How come drivers in Pittsburgh do not know how to merge? (Philadelphia: home, purchasing)

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by Drover

Stopping on the bottom of on-ramps is a Pittsburgh thing. I have never seen this anywhere else I've driven.

What would you have those cars do? Barrel into traffic without a spot to do so? Traffic is heavy, and if I come onto an on-ramp and there is no foreseeable safe spot in which to merge (read: lines of vehicles going 70mph with less than a car's length between them), then I do indeed stop on the ramp and wait my turn to move in. In fact, that is the perfect definition of YIELD.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

(read: lines of vehicles going 70mph with less than a car's length between them)

That isn't a very common scenario. People will tend to leave at least around 7 car lengths at 70 mph, and even if one person is tailgating, there should be a reasonable gap right after that person. Conversely, when congestion is bad enough that the cars are at less than a car's length, they are very, very likely moving at much less than 70 mph.

Of course if you aren't moving, a 7 car length between cars travelling 70 mph will seem tiny to you. But it is very, very rare to be in a situation where traffic is moving at 70 mph and there are no usable gaps once you have matched speed.

[Copanut]

Two places that I dare anyone to merge safely. Whatever the name of the southbound exit from the city over the Fort Pitt Bridge is. And the 20 foot long entrance on Rte 79 coming from Coraopolis. Sometimes, ya just have to stop.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

What would you have those cars do? Barrel into traffic without a spot to do so? Traffic is heavy, and if I come onto an on-ramp and there is no foreseeable safe spot in which to merge (read: lines of vehicles going 70mph with less than a car's length between them), then I do indeed stop on the ramp and wait my turn to move in. In fact, that is the perfect definition of YIELD.

What would I have the cars do? MERGE, that's what. It's really not that hard. I realize there are some poorly engineered ramps in Pittsburgh where there's no practical option but to get to the bottom and wait for an opening. The problem is many Pittsburghers can't seem to tell the difference between ramps where there's no room to get up to highway speed before merging, and ramps where there's plenty of room.

I live in a metro area where people drive practically bumper-to-bumper at anywhere from 70 to 80 miles an hour and people still manage to merge. It's honestly not a big deal. You just do it. "Yield" does not mean "sit at the bottom of an acceleration ramp until a gap sufficient to to enter from a dead stop appears." If you tried that around here you'd sit there all day.

[BrianTH]

Yeah, growing up in the Detroit area we had plenty of traffic--and we never, ever, stopped at the end of a ramp if traffic was moving. That is because all the ramps were long enough to allow you to get to whatever speed necessary, and again at speed there is almost always room to merge.

[BrianTH]

Slight correction: come to think of it, I do remember one time in my youth when the driver of the car I was in stopped at the end of a ramp. But he was stoned out of his gourd.

[ditchdigger]

People will tend to leave at least around 7 car lengths at 70 mph,

No, people are supposed to leave 7 car lengths at 70 mph. I agree that the scenario of a line of 70 mph traffic with less than a car's length between them is hyperbole. And given a proper "acceleration lane", true, it should be no problem to match speed and merge with traffic, even if there's only a few car lengths between. But as was discussed so recently, proper acceleration lanes are few and far between hereabouts.

To quote myself:

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

Quote:

Entrance ramps for highways often have acceleration lanes. These lanes run beside main traffic lanes and should be long enough to allow you to accelerate to the speed of traffic before you enter the highway itself. (Bold and italics above are mine.) These lanes also allow drivers on the highway to see you before you enter the road. It is illegal to pass a vehicle ahead of you on an acceleration lane.



"Often" and "should be" doesn't mean they (properly designed acceleration lanes), exist in the real world of Pittsburgh traffic. Mostly, they don't. They're conspicious by their absence.

This topic reminds me of an ole saying................."It's like beating a dead horse"!!!! Unreal.

Yeah, but it's one of the few topics that everybody enjoys arguing.

On edit:

I'd like to add that MissShona obviously has a little finesse behind the wheel, which is what more people need.

Originally Posted by Pitt Chic

You are not supposed to slow down on a highway, yielding to merging cars.

You're required to yeild if a sign directs you to, but yeilding is something you always have the option to do, in any situation where it makes sense to. I don't know you, and don't know how you drive, but your statement leads me to believe that you lack the aforementioned "finesse behind the wheel". (Not trying to be insulting, but give it some thought...)

[Craziaskowboi]

They've lengthened many of the on-ramps on the Parkway East, at least as much as they could given the extremely limited right-of-way that they have. With that said, the eastbound Squirrel Hill on-ramp simply shouldn't exist. Just erect a sign at the exit that reads, "NO REENTRY EASTBOUND FROM THIS EXIT."

[ditchdigger]

Hey! We're up to nearly the end of page 5 of a driving thread, and we haven't heard from Scotty!

I hope he's not sick.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

No, people are supposed to leave 7 car lengths at 70 mph.

Just an aside, but if you follow the 2-second rule, it is more like twice that.

But as was discussed so recently, proper acceleration lanes are few and far between hereabouts.

I agree that is the real problem.