Changing Lanes
When I was going through driver’s education I remember being grilled on proper lane changing etiquette. Turn your signal on, check your mirrors to make sure the lane is clear, look over your shoulder, then check mirrors again. At the time it seemed like a bit much, but it worked. It is now permanently ingrained into my driving behavior.
Now, years later, I’m finding that the lane changing rules are becoming extinct on the road. You are lucky if you get some one to signal before changing lanes and looking, well that’s purely optional. My personal favorites are the people who signal and look only after they have started changing lanes. Better late then never right?
About a year ago I was driving to work in my MGB. I was in the fast lane and a Black 3 series BMW began to change lanes right into me as I was going by. No signal. No looking. He just started coming over. As he came into my lane I beeped the horn a few times and pulled my car slightly into the break-down lane to avoid contact with the Beemer. For some reason I reacted really calmly. If this had occurred at a different moment I may have jammed on the brakes and swerved, which probably would have resulted in an accident. But I simply let off the gas, honked the horn and scooted over until he eventually saw/heard me. Unfortunately for him, when he finally saw me he reacted quite violently. He jerked the wheel the other way sending his 3 series into a massive spin across 5 lanes of traffic and into a guard rail. It happened instantaneously and I saw most of the accident in my rearview mirror.
If he had checked his mirrors, looked over his shoulder and given an advanced signal this accident wouldn’t have happened. I’m not trying to say that proper lane changing would stop all traffic accidents, but it would certainly reduce the amount of carnage and close calls on the road.
Check your mirrors and keep the shiny side up.
-Bill Mertz
October 30th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
i find that in the bay area, it’s best not to signal before changing lanes. people tend to speed up when the sense another vehicle coming into “their” lane. hah!
October 31st, 2006 at 12:29 am
You got me on that one. This is true. Bay Area folks get pretty self-righteous about “their” lanes. I forgot to mention this in my post, but I also think a lot of people slow down when changing lanes, which totally upsets the flow of traffic and makes people want to speed up when you put on your blinker. I never got that, unless your changing into a slower lane, you should be keeping pace or speeding up when changing lanes.
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:10 am
Something very similar happened to me the other day (minus the overcorrection and accident), and the woman committing the offense HONKED at ME. This of course, after she realized I was in the lane she wanted into. As I drifted by, I noticed she was “texting” or dialing on her her cell phone. Kudos for keeping your cool. You’re a brave man driving on Bay Area freeways without airbags.
November 4th, 2006 at 1:08 am
She was probably calling the cops on you. It’s hard to keep your cool on the road these days.
November 10th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
you’re sounding a bit superior these days