On May 10, 2009, at 03:10 , Bob W wrote:
However, road signs do instruct drivers to merge now -
they artificially create a single merge point well before it is
strictly
necessary, so all the problems associated with merging are just pushed
further back from the real bottleneck.
"all the problems associated with merging are just pushed
further back"
In theory, this statement overlooks the fact that there should and
usually are "FEWER" problems merging at road speed. In the mind of the
"cheater" this creates a justification for their actions. At the point
where a cheater merges, traffic flowing through the constriction has
to slow down or stop to let the cheater into the lane.
On May 10, 2009, at 03:35 , David J Brooks wrote:
I think one of the biggest problems is drivers just don';t look far
enough ahead, when driving, to spot trouble ahead.
I was guilty of this often, but bus training beats this into you, and
i am now doing this whilst i drive the truck or bus. If you can see
the trouble say a Km or so ahead, you can do your merges, detours etc
with time to spare.
Dave
I also drove buses, in good highway and bad highway traffic. If you
think about it, bus companies put their buses on the road in great
numbers during the morning and evening rush hours, so most of my
highway (I-5 and I-90 in WA state) hours were spent in congested
traffic. Fender benders were commonplace. From my seat high above the
average driver's, I could see the problems as they developed.
One thing I despised was drivers driving on either shoulder, in the
breakdown lane, in an attempt to save time and pass as many as they
could. I soon learned from the truckers on the road with me that
moving my rig over to cover both my lane and the breakdown lane put a
stop to these 'cheaters'. It gave me great satisfaction. In accident
situations, you just know that emergency vehicles are going to want to
use those breakdown lanes to get to the scene. The cars I held up
always ended up merging behind me, though some would try again when I
moved back into my lane for an oncoming police car or ambulance or tow
truck, which I could see coming from far away. At that point they had
to sweat getting back into my lane under much more stressful
conditions, which I hope instilled some sense of right in their pea-
brains.
As a bus driver, we are taught to "take the lane we need" to complete
a turn or other maneuvers such as passing a bicyclist or the opening
door of clueless parked car. That is why the bus you cuss at moves
over into your lane in a city prior to an intersection. The
articulated busses and semi-trucks especially need the extra space to
clear the (usually) "walk/don't walk" signs that hang out waiting to
snare our mirrors. These vehicles need 1.5 lanes to make a right hand
turn. Period. Look for turn signals. We always use ours. Back Off!
And if a bus in a bus stop or zone throws on their left turn signal,
slow down, let them into traffic. It's the law. And the decent thing
to do.
Can't we all just get along?
Joseph McAllister
[email protected]
http://gallery.me.com/jomac
http://web.me.com/jomac/show.me/Blog/Blog.html
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