. 3 times today. Once in the morning, twice this evening.
I do find it interesting that so many people can go Indy 500 on the straightaway, but have to come to a stop when making a turn (and a bad turn at that). If they picked an in between speed they could have a smoother ride, save on brake jobs and not stress their limited turning abilities.

The signal would be icing on the cake, but I wouldn't want to tax their physical or mental abilities.
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Old 11-05-2015, 08:15 AM
 
1,771 posts, read 3,220,982 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe461 View Post
Going from the left lane at the last moment to merge into stopped traffic is not late merging. It is bad driving.
That is why I put quotes around it

People always cut over at the Whitestone bridge exit off the Cross Island and the BQE exit off Grand Central . guaranteed.
Funny you mentioned the exit for LIE off Cross Island southbound, agreed , it's poorly marked.
Another one of my "favorites" - exit for Cross Bronx Expwy when heading south on Bronx River Pkwy
arghhh I could go on....
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Old 11-05-2015, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Long Island
9,531 posts, read 15,829,643 times
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I drove around 6pm for only 2 miles on Old Country Road last night and it was frustrating and infuriating. It wasn't a terrible rush hour jam, but I came across no less than 4 cars at different points who seem like they didn't even want to get home. Given, 1 of them was an old man, but the rest of them... holy hell what gives? I wasn't in a hurry, but I wanted to get to my destination some time this year. This isn't FLA, FFS. The driving ability and surroundings awareness of some people just baffle me.
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Old 11-05-2015, 11:13 AM
 
1,403 posts, read 1,530,575 times
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So funny! Don't we all become that person at one time or another?

That's my wife's main hobby... to tell me when I become the person I complain about.


(Although I stopped the hard brake thing many years ago. It's just looking for trouble. A good alternative is to hit the accelerator and just tap the brakes enough to activate the lights. You can also flip on the parking lights. Either gives the appearance of braking without increasing the chance of getting hit).

Last edited by nancy thereader; 11-05-2015 at 02:07 PM..
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Old 11-05-2015, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Long Island
9,531 posts, read 15,829,643 times
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^ it's just aggravating - like when a car decides they must pull out of the store in front of you (into the left lane) and proceed to go way under the speed limit. Move to the right after, FFS. Or cars that MUST squeeze past you from the on-ramp while you're in the right lane, when there are zero cars behind you. No courtesy, or more like they're brain-dead. Hell like I said, even I move over for fricken oil trucks when I'm going slow (59 in a 55).

I don't get brake-checked because I don't tailgate (not since my early 20s). And the people who jump out in front of me don't because they are too ignorant to know someone's behind them.

Endless annoyances on the road.
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Old 11-05-2015, 03:11 PM
 
13,507 posts, read 16,988,218 times
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One thing I'll never understand is people who insist on making left turns onto dangerous 4 lane roads like Jericho Turnpike with no traffic light..they will wait forever, then finally get impatient and force their way out, endangering themselves and others.

Hey brain surgeons..you realize you can make a right turn, then make a left into another lot, the make a right going the direction you wanted to go in the first place..usually in less time that taking the initial left would have taken, with much less risk of death?

The other is getting beeped at yield signs with heavy oncoming traffic and no acceleration lane..this is almost always women for some reason, like they don't understand simple geometry.
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Old 11-05-2015, 03:27 PM
 
1,771 posts, read 3,220,982 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dman72 View Post
One thing I'll never understand is people who insist on making left turns onto dangerous 4 lane roads like Jericho Turnpike with no traffic light..they will wait forever, then finally get impatient and force their way out, endangering themselves and others.

Hey brain surgeons..you realize you can make a right turn, then make a left into another lot, the make a right going the direction you wanted to go in the first place..usually in less time that taking the initial left would have taken, with much less risk of death?

The other is getting beeped at yield signs with heavy oncoming traffic and no acceleration lane..this is almost always women for some reason, like they don't understand simple geometry.
I'm sure you have noticed that the (middle) turning lanes on roads like Jericho Tpke. are now used as acceleration lanes for people trying to make a left turn. Some people pull into the turning lane and stop, others try to accelerate in the turning lane and enter the left lane while traffic is moving. No way this is legal but I have seen this done numerous times in traffic with a SCPD car on the road, they seem to ignore it.
Of course this presents a problem when someone is stopped in the turning lane (legally) trying to make a left hand turn - potential head-on collision.
Driving has become a free-for-all. I actually pray every time I get in the car, and I'm far from religious.
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Old 11-06-2015, 09:22 AM
 
Location: Long Island
9,531 posts, read 15,829,643 times
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^ while that may not be legal for that purpose, it is by far the easiest way to go about it if the lane exists and I see no reason why cops should give drivers a hard time about it - it lets you generate speed and/or a proper insertion angle without disrupting existing lane traffic. The experienced drivers will look for pre-existing or potential cars in the middle turning lane before they go balls out.

Having to make a right only to make a u-turn down the road (or even more bothersome, having to go into a parking lot just to head back the opposite way as described) is not desirable and may also be illegal. If you're not experienced or nervous making a left on a big road, by all means do that.
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