Imagine if you visited the island where I’m originally from and had to drive there, you’d feel very uncomfortable.
The thing is: it’s the norm there and people must change lanes frequently and people don’t seem to be rude as to obstruct or jump in front of someone when they are indicating to change lanes.
From the responses i received on this post thus far, it seems that people are not inclined to give way to drivers indicating to change lanes. Maybe it’s a cultural thing.
Based on the diagram with the faded red car, to change lanes safely in to such a small opening in the other lane, traffic would need to be moving less than 20 MPH.
Stay in the right lane. Be a slow poke and maintain a large distance ahead. It’s easier and safer. Doing so will cause the other lane to slow down as well as cars behind you will make unsafe lane changes to try to get around you, creating a small traffic jam behind them. You could then speed up using the space in front and change lanes with sufficient space to do so safely.
It would be nice proper following distance was maintained so that lane changes could be done when needed and safely. Instead drivers follow too closely. It helps them get there slightly faster, but this behavior leads to traffic jams as the close following distance will cause them to reduce their speed slightly more than the car in front if traffic starts to slow. This creates a chain reaction that flows through a line of vehicles which follow too closely until some distance behind, maybe 15 cars, traffic comes to a complete stop because the car in the lead slowed down a little bit to trigger the chain reaction.
I rode in a Taxi 20 years ago in Chicago. The driver said that he wouldn’t use his turn signal as people would do the opposite of slowing down to let him in. He said he preferred his garbage truck driver job as turning on his blinker clear out the lane next to him.
If people were going to be selfish and rude, New York would be the place that they would do it.
Just wanted to share with everyone the kind of driving and situations I’m used to. Merging is something I’m very good at. I’ve driven on some of the most difficult roads there are.
In New York though people don’t seem to understand what turn signals mean, or they don’t care.
Just my thought.
Here’s one explanation-the car is staying 1.5 car lengths behind the car in front, sees you intending to squeeze into that space, and speeds up to prevent another car from getting in front of him. He’s in a hurry, doesn’t want more delays.
Very helpful insight from the cab driver. Thanks for sharing.
I appreciate everyone’s response. They help me understand the challenges I’m facing in Newyork. Now I’ll just stop being amazed by what happens and understand this is just the way it is.
I drove in Florida in 2012 and experienced the opposite. People were so generous and courteous back there. It’s just a total different atmosphere there.
“Courteous” and “NY driver” are seldom used together.
You can keep it. I hope to never set foot in that state again.
Lots of New York, New Jersey and Ontario drivers in Florida thought, and in increasing numbers as New York empties. Hard to tell sometimes though because they have Florida plates with rental stickers on.
About 3 months ago I was traveling in the middle lane. There were 3 lanes. I needed to make an exit on the left, so I turned the indicator on ( I knew the driver in the left lane would not want me to merge). We were going about 20mph as the traffic was thick. The guy and his wife were riding in a dodge pickup. And they completely ignored my blinker and came all the way up to my window. I then scrolled the window down and yelled “ Bro, don’t you see my blinker on for a good while now ? I need to make that goddamn exit over there !!!’
Needless to say, the driver simply ignored me.
Apparently you are not good at Merging .
Buy a big truck lifted up and most of your problems will be solved. 
I might have done the same thing to you, while thinking to myself “that schmuck is not cutting me off”.
OK, I am driving in the left lane and I’m a bit behind you and driving at the same speed as you, what is wrong with that. Does NY have some inane law that says all vehicles in the Left Lane must be moving faster that the vehicles in Right Lane? No they do not!
But as a motorcycle rider I would never ride in this location, it’s in your blind spot… But for the sake of argument, I am there in my car and I see your directional come on, I will probably speed up. The only rational reason is you want to get in the Left Lane is to make a Left Turn and that means you would be pulling front me and then you would be slowing down, maybe even forcing me to stop for the on-coming traffic to clear so you can complete your Left turn…
If you just pull over, you are cutting me off and I would not know what your intentions are since you so inconsiderately cut in front of me with only feet to spare…
This sort of maneuver often gets people shot, do not do it…
Do the courtesy thing, slow down, let the other vehicle pass then pull over since (as I already wrote…) you are probably going to turn…
But as you wrote, “97% of the time that I now joke with passengers in my car,” you must make a habit of pacing the vehicles in the Left Lane to have it happen so many times that you have assigned a percentage to your “little maneuver…” I suggest you stop this before you cause an accident. That will change your percentages…
Just stop in traffic with your blinker on and block the whole lane until it clears up enough for you to merge. Drivers behind you will cut off the other lanes trying to get out of your lane, stopping traffic in those lanes too. Now the whole road is clear ahead so you can speed up quickly and change lanes.
I my area a vehicle stopped in a travel lane can cause traffic to become backed up for 1/2 a mile with bumper-to-bumper traffic going around that car, not a good way to make a left turn. Somehow most drivers manage to make lane changes without drama or road rage.
Technically the secondary effect of angry drivers behind forcing their way in to the adjacent lanes, blocking and stopping all the traffic behind those lanes, is what causes the half mile stand still.
Traffic is an interesting study of selfishness versus the greater good! I can save myself 3 seconds, but I will delay 100 cars behind me by 2 seconds each. That’s 66.6 seconds of delay to the greater good per second saved to me!
Don’t you believe blocking a travel lane for 20 minutes is a selfish and dangerous act? To wait until it is safe to make a lane change, then make a U-turn might take 30 seconds of time.
The problem with heavy traffic is that cars slow, thus reducing the capacity of the road. An interesting experiment is to allow five car lengths of space in front of you. It eliminates the speed up, slow down momentum for a steady rate of speed. Cars speed up and the highway capacity is increased. Try it sometime. It actually works. Lane changes can occur without any loss of speed. Sure some will take advantage but as it catches on, cars traveling at 70 increase the road capacity compared to cars going 30 and bumper to bumper. Works on entrance ramps too. Instead of five cars all bunched together trying to merge, allow some room to merge without slowing traffic.
There are as many different drivers as there are cars on the road. If the tactics you are using in New York are not working, I suggest you try something different. You are not driving on your home island, you are in New York. What you have written is the same as someone complaining that the whole Army is out of step with him, rather than considering that he might be at fault.
If you’re signaling to move into a lane with faster traffic, you speed up, to match the prevailing speed in that lane, you do not slow down. It’s the responsibility of the person changing lanes to safely do so Simply using your turn signal does not give you the right of way in this situation. . If you’re changing lanes and the people who are behind you when you change lanes have to slow down, then you didn’t do it right.
