On Ramp Incompetence

[Quidam]

Just a vent really. Driving from Wainui into the Wellington each day, I am constantly dismayed at how clueless so many drivers are when it comes to the use of on-ramps.

Getting onto the motorway and being stuck behind someone who "slows down" as they hit the merge lane is at best frustrating, and at worst down-right dangerous, due to the fact that your speed differential ends up being far greater than it should be when it is time to merge.

And at the other end, when taking the Terrace off-ramp into the city, there is an on-ramp shortly before it, and taking this morning as an example, a car (Taxi driver!) was merging in front of me, and upon seeing me in the rear-view mirror, applied the breaks, forcing me to either (a) hit the breaks as well to allow him in or (b) swerve out partially into the middle lane and accelerate past him. There really was no excuse, he had "plenty" of road between me and him at the time of the merge, but he doggedly applied the breaks until I was almost up his backside (and driving at a crawl by this stage) before he finally decided it was safe to start accelerating up to a reasonable speed.

Sheesh

[WideOpenThrottle]

As i see it the ramps are way too short to go from 50kph to 100kphh for the average driver{excludes MX5ers of course}!

[Quidam]

You are right -but that doesn't really explain why someone would slow down as they approach the merge point

[Timmo]

As i see it the ramps are way too short to go from 50kph to 100kphh for the average driver{excludes MX5ers of course}!

I disagree in part. The 'average' car is more than capable of doing it. The 'average' driver less so (pressing a bit harder on the accelerator is quite a hard task afterall )

It is more to do with lack of driver skills I think...many people never accelerate briskly in their car and so are afraid of the unknown. Perhaps they think their car will explode if revved over 3k rpm?

[Quidam]

Timmo, I'm with you on that. I wonder if the fear factor of moving into merging traffic provokes the instinct to slow down, which, in general terms, is precisely the wrong thing to do (from a safety perspective)

I mean, it's not about speeding, its about travelling at a speed reasonably close to the merging traffic. 30kph when the cars on the motorway are doing 90 (or even faster) is not conducive to a smooth merge!

[WideOpenThrottle]

The average "driver" is what i wrote Timmo,nothing mentioned about the "average" car in my sentence.But i do agree that drivers are oblivios to the need to enter the motorway at 100kph rather than once they are on it.

[Habanero666]

Had a butt head in a Holden Comode-adore try some sort of bullying tactic in a merge lane here in Palmy with his in-breed mate/ love interest??? hanging out of the window gesturing like an orangutang on heat. I gave him the wrath of the side dump and wastegate which just about caused the said idiot to fall out of the window!

Hahaha I still am smiling over this one! Sorry police and unsuspecting members of the public

[sprsta]

two things annoy me
lack of driver skills at onramps and
the fact that it now takes me half an hour to even get to the onramp cos of the stupid on ramp lights tonight it took 20 mins to get 50meters and there was no traffic on the motorway

i wish everyone would stop stopping about them

[Habanero666]

Man I like Palmy! Have a beer on me Cole, put those feet up....

[WideOpenThrottle]

I agree about those stupid on ramp lights-talk about a backward step!
Soon we will have traffic lights to exit off-ramps i suppose.Gee its great to live in the country,all i have to worry about is making sure i get the odd rabbit-not seen a possum for a long time now!