Yep, too many deaths associated with I-81 accidents.  I avoid it as much as possible.

This is one reason I like narrow cars. Wider is not better. Pass them on the shoulder and merge from the shoulder after I regain my speed. Zero fucks given.

For a quick car, merging at equal speeds to the flow is ok. You can grab a spot pretty easy.

For a slowly accelerating car, you want to get +10mph and brake into a space if necessary. Speed is the maneuvering advantage.

I hate them too.

And after they have driven 50 miles in the left lane at 5 under the speed limit.

14 in wv.. martinsburg. It's like a half mile merge ramp and these stupid goatfuckers here still haven't figured out how to do it properly.

taking 12 northbound is the absolute worst though. I'm surprised there's not accidents/deaths there every day. People drive up that little hill doing 40 the whole way, trucks come flying down off that overpass and it's scary as hell when the fucktard in front of you is creeping along and doesn't even bother to look at what's coming up behind them before making their leisurely merge.. the rage... it's hard to control

Sounds pretty similar to the way I do it too LOL

45? this time of year I'd welcome the 45 mph merger.

we get people doing 35 on the on-ramps....  the Q-tips.


Q-tip, because all you can see is some white hair above the seat back.

And then when they finally do merge you are stuck behind them for a couple miles doing 10 under as the cars behind you sling shot past you with no opening.

There is a small percentage of idiots around here that will come to a fucking stop at the end of the merge lane.  These people should be shot.

You can tell 1/2 way up the acceleration ramp is you are behind one of those FUDs.  In that case, I just pull to the shoulder, wait till he is gone then floor it.
Thanks to the Army, I have lived in 7 states. MO, specifically St. Louis has the worst drives for this.  Those assholes will get to the end of the acceleration lane, slam on their brakes, come to a dead stop and wait for a HUGE FUCKING hole to merge in to.

After coming to a complete stop at the end of the ramp, they NEED a huge fucking hole to merge into. Assholes!

I just recently went back to MN for a visit after living in CA for almost 11 years. God, I forgot how horrible those on/off ramps were.

Merging onto an interstate should be a required skill tested during driving tests.  As far as the asshats that slow down getting off the interstate, fuck be upon them too!!  We have a major route off of I-20 that goes into downtown.  It is the major highway everyone takes in the morning.  Keep in mind it is a gentle merge, lots of long sweeping curves angled for high speed.  In my Mustang I have taken it at 80  In the wife's Pilot, an easy 65-70.  Of course this was off hours.  But in the morning traffic is flowing smoothly along that stretch of I-20.  And as usual some dick head has to slow down to 35-45 to handle those curves ahead. Traffic starts backing up for no damned good reason.  Next thing you know you have the late mergers from the center lane cutting off drivers in the right lane about to merge.  
And this is why and where my '95 Mustang GT convertible was totaled out 2.5 years ago.  I stopped in time, but the bitch behind me had just jumped the lane and the woman behind her was accelerating to try and keep her from cutting in line and she ran slap ass into the bitch behind me.   I had stopped in time, but bitch behind me slammed me into the car in front of me and that one went forward and hit another.  
No one saw bitch behind me merge at the last second except woman behind her, so no one to collaborate the story. And woman behind her just had her insurance lapse that morning.

Kill the following:
Slow entrance ramp drivers
Entrance ramp drivers that come to a stop
lane jumpers that are in too fucking big of a hurry to ride with the slower traffic in the right lane until the exit
drivers that slow down to 45 or less exiting
Left lane campers
Assholes that tail gate someone like they are trying to hurry them down the road but all traffic is slow.

Almost happen to me in Colorado. I'm glad the semi-truck driver was on it!

The worst are those who refuse to use the merge lane and stop dead right where the merge starts and waits for an huge break in traffic. At least fucking try to do it right.

Pisses me off when I'm behind a 2016 Mustang GT (this happened to me yesterday). You've got 435hp on tap. I'm in a 14 year old Miata with (when it was new) 142hp, and that's if I wind the fuck out of it. And I can practically read the brand stamped on your muffler. 

Get the fuckin' lead out of your ass. We're both merging onto a toll road where people are doing 75mph. We should not be doing 45-50mph at the end of this generously long on-ramp. Move your ass. 

Those stupid-ass off/on ramp combinations are all over the twin cities. I don't know what brilliant civil engineer came up with that idea, but if ever invent time machines, my first stop is to bitch slap that idiot when he submits the engineering drawings.

To make matters worse, just about everyone wanting off the highway does their damnedest to accelerate to be in front of the merging onramp to make sure they get off first. Usually accomplished by slamming on their brakes two car lengths in front of the accelerating driver.

Best example is the 694/94 interchange over by Oakdale. Lots of semis mixed in with morons.

m 

You city folk have different problems, I worry about deer merging with me.

Scared of the interstate and stupid is a bad combination.  Adding in a bad driving as well while you merge makes them just plain dangerous.  And now I've seen people texting while merging.  

I like this idea...

If you can safely change lanes to allow them to merge you are supposed to.  Otherwise you are impeding the flow of traffic.  I used to write people for it all the time.

ETA - yes, they should be at speed when they merge, not at 30.

This, holy shit.  Hell, almost all cars accelerate to 65 quickly these days.  I have a 1988 Toyota Pickup with a carbureted 4 cylinder.  If I can do it with that truck, nobody in a modern vehicle has an excuse.

Ooops

Tell me about it. There I am riding the ass of a car that can accelerate to 60mph in a touch over 4.5 seconds, in a shitbox Miata that needs like 8 seconds (if I sidestep the clutch and launch at 3,000rpm power shifting it with my right foot glued to the floor and bouncing off the rev limiter...), hoping to avoid being run over while merging. WTF is the point of having all of that horsepower if you're just going to drive it like a hyper-miling bitch Prius owner? 

Fuck self driving cars. I'm buying pre talk-to-each-other-cars only. Fuck that hackable noise.

Never ceases to amaze me the idiots who are clueless with merging whether it's interstates, boulevards, etc. If conditions warrant, I merge like I'm exiting the Nascar pits.

...let's not forget their LARGE wallet chained to their belt loops.

At 30-55mph, depending on the track? 

My favorite move are the anti destination league assholes who will airball a right turn on red just as my left turn arrow to the on ramp turns green.

They then drizzle down the on ramp and merge at 30mph, putting me between them and a semi doing 55-60.

I have passed a couple of them on the shoulder over the years. It is also about the only time I will relentlessly tailgate the fuck out of someone.
Stay the fuck off the big, bad freeway if you aren't gonna do freeway speeds.
I get that some circumstances dictate a more delicate approach to driving and if you are driving an older or heavily loaded vehicle it may take you a while to get up to speed. I own a 95hp Toyota pickup that can't get out of its own way but I at least make a go at merging at traffic flow speeds.

Another favorite are the douchecanoes who get on the freeway at 30, flying dutchman across all 4 traffic lanes and sit in the hammer lane until the carpool lane entry comes up, they then trundle along doing around the double nickel in the carpool/toll lane, infuriating the people who are driving 2 up or have paid the $8.00 to use the carpool lane.

ETA: I think we should legally be allowed to use paintball guns to shoot at these fucksticks. The brightly colored dots all over their cars can serve as a warning to other motorists that they are in the presence of somebody who is deficient in the brain cell department.

I've done this a few times.
And if I'm on the Interstate approaching an on ramp and see someone coming down the on ramp, I move over if at all possible.

This is gd, get out of here with your logic and stuf

Those fkn stop signs at the very end of on ramps are the craziest shit I have ever seen!
1st time I saw one was a rest area near Pittsburgh. Was pulling a stacker trailer with a way underpowered truck, no fkn way I was going to stop there and try to get up to speed again.
Even in my car, no way in hell am I trying to jump out from a dead stop into 80mph traffic. I still have a WA drivers license so roll like I am exempt from that stupidity
They have metered on ramps in WA that you have to stop at, but at least they give you ~100yd run to get up some speed after you get the green light.
These pretty much do exactly what you said about leaving a gap.

Here is some crazy shit. Of all the states I have driven in, NJ has had the most heads up and courteous drivers I have seen.
Always seemed like they were paying attention to what was going on around them and would move over and give you the lane.
So many people are oblivious and drive like they have blinders on. Just no fkn clue. Western WA is infested with this type. Maybe that chunk of road is their safe space?

I'd settle for making it legal to just give them a nudge along with the push bars.

My old 1986 Ford Ranger 4 cyl could hit 60 by the end of the ramp most of the time. There is no reason cars of today can't do the same.

The yield sign means they must yield to you. I don't move over if I see they aren't even trying to merge properly.

No.  Anyone that even touches their brakes while merging is a tool.  As soon as those brakes light up every other mouth breather on the highway feels compelled to hit their brakes too.  Fucks up the whole flow of traffic and is the reason I-70 traffic sucks donkey dick at every on ramp.  Just thinking about the backups (for absolutely no reason) at Georgetown make my face twitch.  

People who can actually fucking merge is one of the only perks of living in CA, aside from the weather.

When I was in St Louis, I saw my first stop sign on an onramp, and immediately thought what the fuck is this retadation.

U triggered bro?

Fucking brilliant!

I've seen a Prius driver attempt the low speed merge, and was rightfully forced into the shoulder by a string of big rigs doing 65 in the right lane. If you're going the right speed, it's so easy to slide into sequence. 

My last car (02 Focus ZX3) was really slow, I mean really really slow, so I would have to carry a bit of speed onto some of the shorter on ramps or clover leafs in order to merge with traffic. Occasionally I would stumble on someone (almost always a woman in a Pontiac Bonneville) who would pussy foot their way around the clover leaf or all the way down the on ramp then punch it at the very end, they would have the power to be up to speed in time but my poor little focus just couldn't pull that off.

That shit always pissed me off. Now I've replaced that car with a Focus ST, so the issue is solved.

This is always my biggest peeve.  This is why when the wife is in the car she's my spotter.  Helps to have help looking out for on-ramp stopping jackwagons while you're checking over your left shoulder with the gas pedal to the floor.  

On-ramps are pretty much the only opportunity I get to floor the pedal and let the engine wind out.  There's no reason during that time my minivan should out accelerate a motorcycle or Corvette...but for some stupid reason it does sometimes.  

I have been driving a loooooooooooooooooooong time and have the innate ability to visually spot ( well in advance ) dipshit drivers. ie: riding their brakes - following too closely / too far - signals left on / or no signal - lane swerve - going to fast or going to slow - apprehensive moves - merging too slowly or recklessly etc etc etc ....

They just stand out to me as nearly everything they do in the coarse of driving is 'against the norm'

Just speed up - slow down or change lanes to avoid them. Accidents follow the dipshit drivers and you do not want to get caught up in the prop wash of something they create. Learn to identify them and re-act accordingly... you will have lower ins rates and spend a lot less time in courtrooms and body shops.

carry on

I remember a buddy of mine had a 69 Mustang GT390 fastback.  Said merging was easy, he just looked for a spot long enough for the car and by the time he hit the bottom of the ramp he was at highway speed!

I invariably find the idiot here in Knoxville that will stop on the entrance ramp to the interstate, usually in the west side or downtown area,  they will come to a complete stop, turn and look for traffic to clear before entering I-40

 I live near Cedar Bluff and Lovell Rd. I daydream of a roof mounted belt fed for my truck.

Damn right!

The other one that pisses me off is kind of the opposite....Here in Binghamton, NY in the construction zone, 81N through town has a short temporary on ramp from Rt7 that is complicated by the folks you speak of AND people who are doing well north of 60mph in a 45 construction zone. Had a real close call with a big rig doing 70mph even though I was doing a solid 50 by mid ramp. If there was a time for a cop it was then!

I like the paint ball idea from above!

You said disintegrate three times.z

I was in Tulsa OK and watched a blue hair do this "OMG I can't merge" and STOPPED with a semi behind her, she had plenty of room and time she just needed to accelerate a little. He must have been doing exactly that (mirror check) didn't look like he ever hit the brakes. She may not have gotten the chance to learn from that mistake. Course she had probably done it a million times by that point.

Most drivers apparently never learn that the accelerator is just as important to driving as the brake.

I just hate the inattentive drivers regardless what they do, and they do it ALL.
we have a 4 lane that comes to a Stop light and turns into a 2 lane, it amazes me the number of people I pass with them doing 45 (in a 60 mph zone) and me doing 65-70, when they get to the stop light decide they NEED to be in front of me so they can do 45 MPH again IN FRONT OF ME...... and literally will drag race to get there and then do 45 MPH.
The people that pull out in front of a car doing 65 mph, with no one behind that car and go 100 ft and turn into another drive.
The ones that have to literally stop to turn.
The ones in the left lane doing less than the speed limit UNTIL you go to the right lane to pass, then they wanna race and when you finally pass them they slow back down to 5 under the speed limit and do it again.
The people that drive down the road with no idea where they are going and stop at every road or driveway to check their address and see if that's it.
The people doing 10 over in the left hand lane saying "I'M GOING OVER THE SPEED LIMIT, if they want to pass they can change lanes".... news flash if you are holding up traffic in the left lane at 200 mph GET THE F OUT OF THE WAY you are IMPEDING THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.

I have several times in my driving been passing a car and them accelerate and keep matching my speed, if you have the room its entertaining to stay there and just let them... when they finally look over at you with the "WHY ARE YOU RIDING BESIDE ME LOOK" (because they are inattentive and dont notice they are doing 100+ MPH) its always fun to point at the dash and watch the look of pure HORROR as they realize they are doing XXX Speed while standing on the brakes......  

That's before you add in the cellphones and texting.. that just makes it INSANE.
on the road one morning I watched a guy at 65 MPH holding a phone to both ears and legal pad on the steering wheel.........

Like I said I just hate inattentive drivers, they NEVER learn because they never pay any attn to what they are doing or what anyone else is doing. I think starting out on a motorcycle made me learn to be attentive to everyone.

I'm actually surprised we don't have MANY more fatal car accidents than we do.

Larry

I slammed into one of those fuckers several years ago.   Had a truck passing me on the left and a semi right on my ass.  She merged in at about 40*mph.   Rather than risking getting squashed by the semi behind me,  I slammed into her doing about 60

Fortunatley,  she did very little to the 450 pound bumper welded to my frame.   Her little Malibu was a twisted,  totaled wreck wrapped around a guard rail.