On 8/13/2010 11:08 AM, clipka wrote:
> Am 13.08.2010 14:28, schrieb Mike Raiford:
>
>> There is something to that, though. I see many drivers as not
>> necessarily being bad drivers (unless they are driving 50mph on a 70mph
>> road yapping on their cellphone) but being just plain rude drivers. I'm
>> always very irritated when I see people wait until the absolute last
>> possible second before moving over when there have been signs indicating
>> the lane is under construction and everyone must move over up to a mile
>> before the construction starts. Although, a couple of states I have
>> driven in have enacted a law stating that they must move over 1/4 - 1/2
>> mile before reaching the construction zone. Waiting to the last second
>> before moving to a different lane will cause delays because someone will
>> have to stop for you.
>
> ... which in turn is only a problem if people on the lane you are to
> merge into don't bother whether you manage your merging maneuver or not.
>
> Let's put it this way: If there is a gap you could move into, it
> wouldn't matter for the following traffic in /that/ lane whether you do
> indeed move into the gap ASAP or at the last possible moment, provided
> the following driver on that lane would be disciplined enough to leave
> that gap open for you. The only thing that would change would be that
> the following traffic on /your/ lane wouldn't be tempted to overtake you
> after you have merged.

Therein lies the problem... No one will leave a gap.

>
> As a matter of fact, in Germany there is a rule that in comparatively
> slow and dense traffic you /must not/ merge early, and instead drive on
> to the end of the lane, where both lanes are to merge in an alternating
> fashion (think of a zipper being closed).
>

I could see that working if people did indeed alternate here. What 
usually happens is people generally try to shove their way in.

> a totally different story. And driving a (comparatively) underpowered
> car on a German autobahn requires yet a different driving style, which
> inevitably /will/ irritate a certain subset of fellow drivers (primarily
> those who have never driven a low-powered car on an autobahn, I guess).

Just reading that sounds frustrating. I knew someone who was stationed 
in Germany for a while and went to get his license so he could drive off 
of the base. He said the driving test in Germany is a bit difficult. It 
took him a few attempts to pass. Much higher standards than here in the 
United States.
-- 
~Mike

Post a reply to this message