SEATTLE -- It's perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of freeway travel.
Merging.
There is a classic debate about how to do it. But the fact is state law doesn't require anyone to move over and let you into traffic. You're forced to rely on someone else's common courtesy to make your life easier.
Merging drivers must yield to those on highway.
"At the end of the day, the responsibility falls on that driver that's entering the roadway," said Trooper Clark Jones, Washington State Patrol.
The confusion may be to blame for many of our highway choke points.
Drivers already on the freeway and traveling the speed limit should leave four seconds of following distance, according to the Washington State Department of Licensing Driver Guide. But not everyone follows the four second rule.
What's the biggest mistake merging drivers make?
"People always stop right away when they still have a lot of space to merge," said J.C. Fawcett, instructor at Defensive Driving School in Bellevue.
You may not realize it but merging and freeway travel are not included in the driving exam to obtain your license.
"I think it's a huge flaw in our system," Fawcett said.
The Department of Licensing does require teenage classrooms to include merging and freeway travel in their curriculum. Fawcett and others make sure students know the basics of each skill. But when it comes time to take the driving test, you don't have to prove you are good at merging.
"We are told to pass a C-minus driver," said Trevor Flatt, owner of 405 Driving School and Testing Center in Renton. "You get the feeling that some students are still shaky behind the wheel. But you have to pass them because, technically, they meet the requirements of our score sheet."
Washington State Department of Licensing spokesman Brad Benfield says merging and freeway travel have never been included on the test. The requirements are meant to suit all drivers across the state including those who live nowhere near a freeway. He says the current test covers all of the basic driving skills applicable in any situation.
"It's very possible that the person that's driving that car next to you may have just got their driver's license and has no training on the freeway let alone merging," said Fawcett.
Benfield says although the test requirements are always under review, there are no plans to include merging.
These excerpts are from the Washington State Department of Licensing Driver Guide:
Entering into traffic
When you merge with traffic, signal and enter at the same speed that traffic is moving. High-speed roadways generally have ramps to give you time to build up your speed for merging into traffic. Do not drive to the end of the ramp and stop or you will not have enough room to get up to the speed of traffic. Also, drivers behind you will not expect you to stop and you may be hit from the rear. If you have to wait for space to enter a roadway, slow down on the ramp so you have some room to speed up before you have to merge.
Space to merge
Anytime you want to merge with other traffic, you need a gap of about four seconds. If you move into the middle of a four-second gap, both you and the vehicle behind you have a two-second following distance. You need a four-second gap whenever you change lanes, enter a roadway, or when your lane merges with another travel lane.
- Do not try to merge into a gap that is too small. A small gap can quickly become even smaller.
- If you want to move over several lanes, take them one at a time. Like going up or down stairs one step at a time, it is safest and easiest to merge one lane at a time.
- When other traffic is trying to merge into your lane, move to another lane to give them space when it is safe.
