merging traffic rant

[tat2kc]

What the hell is up with people on I-35? This last week, with the new construction beginning on northbound I-35 near SW Blvd., there have been many signs, posted LONG before the lane closures, telling people to merge right, the left lanes are closed. Most people move over in plenty of time, but then we have those goober who zoom ahead, right up to the cones, and then try to merge over in front of the folks who already did the right thing.

There is no way in hell that if someone is too stupid or too arrogant to merge before their lane ends that I am letting them in. I absolutely won't give em space. Now, I will be happy to let people move over if they are trying to merge earlier, but if you wait too long, hell no! When they point and yell and flip me off, I just wave and smile. Stupid drivers!

*hops off his soapbox*
Thank you!

[dangerboy]

I agree. That problem is really bad all around this area. I like what they do in the UK. I think it's called "merge in turn." Everyone stays in their lane and then takes turns merging right at the place the lane closes. It cuts out the line jumpers and the minimizes the backup because people aren't getting in line miles before they need to.

http://www.iam.org.uk/Pressroom/News_Re ... r0115.html

[scooterj]

There was an article posted on fark.com a while back where the problem had gotten so bad in a city out west (Potland or Seattle I think) that police started staking out a particular trouble spot and issuing tickets.

And yeah, I hate those people too. I'm polite and let other polite drivers in, and taking turns when merging is the quickets/smoothest way to go for everyone. But when I encounter someone who tries to cut around the line and merge at the last second I'll do whatever I can to stop them... either by drifting a little right to block them if I see them coming up behind me, or if they are alongside me, closing the gap so they have to stop and wait for someone meeker than me to let them back in.

[staubio]

This crap happens everywhere and is one of my biggest pet peeves. I can definately tell a difference in my stress level when I resort to the car over the bike to get to work. People wait patiently through 2 lights in the on-ramp lane only to have a line jumper zoom by and slip in. The same thing happens in the triangle, where people will skip ahead around a mile of gridlocked 71 south and 470 exit lanes and try to sneak in.

I think these people's cars should explode when they try doing things like that.

[dangerboy]

MoDOT has but double solid lines on I-470 approaching the Triangle, in order to force people into the proper lanes earlier. The highway patrol and local police have been aggressively enforcing the new layout.

[dangerboy]

Here's another question, will the Noland Road and I-435/I-70 interchanges have any architectural detailing like US 71? That was an idea in the MIS open houses, but they never said if it was approved in the final design.

[mean]

While we're on the subject, I cross the L&C viaduct twice a day, and merging onto 35-S from 70-E is really obnoxious. People who know the left lane exits onto 70-E apparently like to assume nobody will be coming from the viaduct and just zip right over into my lane, forcing me to slam on my brakes at least 1-2 times a week. VERY dangerous.

[bahua]

Another ass-driver zone is southbound I-29, between 635 and the Broadway Extension. I come south on 29 from 64th every afternoon after work, heading home. The speed limit, for good reason, is reduced to 55, just before the 635 interchange, but that's just unacceptable to Jed in his F-750 taking up a lane and a half, and to Jeremy in his w1ck3d gr0undFX Del Sol. I slow down to about 60 MPH, where the road gets the two lanes from 635, signal, and get over one lane, which in about a mile, becomes the exit ramp for the Broadway Extension. Jed and Jeremy use these lanes too, but that's just to feed their 90 MPH agenda, and then without signalling, hammer over into the left lane when the BE exit threads off to the south. I have seen Jed and Jeremy cause accidents on this stretch, and I have heard that KCMO police have even been killed there, because of crazy drivers.

[Gladstoner]

What the hell is up with people on I-35? This last week, with the new construction beginning on northbound I-35 near SW Blvd., there have been many signs, posted LONG before the lane closures, telling people to merge right, the left lanes are closed. Most people move over in plenty of time, but then we have those goober who zoom ahead, right up to the cones, and then try to merge over in front of the folks who already did the right thing.

There is no way in hell that if someone is too stupid or too arrogant to merge before their lane ends that I am letting them in. I absolutely won't give em space. Now, I will be happy to let people move over if they are trying to merge earlier, but if you wait too long, hell no! When they point and yell and flip me off, I just wave and smile. Stupid drivers!

*hops off his soapbox*
Thank you!

This is the scourge of modern civilization. It is the primary cause of traffic jams. It isn't just the a$$-hat aggressive drivers. The idiots that let them in are an integral part of the problem. It is a symbiosis of morons on both ends of the scale. It is similar to the phenomenon of email spam, where the root of the problem is morons falling for the B$. The traffic problem will continue as long as people are pathologically polite. With the aggressive types, it's all about them. If it's made hard for them, they'll modify their ways. Nothing would bring joy to my heart more than seeing a row of pick-ups along the shoulder with drivers covered in cobwebs.

Another, more puzzling thing: With plenty of room in light traffic, and plenty of warning signs, people wait until the last moment to merge over. I just don't understand that.

Another peeve: Also with plenty of room in light traffic, someone will come up behind you almost to your bumper, and then pass without slowing. Question: Why not just change lanes several car-length back?

[Tosspot]

Also with plenty of room in light traffic, someone will come up behind you almost to your bumper, and then pass without slowing. Question: Why not just change lanes several car-length back?

It's a symptom of insecurity concerning one's penile endowments. They think they're showing you who's boss by pulling that stunt.

[GRID]

As long as people in this town continue to drive ten mph under the speed limit, drive slow in the left lanes, drive ten miles apart in slow rush hour traffic, don't get up to speed when entering the highway, don't use the auxillary lanes to accelerate and decelerate instead of the mainline lanes etc, I'm going to continue to go up and cut in front of everybody. There is no way in hell I am going to sit in traffic when the car in front of me seems to have no desire to catch up to the car in front of him and this not only slows down the general flow of traffic, but allows plenty of other people to cut in at the end. I'll just take advantage of the stupidity and cut in at the end.

It's annoying, but a blessing at the same time. People here have a very hard time using dual turn lanes, etc and that's fine, because that means that there is almost always open lanes for me while everybody else is clogged up in traffic.

I have never sat in extended ball game traffic in this town because I always drive pass literally miles of traffic and just jump into the extremely under-utilized dual and triple lanes in and out of the stadiums.

[Gladstoner]

I have never sat in extended ball game traffic in this town because I always drive pass literally miles of traffic and just jump into the extremely under-utilized dual and triple lanes in and out of the stadiums.

That's precisely what my brother, a veteran Chiefs fan, does. He says a turn signal is the kiss of death when exiting Arrowhead. I just let him drive.

[scooterj]

While we're on the subject, I cross the L&C viaduct twice a day, and merging onto 35-S from 70-E is really obnoxious. People who know the left lane exits onto 70-E apparently like to assume nobody will be coming from the viaduct and just zip right over into my lane, forcing me to slam on my brakes at least 1-2 times a week. VERY dangerous.

None of them have been me, I always check over my shoulder. Though I did screw up once... the first time I went that way after they re-opened that ramp when it was closed for construction for several months. I glided right on over without looking because I didn't know the ramp was open and had no idea someone might be there.

[Gladstoner]

While we're on the subject, I cross the L&C viaduct twice a day, and merging onto 35-S from 70-E is really obnoxious. People who know the left lane exits onto 70-E apparently like to assume nobody will be coming from the viaduct and just zip right over into my lane, forcing me to slam on my brakes at least 1-2 times a week. VERY dangerous.

None of them have been me, I always check over my shoulder. Though I did screw up once... the first time I went that way after they re-opened that ramp when it was closed for construction for several months. I glided right on over without looking because I didn't know the ramp was open and had no idea someone might be there.

Speaking of the viaduct, I've wondered why they couldn't have just renamed it I-670 when they built the newer portion. People driving through from out of town won't want to exit I-70 and will unwittingly take that rickety detour instead of sailing straight through on 670.

[scooterj]

Speaking of the viaduct, I've wondered why they couldn't have just renamed it I-670 when they built the newer portion. People driving through from out of town won't want to exit I-70 and will unwittingly take that rickety detour instead of sailing straight through on 670.

It would probably take an act of both states as well as the federal government to redesignate the interstates. And KCK probably wouldn't be too keen on a redesignation that would result in all out out-of-town traffic being redirected away from their downtown.