Without reading ever comment, when I encounter an exit lane that is also an entrance lane with merging traffic, I always yield to the cars entering and find a hole to merge into. The reason is that I have an unrestricted view but those entering have limited vision and rely on their mirrors. The only time its really a problem is when there is a solid stream of cars bumper to bumper entering.
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“Who has the better visibility?” is a good argument for deciding who should yield. For safety and politeness sake if nothing else.
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They tend to use the YIELD sign more in New England. Out here, I rarely see the YIELD sign on a freeway entrance, even on a cloverleaf. These are the only places I have seen a YIELD sign:
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At places where no entrance lane exists
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On a butterfly interchange where the tollgate was removed because the highway is no longer toll
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At places where construction has closed the entrance lane
Oregon traffic law gives right of way to traffic on the road, highway, or interstate over merging traffic so yield signs on entrance ramps/acceleration lanes are rare. Most drivers here have no clue what a yield sign means. If asked the most common answer is that “you don’t have to stop”.
More in ME and in NH north of Manchester. Everywhere else - no so much.
Part of the reason is the extremely short merge lane many highway entrances have. The newly constructed part of I-93 in NH address that problem. The merge lane after entering the highway is almost a mile long. It really eliminates the merge problem. Some entrances on I-93 in MA the merge lane is less then 100’.
I don’t know why this is so difficult. In the words of Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last”. If you are ahead of another vehicle at a merge point then the vehicle to the rear should yield, not race up and cut you off. Period. In addition, traffic ON a highway has right of way (in most states) over traffic attempting to enter the highway.
So, if I am on the highway and I am behind traffic merging onto the highway I yield because it is safer and prudent. If I am in front of the traffic entering then I take my right of way, unless it will cause an accident.
Lastly, if I yield my right of way to you then, for the love of god, please merge into the flow and DON’T keep slowing down or you will wreck the people behind me and behind you.
The Belt Parkway in NY is… the worst in that regard, as well as a few others.
That highway was designed in the '40s, with merge lanes that are only a few car lengths long, and they have never been updated.
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They shouldn’t need a sign in every instance. Often, this issue is addressed in driver’s handbook or by laws of the state. It’s not uncommon for this kind of verbiage- entering vehicles must yield to through traffic. Simple rule. Apparently hard to apply in real life. Lots of people are merge challenged…
Maybe I’m wrong but I think the example was a combination entrance and exit lane. We’ve got a few of those and they can be messy. Cars entering with a short acceleration lane but to exit you need to cross through the cars on the entrance lane. Multi tasking-put the coffee down.
I was reminded of another “who should yield” situation yesterday. Parking lots. With the exception of DUI, and pedestrian crosswalks traffic law enforcement in my state is limited to public alleys, streets, roads, and highways although obeying basic traffic laws in parking lots is highly encouraged. Yesterday I picked up my Grandson at school and needed to traverse a mall parking lot to reach public streets. I was proceeding slowly in the driveway when a giant SUV backed out of a parking space on my left. The female driver was looking me in the eye in her mirror. I stopped and beeped my horn. She continued to back up until I had to back up or be pushed out of the way. She then stopped in the driveway blocking it. I’m guessing that was to re-enforce that she was “Large and in Charge”! Unfortunately not uncommon behavior for some drivers of giant pickups and SUVs. Whatever. It reminded me of a similar incident years ago. Same scenario different vehicles. A midsize sedan backed out in front of me. I stopped and beeped my horn. They continued to back out forcing me to back up. The male driver stuck his head out the window and screamed “people backing out have the right of way!” Um… No. Of course different states have different traffic laws and in mine they don’t apply on private property but his vehicle had local plates.
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Lucky I live in a place where people for the most part are courteous and logical. The on off lane for cloverleafs seems to work fine, people let you in and you let people out, kind of like a dance.
Back in–I think–1959, I was a passenger in my father’s '55 Plymouth, and we had almost finished crossing a one-lane bridge when we came face to face with a red Wide-Track '59 Pontiac convertible. We were probably only about 5 feet from completing our passage of that very narrow bridge, but the dim-witted dame driving the Pontiac just kept chirping, “Back up, back up, back up”, and she refused to put her car in reverse.
While my father never suffered fools gladly, he quickly realized that there was no way of convincing this beehive-coiffed floozy that she was the one who needed to yield, so he backed-up 40 feet or so, and Miss Ditzy was then able to enter and to complete her passage of the bridge.
For years afterward, whenever we encountered a particularly dim-witted driver, my mother would light-heartedly chant, “Back up, back up, back up”, and we would all chuckle.
What a waste of a 59 Pontiac.
Love this sentence!