M is for Merging
Having published a blog on road rage a couple of months ago, this is one of those topics that just keeps on giving. If you are like me, you deal with this daily and it drives you CRAZY!
Merging shows people’s true colours. Merging brings out the best and worst in people. Everyone you ask has an opinion on merging and believes they are right.
So, not to be left behind, here is my interpretation. Unless signed otherwise, you don’t HAVE to legally allow drivers to get in. It is a courtesy, it is a safety precaution to play nice with mergers, it is decent, when safe, to give them the opening and let them in. No, you don’t HAVE to, but it makes for nice, safe motoring. The rules actually state that HE has to give way to you. If you cross a broken line, you have to give way. But I believe for safety you should play nice.
So, example, you are driving along as I was 5 minutes ago, I needed to merge, the lady in the right chose not to let me in, she didn’t slow down, she didn’t speed up, she didn’t move to the other lane which was empty. So I slowed, that’s ok, it’s my job to work with her, I had to give way, there were no signs, I hopped behind her and 5 minutes later ….she had to merge into another lane. Took it! She just TOOK it. Everyone OUT of the way, she’s merging! See, you have to be consistent. You either let them in and play nice and expect the same or you block EVERYONE because you can and expect the same. You can’t do BOTH!
There are some notorious exceptions on the Sunny Coast – the Kawana Exit on the motorway is one. Drivers go off at the Kawana Exit and back down to gain 100 metres and beat the converging traffic – now that’s cheating and I am happy to make them wait….but that’s not playing nice.. There is another one where they scoot up beside Sienna College, go really fast parallel to you, and then expect you to let them in – not happening.
The rule as quoted by the police is this: “you need to treat the situation as if you are changing lanes, meaning that you must give way to traffic already in that lane” and “a driver who fails to give way when the lines of traffic are merging can be fined $321 and 3 demerit points.” If you have 2 lanes going into one though – the driver who is even the teensiest bit in front get right of way.
But below is a really nice way to look at traffic and a way to take the sting out of your reactions. Sadly I’m not sure where it originated. Happy Merging. x
