The incident David Harville mentioned - if only there was a practical way of putting on video this guy making the gesture and putting it on the local news or something. A lot of the rude stuff on the road would never happen if people thought everybody saw them behave this way.

Saw a story last night about Scottsdale Arizona about to set up mail-in speeding tickets. So far it's just mailing warnings, but one person was doing 130mph! Sad when the only way some people behave is if they are constantly watched like a child....

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

All I'm saying is that you have the better view of what's going on. You can play it safe and slow down or you can force them to make all the decision. If they decide wrong, they will get into an accident. You can say its their fault assuming you walked away from it. But what's the point of proving a point that risk an accident?

Driving would improve if eveyone pictured people in those vehicles - not warriors. Kind of like on the internet - give people a little break instead of going trigger-happy - lots of conflicts avoided.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Lol, sounds like an aggressive driver, bordering on road rage (slamming on the brakes)..

I love it when you just wave, Lmao! that just burns them up even more..

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

What can I say, "The world is going to hell in a handbasket".

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

When I merge onto a freeway I feel my duty is to merge safely without disrupting traffic that has the right-of-way. It is not their problem to accomodate me, it is my problem to find the proper opportunity to merge without disrupting the flow of traffic. It's very nice if someone intentionally slows down to let me in but the reason I wouldn't expect it is because they would also be slowing down the traffic behind them just to accomodate me. This is the rationale of right-of-way.

Now if someone wants to give me a hard time and changes their speed to prevent me from merging that's one thing. But if our speed is matched I know, duh, I'll either need to either speed up or slow down to merge because of the fact two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

It didn't take a whole lot of time after getting my license as a teenager to figure out the concept of right-of-way and how it benefits both sides.

BTW, my Insight can't do AC - just the DC.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

It's actually quite interesting to see the differing opinions of official/pseudo-official organization on traffic merging questions:

"Slow down" says the Illinois Secretary of State -- http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/pu...rr_chap07.html -- (page down to the merging lanes sign)

"Move over or slow down" says the U. of Oklahoma Police Department -- http://www.ou.edu/oupd/roads.htm

BUT

"Don't slow way down" says AAA Hudson Valley -- (from the Albany (NY) Times Union http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=1/30/2006 )

OR "ADJUST" IN SOME NON-SPECIFIC MANNER?

"Move over or adjust your speed" says Saskatchewan Government Insurance -- http://www.sgi.sk.ca/sgi_internet/sg..._article1.html --

"Yield if you're entering; adjust your speed if you're already on the highway" says the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles -- http://www.odot.state.or.us/forms/dmv/37.pdf

OKAY, JUST PLAY NICE!

"Let them in" says the U.S. Navy -- http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/med...eadlyDozen.htm

Reminds me of a legendary radio conversation between a naval aircraft carrier and the Canadian authorities near Newfoundland:

Americans: "Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision."

Canadians: "Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision."

Americans: "This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course."

Canadians: "No, I say again, you divert YOUR course."

Americans: "THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT'S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP."

Canadians: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."

http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthse.htm

In other countries, that I've been too, the people move over to allow merging traffic in. You are in control. You can see everything that is about to happen. Merging traffic has a blind spot, that is why the person in the slow lane should either a) slow down and allow the person in... or b) get over one lane and let them in.

To argue it's the sole job of the merger to get on the road properly is nonsense. Blind spots, forced to look at people in front, side, behind, match speed, speed up, etc... is a lot of work for 1 driver to do (and they should always do this, but even so you will miss something) Why make this job any more difficult. And when you do get into an accident, you can sleep comfortably that you were right because some made up law says you were right.

I have had the opposite happen to me, I've had people trying to get off the exit while I'm trying to get on. Now, common sense (something lacking in society today) would tell you to slow down and get behind the person that is merging on.... but nooo. These boneheads will try to speed up (what do you thing the people merging are doing, right... speeding up) to pass only to get in front and slow down to make the exit. I have twice forced 2 people to miss their exit because they didn't make the pass in time. I usualy wave and give them a nice thumbs up for good driving. The best is when they try to put their car in reverse to make the exit. Man that is when i wish a truck would slam into them.