Sometimes I wonder where people learned how to drive. Well, not sometimes, ALL THE TIME!
Today is no different. I only had to drive 100 miles today. Only 100. Not the 500 - 600 I usually drive. Only 100.
528,000 feet.
6,663,000 inches.
Sounds like a lot, but in my line of work, it is a Sunday Drive.
Coincidentally, today is Sunday. A day of rest and worship. A day to spend reflecting on our lives and our blessings. For me, a day to drive 100 MILES!
Do I sound perturbed? Maybe a bit miffed? Well, today I am.
One thing drivers learn to do when they are taking drivers education is the art of merging. You know, when a driver COMING onto an interstate blends in with the traffic that is already ON the interstate?
It is a relatively simple process I thought. When a driver enters the entrance ramp, he looks down onto the interstate as soon as safely possible and either accelerates or decelerates to match the speed of the vehicles on the interstate and MERGE in with the families and freight already on the highway.
But let me tell you what I am seeing more and more. Today, 3 times today, cars coming onto the interstate did not perform the art of merging, rather they waited until the last second to see what was going on and then tried to make a decision.
I watched them come down the ramp, la la la, and then check their mirror at the bottom of the ramp. At that point it is too late to make an informed decision, so something awkward and potentially dangerous will unfold. Often in the blink of an eye.
As a "professional driver", I am paid to not only drive my truck, but to pay attention to all that is going on around me, so I can make a decision at any moment that will protect the motoring public. Today, these 3 vehicles are lucky that I was doing my job.
In all 3 cases, I watched these cars from the time they entered the entrance ramps. If possible, I try to move over so the merge can go smoothly. But there are some times that I can not. For example, if there is a car next to me, or one coming up so fast that moving over may cause an accident. In those situations, I will maintain my speed so the drivers trying to merge can try to get ahead of me, or slow down a little and pull in behind me.
Remember, it is the vehicle on the ramp that has to perform the merge dance, not the people already on the highway.
Well, when I saw these 3 vehicles coming on down the ramp and not paying attention, I backed off the fuel to let them accelerate and get in front of me. Well guess what? In All 3 cases the person driving had no idea I was even on the highway until they were almost at the bottom of the ramp. Now it is their turn to panic. Well, all 3 of them just kept right on coming, expecting me to slow down so they could "come on down".
If you read my first post, you understand that these trucks DO NOT stop on a dime. I could not stop, all I could do is slow down and let them keep coming. Well at the last second, all 3 of them decided they couldn't get in front of me so they slowed down. Now we are both slowing down. Refer to my first post again. These trucks aren't exactly quick on the pedal.
Well, in the end I won because I am bigger. These people ended up stopping on the entrance ramp. How hard is it going to be to merge now?
My point is this I guess. When you are merging, do not wait until the last second to check out the traffic you are merging with, regardless which part of the equation you are. Merger or Mergee. It is the responsibility of the person on the ramp to match speed and merge, not the people you are merging with. Start looking at the top of the ramp, not when you get to the bottom of it.
If you are the one on the highway, pay attention to the person coming down the ramp. Move over if you can safely do so. If not, try to adjust your speed slightly, but remember, you have traffic traveling behind you too and they may not be paying attention either. Don't slow down too much, you may create an even worse situation.
Happy Driving.
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