Merging

[MAC_HATER]

i remember my old bus driver from primary school saying the biggest vehicle has right of way, pity that doesnt work either...

[fj40cruzapete]

maybe this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=815Uz3NR260

[Adoom]

maybe this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=815Uz3NR260

For a army Humvee, you think they could have given it a less wussy sounding horn...

[DVSMOTORSPORT]

They stopped it right at the interesting part!!

[Bling]

Tractor probably owned them

[cat007]

I had a goodie a while back in my Hiace campervan (read: 1987 Hiace with big bull bars and such a faded paint job that looked like it'd been sand blasted.)

Was in the T2 lane, because there was two of us in the vehicle, and when merging with the rest of the on-ramp this guy in a very new and shiny Toyota Prado 4wd thingy was well behind me, but sped up and tried to merge into me. Not infront of me, but stayed right next to me.
He started yelling about it being a bus and truck lane - I yelled back 'yeah, and see the T2 on that sign, and there's two of us in the vehicle'. He actually hit my wing mirror with his car, so I yelled "my van's real cheap to repair - let's see who comes out worse off" and held my ground. His mirror scraped all the way down the side of my fan as he finally backed off. Leaving a dust free line down my fan, no scratches on it though, whilst his wing mirror had a chunk taken out as it slid past and clipped the back.

I hung my head out the window and laughed at him and all the other motorists around him were yelling and tooting at him and yelling to me "good on you. That guy was an idiot"

Made my morning that's for sure

But yeah - it's not LAW to merge like a zip. It just makes things easier.
I always thought that when it comes to merging, it's not who's in the left or right lane, but who's in front, that has the right of way?

[stolic]

from an insurance stand point ( and from an article that featured in the news months back ) for merging lanes, BOTH parties have equal responsibility to exercise due care when merging.

for a while ltnz were looking at re-writing the law to read "don't be an inconsidderate Asshat" but they couldn't translate it into a language that impatient cocksucking "professional" drivers could understand

[BlakJak]

I got a ticket once for a cock up merger.

I was coming onto the motorway in my ST185, spotted a good gap and with indicators going, overtly pointed myself at the gap and headed for it... and a guy in an old landcruiser decided he didn't like me picking that particular gap and drove his bullbars up the drivers side of my car. I had to hard-stop due to having run out of onramp.

He wouldn't stop until he found a cop parked up on the side of the road.
We both tell our story to the cop, and I get a ticket for 'unsafe lane change'.

Bottom line: in a conflict, the vehicle travelling in a straight line (on the main road) has right of way, the vehicle moving between lanes or entering the roadway from elsewhere, is obliged to give way.

Merge like a zip is most certainly in the road code, but the law seems to very much be judged in the eyes of whoever's call it is afterward.

I came across the same cop a few weeks later and suspect in hindsight he regretted issuing me the ticket, but by that stage i'd paid it Not to mention $100's in panelbeating and paintwork for my door, front wheelarch, and wing mirror

[BZG Wagon]

This is what happened to me - it wasn't like an on-ramp where one lane has to merge into the other, this was more like two lanes just ending and turning into one. I'm in the porsche:



As soon as I started moving over after the lanes had ended he went for it. I was still ahead even when he was right beside me.
If I knew for sure (and I still find it hazy as to whether I was absolutely in the right) I would have happily let him scrape my door and then called the police.

[Bling]

It's not worth the hassle really. I come across it almost daily and you just have to be the bigger person. Though a toot and a finger is sometimes warranted No idiot is worth having your car off the road being fixed. No matter who is paying for it. Annoys me to have to say that too, as in a perfect world i'd just run them off the road and laugh as their car caught on fire in the ditch.

[tiny2009]

As soon as I started moving over after the lanes had ended he went for it. I was still ahead even when he was right beside me.

I had the same thing a couple of weeks back, but with no one in front of me and no one behind other driver. The other driver was some old guy (complete with those massive wrap around glasses) in a CR-V or something tried to pass after the lane closed so just sped up then did brake test, happily looked back to see his front wheels locked up and sledging down the road. With some luck he will at least think before being an old c**t next time, somehow I doubt it

[molex]

I get the exact same scenario quite often. Unfortunately for the offending party I drive a $400 Laser that I give exactly zero shits about damaging. I drive defensively (anticipating extreme retardation at all times) but if somebody really wants to play chicken when I'm clearly in the right (following the merge like a zip/I'm already well in front of them/have indicated my intentions theory of culpability) I'll happily trade paint. I work for an insurance company, know the claim managers and film my daily journeys. Best of luck to anybody that wants to try it on.

Daily frustrations also include merging onto motorways at low speed, I match speed with the traffic - line up with a gap, indicate and slot in. All going well nobody has to brake to avoid me and traffic flow is as near to unimpeded as is possible. Inevitably there are infinite numbers of dickless morons who think that an onramp is a drag strip which they race along until they literally run out of road at which point they come to a complete stop with their indicator on. I usually slot into my gap and hang left as much as possible so no undertaking dipshits can screw up the traffic any more than it already is.

If anybody reads this rides the white line until the end of an onramp - f#$k you, get some spatial awareness.

[Bling]

What camera do you run?

[molex]

It's an old 720p SD card based cam that I can never remember the brand name of. Bought it from Amazon a few years ago. Has one of those stick on wide angle lenses, ghetto 12v adapter. I modded it a bit so damn thing doesn't turn off when the screen is closed. I originally bought it for race footage as it does 720p @ 60FPS and has zero moving parts to vibrate to death.

I've been meaning to cut together a bunch of footage of assholes completely blocking this intersection every goddamn day ensuring nobody can get home from work and send it to somebody who might come and dish out tickets.