Highway manners

[Cybrludite]

Haven't had the joy of dealing with Paris or Napoli driving. Worst I've had to deal with so far is the "Octopus" out in Qerlin's neck of the desert. That's the I-25/I-40 interchange. The only way it could be any worse is if there wasn't an overpass & the lanes just crossed each other at ground level with no stoplights.

[qerlin]

Actually, cyberlud -- they just finished the 'Big-I' work; it's a lot better than it had been, save for trying to get onto northbound I25 from eastbound I-40. The rest of it works a lot better than t used to.

[Niner]

Originally posted by Owen E Oulton
Actually, 9 times out of 10, the guy in the left lane has been trying for the past 10 miles to get into the right lane, but most of the bone-headed cretins on the highways in North America (on both sides of the 49^th) steadfastly refuse to let anyone merge under these (or any) circumstances.

Remember, the leading cause of accidents is the loose nut on the steering wheel.

Amen, brother!

[Calcoran]

Originally posted by Lancer
Maybe where you are from, but from my experience that is just not true.
If people drive on the left lane until they are forced to switch lanes they will either try to switch when their is no opening or someone will slow down considerably to allow them to merge with ongoing traffic. The end result is the same: A sort of chain reaction that slows down traffic considerably.
If, OTOH, some people would even consider switching lanes when they see that they will have to do it 2 or 3 miles ahead anyway, they could do so when an opportunity presents itself, which wouldn't lead to the same traffic jams, or at least make them less likely.

And I was wondering whether I should say "if everyone is merging miles ahead,<I> like, say, in Germany</I> ...".

If indeed everyone is stupidly fighting to get on the right lane, of course a slowdown will occur. If the drivers in the right lane stubbornly refuse to let drivers in the left lane merge because they feel merging before the others give them the right to do so, what you describe will indeed happen. Same if the drivers on the left line stubbornly go on driving on the left lane until the very last moment, feeling so much smarter than "early mergers". This is what happens when, say, a driver from Paris comes over to Brittany or Germany .

Now if the merging goes well one on one (that is, one left, then one right and so on) ... as is I believe supposed to be taught in driving schools ... well, then the actual mergin can happen miles ahead, of at the last moment, it'll make no difference. As Owen said, it's the stubbornness of drivers (be them early mergers or late mergers) that make it harder for everyone.

[Lancer]

Originally posted by Calcoran

And I was wondering whether I should say "if everyone is merging miles ahead, <I>like, say, in Germany</I> ...".

Yeah, welcome to Germany, home of sane and carefull drivers on every highway - not.

And if you think that's a lot of smilies... just thinking about driving during rush-hour makes me go through all kinds of different emotions.

[Karg]

Originally posted by Sea Tyger
Well, USA born Italians are technically Americans. I'm talking about Italians in Italy. Driving there is a different experience all together..you have to expect people to pull crazy stunts out there, or else you'll be hitting cars left and right.

I did not know that

I'm a New York Italian, we're crazy as it is!

[Calcoran]

Originally posted by Lancer

Yeah, welcome to Germany, home of sane and carefull drivers on every highway - not.

Oh, I've lived 2 years in Germany, and I'd say Germans are decent enough drivers. I'd even say they're among the most decent drivers in Europe. Way more so than French or (God forbid) Italians . And they tend to respect and apply rules and instructions to the letter (it has nothing to do with driving, but I still remember this guy in Berlin, running like crazy to catch the subway ... at the very last moment the door bell began to ring ... I mean, the guy had like 2 or 3 meters to walk and he was in, but no, he stopped, cursed a bit for missing the subway, watched the doors close and the subway depart ... I mean, I know it's written "Do not attempt to enter after the bell starts ringing, but still!).

Back to driving, German drivers are also very decent when it comes to respecting bicycles. Which is really nice, specially considering the fact that I tend to use a bicycle most of the time.

[Balok]

Sorry, but I look at it this way: I can either be the guy who gets cut off -- after waiting patiently -- or I can be the guy who does the cutting off. After years of "doing the right thing" and merging way-y-y-y-y-y back when the signs first appeared, I finally got sick of being the patsy. Now, I'm the guy you all seem to hate.

[JonA]

I agree that Paris is bad, Rome wasn't too bad but I only drove there once and it was 3am on a Sunday morning. Not done Napoli. London you don't manage to gain enough speed to actually have an accident worthy of an insurance claim. New York just scared me (and I was in the back of a yellow cab at the time). But my vote for the most insane, suicidal drivers in the world.

Hong Kong.

I'd tell you all about it but i've blanked it from my memory such was the horror. If I try and recall the details then I fear I may revert to the foetal position. Which oddly enough was the position I presumed in the back of a Hong Kong taxi on the run from the airport to the hotel!

[tmutant]

The drivers in Athens use Italy as a training school to warm up. A car pulls out to pass on a curve on a two lane road, and another car pulls out to pass him! Three cars wide on a blind curve.

In North Carolina they like to play a game called "Block the Idiot". In other words, don't let the lane racer merge at the end of the lane.

I tend to think if everyone is courteous, traffic will move smoothly, if a little slower. It's just a theory. I've never seen it in practice.