Merging cars who force their way in (and act willing to hit you)

[Anonymous]

Yes, they will hit you, OP. I once witnessed two cars get stuck side by side in a toll booth because neither would yield to the other. Some people are ridiculous jerks. All you can do is be a better person.

[Anonymous]

Glad to see most say let the driver in. Its totally not worth it and definitely not worth starting some rage over either

[Anonymous]

I always let them in. I don't need to "win" or be right. Yes, jerks win in this world. Bigly.

[Anonymous]

Let them in, you idiot. I’ll never understand why people act like merging properly will delay them an hour.

[Anonymous]

I don't think any driver wants to damage his own car with a collision - however, some are willing to let you think it, and some are comfortable with driving aggressively at close range.

I'm Parisian, and in Paris this is par for the course: the streets are narrow, the traffic hellish, the cars zip by, the motorcycles even more so, and you'd better have lightning reflexes to insert yourself where you want to go, otherwise no one is going to wait while you hover. I HATE it, because I'm the anxious and slow type

Many people in the DC area come from other places, so I have long thought this area's peculiar driving style comes from a mix of different driving expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just yield, even if you already let someone in. It will lower your blood pressure, ease traffic for everyone around you...you have done a good deed for the day. Is it really worth the stress of pulling up and blocking the jerk just because you're right? Because being right doesn't mean you can't just let things go on occasion.

I agree. Sometimes, if I let 2 cars go, someone else will too...no road rage.

[Anonymous]

Always let them in. What's 1 more second, 1 more car or 1 more light in the scheme of things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will hit you, OP. I once witnessed two cars get stuck side by side in a toll booth because neither would yield to the other. Some people are ridiculous jerks. All you can do is be a better person.

That would have been a hilarious sight.

[Anonymous]

I was almost hit one morning earlier this week in the 270 south local lanes at 28 by a woman who was ignoring the whole “merge” concept. She just suddenly appeared to my right, inches from me, as she was coming off the ramp. I actually had to accelerate ahead of her to avoid her hitting me. She then merged behind me and was shaking her head like I had been the unreasonable one!

Drivers in this area are the worst mix of entitled and stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was almost hit one morning earlier this week in the 270 south local lanes at 28 by a woman who was ignoring the whole “merge” concept. She just suddenly appeared to my right, inches from me, as she was coming off the ramp. I actually had to accelerate ahead of her to avoid her hitting me. She then merged behind me and was shaking her head like I had been the unreasonable one!

Drivers in this area are the worst mix of entitled and stupid.

If you had to accelerate to avoid hitting her and she was in the merge lane - you were going too slow!!! She's on a ramp...slower. Argh. You were the unreasonable one!

[Anonymous]

My uncle does this! He said it's because he knows the person behind him isn't going to really hit him and even if they do, it'll be their fault. He's actually gotten hit twice and both times, yes, it was the other driver's fault. He's gotten some nice insurance payouts this way.

I was in the car with him as a teen along with my cousin when a guy was tailgating him. It was a two lane road with a double yellow line, so the guy couldn't pass. It went on for miles and finally, my uncle said f-it and slammed on his brakes. BAM! The tailgater hit us and I'm sure my uncle got another insurance payout from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My uncle does this! He said it's because he knows the person behind him isn't going to really hit him and even if they do, it'll be their fault. He's actually gotten hit twice and both times, yes, it was the other driver's fault. He's gotten some nice insurance payouts this way.

I was in the car with him as a teen along with my cousin when a guy was tailgating him. It was a two lane road with a double yellow line, so the guy couldn't pass. It went on for miles and finally, my uncle said f-it and slammed on his brakes. BAM! The tailgater hit us and I'm sure my uncle got another insurance payout from that.

That's going to be a lot of consolation when someone gets injured.

I just don't think of these kinds of things in terms of "winning" or "being right." Yes, in my ideal world we all know how to properly zipper merge. But I'm not hurt by letting an extra car in front of me. It's not worth the stress and anxiety to "win" such an encounter. Just let it go. Pull over and let the tailgater pass you. Let the extra car in. You'll get where you're going anyway.

[Anonymous]

I always let the crazies in, but I would hope that if a collision occurred while one car was completely in one lane and moving, and the other car was straddling two lanes while in the process of merging in from a blocked lane in which traffic had come to a stop, the driver of the car changing lanes would be at fault.

[Anonymous]

I'm one of those drivers. (sorry, I know I'm a jerk in the car - I try to make up for it by being a good person outside of the car).

No, I won't hit you - I'm not a psychopath. But i want you to think I will hit you if you don't let me in so that you back off and let me in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will hit you, OP. I once witnessed two cars get stuck side by side in a toll booth because neither would yield to the other. Some people are ridiculous jerks. All you can do is be a better person.

That would have been a hilarious sight.

I have seen that, too. Both cars were canted up like the wings of a bird. It happened before I got there, and I'm (honestly) ashamed to say I had the passenger take a picture as we went through another toll lane nearby. Amazing.