Issue 935 • July 16, 2018
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QUICK TIPS
Check your campsites if you MUST get online
If you depend on a reliable internet connection when you camp, be sure to check a potential campsite before setting up. It could be in a dead zone in the campground, where the WiFi, cell phone or hot spot won’t work. Even campsites a few spaces apart may make a difference.
Too much litter with “K cups”?
From reader Jay French: “I have used a Keurig coffee maker since they were brought out on the market. Have also never purchased a single plastic K-Cup. Instead, I bought an adapter reusable K-Cup filter, not one of the cheap ones, but the more expensive stainless steel variety for around $15. About once a month take a wire brush to the reusable adapter cup. To be even more environmentally friendly, the leeks in my garden love used coffee grounds. Saving coffee grounds to use as a soil amendment is very difficult when you use a paper filter.” Thanks Jay!
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Some peace of mind for your carefree adventures!
When it comes to your home on wheels make sure you have the right parts to keep your home secure! Ordinary locksets are not designed for the specs of your RV or mobile home. Road & Home™ parts are specially designed for the specific needs of an RV or mobile home. To shop securely click here.
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MORE QUICK TIPS
Dealing with merging freeway traffic
Snayte has a viewpoint regarding on-ramp freeway merging: “I do not change my speed when a car is coming down the ramp. You have no way of knowing if that is what they intend to do to merge. I maintain my speed and let them figure out if they want to speed up to get in front of me, or slow down to get behind. More than once I have been slowed to almost a stop while entering the freeway because a car in front of me and the car on the freeway were both slowing to let the other in. Meanwhile the car behind me is about to run into everyone because he is looking back for an opening to merge into.” No doubt we’ll hear feedback on this one!
Extra waste outlet cap
“Carry a spare waste outlet cap. If you fail to put the cap back on after dumping, it will probably be torn off while driving.” —From Motorhomes Made Easy
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
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50 survival tips and tricks for the outdoors
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2018 Rand McNally Motor Carriers’ Road Atlas
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In N.Y. It’s yield not merging and the car joining the freeway must do so although they never do and will never even ask for a bite of humble pie let alone a slice in this any second I will loose my (beep) over anything world.
The person joining the flow of traffic needs to adjust their speed to the existing speed of the traffic. To do otherwise is asking a number of other drivers to adjust their speed or even change their driving to allow the person joining the traffic. Sorry, the rights and safety of the many outweigh the wants ( I’m more important than everyone else) of the one.
In racing, the rules are very explicit. The person rejoining the race must adjust to the majority.
“Merging” means that they should slow and find the correct safe entry into the flow of faster traffic. I have electric air horns on my pickup that I tow my trailer as it is unsafe sometimes to move left to make room as there are semi-trucks hauling 80,000 lb.Gross and it’s really stupid to make them adjust as maybe they can’t move left so the way I see it it’s up to the merging traffic to do the transfer safely and not make higher speed traffic make dangerous adjustments. I find that the younger generation is also listening to loud music so I lay heavy on my air horns to get there attention to slow or get the hell moving if it’s safe..
Sorry but “merge” doesn’t mean to slow down until it’s safe to enter, it means to speed up to the speed of the other traffic so that you can safely blend in with them.
I do not hesitate to use my air horn if I need too. I use it in advance of their being at the freeway if needed. This gives them time to react IF they plan too.
I agree with most of what’s been said but merging problems are more complicated than that.
• Limited visibility of through traffic until the last second
– Merge roads may have tight curves. Can’t get up to highway speed and no visibility of traffic until the last second.
– Merge lanes (and off-ramps) that are very short–especially in Texas headed east into Ft Worth.
– Merge lanes with steep up hill grades. Hard to get up to merging speed.
• Packs of vehicles running close together with no room to merge in between. Sometimes someone will slow down but not always.
—–
BTW: It’s not clear who has the right of way during a merge. There’s lot’s of internet threads on that. This is one is good:
Through traffic has the best view, thus is most able to avoid a collision and may be held the most responsible in an accident.
Dealing with merging freeway traffic: What should you be able to count on to make a reasonable decision in merging? The most obvious thing is the speed of the occupied lanes; this should remain constant, including when you are one of them and see a vehicle trying to merge. It is the responsibility of the merging vehicle to match speeds with the on-going traffic! The slight exception is the partial slowing to modify the distances by a following vehicle.
There’s a technique of driving called “looking ahead”. I will move over to the left lane when I see another vehicle in the on ramp. If I can’t move, I will attempt to modify my speed to mesh with traffic. The tense situations come when the driver in the on ramp doesn’t bother to look to the oncoming traffic.
My buddy owns a large trucking company. His drivers are not allowed to use thier air horns. He says it can cause a wreck quicker with a car, it causes them to panic and who knows what they will do.
The problem with people not knowing how to merge is all related one way or the other to age. The MANY seniors in Fl must’ve been born before driver education was invented or they have forgotten that part of the course. The millennials didn’t think that applied to them as they deserve to be let in, also the dictionaries may have deleted the word MERGE because nobody did it anymore, that seems to be the way we deal with language anymore, if the majority don’t use a word we just take it out of the language. I am 75 years young and a former over the road truck driver so I am very aware of drivers knowledge or lack of, I have seen it many times a day. If there are more than 2 lanes moving left 1 lane is probably the best bet, but be prepared to have a lot of people give you the sign that they think you are number 1 unless you are willing to drive 10 mph over the speed limit.
Amen to all of Bob’s comments.
I will “second” all of Bob’s comment!
AGREED.
YOU TYPE CAST! There is NO age that typically doesn’t know how to merge. I see young and old creeping out to the end of the merge lane and expect to jump into traffic at 20 to 30 miles below traffic speed. Move over if you can or hit the air horn (not a 10-second blast) and let then decide what they want to do.
Oh I forgot an important scenario, the cell phone, the addicted cell phone user who can’t put their phone down long enough to MERGE. I can’t imagine the insurance industry not lobbying Congress to eliminate the use of cell phones while the car is in motion. A simple signal blocking device that would block a cell signal within 3’ of the steering wheel when the car is moving should suffice.
Sometime in an emergency, the driver might need to use the cell phone id someone is chasinf or to call 911 to report the emergency or to question whether they are beig chased by a legitimate policeman and don’t want to stop on isolated area should someone be trying to pull them over
Try round abouts. That is more fun to watch those who have no clue how to use them. Air horn or not. This is more fun then a barrel of monkeys.
Regarding freeway merge. If I’m not mistaken. By DMV rules, “merge” means that freeway traffic has the right of way and incoming traffic slips into the moving traffic flow without impeding it.
Not in Texas, the driver on the freeway must yield right of way to the on coming driver on the ramp. Most ppl will move to the left, and it seems to work….
Every state has their own version of on and off ramps on the highways. For instance, in Texas the ramps generally run parallel to the highway, so you maintain full speed going on and off the ramp. In Maryland the ramps are pretty small radius turns with a max speed of 45, 35 or even 25 mph, plus many have pretty short accel and decel lanes. This is often complicated by the entrance ramps being right BEFORE the exit ramps. So to exit the highway you have to cross the traffic that’s entering on the same exit. Yikes. Now in New Jersey many of the crossroads have a jug handle turn. So you need to get in the right lane to make a left turn via a sweeping ramp that looks just like a jug handle. Every state has its own interstate speeds and unwritten rules of the road, so it pays to be extra careful as you drive across the country. Oh yes, you can’t pump your own gas/diesel in New Jersey or Oregon, so don’t jump out and grab the pump handle or you’ll be scolded by the attendant. And in some parts of southern Maryland you can get a ticket for NOT having your headlights on during the day. Ask me how I know all this….
Mike, the law in OR has changed – FINALLY. You can pump your own gas now, And for some reason, you could always pump your own diesel. Never COULD figure that one out.
So I can go back to Oregon now? I really did have a service station attendant yell at me when I jumped out and grabbed the pump handle before they got there. Not sure if I was banned from just that gas station or the entire state….
A quick google search turns this up:
Section 545.061 of the Texas Transportation Code states that a driver must yield to traffic on his/her left when entering a lane from the right, on a roadway divided into three or more lanes for one-way traffic. … The vehicle doing the merging must yield to vehicles already driving in the lane.
It would amaze me if there were a jurisdiction that the traffic already in a roadway would yield to incoming traffic. That makes zero sense.
Bert You’re so correct!
Here in Amarillo, Texas, it appears that the “merg-er” has the R.O.W. And like Richard says, if there area 3 lanes, travel in the middle lane and avoid all the merging traffic.
Regarding the merging onto a freeway:
Driving in Miami Florida is more dangerous and much different from other cities. Our insurance rates are through the roof, deservingly so. Without question it is one on the most dangerous driving experience in the country. Don’t ever assume that driving sensibility exists. Expecting a driver to acknowledge the proper entrance procedure from an incoming merging lane can get you in trouble, especially with a camper or large rig. Even though we are to maintain speed and the vehicle entering is to blend in behind a vehicle already on the freeway, don’t assume this will happen down here. I recommend to slow down a little to see what the entering vehicle is up to before assuming anything. In another city that is a different story not saying there are no idiots there either. Careful when visiting Miami. Driving is a major hazard and is not improving.
In regards to freeway merging I have found that if there are three lanes I pick the middle lane to run in then I don’t have to deal with vehicles merging. However, with only two lanes I will move over IF I can and if not and the merging vehicle is oblivious to my HUGE RV towing a car or 30 foot trailer my air horns will be letting them know that they need to brake and wait. Most people will either speed up or slow down but there are always the driver’s that have “no clue” how to merge with traffic on a freeway or are too busy using their mobile device. I have found that true more so in Florida than any other state.
Bad idea using your air horns. You will eventually scare the heck out of a driver who will loose control and possible ram you or someone else. Especially older folks not expecting the sudden loud horn.
The long air horn blast has worked well for me for the past 15 years. Some may have had to change their skivvies a time or two but at least it wakes them up from the comatose state that they were in.
There was a time I was on the freeway pulling my trailer and a car is coming down an on ramp along side of me. The driver is looking straight ahead and not paying any attention to the vehicles already on the freeway, just staring straight forward! It was as if he expected an opening would be created for him. I could not move left as there was a truck along side of me. I was afraid to hit my horn because I had no idea how he would react. I slowed to let him in which was ridiculous since the speed limit was 70 and I was already doing only 65. I was stuck behind him doing a little above 60 for a mile or two and when I finally get the chance to pass.. you guessed it he sped up to the speed limit or above.
Using an air horn in traffic is a sign of bullying. It’s fun when you’re announcing your arrival in the campground, but in traffic, it can be hazardous and cause someone to make an errant move, possibly wrecking before the person being honked at realizes what is going on. Drive friendly, not scaring the heck out of drivers within earshot.
Leave the air horns out of the equasion. You will eventually cause a wreck that could cost a life. If you’re in that big of a hurry, you should have started earlier.