Merging advice spurs cries for more courtesy while driving
QGenerally speaking, you give pretty good advice. But argh. How dare you tell that clueless, arrogant Prius driver that he had the right of way and it was perfectly fine to continue blocking the right lane on the freeway so a driver in a pickup could not merge? — Diane G., San Jose
AYep, that is what I wrote a few days ago. The pickup driver merging onto the freeway did not have the right of way and should have slowed and merged in behind our Prius, pal.
QWhat you should have done is tell the Prius driver to show a little courtesy and move over. Any driver with half a brain knows that if they are in the right or slow lane and approaching a freeway on-ramp, and they have room to move over, so do it. Truck drivers do this all the time. But since you were once a Prius driver, maybe I expected too much.
I do not blame that angry driver one bit for yelling at the Prius driver. I see lots and lots of people do it all the time. And yes, including me. — Diane G.
ABut others think the pickup driver was a jerk, too.
QThe pickup driver who refused to adjust his speed for a safe merge is a jerk.
However, this type of stubbornness is a problem, too, with the Prius guy saying, “I will not change my speed to let a car merge when there is plenty of space behind me.”
All it takes is two people with that attitude to create a bad situation. Typically, they both think they have priority, rightly or wrongly. — Mike Smith
A
And …
Q
The vehicle code is clear. Merging traffic must yield to traffic on the freeway. Ignoring this is dangerous and illegal. — E. John
AEveryone, take a deep, soothing breath.
QYet another complaint about people who do not know (or prefer to ignore) how to merge on the freeway.
Have we forgotten to forgive, to give people a break, to be nice to each other?
Just because you have the right of way does not make you right.
Let’s not follow the examples of some of our leaders who are completely lacking in civility. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Everybody can have a bad day.
There is nothing wrong with being nice to your fellow man. It might even make you feel good. — Pierre Messerli, Pacifica
AYes, it can. At the least, it might defuse a potential road rage incident.
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