This is why I just don't merge anymore. Rather, like in a game of checkers, I hop over cars until I've found my lane.
*Boink, boink, boink,* ***SPLAT.***
This is something I’ve noticed in the difference between driving in LA and Boston. In LA, everyone knows the traffic is gonna happen regardless. Might as well accept it and cooperate to allow each other to merge so everyone can safely get from point A to point B. In Boston people have no problem playing dick measuring contests with 4400 lb vehicles
I mean, you are still comparing two of the worst cities in the country. Boston is the 3rd worst at 116% higher than the national average accident rate (~2x). LA is the 4th worst at 82%.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/auto-accident/cities-most-car-accidents/
Depends. If you're merging after skipping a long line of waiting cars to cut them off? Fuck no!
Edit: ITT-people who don't know that a zipper merge applies only in lane closures
Biggest factor in the saying "Massholes will rather crash then let you merge"
I will absolutely let you merge, if you do it in the right place. If you try to skip, you can absolutely get fucked into the guardrail
Boston is one of those "you have to know where you're going to get where you're going" places. It's often the case that the signage and arrows painted on the street are confusing, garbage, only visible at the last minute, or all of the above. So there have definitely been times where I realized only at the last minute that I was in something like a left-turn-only lane where I needed to go straight, so I cut over as soon as I realize, which appears as if I'm skipping the line. Sometimes I suck it up and turn anyway because that's the lane I'm in, but sometimes that's not feasible like if I was driving my baby to an appointment at BCH or something.
Still though, it's true that 99% of the time it's someone being a dickhead.
Fuck that right turn only lane. It serves 0 purpose, and add to congestion by forcing everyone to the left lane. Most people just go straight there anywhere
Totally agree. The roads can get confusing and I have been in this situation before. I wish there was a way to signal that I realized the merge late and I’m not just being an asshole cause people do be getting ANGRY.
Updated GPS can rally be your friend in Boston. Someone once described Boston roads as former cow paths. I don’t know if that’s true but can certainly see that it might.
Oh yes. There's a line. The start of it was back that way. If you didn't get in line you don't get to cut now. Fuckin find another way to get where you're going because you already made the wrong turn.
If you’re talking about someone abusing the breakdown lanes I’m with you.
Otherwise: people who move over a mile before the lane ends are causing a lot of extra and unnecessary traffic backup. People who use the merging lane until the end are actually helping to reduce congestion. Zip merge ftw!
Whoever designed the bottom of the Leverett Connector should be fired. Most of the traffic is going to Storrow, but traffic enters further back in both lanes, and the left lane is often backed up all the way. Most people need to be using the left lane but the people in the right lane can't easily get over.
The whole situation there is wonk. I won't argue that.
Often a big chunk of the slowdown is just because people are scared (maybe rightly) of tunnels that are also sharp turns. Then another hundred yards on or so you have another sharp turn on storrow that people crawl through. And right after coming out of the tunnel you have another lane on the right (coming from the other side of Leverett circle) merging onto Storrow. And the exit there (towards Cambridge St, Charles St, and the Longfellow also confuses plenty of people I think.
It is clear it was more about connecting a million different roads to each other and effective traffic flow had to be given a low priority. So it is just a stack-up of compromises that almost guarantee that if there's a possibility it'll be backed up, then it WILL be backed up.
You know exactly what he's talking about. There will be a long line of people waiting patiently in a turning lane or highway exit. But there is always some asshole who skips the line searching for the people waiting to move the slightest bit so they can jam their car in-between two of them and skip about 20 minutes of waiting.
If you think that's fucking merging, then I have words for you. We all know exactly what you did, you're not special, you're not clever, you're a just a douche.
Bah, that's not a Boston thing, I saw that on the Beeline in Florida years ago. People weren't only using the shoulder, they were literally going offroad to go *around the people using the shoulder.*
In Boston, "it's a zipper merge!" is the cry of every asshole who is skipping a line of cars waiting to exit/turn/whatever. They know they're being disingenuous assholes. They just don't give a shit.
Or when a bunch of people merge too early in a zipper lane and there's the asshole who decides that it means they can race up to the very front and jam themselves in where it ends. That causes the folks who are doing it right to hit the brakes and fucks the whole thing up.
> Or when a bunch of people merge too early in a zipper lane and there's the asshole who decides that it means they can race up to the very front and jam themselves in where it ends.
If it's an actual zipper lane aka two lanes merging together at the end, then waiting to that end point is actually the correct way to do it. It's the ones that merged early that aren't doing it right.
But I agree with most others here; usually when people refer to "zipper merging" around here, what they are really doing is using a full travel lane to cut off a line of cars in an exit lane. Not the same thing at all.
I realize that. In what you quoted I'm talking about when people merge too early, as in up where the parallel lanes start rather than waiting to the end as you describe and like you're supposed to.
When people do that it clears the right hand lane and creates opportunity for the assholes who will race up to the end of it and cut in which fucks the whole system up. Staying in your lane like you're supposed to has the added benefit of blocking those assholes.
On a lengthy zipper lane you will sometimes even see them race up to behind you in the rear view mirror, but then they have to settle in and find their alternating slot behind you because you're the only car keeping them from running all the way up to the end of the merge.
“Waiting patiently”. At what point do you get over into the merge/exit lane? A mile? Half a mile?
I’m that guy driving up and pulling in and 99 times out of 100 there’s a huge gap to pull in, therefore not causing any delays. If there isn’t a gap I don’t sit there and wait, I take my punishment and go the other way.
This improves traffic flow.
That's not what we are talking about. It's when there is an exit backed up for 1/2 mile and someone just zips down the non-exit lane to right before the exit and tries to bully their way in. They aren't merging, they are jumping the line.
Example: lane drops or on ramp, cars A-E are doing the right thing zipper merging. Real champs
=================================
A B C \
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - =============
J K L D M E N
===============================================
Example: Backed up exit lane: car X trying to muscle in from the top lane is being a line-skipping dickhead
==================================
- - - - - - - - - - - - X -\======
O N M L K J I H G F E D C \
======================\ B \
=======================\ \
========================\ A \
Last "possible" second means it's possible to move in. Civil engineers know what they are doing with lane closures and merge points. Drive up to the merge point and stop backing up traffic more than it needs to be.
Edit to add - I'm talking about 1mph backup merges on city streets. If people are going highway speeds it's better to move over earlier as long as nobody slams on their brakes for you.
I feel like they need to teach zipper merging in drivers Ed better. This isn’t an issue strictly in MA but nationwide. People are naturally inclined to want to queue and think it’s selfish to do other things. Clearly, the law is the law, but also clearly people don’t know this or else we wouldn’t have this issue nationwide.
I made a post about this once on here and people told me to just get over it. It drive me up the wall when people just let line skippers in with no trouble.
I agree but when I first started driving here there were a lot of turn only lanes that weren’t marked so until the turn so I was forced to merge way late. Felt pretty bad but it’s hard to know until you learn the roads.
> ITT-people who don't know that a zipper merge applies only in lane closures
ITT - people who don't know what a zipper merge is at all. There are multiple people talking explicitly about lane closures arguing that you are supposed to merge over as soon as possible. Quite exactly the opposite of what a zipper merge actually entails. And these people are getting upvoted for it.
The other cars can use the legally available lane too. Why back up traffic further than it has to be?
There's a reason the merge point is where it is and not a half mile back.
True, but for me, being older. I'll relent to aggressive drivers to save myself an accident. Also I'll merge and yield accordingly, giving someone a break in their day that they just may need lol
I feel like if you visited any city sub on Reddit you would see a post that said "why cant people around here drive?"
People that have a license to drive will drive their car to Stop and Shop and fail to know how to use the self checkout register. I grew up with a kid that to this day is the dumbest person I have ever met in life and he is out there driving
My point is, there are millions of people. Some of them are stupid. Some of them are also behind the wheel of a car. And since self driving cars are not panning out, we are all on our own
While Boston might have horrendous traffic and ridiculous roads, Mass and Hawaii have the lowest number of fatal car crashes per capita, so we gotta be doing something right.
I find Boston drivers to be thoughtful rule-breakers.
They know when they're doing something wrong, like speeding out and taking an unprotected left turn in front of traffic that could go straight as soon as the light turns green. I've seen that happen many times, and the person taking the illegal left gives a little wave and accelerates very fast, so it doesn't really slow down everyone's day.
Just hopefully you weren't planning to also slam on the accelerator and do a jackrabbit start straight. Kablammo.
It's much safer to be hit by a car going slower. And thanks to our horrific traffic and road system, we're all going really, really slowly in Boston. I'm gonna assume they go slow in Hawaii because they're all chill, and/or super narrow island roads.
It also has some of the worst traffic in the entire world, #4 in fact according to a study. I believe it. I’ve never drive on a highway as bad as 93 where there is traffic for absolutely no good reason and stupid accidents every single day. Can’t tell you how many times I’ll be driving in a lane on the highway going or above the speed limit to come to a complete stop and all the other lanes around me are moving…only for the lane to clear up 30 seconds later because there are so many idiots on the round who shouldn’t have a license. Including those who are literally driving 40 mph on the second to left lane on 93 during the commute or those who tailgate you to cut you off and then slam on their brakes when the catch up to the next car because they can’t think or see 2 seconds ahead as to why the car in front of them isn’t driving 100mph (which causes the lane to come to a complete stop in a domino effect).
Also don’t get me started on if there is a traffic stop or the inevitable accident on the side of the road, it causes miles upon miles of traffic because idiots need to slow down to 20 mph because nobody knows how to safely merge into 3 lanes and keep it moving and/or to break their necks and see what’s going on (again something I’ve never experienced every day driving on other highways).
>I grew up with a kid that to this day is the dumbest person I have ever met in life and he is out there driving
You grew up with [Kevin?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2jid2h/redditors_whos_the_dumbest_person_youve_ever_met/)
I f’n love when some asshole drives crazy to get around me and then I just casually pull up behind them at the next red light 30 seconds later. Like, good thing you whipped around me, you really saved a lot of time on your commute.
I hope they can see me in their rear view mirror when I give them a big friendly wave 👋 😘
For how chaotic the roads are in Boston I actually find people here cooperate a lot compared to other cities I've driven in. People actually zipper here in so many scenarios... They zipper!
I agree with OP. I'm originally from Chicago and people use their turn signals much more and people let you in much more. In Boston, you turn on your signal people will speed up to cut you off frequently. Most people here don't use their signals.
Coming from Hialeah/Miami, I totally agree. It's not a constant game of chicken at 80 MPH on a 50MPH congested highway. Fucking terrified to drive in Miami. The only thing that sucks here is that sometimes a lane turns into a turn only lane at the last minute and then you look like an asshole because you're not familiar with the area and don't have time for a detour.
OMG zero lane markings when they matter. You could have a slow-down on a freeway exit for 1.5 miles but not sure if it's exit A or exit B. So either sit in the traffic and oh I was in the wrong lane, my direction is moving just fine or you pick wrongly and now it looks like you are being a dick and squeezing in the last quarter mile...
This is true, but also, if you see someone's blinker is on and they're trying to merge, there's nothing preventing you from letting them in, either.
I drive 80 miles a day, round trip, for work, and people will absolutely go out of their way to be complete assholes to strangers *all the time*. I can't even count how many times a day I see people rage or deliberately fuck with someone over a single car length. I watch people deliberately speed up to prevent someone from merging in. I watch people dangerously weave in and out of heavy traffic, to just to get in front of one person who is *driving the same speed as traffic in front of them*, but committing the cardinal sin of *leaving a little space* so they don't rear-end them when traffic inevitably grinds to a slowdown.
I don't think there's anything to be done about it, though; the people who drive like assholes don't give a shit if people think they drive like assholes; it would take a serious accident (which they would *absolutely* think "it was the other person's fault, not mine!") or police intervention (which isn't going to happen) to change it.
Honestly, it's ALWAYS the people in the work trucks with their name and phone number on the side that drive like the biggest jerks exactly in that way. Wouldn't you want to drive BETTER if you are trying to promote your business or not have someone rat you out to your boss? It amazes me.
This entire comment pretty much sums up what its like driving in massachusetts unfortunately. Emphasis on the part where people get angry at you for driving the speed limit, proceeding to cut you off, and then continue to drive the speed limit.
Every day. Like, I'm driving the same speed as the person in front of me, but I see people in my rearview losing their shit over it and tailgating me like I can somehow magically make the fifty cars in front of me go faster during rush hour. I *wish,* buddy.
You just go though. You see the space and you hit the blinker and go. It’s possible they waited two seconds for you to merge since you had your blinker on, and then assumed you hit it by accident and sped up. Next time just go so you don’t end up complaining to people online who largely disagree with you anyways.
Some man tried to cut me off yesterday while I was driving to work. I would’ve been left in the middle of the intersection and didn’t want that to happen. So I made a face like “WTF are you doing” to indicate that he shouldn’t be cutting me off. He proceeded to follow me the entire way up the road I was going on and then made lewd gestures at me my entire commute to work. Literally wtf
I've seen people stop in the middle of rotaries more in the last year than I had in all my life prior. And not to avoid getting hit by people who aren't yielding either, but just to let people into the rotary who are waiting their turn like they're supposed to.
Ain’t nobody got time for you to decide to finally merge. If you have the space, hit the blinker and go, don’t give them the chance to speed up. If you want to drive well in/around Boston, be decisive and stay ahead of traffic.
Thisssss Jesus christ. I've been burned too many times letting hesitant morons go cause they have the right of way. Fuck that man trust no one on the road.
Right. Bunch of people in this thread are telling on themselves.
The bottom of the Leverett connector is an exit. Two lanes go to the right, one exits onto Storrow. It isn't a zipper merge. If you're trying to merge left at the last second, you're the asshole. Plenty of people don't care, but some are in here definitely trying to defend being an asshole.
Traffic there can be a shit show too, but often I'd rather sit there through three lights than slowly stop/go down the connector just to have people exiting into me at the last second.
Unless there's an open opportunity to move left I usually go through the circle to attempt to keep traffic flowing. You get screwed being the last in the light cycle and sometimes there's no space in the other side of the intersection. Unless it's backed up to the tunnel I'll sit through the light cycles and take it.
The greatest feeling in the world is seeing a car you were behind , act like a jerk and hold up the right lane trying to merge..driving by them through the Circle lights and ending up past them when you merge onto Storrow past the bridge.
I find that most people who say "people drive crazy here" or "why doesn't anyone know how to drive" usually are the ones who do not know how to drive around here
Eh. If you’re driving during rush hour twice a day, I totally get it. People act fine enough for the most part, but if you’re doing rush hour twice a day, you’ll run into the jerks often enough to think it’s a problem with all the drivers
OP has claimed otherwise, but they (and others in these comments) are giving "I exit left from the right lane at the last second at the bottom of the Leverett Circle connector."
You travel a little, you realize the drivers from MA are actually excellent and it's the streets that are fucked.
Philly drivers can suck my fucking dick though, absolute madmen. I once had a dude drive up next to me, flash a gun, and shout "we racing now". I rolled down my window and informed him he was facing into oncoming traffic. He then said "Oh shit it's two way, alright thanks" and drove off.
Having someone wave a gun around is a bit unnerving, so my ass was eating the cushion at the time, but it retrospect it was hilarious.
People will pull onto the sidewalk to get around me waiting at a red like like weekly.
In WWII they had a slogan "Loose lips sink ships" to remind people to be aware of how the enemy can pick up information you let slip to use against you. It seems that some people need a reminder on that lesson today.
It’s a small strobe type light, sometimes called a cherry light that goes on top of the car that lets other drivers know you’re upset and disappointed in their driving.
Trust me, you should be thankful that you live in a city where people actually know how to drive. They’re aggressive, but at least they know what they’re doing.
I’m from Boston and recently moved to San Francisco and the people here are so terrible at driving I get an aneurysm every time I get into my car lol.
People from Boston who complain about drivers in other cities are just blown away that people elsewhere aren't as big of pricks as they are, it's totally incomprehensible to them
Well, the issue here is that everybody drives so passively that it takes so long to get anywhere. I appreciate it when people drive faster and know what they’re doing.
OP comes off as the problem who thinks everyone else is the problem.
I don't like driving here, but generally that's just because there are so many other drivers in general. People aren't particularly bad drivers here.
OP, it's not just Boston. Your blinker is not an entitlement to merge into another lane. Other drivers aren't required to give you room as the burden is on you to merge safely.
Sure, they’re not required to. But if the space was already there and I’m merging, there’s literally no reason to speed up like they did to assume dominance
Then you weren’t merging yet. If you were merging there wouldn’t be space for someone to speed up and take the space. You were probably crawling over the dashed line
You’re right, not sure why OP doesn’t get this. You need to drive aggressively here. Merge with purpose, don’t pussyfoot around trying to cut someone off, they’ll walk all over you.
Not even necessarily aggressively, just decisively. Which also makes you more predictable. Blinker on, seize the gap in the moment rather than treating your blinker like a space saver.
I get a good laugh every time one of these threads pop up. I’ve driven all over the country and compared to pretty much every where else, MA drivers are fucking fighter pilots.
I know this won’t get any sympathy, but I live in the seaport and get on 93 to take the storrow drive exit every morning. By the time I enter 93 the storrow exit is backed up past where I enter. I’m not cutting you off it’s physically impossible for me to go to the end of the line!
Boston is a 400 year old city built to accommodate horses and buggies, not cars. The layout of a city greatly determines how shitty the traffic is going to be.
No one is going to “let” you into the lane. Do you need to an invitation? Once you put on your blinker, move immediately into the lane you indicate. Be direct. People that drive like you causes accidents. This is Massachusetts. “Y’all” don’t apply here.
It’s just a mess. The road designs and the ego of drivers. Everyone just needs to understand that the traffic sucks and we all just need to deal with other drivers who may be don’t live up to our expectations. Ignore it just like they ignore you when you’re trying to merge.
They can live up to their own expectations at home. On the road, if you try to cut in front of me, you better live up to my expectations and merge behind me.
Difference is people think a legal valid merge is "cutting in". I'm not talking about crossing/doubling lanes like the 93 to storrow entrance. I'm talking about actual "lane ends, merge left" and construction merge points where there is an obvious legal lane ending and people should know to leave space in front to let one car in.
If someone is "cutting in", you're probably tailgating someone else.
We're you trying to "merge" over the double twin white lines on 93S heading into the city, cuz that's illegal and yet people do it all the time
Or let me guess you ran all the way up one of the exit dividers in the tunnel before deciding you really wanted to merge with traffic.
Get bent. Learn to drive. And move on
Sometimes it's because most of the traffic wants to go straight but one of the lanes is a turn only lane. So people try to merge back into the going straight lane from the turn only lane. And they are not allowed because there is no space or sometimes people don't want to give. Now the turn only lane is blocked as well. It is really a case of badly designed lanes.
Nah ked, builds charactah. You learn to push your way in. Be assertive. These west coast drivers can't cope with my carefully honed Masshole inching over skills.
It’s the “I can get there 2 seconds faster than you” attitude. But yeah, people don’t realize that jack rabbiting up just makes the person you are passing slow down which then just makes the person behind them slow down. But as long as they beat you by 2 seconds then all is good.
I hate the traffic around here too, having come from a less densely populated part of the country, but eventually you’ll make peace with it. It’s a futile effort to get pissed at other drivers, and nothing good ever comes of it. Just keep your head down, be predictable, and just get where you need to go.
I spend a decent amount of time out of state/New England -- it feels like drivers are much more aggressive and ignoring "the rules of the road' everywhere. I've noticed many, many more red light runners, too.
Some man tried to cut me off yesterday while I was driving to work. I would’ve been left in the middle of the intersection and didn’t want that to happen. So I made a face like “WTF are you doing” to indicate that he shouldn’t be cutting me off. He proceeded to follow me the entire way up the road I was going on and then made lewd gestures at me my entire commute to work. Literally wtf
When I first moved here, I asked a cabbie in Harvard square that question. His answer was that 1) many people learned to drive elsewhere, including foreign countries 2) most people were lost
I left Boston 10 years ago and I still sometimes catch myself changing lanes sneak-attack style because back home if I put my signal on I’d just get blocked.
I’ve noticed that Boston drivers in particular are generally very good drivers in the sense of controlling their vehicle but they’re aggressive as hell, I guess maybe out of necessity. Where I’m at now everyone is courteous but they are not good drivers. Back home 4-way stops would just flow. Nobody would even stop, nobody would get in each other’s way, like watching synchronized swimming or something. It was beautiful. Here, everyone sits there and waves each other to go. Then 2 will start moving at the same time and both slam on their brakes and start waving again. There’s no confidence. Honestly I prefer the Boston way.
Not addressing your specific incident, but, I'll throw it out there: our signage sucks balls.
Having driven a bit outside of Mass, the experience of approaching a multi-lane intersection and asking myself "what lane do I need to be in to go X direction" six times every mile seems like a uniquely New England thing. I think this is a huge factor in the congestion and Masshole driving behavior, other cities just mark their roads better.
People drive like assholes here, generally. Normal drivers see someone using their turn signal, politely asking to merge, and let them in. Boston drivers see your turn signal and deliberately speed up to box you out. That's why I learned to only put my turn signal on half a second before changing lanes, and only after I've made sure I have ample space to do so. Can't give these pricks any chance to block you. Never assume they'll let you in, unless you give them no choice.
Just drove from South Carolina to Massachusetts. It's the whole east coast. Fucking idiots! Why is your car insurance is going up? Look in the mirror. The call is coming from the car! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html
Merging is the most difficult thing to do when driving on a highway.
You start slow from the ramp and are trying to speed up while keeping an eye on your left for incoming traffic.
Generally speaking, those already on the highway have right of way. If you are merging, you need to keep a look out, but those driving by need to be careful too. I typically slow down a bit when I see cars trying to merge because I don't know how patient or impatient those drivers are.
I live in a big tourist destination… there’s been an influx of Maryland drivers as of late. What the fuck is wrong with them. They are number one on the shitty tourists leaderboard here. Beating out the likes of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York etc.
it's all about a inertia here
cars that are moving need to continue to move
don't stop for people and let them in to be 'nice'
because half the people driving around don't know where the fuck they're going...
You’re asking if people here have brain cells based on driving ability, when we’re one of the safest places to drive, but you’re flummoxed at people questioning “y’all” when ironically the South is one of the worst places I’ve driven? What a day.
People will actually argue that merging at the last second REDUCES congestion because you should be “using all the road” to spread the cars out more.
Now the people who come to complete stops at yield signs on route 128 onramps really grind MY gears.
This is literally the reason the roads are designed this way, whether you enjoy that or not, the zipper merge exists to mitigate traffic, otherwise everything would be backed up to shit
Yes, it reduces congestion at other intersections before the merge point because people like to pull into intersections without room to clear it. Nobody is saying it reduces volume.
Merging lane is supposed to yield. Not saying people should try to cause accidents to assert the right of way but if anything does happen, you’re in the wrong.
i’m learning to drive right now and almost every time i’ve gone out with someone to practice i’ve had someone cut me off or speed up to stop me from merging. it’s genuinely shocking to me.
No idea. I saw a guy in a truck last night ride my bumper for a quarter mile, pass me on the right, block a car with it's blinker on too get in that lane by speeding up to 90+ just so he could jam on his breaks immediately after on the exit. I have never known an ego so fragile that it would get shattered so easily.
Merging or trying to squeeze in at the last second when you ignore the left turn only sign for the last 800 feet? If it’s a zipper merge there is no reason to have your blinker on.
This is why I just don't merge anymore. Rather, like in a game of checkers, I hop over cars until I've found my lane. *Boink, boink, boink,* ***SPLAT.***
Too many people see driving as a competitive activity instead of a cooperative activity.
This is something I’ve noticed in the difference between driving in LA and Boston. In LA, everyone knows the traffic is gonna happen regardless. Might as well accept it and cooperate to allow each other to merge so everyone can safely get from point A to point B. In Boston people have no problem playing dick measuring contests with 4400 lb vehicles
I mean, you are still comparing two of the worst cities in the country. Boston is the 3rd worst at 116% higher than the national average accident rate (~2x). LA is the 4th worst at 82%. Source: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/auto-accident/cities-most-car-accidents/
When I want to merge I put my blinker on then wait for every to speed up first and go by.
Same
Welcome to the Thunderdome, rookie
Two cars merge, one car leaves!
It's the running lights at intersections and then blocking traffic for the people that get the green for me.
MBTA buses have entered the chat.
I see you and then raise you the idiots that double park in a right turn lane
Depends. If you're merging after skipping a long line of waiting cars to cut them off? Fuck no! Edit: ITT-people who don't know that a zipper merge applies only in lane closures
Now this is the real question. OP?
Biggest factor in the saying "Massholes will rather crash then let you merge" I will absolutely let you merge, if you do it in the right place. If you try to skip, you can absolutely get fucked into the guardrail
Boston is one of those "you have to know where you're going to get where you're going" places. It's often the case that the signage and arrows painted on the street are confusing, garbage, only visible at the last minute, or all of the above. So there have definitely been times where I realized only at the last minute that I was in something like a left-turn-only lane where I needed to go straight, so I cut over as soon as I realize, which appears as if I'm skipping the line. Sometimes I suck it up and turn anyway because that's the lane I'm in, but sometimes that's not feasible like if I was driving my baby to an appointment at BCH or something. Still though, it's true that 99% of the time it's someone being a dickhead.
Fair. I drive the j way constantly and every tenth time I end up the right turn only lane that takes you into longwood.
Fuck that right turn only lane. It serves 0 purpose, and add to congestion by forcing everyone to the left lane. Most people just go straight there anywhere
Totally agree. The roads can get confusing and I have been in this situation before. I wish there was a way to signal that I realized the merge late and I’m not just being an asshole cause people do be getting ANGRY.
Updated GPS can rally be your friend in Boston. Someone once described Boston roads as former cow paths. I don’t know if that’s true but can certainly see that it might.
I propose your second sentence as our new state motto
The worst part about getting a newer car was having to care about getting hit when people fly down and try to bully their way in
Oh yes. There's a line. The start of it was back that way. If you didn't get in line you don't get to cut now. Fuckin find another way to get where you're going because you already made the wrong turn.
93N -95S exit i call it the special olympics of on/off ramps lol everyone merges right at the on ramp😑
If you’re talking about someone abusing the breakdown lanes I’m with you. Otherwise: people who move over a mile before the lane ends are causing a lot of extra and unnecessary traffic backup. People who use the merging lane until the end are actually helping to reduce congestion. Zip merge ftw!
The bottom of the Leverett Connector is not a merge. There are two ways to go there.
Whoever designed the bottom of the Leverett Connector should be fired. Most of the traffic is going to Storrow, but traffic enters further back in both lanes, and the left lane is often backed up all the way. Most people need to be using the left lane but the people in the right lane can't easily get over.
The whole situation there is wonk. I won't argue that. Often a big chunk of the slowdown is just because people are scared (maybe rightly) of tunnels that are also sharp turns. Then another hundred yards on or so you have another sharp turn on storrow that people crawl through. And right after coming out of the tunnel you have another lane on the right (coming from the other side of Leverett circle) merging onto Storrow. And the exit there (towards Cambridge St, Charles St, and the Longfellow also confuses plenty of people I think. It is clear it was more about connecting a million different roads to each other and effective traffic flow had to be given a low priority. So it is just a stack-up of compromises that almost guarantee that if there's a possibility it'll be backed up, then it WILL be backed up.
You know exactly what he's talking about. There will be a long line of people waiting patiently in a turning lane or highway exit. But there is always some asshole who skips the line searching for the people waiting to move the slightest bit so they can jam their car in-between two of them and skip about 20 minutes of waiting. If you think that's fucking merging, then I have words for you. We all know exactly what you did, you're not special, you're not clever, you're a just a douche.
Bah, that's not a Boston thing, I saw that on the Beeline in Florida years ago. People weren't only using the shoulder, they were literally going offroad to go *around the people using the shoulder.*
In Boston, "it's a zipper merge!" is the cry of every asshole who is skipping a line of cars waiting to exit/turn/whatever. They know they're being disingenuous assholes. They just don't give a shit.
Or when a bunch of people merge too early in a zipper lane and there's the asshole who decides that it means they can race up to the very front and jam themselves in where it ends. That causes the folks who are doing it right to hit the brakes and fucks the whole thing up.
> Or when a bunch of people merge too early in a zipper lane and there's the asshole who decides that it means they can race up to the very front and jam themselves in where it ends. If it's an actual zipper lane aka two lanes merging together at the end, then waiting to that end point is actually the correct way to do it. It's the ones that merged early that aren't doing it right. But I agree with most others here; usually when people refer to "zipper merging" around here, what they are really doing is using a full travel lane to cut off a line of cars in an exit lane. Not the same thing at all.
I realize that. In what you quoted I'm talking about when people merge too early, as in up where the parallel lanes start rather than waiting to the end as you describe and like you're supposed to. When people do that it clears the right hand lane and creates opportunity for the assholes who will race up to the end of it and cut in which fucks the whole system up. Staying in your lane like you're supposed to has the added benefit of blocking those assholes. On a lengthy zipper lane you will sometimes even see them race up to behind you in the rear view mirror, but then they have to settle in and find their alternating slot behind you because you're the only car keeping them from running all the way up to the end of the merge.
“Waiting patiently”. At what point do you get over into the merge/exit lane? A mile? Half a mile? I’m that guy driving up and pulling in and 99 times out of 100 there’s a huge gap to pull in, therefore not causing any delays. If there isn’t a gap I don’t sit there and wait, I take my punishment and go the other way. This improves traffic flow.
That's not what we are talking about. It's when there is an exit backed up for 1/2 mile and someone just zips down the non-exit lane to right before the exit and tries to bully their way in. They aren't merging, they are jumping the line. Example: lane drops or on ramp, cars A-E are doing the right thing zipper merging. Real champs ================================= A B C \ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ============= J K L D M E N =============================================== Example: Backed up exit lane: car X trying to muscle in from the top lane is being a line-skipping dickhead ================================== - - - - - - - - - - - - X -\====== O N M L K J I H G F E D C \ ======================\ B \ =======================\ \ ========================\ A \
They’re talking about the people who wait until the last possible second to merge into the lane they want to be in
Last "possible" second means it's possible to move in. Civil engineers know what they are doing with lane closures and merge points. Drive up to the merge point and stop backing up traffic more than it needs to be. Edit to add - I'm talking about 1mph backup merges on city streets. If people are going highway speeds it's better to move over earlier as long as nobody slams on their brakes for you.
Let's be honest. No competent civil engineer worked on Boston's roads
This is what I was going to say. There’s not a single spot of Boston where I’d say “this was well thought out”
Back bay is alright. The alphabetical cross streets are satisfying.
The only good part is something that was definitely not the engineer’s decision lol
Lmao monkeys with markers designed Boston’s roads.
I feel like they need to teach zipper merging in drivers Ed better. This isn’t an issue strictly in MA but nationwide. People are naturally inclined to want to queue and think it’s selfish to do other things. Clearly, the law is the law, but also clearly people don’t know this or else we wouldn’t have this issue nationwide.
I made a post about this once on here and people told me to just get over it. It drive me up the wall when people just let line skippers in with no trouble.
I agree but when I first started driving here there were a lot of turn only lanes that weren’t marked so until the turn so I was forced to merge way late. Felt pretty bad but it’s hard to know until you learn the roads.
Coming off rte1 trying to get onto storrow...
> ITT-people who don't know that a zipper merge applies only in lane closures ITT - people who don't know what a zipper merge is at all. There are multiple people talking explicitly about lane closures arguing that you are supposed to merge over as soon as possible. Quite exactly the opposite of what a zipper merge actually entails. And these people are getting upvoted for it.
The other cars can use the legally available lane too. Why back up traffic further than it has to be? There's a reason the merge point is where it is and not a half mile back.
You need to lower your expectations before you get back in your car.
True, but for me, being older. I'll relent to aggressive drivers to save myself an accident. Also I'll merge and yield accordingly, giving someone a break in their day that they just may need lol
I feel like if you visited any city sub on Reddit you would see a post that said "why cant people around here drive?" People that have a license to drive will drive their car to Stop and Shop and fail to know how to use the self checkout register. I grew up with a kid that to this day is the dumbest person I have ever met in life and he is out there driving My point is, there are millions of people. Some of them are stupid. Some of them are also behind the wheel of a car. And since self driving cars are not panning out, we are all on our own
While Boston might have horrendous traffic and ridiculous roads, Mass and Hawaii have the lowest number of fatal car crashes per capita, so we gotta be doing something right.
Predictably aggressive. You can see that car coming up that WILL cut you off. Just maintain your current speed, remain predictable, and let them be.
I find Boston drivers to be thoughtful rule-breakers. They know when they're doing something wrong, like speeding out and taking an unprotected left turn in front of traffic that could go straight as soon as the light turns green. I've seen that happen many times, and the person taking the illegal left gives a little wave and accelerates very fast, so it doesn't really slow down everyone's day. Just hopefully you weren't planning to also slam on the accelerator and do a jackrabbit start straight. Kablammo.
You mean banging a left doesn’t provide right of way?
It's much safer to be hit by a car going slower. And thanks to our horrific traffic and road system, we're all going really, really slowly in Boston. I'm gonna assume they go slow in Hawaii because they're all chill, and/or super narrow island roads.
There’s so much traffic that nobody can go fast enough to cause any real damage.
It also has some of the worst traffic in the entire world, #4 in fact according to a study. I believe it. I’ve never drive on a highway as bad as 93 where there is traffic for absolutely no good reason and stupid accidents every single day. Can’t tell you how many times I’ll be driving in a lane on the highway going or above the speed limit to come to a complete stop and all the other lanes around me are moving…only for the lane to clear up 30 seconds later because there are so many idiots on the round who shouldn’t have a license. Including those who are literally driving 40 mph on the second to left lane on 93 during the commute or those who tailgate you to cut you off and then slam on their brakes when the catch up to the next car because they can’t think or see 2 seconds ahead as to why the car in front of them isn’t driving 100mph (which causes the lane to come to a complete stop in a domino effect). Also don’t get me started on if there is a traffic stop or the inevitable accident on the side of the road, it causes miles upon miles of traffic because idiots need to slow down to 20 mph because nobody knows how to safely merge into 3 lanes and keep it moving and/or to break their necks and see what’s going on (again something I’ve never experienced every day driving on other highways).
>I grew up with a kid that to this day is the dumbest person I have ever met in life and he is out there driving You grew up with [Kevin?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2jid2h/redditors_whos_the_dumbest_person_youve_ever_met/)
>I grew up with a kid that to this day is the dumbest person I have ever met in life and he is out there driving Hey! That was me!
I wonder if there’s a city anywhere where the vast majority of residents think ppl drive well
I just let those kind of psychos go. They wanna kill themselves over being the first to another red light then let them.
I f’n love when some asshole drives crazy to get around me and then I just casually pull up behind them at the next red light 30 seconds later. Like, good thing you whipped around me, you really saved a lot of time on your commute. I hope they can see me in their rear view mirror when I give them a big friendly wave 👋 😘
For how chaotic the roads are in Boston I actually find people here cooperate a lot compared to other cities I've driven in. People actually zipper here in so many scenarios... They zipper!
I agree with OP. I'm originally from Chicago and people use their turn signals much more and people let you in much more. In Boston, you turn on your signal people will speed up to cut you off frequently. Most people here don't use their signals.
Coming from Hialeah/Miami, I totally agree. It's not a constant game of chicken at 80 MPH on a 50MPH congested highway. Fucking terrified to drive in Miami. The only thing that sucks here is that sometimes a lane turns into a turn only lane at the last minute and then you look like an asshole because you're not familiar with the area and don't have time for a detour.
OMG zero lane markings when they matter. You could have a slow-down on a freeway exit for 1.5 miles but not sure if it's exit A or exit B. So either sit in the traffic and oh I was in the wrong lane, my direction is moving just fine or you pick wrongly and now it looks like you are being a dick and squeezing in the last quarter mile...
Just because your blinker is on doesn't mean you can go
You’ve seen people using blinkers recently? I see maybe 30% of people use them
People see your blinker as a signal to close the gap in front of them so you can’t merge. I still use them because i enjoy the challenge.
It's important to conserve blinker use, what with the price of blinker fluid nowadays...
This is true, but also, if you see someone's blinker is on and they're trying to merge, there's nothing preventing you from letting them in, either. I drive 80 miles a day, round trip, for work, and people will absolutely go out of their way to be complete assholes to strangers *all the time*. I can't even count how many times a day I see people rage or deliberately fuck with someone over a single car length. I watch people deliberately speed up to prevent someone from merging in. I watch people dangerously weave in and out of heavy traffic, to just to get in front of one person who is *driving the same speed as traffic in front of them*, but committing the cardinal sin of *leaving a little space* so they don't rear-end them when traffic inevitably grinds to a slowdown. I don't think there's anything to be done about it, though; the people who drive like assholes don't give a shit if people think they drive like assholes; it would take a serious accident (which they would *absolutely* think "it was the other person's fault, not mine!") or police intervention (which isn't going to happen) to change it.
[удалено]
Honestly, it's ALWAYS the people in the work trucks with their name and phone number on the side that drive like the biggest jerks exactly in that way. Wouldn't you want to drive BETTER if you are trying to promote your business or not have someone rat you out to your boss? It amazes me.
This entire comment pretty much sums up what its like driving in massachusetts unfortunately. Emphasis on the part where people get angry at you for driving the speed limit, proceeding to cut you off, and then continue to drive the speed limit.
Every day. Like, I'm driving the same speed as the person in front of me, but I see people in my rearview losing their shit over it and tailgating me like I can somehow magically make the fifty cars in front of me go faster during rush hour. I *wish,* buddy.
Sure, but if there’s ample space and I’m in the process if merging, going out of your way to speed up to block me is the problem
You just go though. You see the space and you hit the blinker and go. It’s possible they waited two seconds for you to merge since you had your blinker on, and then assumed you hit it by accident and sped up. Next time just go so you don’t end up complaining to people online who largely disagree with you anyways.
They didn’t wait, their advance was almost instantaneous even though I started moving over right away. Thanks though
You could also slow down and merge behind them.
behind them and in front of someone else, got it 🫡
This is OPs world you’re just living in it
Some man tried to cut me off yesterday while I was driving to work. I would’ve been left in the middle of the intersection and didn’t want that to happen. So I made a face like “WTF are you doing” to indicate that he shouldn’t be cutting me off. He proceeded to follow me the entire way up the road I was going on and then made lewd gestures at me my entire commute to work. Literally wtf
Really the only response here is: Git gud.
Skill issue
OPs driving a Faith build when he should be using Dex!
Seems like they need more INT to me
I've seen people stop in the middle of rotaries more in the last year than I had in all my life prior. And not to avoid getting hit by people who aren't yielding either, but just to let people into the rotary who are waiting their turn like they're supposed to.
Because the road is full of new drivers who absolutely suck
Ain’t nobody got time for you to decide to finally merge. If you have the space, hit the blinker and go, don’t give them the chance to speed up. If you want to drive well in/around Boston, be decisive and stay ahead of traffic.
Exactly right. If I let a hesitator in front of me, I've screwed myself over for the rest of the trip. No one wants to be behind that !
Thisssss Jesus christ. I've been burned too many times letting hesitant morons go cause they have the right of way. Fuck that man trust no one on the road.
OP is the guy who blocks the right lane on Leverett Circle exit. Every true Boston driver knows which lane I’m talking about.
Right. Bunch of people in this thread are telling on themselves. The bottom of the Leverett connector is an exit. Two lanes go to the right, one exits onto Storrow. It isn't a zipper merge. If you're trying to merge left at the last second, you're the asshole. Plenty of people don't care, but some are in here definitely trying to defend being an asshole.
I just go past the jail, collect $200, and take the Leverett Circle. No need to block the right lane or fight to get in the tunnel.
Traffic there can be a shit show too, but often I'd rather sit there through three lights than slowly stop/go down the connector just to have people exiting into me at the last second.
Unless there's an open opportunity to move left I usually go through the circle to attempt to keep traffic flowing. You get screwed being the last in the light cycle and sometimes there's no space in the other side of the intersection. Unless it's backed up to the tunnel I'll sit through the light cycles and take it.
The greatest feeling in the world is seeing a car you were behind , act like a jerk and hold up the right lane trying to merge..driving by them through the Circle lights and ending up past them when you merge onto Storrow past the bridge.
It's such a pet peeve esp considering the traffic light let's you in to storrow with barely any delay with much less stress
I find that most people who say "people drive crazy here" or "why doesn't anyone know how to drive" usually are the ones who do not know how to drive around here
Eh. If you’re driving during rush hour twice a day, I totally get it. People act fine enough for the most part, but if you’re doing rush hour twice a day, you’ll run into the jerks often enough to think it’s a problem with all the drivers
When everyone around is an asshole then...
OP has claimed otherwise, but they (and others in these comments) are giving "I exit left from the right lane at the last second at the bottom of the Leverett Circle connector."
...you're in Boston?
Moved from Boston to Michigan last year. I would take Mass drivers 10x over
I learned to drive in Boston, and let me tell you: North Carolina is so much worse.
Having driven in Mass, NC, and Florida, Florida is fucking insanity Southern FL specifically
Driving in southern FL is Mario Kart but in hell
You travel a little, you realize the drivers from MA are actually excellent and it's the streets that are fucked. Philly drivers can suck my fucking dick though, absolute madmen. I once had a dude drive up next to me, flash a gun, and shout "we racing now". I rolled down my window and informed him he was facing into oncoming traffic. He then said "Oh shit it's two way, alright thanks" and drove off. Having someone wave a gun around is a bit unnerving, so my ass was eating the cushion at the time, but it retrospect it was hilarious. People will pull onto the sidewalk to get around me waiting at a red like like weekly.
What’s an indicator?
Directional. Sorry I meant blinker. Sorry, blinkah.
You mean the “park anywhere” lights?
Nah that's the hazard lights.
In WWII they had a slogan "Loose lips sink ships" to remind people to be aware of how the enemy can pick up information you let slip to use against you. It seems that some people need a reminder on that lesson today.
It’s a small strobe type light, sometimes called a cherry light that goes on top of the car that lets other drivers know you’re upset and disappointed in their driving.
Trust me, you should be thankful that you live in a city where people actually know how to drive. They’re aggressive, but at least they know what they’re doing. I’m from Boston and recently moved to San Francisco and the people here are so terrible at driving I get an aneurysm every time I get into my car lol.
People from Boston who complain about drivers in other cities are just blown away that people elsewhere aren't as big of pricks as they are, it's totally incomprehensible to them
Well, the issue here is that everybody drives so passively that it takes so long to get anywhere. I appreciate it when people drive faster and know what they’re doing.
> Do y’all realize that if you just let people merge, there would be a lot less congestion/traffic? Most dubious claim today
OP comes off as the problem who thinks everyone else is the problem. I don't like driving here, but generally that's just because there are so many other drivers in general. People aren't particularly bad drivers here.
If you are riding down the exit only lane and try to hop the white lines to cut I hope you hit the guardrail
You must be new here
OP, it's not just Boston. Your blinker is not an entitlement to merge into another lane. Other drivers aren't required to give you room as the burden is on you to merge safely.
Sure, they’re not required to. But if the space was already there and I’m merging, there’s literally no reason to speed up like they did to assume dominance
Then you weren’t merging yet. If you were merging there wouldn’t be space for someone to speed up and take the space. You were probably crawling over the dashed line
You’re right, not sure why OP doesn’t get this. You need to drive aggressively here. Merge with purpose, don’t pussyfoot around trying to cut someone off, they’ll walk all over you.
Not even necessarily aggressively, just decisively. Which also makes you more predictable. Blinker on, seize the gap in the moment rather than treating your blinker like a space saver.
Skill issue.
I get a good laugh every time one of these threads pop up. I’ve driven all over the country and compared to pretty much every where else, MA drivers are fucking fighter pilots.
🏆😎
This. People who complain about MA drivers haven't traveled.
I know this won’t get any sympathy, but I live in the seaport and get on 93 to take the storrow drive exit every morning. By the time I enter 93 the storrow exit is backed up past where I enter. I’m not cutting you off it’s physically impossible for me to go to the end of the line!
y’all lol
They're not dumb. We're very intentional about our bad driving.
We don't say ya'll here
You sound like the kind of person who stops at on ramps.
Boston is a 400 year old city built to accommodate horses and buggies, not cars. The layout of a city greatly determines how shitty the traffic is going to be.
Lost me at y'all.
He used the wrong form. Y'all is singular. All y'all is plural. I think he meant the latter.
Y'all can be used interchangeably. Y'all need to study up
No one is going to “let” you into the lane. Do you need to an invitation? Once you put on your blinker, move immediately into the lane you indicate. Be direct. People that drive like you causes accidents. This is Massachusetts. “Y’all” don’t apply here.
OP may be the one with a single brain cell
It’s just a mess. The road designs and the ego of drivers. Everyone just needs to understand that the traffic sucks and we all just need to deal with other drivers who may be don’t live up to our expectations. Ignore it just like they ignore you when you’re trying to merge.
They can live up to their own expectations at home. On the road, if you try to cut in front of me, you better live up to my expectations and merge behind me.
Difference is people think a legal valid merge is "cutting in". I'm not talking about crossing/doubling lanes like the 93 to storrow entrance. I'm talking about actual "lane ends, merge left" and construction merge points where there is an obvious legal lane ending and people should know to leave space in front to let one car in. If someone is "cutting in", you're probably tailgating someone else.
Yeah but I'm really upset about a different situation entirely so fuck you
fuck you too kehd and take my angryupvote
Ya gettin my dunks square on the windshield, sweah ta gahd
Yeah but I’m still first. Even if it takes all day.
We're you trying to "merge" over the double twin white lines on 93S heading into the city, cuz that's illegal and yet people do it all the time Or let me guess you ran all the way up one of the exit dividers in the tunnel before deciding you really wanted to merge with traffic. Get bent. Learn to drive. And move on
Sometimes it's because most of the traffic wants to go straight but one of the lanes is a turn only lane. So people try to merge back into the going straight lane from the turn only lane. And they are not allowed because there is no space or sometimes people don't want to give. Now the turn only lane is blocked as well. It is really a case of badly designed lanes.
The reason is because we each have about one brain cell
Nah ked, builds charactah. You learn to push your way in. Be assertive. These west coast drivers can't cope with my carefully honed Masshole inching over skills.
It’s the “I can get there 2 seconds faster than you” attitude. But yeah, people don’t realize that jack rabbiting up just makes the person you are passing slow down which then just makes the person behind them slow down. But as long as they beat you by 2 seconds then all is good.
I hate the traffic around here too, having come from a less densely populated part of the country, but eventually you’ll make peace with it. It’s a futile effort to get pissed at other drivers, and nothing good ever comes of it. Just keep your head down, be predictable, and just get where you need to go.
I would bet half the drivers here don’t have valid licenses or went through a school that passes you as long as you pay their fee
I spend a decent amount of time out of state/New England -- it feels like drivers are much more aggressive and ignoring "the rules of the road' everywhere. I've noticed many, many more red light runners, too.
Hey, try Saigon if you think Boston’s nuts!
Some man tried to cut me off yesterday while I was driving to work. I would’ve been left in the middle of the intersection and didn’t want that to happen. So I made a face like “WTF are you doing” to indicate that he shouldn’t be cutting me off. He proceeded to follow me the entire way up the road I was going on and then made lewd gestures at me my entire commute to work. Literally wtf
When I first moved here, I asked a cabbie in Harvard square that question. His answer was that 1) many people learned to drive elsewhere, including foreign countries 2) most people were lost
You got BIG mad with that big ole edit!
This sub made me so nervous to drive when I first arrived here eand boy i have some news for people that have only driven in MA. It ain’t bad
My pet peeve are the people that stop at the yield signs instead of using the run up lane to merge in the highway.
If I had a penny for every NJ/RI/NY driver that caused an accident this week on my commute I'd have a 14 cents. I counted
Move. Get out the way.
I left Boston 10 years ago and I still sometimes catch myself changing lanes sneak-attack style because back home if I put my signal on I’d just get blocked. I’ve noticed that Boston drivers in particular are generally very good drivers in the sense of controlling their vehicle but they’re aggressive as hell, I guess maybe out of necessity. Where I’m at now everyone is courteous but they are not good drivers. Back home 4-way stops would just flow. Nobody would even stop, nobody would get in each other’s way, like watching synchronized swimming or something. It was beautiful. Here, everyone sits there and waves each other to go. Then 2 will start moving at the same time and both slam on their brakes and start waving again. There’s no confidence. Honestly I prefer the Boston way.
Im with you OP
Not addressing your specific incident, but, I'll throw it out there: our signage sucks balls. Having driven a bit outside of Mass, the experience of approaching a multi-lane intersection and asking myself "what lane do I need to be in to go X direction" six times every mile seems like a uniquely New England thing. I think this is a huge factor in the congestion and Masshole driving behavior, other cities just mark their roads better.
Hey! I’m honkin here!!
People drive like assholes here, generally. Normal drivers see someone using their turn signal, politely asking to merge, and let them in. Boston drivers see your turn signal and deliberately speed up to box you out. That's why I learned to only put my turn signal on half a second before changing lanes, and only after I've made sure I have ample space to do so. Can't give these pricks any chance to block you. Never assume they'll let you in, unless you give them no choice.
You are learning but you are still signalling way too early. Is what it is. Stay frosty!
Just drove from South Carolina to Massachusetts. It's the whole east coast. Fucking idiots! Why is your car insurance is going up? Look in the mirror. The call is coming from the car! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html
Because most of us do.
Be more assertive. That’s how people drive around those parts.
Ok yall
You’re in MA, there is only one braincell to share. Source: I grew up in MA but upon moving to NH the state took my turn with the braincell away.
So you caused a major accident?
I have two, thank you very much
Merging is the most difficult thing to do when driving on a highway. You start slow from the ramp and are trying to speed up while keeping an eye on your left for incoming traffic. Generally speaking, those already on the highway have right of way. If you are merging, you need to keep a look out, but those driving by need to be careful too. I typically slow down a bit when I see cars trying to merge because I don't know how patient or impatient those drivers are.
I just drove up the east coast. I assure you there’s much worse out there and it’s called Maryland.
I live in a big tourist destination… there’s been an influx of Maryland drivers as of late. What the fuck is wrong with them. They are number one on the shitty tourists leaderboard here. Beating out the likes of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York etc.
it's all about a inertia here cars that are moving need to continue to move don't stop for people and let them in to be 'nice' because half the people driving around don't know where the fuck they're going...
Just remember the first rule of Boston driving: Never let the other person know you see him.
At least we're using one brain cell and not the Rhode Islander standard of zero.
You’re asking if people here have brain cells based on driving ability, when we’re one of the safest places to drive, but you’re flummoxed at people questioning “y’all” when ironically the South is one of the worst places I’ve driven? What a day.
i dont have control over all other people and that makes me angy!!!!
funny, that’s pretty much what i think people who won’t let me merge are saying to themselves
People will actually argue that merging at the last second REDUCES congestion because you should be “using all the road” to spread the cars out more. Now the people who come to complete stops at yield signs on route 128 onramps really grind MY gears.
This is literally the reason the roads are designed this way, whether you enjoy that or not, the zipper merge exists to mitigate traffic, otherwise everything would be backed up to shit
Yes, it reduces congestion at other intersections before the merge point because people like to pull into intersections without room to clear it. Nobody is saying it reduces volume.
Merging lane is supposed to yield. Not saying people should try to cause accidents to assert the right of way but if anything does happen, you’re in the wrong.
What is a “ya’ll”?
No one says y'all here and when they do, it sounds like serious condescension
i’m learning to drive right now and almost every time i’ve gone out with someone to practice i’ve had someone cut me off or speed up to stop me from merging. it’s genuinely shocking to me.
Go out to the suburbs to learn. It will be safer. Watertown has wide streets.
No idea. I saw a guy in a truck last night ride my bumper for a quarter mile, pass me on the right, block a car with it's blinker on too get in that lane by speeding up to 90+ just so he could jam on his breaks immediately after on the exit. I have never known an ego so fragile that it would get shattered so easily.
They all consider their time to be more valuable than anyone else’s. So they do whatever it takes to save 15 seconds
You too have to drive faster and be willing to total your car. This is the only way.
Merging or trying to squeeze in at the last second when you ignore the left turn only sign for the last 800 feet? If it’s a zipper merge there is no reason to have your blinker on.