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Old December 29th 04, 07:13 AM
Nate Nagel
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Anthony Giorgianni wrote:

> I think Dave is right on, though a bit vitriolic. This "enabler" idea is the
> problem, Alexander. As a driver - and not a police officer or driving
> instructor - you're not there to teach lessons or dole out punishments. (And
> in all likelihood you neither taught him a lesson or succeeded in punishing
> anyone but yourself. And you really would have been punished if he
> side-swiped you.) You need to concentrate on getting to where you are going
> as safely as possible. As Dave pointed out perhaps a bit too eloquently, you
> should have been able to anticipate the potential danger you caused when you
> came out and tried to pass the other driver in the very lane that he was
> merging onto.
>
> That being said, I agree with you that it is VERY frustrating trying to
> enter behind someone who refuses to get up to highway speed. Going onto a 65
> mph highway at 45 mph is really dangerous. This happens to me a lot. Here's
> what I do: I try to slow down much as possible to widen the gap between me
> and the slow poke ahead. Then, after he's on the highway, gun and merge at
> full speed if I can. Of course, being aware of your surroundings is
> critical. You have to look at the traffic on the on-ramp behind you as well
> as take measure of the traffic in the right and center lanes of the highway
> on which you're merging. If you come on at full speed and the slow guy is
> still not up to speed, then you need to know if you can pull in the center
> lane at that point - of course leaving yourself enough time to make sure he
> is not going to do the same thing. This is the art of defensive, creative,
> controlled and safe driving. And you'd be much better practicing that than
> worrying about how to punish or teach someone who doesn't understand how to
> drive safety. It also will make you safer.
>
> That's my view anyway.
>


I've found that often these slow mergers also merge early, which offers
an easy solution to the whole problem - just stick your foot in it and
use the acceleration lane to pass the slowpoke. Sure, they'll think
you're a jerk but there's no safer place to be than in *front* of them,
and it's less frustrating for you as well.

nate


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