North Coast Merge Wars
I was surprised to see David Young's My Word in the Times- Standard this morning.
I wasn't aware of any roads up here where there was a problem with two or three lanes merging into fewer lanes. I've commented here before on such problems on Northbound 101 in Willits and stretches of 101 in the Santa Rosa area where lanes are reduced and drivers that think they should be able to wait until the last moment to merge so they can jump in front of everyone else that merged earlier.
We've even had such drivers defend their behavior when I'd criticize them here, but I don't think there were more than one or two that did and they did so anonymously. I'll give Mr. Young credit for his gall in criticizing early mergers under his own name in a newspaper where a lot of folks will read it. That's pretty brazen.
Checking the Topix comments to his My Word piece, I was not just surprised but disappointed that three of the first four comments seemed to agree with him. Luckily, after I commented agreeing with another in the opposition, others piped in and agreed that Mr. Young seems to be an arrogant and rude driver.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 11:08 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
LOL - earth to Mr. Young - It's not a game. There are real reasons for this particular slow/down/merge gracefully - they're building a bridge you dumba** - the road itself is actually narrowed down making behavior like yours actually unsafe.
Keep it up and they'll have to resort to closing off the continuous flow, and we'll all be stopped and waiting for an escort car as one lane and then the other is allowed through.
"Free spirit" indeed.There are so-o-o-o-o many better ways to show THAT - usually desirable - personality trait.
I'm with you, Fred.
From the looks of the Topix comments, so are a number of other folks. The guy's getting hammered. I wonder if anybody will write an lte in rebuttal?
I thought about it, but had enough trouble just figuring how to write the original post here.
There is one seriously troublesome merge point just south of the Mad River bridge, at the 299 offramp to merge with 101 North.
When you are driving on 101, you cannot see when a car is on the offramp until you pass the bridge and suddenly there is a car next to you. The offramp has a wicked 90 degree angle. Pow! There's someone next to you.
Worse, there is not enough space for the merger to get up to highway speed. This results in either the merger forcing drivers to slam on their brakes, or for the merger to come to a full stop in the merge lane and wait for an opening.
This doesn't get much attention because people taking the offramp are few and far between. Most McKinleyville residents know to take a backroad route to town because the 101 route is so dangerous.
I almost spit out my soda when I started to read his "article", because I was so sure it was actually about me. On Christmas Eve I was heading to Arcata (obviously...lol), and I was last in the line of about 10 cars. Up on my ass comes a mini van, and te driver decides he's going to gun it to get in front of JUST ME!
Sorry pal, I ain't gonna let it happen. We looked over at each other at the same time and I just gave him a wtf?! look. Then I realized it was Christmas Eve.
No, my actions were not polite, but as we've seen from the beat down Mr. Young is getting on Topix, nobody likes people that do what he is referencing.
Kind of like the people that blast past you in the Safety Corridor, only to end up right in front of you at the first stoplight in town!!
I too, was a little discouraged at when I 1st went to Topix and saw someone agreeing with him...what a maroon!
Thanks for that link Fred.
Read this dude's rant about his own bad driving and was like damn that is the same fool who would roll through Willits creeping up on folks. No offense but this dude last name is Young? No offense but he from McMormonville? Yea. Bet he believes in both that magic Brazilian Jesus and them magic let me in front lanes. Pssssht. Somebody gonna run this dude off the road.
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