Lane Closed merge (Left or right) There is possibly no more of a disappointment when riding down a highway than the dreaded lane closure. There seem to be two ways to handle this situation, the right way and the wrong way.
The right way. As soon as you see the first warning of the closed lane get yourself into the lane that will remain open and position yourself on the closed lane side of the open lane. By positioning yourself on the side of the open lane that is near the soon to be closed lane you make yourself visible to the oblivians that will try to pass about five vehicles in the lane that is going to be closed. When all the traffic can merge while the traffic is still flowing then the transition to the closed lane will occur smoothly and safely. Do not crowd the vehicle you are following and always leave a two or three second gap.
The Wrong way. It never fails that there will be a oblivian that will try to pass as many vehicles as possible when coming to a lane closure. They think this is some kind of an opportunity to get ahead of everyone else. They can also be spotted in line at wall-mart ignoring the line at the cash register and going up directly up to the checkout counter basically just cutting in front of everyone who is trying to do things correctly. This practice caused many unsafe conditions. As the oblivian passes the people waiting in line it causes the people in line to crowd the vehicle in front of them in an attempt to keep the oblivian out. When the oblivian comes to the part of the closed lane where their vehicle will no longer fit they are forced to stop and then will try to pull out in front of someone with a two second
gap between them and the vehicle in front of them. This puts everyone in danger. Remember that everyone in line is already crowded close in an attempt to keep the oblivian out and now they are forced to hit their brakes since the car the oblivin pulled out in front of has to hit their brakes to keep from hitting the oblivian.
I am always amazed that some “people” feel it is their right to inconvenience 40 other people for a few feet of highway space.
When you are confronted with this oblivian just let them in front of you, remember to be watching your rear since the vehicle behind you will more than likely be crowding you in an attempt to keep them out.
