Ramps: More than just On and Off
May 10 '00
Part of being a safe driver is having good driving skills. This epinion will focus on the skill of merging into moving traffic.
Most multi-lane highways with limited access have very well engineered means of entering and exiting the highway. Most people call these "on-ramps" and "off-ramps," and I think this may be part of the problem. These ramps are for more than just entering and exiting, and that is why they're more correctly referred to as "acceleration lanes" and "deceleration lanes."
To enter a multi-lane highway, with traffic moving at 55-75 mph, the acceleration lane exists to allow a vehicle moving at low speed to maintain the speed of the other cars before trying to enter the flow of traffic. The deceleration lane allows vehicles to leave the flow of traffic, before reducing speed. It seems many people don't get this.
Too many times I'll see people enter a highway where traffic is moving at 70 mph, and they're moving at 55 mph. The cars in the lane they're entering must change their speed to accommodate the entering car, and this is dangerous. Similarly, when a car exits the highway, the vehicles behind them should not have to change their speed.
Often I'll see people stop in the acceleration lane to look over their left shoulder to try to find a gap they can insert themselves into. This is extremely dangerous. Not only have you stopped in a lane that people are accelerating in, you're entering a high-speed road from a standstill. My advice; practice using your side-view mirror, and get more skilled at judging speeds and distances, so you can cleanly insert your vehicle into the flow of moving traffic. For those of you who slow down before leaving the highway, bear in mind that nothing you do should force other drivers to change their speed. Get into the deceleration lane, then put on your brakes.
If everyone followed these simple concepts, highways would be much safer. So before you enter the world of high speed, limited-access divided-highways, make sure your skills are up to speed, and so is your car.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
DiamondDave
|
|
Member: Dave Roth
Location: Mebane, North Carolina
Reviews written: 66
Trusted by: 23 members
About Me:
Slightly sarcastic Yankee transplanted in the South. Penn State alum and all-around good guy.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.