Thread: Does anybody know (or care) about how to merge on a freeway

Originally Posted by Big Shed

On that note, it will be interesting to see the outcome of this trial:

Northern Territory returns open speed limits in road safety trial |#CarAdvice

Yeah go for it - NT already has ~5x more deaths per 100,000 people and ~6x more deaths per 100,000 vehicles compare to the rest of Australia

I have seen and participated in this discussion many times. Everyone has to accept one thing and that is the government's primary aim in road legislation is revenue. Victoria is an absolute prime example, the revenue dropped so the tolerance band of non compliance dropped to effectively zero. Queensland is heading the same way from what I can see.

On another note those that quote an unblemished or near unblemished driving record as an example of good driving are not on a safe thing. My driving record is millions of kilometres in heavy vehicles as well as cars with no accidents but to me it does not mean a thing. It is the skills that produced that record that are important. There are those who indeed have an unblemished driving record and who have caused accidents or frustration on the roads and go one their merry way. It is a bad indicator in all respects. The only way to become a good driver is to practise the specific skills required to do that and to be very aware of practising and also of their surroundings at all times. How many of us do that? I think the answer is zero. The problem is as a general rule none of us even know the skills we need let alone practise them. Getting in a car and keeping a safe distance is only one thing of the skill set required and the government has no intention to show us any more. Perhaps that is unfair ion the authorities but they are the ones who profess to be our guardians in road safety so I think it is only fair that they educate us in all aspects of safe driving. Safe by the way does not in my book mean slow, quite the opposite in fact. Slow only extends journey times and increases fatigue.

Originally Posted by BobL

Yeah go for it - NT already has ~5x more deaths per 100,000 people and ~6x more deaths per 100,000 vehicles compare to the rest of Australia

But somehow I don't think those statistics are related to a sealed bitumen road which hasn't had a speed related fatality in 10 years.

It is more a factor of the NTs demographics and the number of unsealed roads being driven on by old cars at an unsafe speed. Some of these roads (tracks) are basically unsafe at any speed.

What is the saying? It is not speed that kills, it is the sudden stop at the end

How many times are you driving in autopilot and then suddenly you realise the last 10 minutes is a complete blank? I find this quite scary and as work/home pressures build up I found this happening more and more often.

When I did my driving instructors course the instructor taught us to constantly verbalise our actions and observations (e.g. checking mirrors, distance scan, check speed, local scan, passing traffic lights ahead, check mirrors, applying brakes, check mirrors etc . . . . ) and after about 15 minutes we'd pull over and he would tell us what we'd missed. After 5 weeks we had to do a driving test for 30 minutes test where we did nothing but this - to pass the test you had to get 95% ie you could afford to miss 5 in 100 things. To get to this level we had to practice out of class time I'd do this every time I drove and continued to do this mentally for many years afterwards. I should start doing that again as I found it really increased my attention to what is going on. It's not a cure but it the best way I know of self-honing what I do.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I have seen and participated in this discussion many times. Everyone has to accept one thing and that is the government's primary aim in road legislation is revenue. Victoria is an absolute prime example, the revenue dropped so the tolerance band of non compliance dropped to effectively zero. Queensland is heading the same way from what I can see.

On another note those that quote an unblemished or near unblemished driving record as an example of good driving are not on a safe thing. My driving record is millions of kilometres in heavy vehicles as well as cars with no accidents but to me it does not mean a thing. It is the skills that produced that record that are important. There are those who indeed have an unblemished driving record and who have caused accidents or frustration on the roads and go one their merry way. It is a bad indicator in all respects. The only way to become a good driver is to practise the specific skills required to do that and to be very aware of practising and also of their surroundings at all times. How many of us do that? I think the answer is zero. The problem is as a general rule none of us even know the skills we need let alone practise them. Getting in a car and keeping a safe distance is only one thing of the skill set required and the government has no intention to show us any more. Perhaps that is unfair ion the authorities but they are the ones who profess to be our guardians in road safety so I think it is only fair that they educate us in all aspects of safe driving. Safe by the way does not in my book mean slow, quite the opposite in fact. Slow only extends journey times and increases fatigue.

A lot of good points Chris. I think I've made it quite clear that I think a stinking attitude has a lot to do with the problems on the roads. When the government themselves act like crooks, using the law to squeeze more cash out of motorists pockets, while doing little to increase driving skills and road safety, drivers attitudes can be expected to be less than perfect. There's probably little revenue to be raised by having plain traffic-police cars targetting all the a*****e drivers out there too.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

. . . . . Safe by the way does not in my book mean slow, quite the opposite in fact. Slow only extends journey times and increases fatigue.

That Solomon curve really is pretty scary when it is examined closely.

When I did my driving instructors course the instructor taught us to constantly verbalise our actions and observations (e.g. checking mirrors, distance scan, check speed, local scan, passing traffic lights ahead, check mirrors, applying brakes, check mirrors etc . . . . )

Bob, I believe that is based on the way London police were (are?) taught to drive. I learned about it when I was about 19, and gave it a try. I found it greatly improved my awareness and improved my driving habits. Ever since then, I have, from time to time, practiced it (the verbalisation) again just to maintain the habit. While I'm sure this is not as useful as doing it under test, I'd recommend everyone to try it.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Bob, I believe that is based on the way London police were (are?) taught to drive. I learned about it when I was about 19, and gave it a try. I found it greatly improved my awareness and improved my driving habits. Ever since then, I have, from time to time, practiced it (the verbalisation) again just to maintain the habit. While I'm sure this is not as useful as doing it under test, I'd recommend everyone to try it.

It's something that is probably best taught after the driver has gained a bit of experience - so they even know what to look for. I've shown a few people and most of them thought I was nuts but it really does sharpen up sloppy driving behaviour.

A little bit off topic but something to be aware of. Some years ago I was working about a 5 hr drive from home. I filled up in the morning and spotted a book on tape (yes, quite a few years ago) in the servo. That looks alright, I'll give it a try.
The book was quite good, about an assassin at a sporting event, but when the story finished I looked up and had no idea where I was. I was still on the right track but I had zero recollection of the previous 2 hrs of driving. I had driven on Auto Pilot, into, through and out of Melbourne. I could not remember a single traffic light or intersection and I didn't recall interacting with any other cars or trucks. I don't think I caused any accidents but I can't be certain. I related the experience to my boss when I got to site. He wasn't too concerned and asked to borrow the tapes so he could listen on the way home.
He listened for about half an hour, realised he couldn't remember anything about the last half hour of his trip so turned it off.
Has anybody else had that experience? While merging (just to keep on topic )

Originally Posted by NCArcher

. . . . .Has anybody else had that experience? While merging (just to keep on topic )

Yep I know the problem very well, with and without audio books. I'm a keen audio book listener I listen to about a book every 2-3 days and often listen while I'm driving. If the plot is too complex/intense and the traffic is too dense I find I have to switch to a lighter book because I can't drive and absorb the plot. I typically will have several books I switch in and out of, including one that is easier to drive by.

SWMBO is a librarian and recommends books for older kids and young adults often finds me a half decent book that are not too kiddie but not too complex and a great for driving.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

On that note, it will be interesting to see the outcome of this trial:

Northern Territory returns open speed limits in road safety trial |#CarAdvice

Hope they have a good stock of body bags for when a car comes round a bend at speed and finds granma doing 60 or 80 less.
Heading back to Merredin in WA one night, lightning in the distance but no rain so I left the cruise control on 115, came round a bend to find Ma and Pa Kettle doing 40 - ABS, horn and finger all got plenty of work.
This is what will happen in the NT.

As for merging, the on ramp is your acceleration area and when you get to merge point your speed should be close if not matching the speed of the existing traffic so you can slide in without anyone having to brake.
It's not that hard.

As for merging, the on ramp is your acceleration area and when you get to merge point your speed should be close if not matching the speed of the existing traffic so you can slide in without anyone having to brake.
It's not that hard.

Spot on.

Originally Posted by smidsy

Heading back to Merredin in WA one night, lightning in the distance but no rain so I left the cruise control on 115, came round a bend to find Ma and Pa Kettle doing 40 - ABS, horn and finger all got plenty of work.
This is what will happen in the NT.

Actually the roads in the Territory are mostly pretty straight with bends about every 60 to 100 km or more. And if you are doing 115 km/h up there the local Ma and Pa kettles will be blowing the horn and raising the finger at YOU for going too slow.

Cheers

Doug

Originally Posted by smidsy

As for merging, the on ramp is your acceleration area and when you get to merge point your speed should be close if not matching the speed of the existing traffic so you can slide in without anyone having to brake.
It's not that hard.

Exactly, it's actually very simple yet for some reason I can't fathom, many drivers only go to an absolute max of 80 when the freeway traffic is doing 100, very very stupid, and not what is taught in the Victorian Road Rules handbook.

The worst part of all is when I am prevented from merging properly and effortlessly because the idiots in front of me won't speed up to match the speed of the traffic on the freeway. The last one was at 60 for the full length of the merging lane then decided to accelerate to a wopping merging speed of 70. Then to rub salt in the wound they accelerate to 100 once they are out on the freeway. IDIOTS.

How can so many do exactly the same wrong thing when what is taught is different.