Merge Lanes in Miami - Read this! (environment, work)

[eaglecall]

And this goes dedicated to the Hispanic community because they don't have quality Expressways in South America so they don't know about this and nobody teach them.

How to use a Merge Lane 101:

The Merge lane is usually an extension of the on ramp in an expressway. The merge lane has only one purpose. Give to the driver the necessary time and distance to accelerate to the traffic speed and merge smoothly into the traffic. There is no other use for Merge Lanes. So when you take the on ramp, you go slow, as soon as you enter the Merge lane, TURN ON YOUR SIGNAL, for respect to the other drivers, accelerate as fast as you can to the same speed of the traffic; coordinate yourself between the next two cars parallel to you, and finally get out of the Merge lane. Drivers who are coming also in the on ramp, must keep distance to do the same. NEVER WAIT UNTIL THE MERGE LANE ENDS TO COME OUT! Other drivers doesn't have the obligation to let you in if you didn't accelerate and/or do not put yourself safely between two cars.

That's it! simple as that! as I said, THERE IS NO OTHER USE FOR MERGE LANES. In Miami, there is a lot of primitive people who take advantage of the normal citizens and jump into merge lanes to cut off traffic. They jump into the merge lane, run ahead, and then, at the last inch of the lane they throw their cars over the rest like saying "Oh help me, I ran out of space, I didn't know that". That's uneducated third world mentality. Then we have the people who just came here and don't know about merge lanes; I don't blame them, but we need to teach them. That people usually go very very slow in the merge lane, no turn signal at all, and they go straight until the end of the lane and when there is no more space they just throw their cars over you like saying "let me in, there is no more road here is not my fault-is the government's fault" and then we have those that are lazy and selfish and do the same just because everyone else does it. I've even seen several times people stopping at the end of the merge lane like if there was a stop sign and wait until nobody comes to start the car. That's crazy!!

Spread the word.

[MananaLand]

It's been my experience that most abuse of the merge lanes has not been intentional. I did have one car cut me off using an exit lane on the 878 recently, but there are so many drivers in Miami that have no idea of the rules of the road, it doesn't seem intentional to me, just ignorance of basic driving rules.

Two big problems which are I think are intentional are:

1. Drivers coming up behind you at high speeds not noticing that there is a car in front of them. Usually these drivers have a cell phone pressed against their head.

2. Drivers attempting to stop you from passing into the lane over by racing up alongside you. Signaling just makes matters worse.

[CiXeL]

so those people cutting in line at the grocery store and post office isnt intentional either eh?

when im heading south on the turnpike and the lanes are merging by the service plaza everyone hops out of behind me (10's of cars) and shoots down the onramp to cut in front of everyone else.
or how id go off an offramp by MIA when i used to work off red road and suddenly the tons of cars behind me going towards the exit magically disappear into the other lanes.

i have had people tell me here that the slow lane is the fastest lane. because they cut!

ive had people try to take a grocery item out of my cart so they didnt have to go find it themselves.

i have had latin women in miami tell me if i ever have kids never to send them to daycare in miami because one of them had done it for a living and had seen another daycare care taker drink from one of the babies bottles.


for 6 months after i moved here i gave everyone the benefit of the doubt but then as i talked to more people and observed the same things over and over in different ways i realized it was malevolent and intentional.

if you do not actively and constantly take a 24/7 offensive stance here you will get steamrolled by thousands of opportunists.

[MananaLand]

so those people cutting in line at the grocery store and post office isnt intentional either eh?

That does happen from time to time. But not too often.

when im heading south on the turnpike and the lanes are merging by the service plaza everyone hops out of behind me (10's of cars) and shoots down the onramp to cut in front of everyone else.

Once again, that's more likely a result of drivers not looking ahead farther than their nose. I'll agree, there are plenty of road bullies around here. I think you're missing out on the fact that there are just so many clueless people in this area. Driving and otherwise.

ive had people try to take a grocery item out of my cart so they didnt have to go find it themselves.

You said "try" - did you actually stop them, or did you just let them take it?

have had latin women in miami tell me if i ever have kids never to send them to daycare in miami because one of them had done it for a living and had seen another daycare care taker drink from one of the babies bottles.

LOL

f you do not actively and constantly take a 24/7 offensive stance here you will get steamrolled by thousands of opportunists.

That's pretty much true everywhere these days, not just in Miami.

[CiXeL]

"You said "try" - did you actually stop them, or did you just let them take it?"
naturally i attacked when they tried that. after 2 years here you become very aggressive from the constant level of bull****.

no its not everywhere. when i lived in LA i felt i could live without this constantly elevated level of stress i have to contend with on a daily basis. honestly i cant help but wonder what its doing to my health because it sure cant be healthy. its not like you can just relax either because if you arent paying attention constantly its very easy to get killed on the roads out there.
driving takes so much concentration, you cant go in 'automatic road' driving back and forth from work like you do in many other cities.

anyone who comes from another state and visits miami in a working environment cant wait to get the hell out of here. tourists give people here the benefit of the doubt or find certain situations 'odd' not knowing that what they just experienced is typical day-to-day life down here.

[MananaLand]

"You said "try" - did you actually stop them, or did you just let them take it?"
naturally i attacked when they tried that. after 2 years here you become very aggressive from the constant level of bull****.

I'm guessing you mean you verbally attacked them, right? Not physically?

if you arent paying attention constantly its very easy to get killed on the roads out there.
driving takes so much concentration, you cant go in 'automatic road' driving back and forth from work like you do in many other cities.

Yeah, the driving does require a lot of attention here because of all the clueless, dangerous drivers on the road.

anyone who comes from another state and visits miami in a working environment cant wait to get the hell out of here.

There's good things about Miami and bad things about Miami, just like every place in the world. It all depends upon how you approach life.

It's my opinion, (and I'm not saying this is true in your case, CiXeL) that many people who are happy, are happy because of what's happening in their lives, not where they live. You take the good with the bad, try to change the bad, and if you can't change it, and can't live with it, move on to another location.

[CiXeL]

the only thing bad going on in my life right now is miami.

[eaglecall]

Originally Posted by CiXeL

the only thing bad going on in my life right now is miami.

Same feeling here brother.

And I agree with both of you. Both are right because in my opinion, It is intentional and at the same time is ignorance. Is intentional because that is the example they saw in their parents; so in their minds it is fine to act like that; and for the same reason, it is ignorance because I guess due to ancestry, there is no feeling of patriotism, loyalty, sociaty, civilization, city, brotherhood.

After all, these people shouldn't be here. A system allowing people like that is a dysfunctional and corrupted system.

Vpcats - I never took it. Better said, not yet. But believe it or not, I've done a great work on getting rid of the nasty accent; And I include as nasty accent the "tiki taka English Miami accent"

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by MananaLand

Two big problems which are I think are intentional are:
1. Drivers coming up behind you at high speeds not noticing that there is a car in front of them. Usually these drivers have a cell phone pressed against their head.

I bet they know there is a car in front of them, you were probably in the left lane the passing lane or you were in the lane for faster traffic the left lane. I have had it happen to me too, but I get over to the next lane, to let them pass. So just move over and let them pass, if they want a ticket let them get one.

But I have come up on people doing the speed limit and they will not let me pass if I am in a rush, so I have to go in the right lane to pass them, then I make a signal to them, to get over. I watched a cop do this signal once to a car, so I do it know sometimes if the person is going way below the speed limit in the far left lane.

[aleksli]

I have to agree with all of you , that it is ignorance of this country's culture .
But it is all over the world... As I come from Germany, we HAVE to take driving lessons with a driving teacher to get a license..That doesnt make the situation much better, but you can foresee peoples behavior easier...
Over here I always get surprised by the way pleople just jump out their lanes without any indication.... On the same time it is very irritating for me, that you can overtake on either lane... Back at home, it's the right lane for slow people and left for faster people... if you take over you go on the fast lane and so on and on...
I think it is great that i had to take classes and do over my international license when I arrived in New York State.. I know the road signs and meanings of it and drive accordingly.
I think in Florida those courses for e.g. immigrants are not mandatory, i would just go and exchange my license...hmmm
After all , I am still looking forward to come to Miami and make my experiences...