Trucks Blocking Lanes At Construction Merges, Is This Legal?

[tv1217]

As for lane splitting and filtering on a motorcycle. That's one thing California got right. Even though it's illegal, I still do it sometimes. In heavy traffic and gridlock in particular, there's not much the cops can do about it in a car anyway, they're stuck too. They generally won't bother. By the time they get the lights on and get the other cars to move out of the way I'm out of sight and it has become a needle in a haystack situation. I might not even be on the highway/that road anymore, having turned off an exit or side street.

Maybe it’s roadside bombs, or just plain vigilance on my part, but I only leave just enough space between me and the vehicle in front of me so I CAN GET THE **** OUT IF NEED BE. You getting IN, is not on my radar, choose your space accordingly. I will view it as an attempt on me and mine.

For me, it depends on if I'm in a generous enough mood or not lol

 

[bwframe]

As for lane splitting and filtering on a motorcycle. That's one thing California got right. Even though it's illegal, I still do it sometimes. In heavy traffic and gridlock in particular, there's not much the cops can do about it in a car anyway, they're stuck too. They generally won't bother. By the time they get the lights on and get the other cars to move out of the way I'm out of sight and it has become a needle in a haystack situation. I might not even be on the highway/that road anymore, having turned off an exit or side street.

When riding, if I can see my out I'll take it, if there is plenty of clearance. I don't trust that there won't be a prick in line (like some truckers,) to "help" by swinging open a door to inhibit my motion.

Driving and riding in today's world requires a plan for everything. Especially when riding, if you let them, they'll kill you.

 

[tv1217]

When riding, if I can see my out I'll take it, if there is plenty of clearance. I don't trust that there won't be a prick in line (like some truckers,) to "help" by swinging open a door to inhibit my motion.

Driving and riding in today's world requires a plan for everything. Especially when riding, if you let them, they'll kill you.

Fair concern.

I've done it exactly once at speed, around 55 mph because of the usual oblivious left lane hog. That was uncomfortable, I dunno if I'd do that again. Ever other time has been in backup scenarios at speeds of 15 or less and I like to think that I'd either be able to react or at the very least if I do get knocked off, at least I'm wearing my gear and I'd be ok.

 

[bwframe]

Fair concern.


I've done it exactly once at speed, around 55 mph because of the usual oblivious left lane hog. That was uncomfortable, I dunno if I'd do that again. Ever other time has been in backup scenarios at speeds of 15 or less and I like to think that I'd either be able to react or at the very least if I do get knocked off, at least I'm wearing my gear and I'd be ok.

I don't make a practice out of it, but there are times when the advantage of thin quick maneuverable vehicle can be used.

As is the whole premise of this thread, who are other drivers to force their will on you, just because...?

Gotta be prepared though. You don't want to be trapped, without an escape from a pissed off driver that might just do anything. If it turns into a fight, then it is just road rage. No one wins in a road rage fight and we likely have a lot more to lose than the other a-hole.

 

[tv1217]

Even before I was a riding I've always made it a habit to look at not just the other vehicles on the road but at the people operating them as well. Through the windows or mirrors. You can often anticipate by head movement if someone is getting ready to change lanes even before they put a signal on. Some people(usually of the white hair variety)will throw a wrench in that one of course and just sit there like a damn statue no matter what they do.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

You guys who don't like people merging when the lane actually ends best stay away from Chicago. You'll all die of heart attacks in your fits of rage over the way they merge late there, and it doesn't have to be for construction.

If someone is having to slam on their brakes because someone is merging into the lane, then they are the issue not the person merging in. If they are keeping a safe distance behind the vehicle in front of you, then there should be plenty of room for someone to merge in. A simple short letting off of the gas should give them the appropriate gap once again with the newly merged car.

and therein lies the problem. The guy cutting in doesn't have enough space to do it safely and he has to slow down to the speed of the car he's following. Making the car behind him "let off the gas" or tap the brakes means he has to slow down....and whoever is behind him has to slow down.....and the next guy....and the next guy....

Face it, if the theory behind zippering actually worked, we wouldn't need 2 lanes. Just everyone pack into a single lane and run bumper to bumper at 35 mph.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

If zippering actually worked, why would DOT post "merge ahead" signs?

 

[1775usmarine]

and therein lies the problem. The guy cutting in doesn't have enough space to do it safely and he has to slow down to the speed of the car he's following. Making the car behind him "let off the gas" or tap the brakes means he has to slow down....and whoever is behind him has to slow down.....and the next guy....and the next guy....

Face it, if the theory behind zippering actually worked, we wouldn't need 2 lanes. Just everyone pack into a single lane and run bumper to bumper at 35 mph.

When the world goes to self driving cars and the governments ban all non self driving vehicles we can go back to having one lane and reclaim more land for electric vehicle charging stations.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I thought flipping you off and throwing a beer out the window was proper etiquette in martinsville? I have to drive that road every weekend for my oldest daughter, and it’s worse than 465 construction zones

Glad that my kid graduated from IU well before they started all of the road-work. Although she was in the class that saw a different men's basketball coach each of her four years there.

 

[Expat]

I am glad we all agree that you should be able to ram anyone trying to do a forced merge in front of you.

 

[KJQ6945]

Maybe it’s roadside bombs, or just plain vigilance on my part, but I only leave just enough space between me and the vehicle in front of me so I CAN GET THE **** OUT IF NEED BE. You getting IN, is not on my radar, choose your space accordingly. I will view it as an attempt on me and mine.

Thank you for making my point.

 

[tv1217]

I'm just gonna say it's a good thing The Force isn't real because I think a lot more of us than would like to admit would be using it to fling idiots off the road like paper footballs

 

[Vigilant]

I'm just gonna say it's a good thing The Force isn't real because I think a lot more of us than would like to admit would be using it to fling idiots off the road like paper footballs

I need to look into mounted cannon on my vehicles?

 

[IndyBeerman]

In most cases you're correct. But there are cases that the right lane is so damaged that it beats me and my work van to death or the lane is so rutted from semis that it pitches my van from side to side like a ship in heavy seas. In cases like that I stay in the least damaged lane until I see someone coming up behind me.

You can blame the contractors and the state for that, not the trucks on the ruts.

Contractors used substandard binder for the asphalt that resulted in the pavement breaking down and moving and disintegrating , causing the problems, THE main reason for the continued repaving on I-70 in Eastern and I-65in Southern Indiana.

On more than one occasion I have made comments that it should have been with concrete and not asphalt.

 

[Wstar425]

It is get beyond crazy that trucks are blocking lanes keeping the traffic from being able to zipper merge. Recently saw a miles long backup made several miles longer because about every half mile two trucks abreast blocked the road in some kind of vigilante traffic control. Sometimes they cannot find a partner to block with and they try to block the middle of the road. Surely a truck stopped with a half mile of clear roadway in front of them is creating an unsafe situation and by talking it upon themselves to control traffic, maybe committing reckless driving or some other violation.

Studies have shown that this blocking technique actually gets fewer cars per hour through the merge than if they just let traffic flow naturally.

i read the entire thread but will respond to the OP.

From a truck driver’s viewpoint it’s mostly a self defense and time saving move. Once traffic actually got backed up mostly to a stop, if all the trucks got immediately in the right lane and all the cars kept going in the left it would take the trucks MUCH longer to get to the merge. Conversely, the truck drivers don’t like going all the way to the front in the left lane because then they have a difficult time merging right into their blind spot, at least more so than a car. One can often creep along at a steady 7 mph instead of 15 mph then stop, 15 mph and stop. But if you do that by yourself you will have cars constantly moving right into the space in front of you. The double block move helps you and everyone in front of you, but really messes up everyone behind you. The blocking move might get fewer cars thru in a time period but it is getting ME!!!!! thru faster. That is the thought process.

Once in while you will be in the left lane passing and come up on a short notice merge and end up in the passing lane and not be able to get out. If a trucker runs to the front of the line in the left lane, all hell breaks loose on the CB about it. But, maybe that’s what all the trucks should do as well?

It really seems to me that everyone thinks their time is more important than everyone else.

Responding to other comments:

My pet peeve is when I pass another truck and then before I give him enough room to pull in front of him, a car will dart between us cutting him off and passing me on the right. Once that starts, others follow and you can’t get back over. People are mad at me but they are really doing it to themselves. I’m 73 feet long and I need at a minimum 250 feet to change lanes safely, with out cutting off the guy I’m passing, or tailgating the guy I’m now following. If I’m going to need to pass the guy I’m now behind in another 10 seconds I’m just staying out in the passing lane. Often you will get trapped behind another slow vehicle in the slow lane and you never get the needed 250 feet space to get back out in the left lane.

While you might be comfortable tailgating someone or having someone 10 feet off your bumper, I’m not comfortable having someone 10 feet in front of me, and when someone passes me and pulls over immediately it forces me to back off to get space. I have a big gap in front of my truck not to make it easier for others to change lanes, but instead I need that cushion to be able to stop safely. Think about that the next time you merge in front of a truck while everyone is clamping on the binders.....

I can run 70 mph but not any faster and I get frustrated same as four wheelers when two trucks take miles to pass. The slower truck should really back off 1 mph for 30 seconds and let the faster guy get around but with the new regulations some days every second is precious.

Finally, if you do something incredibly stupid directly in front of me while I’m rolling down the highway at 70 mph; you’re probably gonna get killed.

 

[BR8818]

^this I'm on the truckers side glad they do it.

 

[churchmouse]

Any salt.....????


I need some salt.

 

[chocktaw2]

shake, shake ,shake. That enough?

 

[Bigtanker]

i read the entire thread but will respond to the OP.

From a truck driver’s viewpoint it’s mostly a self defense and time saving move. Once traffic actually got backed up mostly to a stop, if all the trucks got immediately in the right lane and all the cars kept going in the left it would take the trucks MUCH longer to get to the merge. Conversely, the truck drivers don’t like going all the way to the front in the left lane because then they have a difficult time merging right into their blind spot, at least more so than a car. One can often creep along at a steady 7 mph instead of 15 mph then stop, 15 mph and stop. But if you do that by yourself you will have cars constantly moving right into the space in front of you. The double block move helps you and everyone in front of you, but really messes up everyone behind you. The blocking move might get fewer cars thru in a time period but it is getting ME!!!!! thru faster. That is the thought process.

Once in while you will be in the left lane passing and come up on a short notice merge and end up in the passing lane and not be able to get out. If a trucker runs to the front of the line in the left lane, all hell breaks loose on the CB about it. But, maybe that’s what all the trucks should do as well?

It really seems to me that everyone thinks their time is more important than everyone else.

Responding to other comments:

My pet peeve is when I pass another truck and then before I give him enough room to pull in front of him, a car will dart between us cutting him off and passing me on the right. Once that starts, others follow and you can’t get back over. People are mad at me but they are really doing it to themselves. I’m 73 feet long and I need at a minimum 250 feet to change lanes safely, with out cutting off the guy I’m passing, or tailgating the guy I’m now following. If I’m going to need to pass the guy I’m now behind in another 10 seconds I’m just staying out in the passing lane. Often you will get trapped behind another slow vehicle in the slow lane and you never get the needed 250 feet space to get back out in the left lane.

While you might be comfortable tailgating someone or having someone 10 feet off your bumper, I’m not comfortable having someone 10 feet in front of me, and when someone passes me and pulls over immediately it forces me to back off to get space. I have a big gap in front of my truck not to make it easier for others to change lanes, but instead I need that cushion to be able to stop safely. Think about that the next time you merge in front of a truck while everyone is clamping on the binders.....

I can run 70 mph but not any faster and I get frustrated same as four wheelers when two trucks take miles to pass. The slower truck should really back off 1 mph for 30 seconds and let the faster guy get around but with the new regulations some days every second is precious.

Finally, if you do something incredibly stupid directly in front of me while I’m rolling down the highway at 70 mph; you’re probably gonna get killed.

A lot of truth here. Especially the last part about the slower truck backing of for 30 sec. The majority of the time, once the .5 mph truck gets past the front bumper, they get over with in about 5 ft, causing the slower truck to check up. If they don't, the 4 wheelers will pass on the right just to get around.

Easiest way is to kill the cruise for 5 mph, let the Jake slow the truck and hit resume. The faster truck clears quickly and by the time the slower truck gets back up to speed, the other truck is a safe following distance ahead.

 

[avboiler11]

...now how do you professional drivers feel about those four wheelers that pass you with a 0.5mph overtake?