Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Get Off

When it comes to driving onto the interstate in Cynicalville, there are two types of drivers who deserve public exposure and humiliation.

One type stays in the on-ramp lane until the very end, terrified to move left into the flow of traffic until it's absolutely necessary. By the time the on-ramp lane runs out, they've accelerated to about 30 miles per hour. Then, they they are forced move into the traffic flow (although I have seen a few that actually continue in the emergency lane), causing normal people to either dynamite their brakes or veer left to avoid slamming into the rear of the terrified driver. These people are clearly horrified at the idea of traveling above the speed of a Conestoga wagon. Why they are on the interstate in the first place is a mystery. Surface roads were made for these people, and they should be banished from any throughway with a speed limit higher than 25.

The second type has no problem accelerating up to speed. But then, they just barge left into traffic, assuming people will get out of their way. The word "merge" has no meaning to these idiots. They are oblivious to the fact that it is their duty to merge, and not the duty of everyone else to get out of their way. I've actually had people honk their horn in indignation because I was traveling in the far right lane, and refused to change lanes to allow them to move into traffic at the exact spot they've deemed belongs to them. These types need to be struck across the brow with a "MERGE" sign until they sign a document acknowledging they are not the only people on the road.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merging onto the highway is like a zipper; go at the same pace and fit in when it's your turn. Silky smooth!

OldSquid said...

The caveat to this is having a long enough merge lane to accelerate enough to mimic the traffics current speed. Here our freeway system was designed when the maximum speed limit was maybe 50 MPH, but now it is 70. Most of these cannot be expanded without a huge expense because of overpasses. I for one however, out love to see semi-trucks rerouted during peak rush hours because of the bottle necks they cause and they are slow to merge.