🚀 go-pugleaf

<pobox---@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:3D5202AE.80BD97E3@ix.netcom.com...
> piper wrote:
> >
> > Once again on the way to work, I was reminded how rude many drivers in
> > Virginia are. It seems to be an unwritten rule in Virginia that instead
of
> > maintaining a constant speed and letting people merge onto the highway,
> > you're supposed to speed up to make sure they can't merge. Several times
I
> > observed this, and one driver (you know who you are 3DART4U) nearly flew
> > into a "road rage" because someone had the audacity to actually merge in
> > front of him after he sped up to cut the person off.
> >
> > I expect this type of rude and selfish behavior from a 3 year old.
Hopefully
> > by the time a person is old enough to drive they've actually grown up
and
> > matured past the emotional responses of a 3 year old.
> >
> > I dare drivers in Virginia to try an experiment on the way to or from
work.
> > Try letting someone merge onto the road or lane you're travelling on. It
> > won't take much, all you have to do is maintain a reasonable following
> > distance and maintain your speed (don't speed up). You'll be surprised
to
> > find that you'll get to work in the same length of time, and you'll be
alot
> > less stressed. And gosh golly wow, you will have actually done something
> > nice...
>

It's probably more DC Area and Northeast Corridor (Boswash) people that do
this. I try to do my best to actually do the above whenever possible, though
sometimes one of two things occurs: 1) If it's a cloverleaf on-ramp, it is
sometimes actually safer to try to speed up because the ramp size doesn't
allow enough time for traffic to accelerate to highway speeds or 2) Someone
on the ramp (again, often on a cloverleaf) decides to tailgate the person in
front of him (who I would allow in front of me) meaning I have to let them
both in at the same time by either excessively slowing down (to something
like 40 mph) or speeding up (which is usually the safer way). People
tailgating on on-ramps seems to be a favorite trick of Northern Virginians,
which is why I tend to stay out of the right travel lane unless the exit I'm
getting off at is too close to cut into the right lane after all traffic has
successfully merged.

> Believe me - Maryland is much worse!
>
> Just the other evening I was driving along Route 81 and
> everyone was rational, then on Route 66 (EB) a sign
> read: "Left Lane Closed Ahead; Bear Right." All drivers
> merged right and we passed the construction zone at 50 mph.
> In Maryland, most drivers would have been speeding in the
> left lane to try and get ahead of everyone else, creating
> a 15 minute backup! Greed!
>
> (km)