Merging Traffic on Freeways, Who has right of way?.

[Full Spectrum]

Simple question..

Who has right of way?, And is there any law in place?.

Few weeks ago i was merging onto the freeway, One car passed me before the end, The other decided to speed up rather then move into the right lane, He boxed me in with no road left, And no emergency lane to drive in, We almost collided as he deliberately sat between my B-C pillars.

I thought it was just plan courtesy to allow cars to merge in, But i don't recall any law for it?.
Peoples driving characteristics have changed over the years, And it's for the worse, No more, Here you go mate come in, Here you go mate nothing today, It's like some type of dodgem cars race with some now.

[LowVp]

it all depends on how the road is marked.

if its the normal big lines then its who ever is in front has right of way but if its the lots of small square ones then you have to give way to your right.

but its common courtesy to match your speed and merge

[vicarious]

i thought it was always the person that is in front of the other that has the opportunity to merge in first.

[AirStrike]

If it is two lanes merging into one, the car most forward has the right of way. If it's one lane merging into another, like on a freeway, then its the car already traveling in the lane.

[TheyDontWantMusic]

and I'm sick of f*cking d!ckheads infront of my who merge onto the freeway doing like 60 - 80km/hr when its a 100 zone you f*cking dumbasses!

in that situation, I'll slow down on the merging ramp (assuming there's no one behind me) assess the oncoming traffic, speed up to 100km/hr once the car infront if a fair way infront (still on the merging lane though), then come up fast behind the other car, and cut onto the freeway before he does, and accross 2 lanes so he can still be a dumbass and merge at 60km/hr.

and to the thread starter, you need to learn how to drive.

how can you possibly try to blame the other driver, when YOU chose to drive along side him in the merging lane, instead of pulling in behind him? that just makes no sense whatsoever.

I really hope I never encounter you on the freeway.

[minux]

Two rules here,

If there is broken white lines at the end of a merging lane anywhere the car on the left must give way to any car on the right. If there is no broken white lines the car in front has right away when the lane ends.

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rd...RPIN000451.pdf

[TheyDontWantMusic]

Two rules here,

If there is broken white lines at the end of a merging lane anywhere the car on the left must give way to any car on the right. If there is no broken white lines the car in front has right away when the lane ends.

yes, look at it as if your lane actually runs out, which it does (the white line runs into the gutter) in which case, you have to give way, because you are changing lanes, where as if two lanes simply become one (the white line just ends in the middle of the two lanes) then its a case of whoever is infront.

[Reaper]

Simple question..

Who has right of way?, And is there any law in place?.

Few weeks ago i was merging onto the freeway, One car passed me before the end, The other decided to speed up rather then move into the right lane, He boxed me in with no road left, And no emergency lane to drive in, We almost collided as he deliberately sat between my B-C pillars.

I thought it was just plan courtesy to allow cars to merge in, But i don't recall any law for it?.
Peoples driving characteristics have changed over the years, And it's for the worse, No more, Here you go mate come in, Here you go mate nothing today, It's like some type of dodgem cars race with some now.

Depends on the road markings.

If one lane merges into another (ie you are crossing dashed lines) then you must give way.

If two lanes just become one (ie neither driver is crossing dashed lines) then the car that is further back shall give way.

Reaper

[commsirac]

The rules seem appear very black and white, yet I think there does need to be some give and take by those who are already on the freeway. If you are all bunched up on the left hand lane, how can anyone merge in? Perhaps move over to the right lane or drop speed or following distance if in the left lane. Joining from the merging lane is indeed a tricky situation, should one get oneself up to 100km/h and then find that no one is going to let you in and then you need to brake hard because there is no road left, visibility of what is happening on the freeway lane is not always possible until the last moment....ie you are joining from an underpass, overpass etc.
If cars are to stop at the end of the merging lane because no one will let them in, its going to take a big break in traffic before anyone can safely joing the freeway.....accelerate from 0-100km/h etc.
Granted you may take a different approach when just a 3 lane road merges into a 2 lane road and people have been merging when they see the sign and some "queue jumper" keeps driving up on the left.

There is an interesting device(set of lights) now on the west gate freeway where one enters from montague st in sth melbourne, it stops every car for 2secs or so, then lets them go to smooth the merging process.

[Cobez]

Simple question..

Who has right of way?, And is there any law in place?.

Few weeks ago i was merging onto the freeway, One car passed me before the end, The other decided to speed up rather then move into the right lane, He boxed me in with no road left, And no emergency lane to drive in, We almost collided as he deliberately sat between my B-C pillars.

I thought it was just plan courtesy to allow cars to merge in, But i don't recall any law for it?.
Peoples driving characteristics have changed over the years, And it's for the worse, No more, Here you go mate come in, Here you go mate nothing today, It's like some type of dodgem cars race with some now.

Man i know what you mean! When i jump on the Monash freeway at Stud road, it's an 80 km zone due to roadworks now, but it's still a 3 lane freeway down at that point, yet people still sit in the left bloody lane where the onramp merges!!!!! It makes my blood boil.

Yet when you get young or middle aged males and females in 4 cylinder and V6's who do it, yet forget you are in a 5 litre, don't realise i can plant it and zoom up and merge in nicely without coming close to anyone's car

What's funnier, is when they get ****ty that you still managed to merge and get in front of them, and they punch it up around you in the middle lane, then a cop busts them for speeding had it happen once, almost stacked from laughing so much hahaha.


But then again, as said before, it comes down to common courtesy, people should be courteous enough to just jump over into the middle or right lane to let people in, i do it all the time and make a point of remembering to do it everytime, because it gives me the ****s when people just sit in the left lane leaving you no option but to speed up to avoid coming up a few centimetres away from the car in the left lane.

[Phreddy]

Heh - the problem Cobez is that courtesy isn't particularly "common" any more.

A lot like "common sense" - a badly worded phrase nowadays....

[Troy711]

What ever happened to road ediquette? Man, ACT drives DO NOT understand the meaning of it! I always follow the general rule of 'one left, one right' when in heavy traffic. ACT drivers seem to think that getting 1 extra car in front will get them home 20 minutes earlier! Funny thing is, it takes 20 minutes to get from one side of Canberra to the other, add 3 minutes for peak hour.

[minux]

What ever happened to road ediquette? Man, ACT drives DO NOT understand the meaning of it! I always follow the general rule of 'one left, one right' when in heavy traffic. ACT drivers seem to think that getting 1 extra car in front will get them home 20 minutes earlier! Funny thing is, it takes 20 minutes to get from one side of Canberra to the other, add 3 minutes for peak hour.

Exactly, I love watching people weave in and out of traffic like madmen only to pull up behind them 2 sets of lights down the road hehe.

As for merging, only time I wont let people in is when everyone else lines up one behind the other due to a parked car in the lane ahead and one moron thinks he can race up past everyone in zoom in front of someone. Love accelerating hard enough to where they have to stop behind the parked car and then every other car goes through.

[FusionX]

one moron thinks he can race up past everyone in zoom in front of someone.

A couple of years ago, was driving a road train (semi + 6 axle trailer) and had someone try that. They got as far as the tri's on the first trailer before running out of room. Slammed the car hard against a concrete barrier, wrote the van off. He was lucky to walk out of it.

Seems to be a common thing, people can't merge!

[excalibur]

W.A. + Merging = FAIL

[vee ka]

as stated:

give way to your right and/or which ever car is infront has the right of way, easy

[jules]

A couple of years ago, was driving a road train (semi + 6 axle trailer) and had someone try that. They got as far as the tri's on the first trailer before running out of room. Slammed the car hard against a concrete barrier, wrote the van off. He was lucky to walk out of it.

Seems to be a common thing, people can't merge!

this is one reason you can't drive the road train in most other states

[calais_304]

this is one reason you can't drive the road train in most other states

why? is it because of ****ing idiots who try these stupid manouvers?

btw i've never had an issue merging onto a highway/freeway, guess i just asses and drive to suit rather then just drive blind thinking someone will move for me...

[padrickz88]

But then again, as said before, it comes down to common courtesy, people should be courteous enough to just jump over into the middle or right lane to let people in, i do it all the time and make a point of remembering to do it everytime, because it gives me the ****s when people just sit in the left lane leaving you no option but to speed up to avoid coming up a few centimetres away from the car in the left lane.

im the same, i usually use the left lane then overtake when needed.....

but when i come upto an on ramp, i switch lanes.. i dont see how its so much trouble just to move over? or slow down?

slickholden, i know what you mean... i just do what cobez said and give it a lil to get infront.... easyyyyy! (IF there is no camera's or cop cars)

As for merging, only time I wont let people in is when everyone else lines up one behind the other due to a parked car in the lane ahead and one moron thinks he can race up past everyone in zoom in front of someone. Love accelerating hard enough to where they have to stop behind the parked car and then every other car goes through.

LMAO that happened when some guy thought he was smart trying to get ahead in the left lane and try to merge last second (in a place where there is cars parked daily)....
so i kept matching his speed until he had to slam on his brakes, stuff him being in a hurry just slowed him down 2 minutes

[88GreenVN]

I always move over on the Southern Expressway to the right hand lane when people are merging. Easy as to do (and leave the blinker on for a while so people can see what I'm doing). If they get up to speed quickly - I move on back the the left lane. It's not that hard to do.

What really gives me the pip is when you get onto the access ramp and the slowpokes of this world slow to a craw to wait for a clear mile of road before tip toeing into the left lane. Lucky for me the brakes work well in the VN - as I almost smashed a little laser one day when the bloody thing all but stopped. Faaaaarrrrrk that was close as a cloud a smoke driffed passed his almost parked car in an 80 zone feeding into a 100 zone. What a drop kick.

[Cobez]

Heh - the problem Cobez is that courtesy isn't particularly "common" any more.

A lot like "common sense" - a badly worded phrase nowadays....

Hahaha, your not wrong mate!!

[Full Spectrum]

and to the thread starter, you need to learn how to drive.

how can you possibly try to blame the other driver, when YOU chose to drive along side him in the merging lane, instead of pulling in behind him? that just makes no sense whatsoever.

I really hope I never encounter you on the freeway.

You might have missed the part where i said, He speed up next to me to cut me off?.
AS one car had already passed and i was about to merge in behind him, This other car speed up to sit between my B-C pillar. He was some way back, But a flash out of the corner of my eye spotted him.
2 cars on one freeway with 2 lanes traffic was close to dead.

Depends on the road markings.

If one lane merges into another (ie you are crossing dashed lines) then you must give way.

If two lanes just become one (ie neither driver is crossing dashed lines) then the car that is further back shall give way.

Reaper

Our merging lanes are very generous, And they are long, Which gives you the opportunity to build up speed and have a good view of traffic,
This section was 2 lanes on the freeway, I allow one car to pass me as my speed was around 95kp/h, I was going to blend in behind that car, Blinker going for a good 7 seconds i moved over, Always checking my blind spot never forgetting that, When this other car screamed up the inside of me. I only spotted him with a flash, He was some way back first and second look, I'm not an aggressive lane changer, So i blend in easily, No use being a V8 supercar driver.

What lines are marked on the road, I will have to check.

But personally i have always moved lanes or moved out of merging traffics way onto freeways, It makes traveling on them easier in my opinion, And it's courtesy.

I could ad more to his reason for doing it, And what he did after it, But it's not really the reason for this thread.

Thanks to all for your replys and help..

So it's not necessarily a law, Just a courtesy thing we have always done..
But one thing has changed, Courtesy has left the building.

[Keepleft]

All an example outcome of Australia's "speed-limit conditioning". It, speed, is all that matters in the minds of many owing GovCo and academic single minded focus on it in enforcement, and a part result is that folk drive badly, 'deliberately' here in AUS.

In fact, driving badly is a national pastime, its a way of 'getting back' at other drivers around you, for whatever cumultative reason that your mind assumes.

You know it is so as when a marked highway patrol arrives on scene (okay, so once every 7 years that'll happen:-) traffic suddenly behaves, it moves back into the left-lane, indicators suddenly work again, tailgaters back off etc and so on.

People were not this bad when the country was under derestriction, when we'd see a 'poor driver' then, he or she really was likely genuinely so, as the majority of folk simply went about the task of driving with much less nervous tension that today, traffic wouldn't bunch-up as much, indicators were fully used to signal overtaking, lane changes etc, the onus on driving well was fully on the driver. These days of course, folk are ingrained to drive at the speed-limit, come what may, and get upset when folk sit even 10km/h below it.

With derestriction there was NO limit 'to sit at', just safe speed.

And so it goes.

[Dayvo]

All an example outcome of Australia's "speed-limit conditioning". It, speed, is all that matters in the minds of many owing GovCo and academic single minded focus on it in enforcement, and a part result is that folk drive badly, 'deliberately' here in AUS.

In fact, driving badly is a national pastime, its a way of 'getting back' at other drivers around you, for whatever cumultative reason that your mind assumes.

You know it is so as when a marked highway patrol arrives on scene (okay, so once every 7 years that'll happen:-) traffic suddenly behaves, it moves back into the left-lane, indicators suddenly work again, tailgaters back off etc and so on.

People were not this bad when the country was under derestriction, when we'd see a 'poor driver' then, he or she really was likely genuinely so, as the majority of folk simply went about the task of driving with much less nervous tension that today, traffic wouldn't bunch-up as much, indicators were fully used to signal overtaking, lane changes etc, the onus on driving well was fully on the driver. These days of course, folk are ingrained to drive at the speed-limit, come what may, and get upset when folk sit even 10km/h below it.

With derestriction there was NO limit 'to sit at', just safe speed.

And so it goes.

Yes , thats all good and well , but who has right of way ?¿?

[commsirac]

All an example outcome of Australia's "speed-limit conditioning". It, speed, is all that matters in the minds of many owing GovCo and academic single minded focus on it in enforcement, and a part result is that folk drive badly, 'deliberately' here in AUS.

In fact, driving badly is a national pastime, its a way of 'getting back' at other drivers around you, for whatever cumultative reason that your mind assumes.

You know it is so as when a marked highway patrol arrives on scene (okay, so once every 7 years that'll happen:-) traffic suddenly behaves, it moves back into the left-lane, indicators suddenly work again, tailgaters back off etc and so on.

People were not this bad when the country was under derestriction, when we'd see a 'poor driver' then, he or she really was likely genuinely so, as the majority of folk simply went about the task of driving with much less nervous tension that today, traffic wouldn't bunch-up as much, indicators were fully used to signal overtaking, lane changes etc, the onus on driving well was fully on the driver. These days of course, folk are ingrained to drive at the speed-limit, come what may, and get upset when folk sit even 10km/h below it.

With derestriction there was NO limit 'to sit at', just safe speed.

And so it goes.

Oh for the good old days, how long ago were there open speed restrictions in NSW? and multilane freeways with merging lanes. Oh we yearn for when each state had 4 digit road tolls when our population was much less and less people actually drove cars......what are you smoking?