It's called an acceleration ramp

[Hawaiian Eskimo]

That means you're supposed to accelerate to freeway speed so you can, you know, merge properly. It's NOT a "slowly putt along at 50, then speed up once you get on the freeway" ramp.

I'd say about half the people I get behind on an on-ramp do this to some extent. I had to merge from the shoulder today because the guy in front of me wouldn't do any more than 50. I'd've been fine if the guy merged at the actual speed.

[Seshat]

My father taught me that when you're caught behind someone like this, slow down to make a big gap between you and Mr Slow. That way, as soon as the gap is big enough, you can do your accelerating to freeway speeds.

[blas]

I HATE when people do it. What's worse is when there's an entire line of us, and the head of the pack is trying to merge at 55 mph, and everyone decides all at once to veer around the person, and it's utter chaos. If it's nice out and roads are good, fucking merge at freeway speeds.

And I hate when I pass someone who putzed onto the freeway, then decides once they are on the freeway to finally accelerate.....meaning, start going so fast you can't pass them, or show you what-for and speed off when you were going to get back over ahead of them.

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

One of my dearest pet peeves as well. Yeah, I know technically merging traffic has a "yield", but holy cow you can't merge going 40. Speed up! The other cars will either speed up to get ahead of you or slow down and let you in.

[blas]

It's a daily headache for me. It creates a huge snarl during peak driving times as well, when you already have to deal with the headaches of merging onto a busy freeway.

[dalesys]

When I did a theatre lighting system install in Dayton I seriously wondered if Ohio had just taken the stop signs down from the tops of the on ramps...

Because every native came to a full stop at the merge point!

[Shalom]

Maybe they're from Brooklyn. The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway does in fact have stop signs at the ends of many on-ramps. So do some of the roads here in Joisey, many of which were converted from ordinary roads to limited access highways back in the '30s, so the onramp, if you can even call it that, comes up to the side of the road at a 90 degree angle and you essentially have to make a right turn onto a freeway.

[Geek King]

When I did a theatre lighting system install in Dayton I seriously wondered if Ohio had just taken the stop signs down from the tops of the on ramps...

Because every native came to a full stop at the merge point!

Wierd. I drive into Dayton almost every day for work, and don't see that much. Must have caught a nursing home on catch-and-release day.

[bhskittykatt]

I hate that as well. In fact, just yesterday, there was an accident on the on-ramp behind the motel where some schmuck STOPPED at the end, and was then promptly rear-ended by the next car behind him.

I have almost rear-ended someone else who stopped at the end of the on-ramp like that (same ramp, too).

I know the guy who did the rear-ending is technically at fault and will get a ticket, but I hope that the guy who stopped also get cited for creating unsafe road conditions or something, 'cause when people do that, that really gets on my nerves!

[pitmonkey]

Around here there are flow contol lights on the on rapms. That way you don't get a line of cars pilling on the highway at once during the rush hour. HOV lane is not metered but other traffic is. The lights are set back far enough for at speed merge.

[bhskittykatt]

Yeah, but even with the flow control lights, they're still back up the ramp, so you have time to get up to speed (during rush hour traffic jams? what speed is this?) before merging. The idiot I saw the other day got to the very end of the on ramp, and STOPPED. Same with the guy I almost rear ended.

People need to learn the difference between a stop sign and a yield sign. Learn it. Love it. Embrace it!

[Kogarashi]

People need to learn the difference between a stop sign and a yield sign. Learn it. Love it. Embrace it!

Pay attention to it! If you have a yield sign, I most likely do not, and I don't relish the idea of slamming on my brakes when I have the right-of-way just because you're clueless. ::fist-shake::

[Pojodan]

I personally witnessed traffic occur due to this very thing.

I was sitting in an outdoor seating of a restaurant at around 4pm where I had a view of the freeway nearby. An old beater car came crawling down the onramp at what had to be no more than 40, with a line of cars behind.

The car wedged right onto the freeway without bothering to check, as one car slamed on their brakes and the car behind it had to weave to avoid.

The line of cars the beater was leading all proceeded to shove their way around it as well, forcing brake slamming in the middle lane, dodging into the fast lane, and brake slamming there.

In the span of a minute that one car had made the freeway go from 60+ mph to less than 40, and it remained slow till after I left.


It's really quite amazing how one hesitant driver and a few lead feet behind them will cause rush hour to begin early.

[Andara Bledin]

Wow. If I'd have spotted said beater, I think I'd put a call in to the HP to let them know that he was causing problems like that. I've called in dangerous drivers before, even when not on the road myself.

^-.-^

[Geek King]

In the span of a minute that one car had made the freeway go from 60+ mph to less than 40, and it remained slow till after I left.


It's really quite amazing how one hesitant driver and a few lead feet behind them will cause rush hour to begin early.

Classic Ripple Effect on traffic. It is also a sign that the road may be over capacity if it happens consistantly.

Science!