Why do people never accelerate past about 40 when merging?

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
This happened to me all the time in Baton Rouge. Now, I deal with it all the time in the Orlando/Space Coast area. Accelerate to match the friggin' speed of the traffic.

Although it pisses me off, there's something that people do in Florida that's just flat out ignorant and absolutely enrages me. When they approach flashing yellow signals, they stop. WTF.

Erm... flashing yellow means stop in the states does it not? I think it was on that test thingy a while back...

Flashing yellow usually just means there's an intersection. You don't even need to slow down for them.

Flashing red is pretty much a stop sign, though.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
This seems to be one of the most widespread driving stupidities I encounter. Other things people do while driving occasionally bother me, but this one is by far the worst because it happens every time I merge onto the highway. I merge onto the highway as part of my commute every morning and whenever I happen to be first in line, the person behind me is always way, WAY back by the time I merge.

I'm not even asking people to exceed the speed limit. I just wish they'd get to 50 or 55 by the time they merge, so they're at least close to matching speed with traffic. But every morning, when I commute, the person in front of me has never gotten past 45 before attempting to merge. It's dangerous and causes delays as the people in the right lane attempt to move over or slow way down to make room. I literally cannot remember the last time someone DIDN'T do this.

And I know that I'm doing it right because when someone posted that driving aptitude quiz a few weeks ago, it said you're supposed to be going about the same speed as the surrounding traffic when you merge. That was the correct answer to the question, while one of the wrong choices was "10 mph slower than everyone else."

Your horn... try using it.


😉

I do, but usually I'm 3 or 4 cars back so the person at the front of the line can't even hear and I just end up pissing off the person directly in front of me.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
This happened to me all the time in Baton Rouge. Now, I deal with it all the time in the Orlando/Space Coast area. Accelerate to match the friggin' speed of the traffic.

Although it pisses me off, there's something that people do in Florida that's just flat out ignorant and absolutely enrages me. When they approach flashing yellow signals, they stop. WTF.

Erm... flashing yellow means stop in the states does it not? I think it was on that test thingy a while back...

It means caution, essentially.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Simple. They are idiots and don't know that the correct term for an on ramp is "acceleration ramp".

exactly what I was going to say.

 

[beat mania]

Originally posted by: CoinOperatedBoy

Originally posted by: astroidea
One thing that does annoy me though are freeways that go uphill, no one bothers to increase the throttle and traffic speed usually drops down to 55.
But admittedly, even I have to downshift to 4th on my miata to maintain a 70-80.

I would rather see people decelerate sharply on an upward slope than a downward one. The people around here SLAM on their brakes when driving downhill, even with no drivers in front of them, and it drives me nuts.

I frequently drive on a long section of road that I can go ~100mph if I let it coast. Even faster if I put it in neutral.

So yes, I have to brake even just from coasting downhill when there might be cops around.

And they wonder why we Americans use so much oil. Damn speed limit. I spent all that energy going uphill and I cannot even get some back going the other way.

 

[sandorski]

Ya, they're annoying. I dunno, maybe because the Speed Limit sign at the begining of the Ramp, maybe because they didn't bother reading that part of the Drivers Manual?

To spare everyone, they probably should put up an Accelerate to Traffic Speed(just made that up) sign at the appropriate part of the Ramp.

 

[Sukhoi]

Originally posted by: DingDingDao

Originally posted by: Linflas
If you get to the bottom of this maybe you can investigate why assholes in trucks (99% of the time some POS dump truck or something similar, not an 18 wheeler) need to move into the left lane when approaching a traffic light (not making a left turn) when they know they will hold up all the traffic behind them?

While you're at it, see if you can figure these two out:

1) Prius drivers who merge on the freeway and immediately make a beeline for the far left lane, then proceed to drive at 65mph. (This might be a problem unique to California)

2) How Hummers/Escalades/Excursions/Any huge SUVs always seem to end up parked in the COMPACT parking spots, leaving little or no room for anyone to park in the adjacent spots, save a motorcycle.

1 - They're morons that think it's a HV lane 24/7 (yes I know LA area is, but rest of Cali isn't).

2- That's why I love having a beater. I park in the remaining spot, and since I'm skinny I can get out without hitting their door. But I know they'll have a hell of a time getting in.

Two things that piss me off more than anything else. People who stop or go slow on merges, and people who blow through yields.

You can blow through a yield if there's no traffic. That's the point of one..

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
...because a 3cylinder Geo Metro cannot go any faster uphill without a good tailwind. 😛

LOL, funny thing is I'm usually driving the most underpowered vehicle of everyone stopped at the light. Everyone's going around in their BMWs and their pickup trucks and their V6 Camrys and Accords, and here I am with a 109hp Honda Fit leaving them all in the dust because I actually use my gas pedal. I don't even floor it or anything, I just accelerate quickly. Still get 32-35 mpg overall, even with a fair amount of city driving and rush hour traffic every week.

Yeah? I live in an affluent area, and my Altima is usually the slowest car on the road. I have to wave angry fists every morning at the fucking idiots in S4s and M3s and S500s driving their cars like they're Geo Metros up the on ramp. When I'm late to class I'm that asshole on the road flashing his high beams and honking.

Originally posted by: astroidea
I never get half of these ridiculous driver threads. I hardly, if ever, see any of the shit mentioned in this thread. Who TF merges at 40?
where the hell do you guys live to see such shitty drivers?
I live in LA ffs.

One thing that does annoy me though are freeways that go uphill, no one bothers to increase the throttle and traffic speed usually drops down to 55.
But admittedly, even I have to downshift to 4th on my miata to maintain a 70-80.

CRUISE. CONTROL. It's been around since the 80s!!!

Originally posted by: Sukhoi

Two things that piss me off more than anything else. People who stop or go slow on merges, and people who blow through yields.

You can blow through a yield if there's no traffic. That's the point of one..

You know what's more annoying, and I have to deal with every fucking day on the way home? People who act like there's a yield sign where there isn't one! My exit home has a gignatic keep moving sign since the 2 lane road gets a 3rd lane added to it by the exit ramp. Everyone has to fucking slam on their brakes and complicate shit, and then you have the added trouble of morons in the center lane [going much faster than the morons in the right line] trying to move right so they can turn at the next light, slowing down instead of just moving in front of us.

 

[badkarma1399]

Originally posted by: astroidea
One thing that does annoy me though are freeways that go uphill, no one bothers to increase the throttle and traffic speed usually drops down to 55.
But admittedly, even I have to downshift to 4th on my miata to maintain a 70-80.

meh, I mostly only see this with trucks or other large vehicles, which is understandable.

 

[imported_Imp]

The only time that I don't gun it on the on ramp is if the car ahead of me isn't gunning it. I'm concentrating on getting into the gap I saw, so I'm afraid of rear ending the guy who clearly isn't accelerating much ahead of me.

Oh, and I'm an asshole. I misread an off-ramp marker sign the other day, and instead of missing my exit, I cut a forced a guy to yield. Never doing that again.

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
...because a 3cylinder Geo Metro cannot go any faster uphill without a good tailwind. 😛

Sadly, they still whip the snot out of the old Dodge (Mitsubishi) Ram 50 trucks!! :roll:


OP, I feel your pain. Living in north Texas, we deal with all the old farmer drivers here. Add to that the nearby air force base, and you have nitwit drivers from all over the country (all over the world, in fact). Some know how to drive, most don't. 🙁

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: torpid
Perhaps they do this because the on-ramp lane ends quickly and there are a lot of asshats who won't move over or let them merge at high speed in a timely fashion.

this happens all the time here in PA. people simply do not move over so you almost always have to stop at an onramp and wait for an opening.

same thing in MA. people see you coming on the on ramp...their first thought...let just cut him off.

even if the left lane is completely empty, they still don't move over.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Because there are people out there that think 75 BHP is good enough and you don't need more than that, even if it takes them 2 weeks to accelerate to the desired speed, more than 75 BHP is a waste to them.

I vote for this explanation. Most people have cars that just do not accelerate to traffic speed* that quickly.

*0 to 60 mph in less than 12 seconds

 

[alkemyst]

even worse is as everyone is slowing down some assclown passes in the merge lane from the oncoming traffic or an over eager asshat from the merging traffic pulls out into the no man's land area and tries to create a two merge lane.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
even worse is as everyone is slowing down some assclown passes in the merge lane from the oncoming traffic or an over eager asshat from the merging traffic pulls out into the no man's land area and tries to create a two merge lane.

With you, I sympathize. The few times I have driven in Florida, I wonder how the hell people do it. Does the registration come with cyanide capsules? Any state that has to post a minimum speed limit is not one for me. However, the merging thing seems to be country-wide, as I have seen it too. Even seen people parked at the end of an on ramp. I think that most don't realize they have the right of way and react accordingly, or maybe they are scared of injury/death. Either way, if you are that scared of those things then perhaps you shouldn't be driving and go back to your bunker eating freeze-dried food.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Captain Howdy

Originally posted by: alkemyst
even worse is as everyone is slowing down some assclown passes in the merge lane from the oncoming traffic or an over eager asshat from the merging traffic pulls out into the no man's land area and tries to create a two merge lane.

With you, I sympathize. The few times I have driven in Florida, I wonder how the hell people do it. Does the registration come with cyanide capsules? Any state that has to post a minimum speed limit is not one for me. However, the merging thing seems to be country-wide, as I have seen it too. Even seen people parked at the end of an on ramp. I think that most don't realize they have the right of way and react accordingly, or maybe they are scared of injury/death. Either way, if you are that scared of those things then perhaps you shouldn't be driving and go back to your bunker eating freeze-dried food.

Every once and a while some old person will stop at the on ramp with a blinker on and wait.

During rush hour it could be 15 mins until a free lane opens briefly.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
...because a 3cylinder Geo Metro cannot go any faster uphill without a good tailwind. 😛

Sadly, they still whip the snot out of the old Dodge (Mitsubishi) Ram 50 trucks!! :roll:


OP, I feel your pain. Living in north Texas, we deal with all the old farmer drivers here. Add to that the nearby air force base, and you have nitwit drivers from all over the country (all over the world, in fact). Some know how to drive, most don't. 🙁

A lot of time it isn't their fault. When you're new in town and don't know exactly which lane you need to be in, you tend to go a bit slower and you tend to make mistakes. Get used to it.


I don't notice hardly any of these problems where I live (WI). Sure, there are a few who drive like idiots but it's not bad at all.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
Everyone's going around in their BMWs and their pickup trucks and their V6 Camrys and Accords, and here I am with a 109hp Honda Fit leaving them all in the dust because I actually use my gas pedal.

In all fairness to my fellow pickup drivers, our acceleration is absolute crap. To merge at full speed on medium-length ramps we need to go pedal to the metal. It is impossible to merge at full speed on shorter ramps.

The real problem is most people nowadays think that "pedal to the metal" will break their car. They'd be wrong.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Yeah? I live in an affluent area, and my Altima is usually the slowest car on the road. I have to wave angry fists every morning at the fucking idiots in S4s and M3s and S500s driving their cars like they're Geo Metros up the on ramp. When I'm late to class I'm that asshole on the road flashing his high beams and honking.

I also have a 4cyl Altima, and drive on roads littered with vehicles similar to the ones you've mentioned.

It is so unbelieveably fucking frustrating, it drives me bat shit insane on a daily basis.