On Mon, 5 Apr 2004, developtrust wrote:

> Here in California driving schools we are taught to merge from an on ramp
> "at the speed of traffic." Makes sense as faster or slower will not work.
> The merging vehicle must adjust speed to merge with the existing traffic.
> Anything else is just suicide.

I hope your freeways are more modern than ones here in Michigan.  There's
one particular on-ramp I have to use frequently that's a real nightmare.
It's short, and at the end of it there's no accelleration lane; it just
merges immediately into the right lane.  Traffic in the right lane is
going 70-75 mph, and for the first half of the ramp your view of the
traffic you have to merge into is blocked by an overpass.  The only saving
grace is that the ramp runs downhill.

In my Volvo, on a good day, I can have 65-70 mph when I shoot out the end
of the ramp.  In my VW, I've just grabbed 4th gear and I'm doing maybe 50
at best.  It gets a bit harrowing.

I won't even get into talking about the left entrances that make you merge
into fast-lane traffic, and the ramps where the same short merging lane is
shared by exiting cars (who are slowing down) and entering cars (who are
trying desperately to speed up.)

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Volkswagen Diesel Westfalia
'86 Volvo 240DL wagon