America’s Merging Problem - Stop These Dangerous Highway Habits (POV) 

This should be taught in Driver's education but most people spend almost no time on the highway system in their driving classes. It's no wonder we see panic stops during onramp merges regularly. But with some simple explanations you can be a safer and more confident driver without scaring passengers or causing an accident.

>the purpose of an on ramp is to allow us to match the speed of traffic >the less differential in speed we have with the traffic, the safer we'll be New York: Let me place a stop sign at the end of this on ramp.

When Tedward explains something you have been doing half your life, you still listen.

People better believe in what Tedward says, he once had a BMW and STILL USED his turn signals

“How much signal I need to cut across 8 lanes? None?! I Turn NOW. Good luck everybody else!” - I always remember this quote whenever I drive on highways or parkways. Keeps me on my toes. 😅

Not just this concept, but this actual video should be shown in every driver’s education class.

It’s ironic because only the people that care would watch this. :(

That is the smoothest 495 run I've seen lmao. Me and my mom always get into highway etiquette, she's stubborn about driving her way and doesn't have a ton of confidence on the road. I'm glad there are voices on public platforms so if my mother isn't getting the message, somebody else might

I could listen to Tedward talking about driving etiquette for 24 hours straight without getting bored.

I dont have any issues with merging I am just here because I really enjoy your videos :)

One weird trick that few motorists are aware of is the option of merging BEHIND another vehicle. I do this from time to time and have suffered no ill effects. It’s not a race.

It's the left lane hogs on 2-lane highways that really get to me. It is not rare to see a line of 5 to 15 cars in the left lane, leaving a super open right lane around here. I'll admit, when it get's under my skin enough I'll hop in the right lane and just go a little faster to make passes, only to see the car in front of the left line has a huge gap in front of them, which is where I go haha. Usually that driver then proceeds to close the fat gap and tailgate me once I catch up to the NEXT left lane hog... huff... Goodness... it is just SO SIMPLE... If you are not passing, stay right.

I drive a Focus. In my area I am forced to floor the gas pedal and shift at 5000rpm otherwise the pickup truck behind you will speed up faster and merge to your side, blocking you in and running you off the road. This happens constantly in my area. That and people intentionally blocking you in the freeway so you can’t merge. Must be nice to live in an area where people aren’t assholes. Edit: another thing that constantly happens in my area is people playing chicken while they pass delivery trucks. They don’t care about oncoming traffic at all, they just yolo the pass and assume that YOU will drive OFF the road so you don’t die. Literally a weekly occurrence in my area and it’s always a massive vehicle like a lifted F150 or a Yukon/Tahoe. Again it would be nice if people followed the rules but apparently it’s the law of the jungle out there. Bigger car = do whatever you want and good luck everyone.

Need this as a beginner driver😮‍💨🙏

So many people are so terrified of themselves they come to a complete stop - without realizing theyre putting themselves in a deadly situation. 76 is a horrible highway, don't make it worse for yourself! Glad you made this video.

this honda has a beautiful interior 😮

Good advice... for light traffic conditions as in this video. In cities, you have to shoehorn yourself in, often quite assertively. Normally you want to be predictable, but experienced city drivers use a different strategy. In heavy traffic, if you intend to slip between cars while merging or changing lanes, you're often better off to just go for it. If you use your signal before you make your move, often the driver in the lane you're moving into will speed up, intentionally blocking you. If you're assertive and make the move anyway, you'll often get honked if you used your signal. In the city, you got to keep 'em guessing.

Should also cover getting off the freeway. All too often, people slow down before taking the off-ramp. The freeway is designed for you to exit at highway speed. Once you exit, you slow down, not before.

Finally a video that addresses this huge American problem. As a European driver towing a travel trailer on American roads, I am quite often frustrated and embarrassed by drivers who have no idea how to get onto a highway. Some stop at the start of the ramp, others drive at the same speed as me until the end of the ramp and finally others stop at the end of the ramp, in many cases I have observed that these drivers looked straight ahead without worrying about what was happening to their left shoulder!

Thank you Tedward. I wish similar training was a universal DMV requirement for approving driver licenses in the US. I genuinely think some people didn't receive the proper instruction. You would be shocked at how many US drivers have no idea that the passing lane is not a place to just cruise.. if there is nobody in front of you in the left lane, move over and let the fellow drivers behind you move by people!

A rule I always follow (works every time for me at least), even before I put my finger on the turn signal, I am going the speed limit or at the follow of traffic at the acceleration ramp(if it is long enough).

The on ramp should not be ridden out. You should merge at the first safe opportunity. Not only is the person behind you not going to ride it out but by riding it out you lose all ability to move back over if you missed/didn't see a car next to you or someone comes speeding down the right lane. Riding it out you now have no "runway" left to move back to in an emergency situation and you'll end up on the shoulder.

I love your education series. Given about 90 percent of my friends are of the “blind spots are for other people” crowd, the patient manner you have of explaining things really help.

My gosh, someone who actually knows how to teach without causing panic attacks and phobias.

In Germany it is forbidden to stop on the on ramp when there is to much traffic. I don´t know if it is the same in the US. If that happens here we are told and taught to use the shoulder for the needed amount of time.

There’s “on ramps” here in Los Angeles that don’t allow for travel time; meaning that the on ramp is literally a STOP sing that is 15 feet and sets you onto incoming traffic traveling at 59-75 mph 😂. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted or the novice drivers.

One gets extra good at this skill with an old car with no power. It's all about finding the merge gap far in advance and praying your timing belt doesn't snap.

Some short ramps are dangerous.

This is great! Please do one about proper use of roundabouts in the US. I'm from England and have lived in the US for about 10 years and EVERY TIME I get to a roundabout, there's an issue. Nobody signals, nobody yields...

Well, this is definitely not CA where you have: 1. Two lane on ramps (805S to 163S) 2. Traffic lights on the on ramps 3. Five lanes merging into one lane (5N to 163N) 4. Short 180/270 degree on ramps with extremely short merge lanes (94W at 28th) 5. On ramps to on/off ramps (8E at Morena on to 5N to 8E) 6. On ramps to the left lane and needing to make 4 quick lane changes to get the exit (5S to 8E to Taylor) Examples provided in San Diego in a very small radius but not isolated. Except maybe the the 5 to 1 is possibly rare. But the Sequoia at 11:30, SMH. Granted, there's a big truck. Still annoying.

I love when you upload videos like this. Despite knowing how to do this and already having a license, I've never driven on a highway! I haven't driven since getting my license but I very much enjoy these educational vids. One of my favorites is when you spoke on why American highways are dangerous

When I wasa new driver, I made the mistake of stopping on an entrance ramp as, in those days (early 1970's) the entry ramps were equipped with yield signs. Today, ramps in most cases are now equipped with yellow diamond "merge" signs which convey proper procedure of entering the roadway.

I wish more people would follow this. Having learned to drive with a 1984 Cavalier in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it's second nature for me to pay attention, think ahead, and make FULL use of the lane.

1. Regardless if the vehicle is equipped with blind spot monitoring system, just add a circular rotatable blind spot mirror from Walmart at $2.5 each and stick it onto the lower right corner of the side mirror. It really helps you to a) parking, b) merging at traffic low speed, c) checking the lane marker as you drive. 2. When you are on ramp, put the car in sport mode or drop a gear like D2 or D3, then reasonably step on it and maintaining the high rev (4-5k RPM) that allowed you to quickly speed up to 65-75 mph, check the side mirror and blind spot mirror while controlling the throttle, then you will find yourself adjusting to the highway speed with the throttle response that makes you merge easily before the merge lane ends. Once merging completed, then you can put back into Auto/Eco mode or leave it in Sport mode. 3. #2 also works well if there is a slow merger in front of you as you used the throttle (engine and transmission) to quickly decrease speed and put some gap in between or increase speed when you have the chance to merge out to 2nd lane and no need to wait for a minute behind the turtle to pick up their turtle speed. No brakes needed.

When tedward gives a free driving lesson you better listen and save $$$

God bless you Tom for doing the people a service with this video. If only there was a way to broadcast this across every TV set in the city of Seattle. Saving this video to show my future kids when they learn to drive

Thank you tedward! On this topic, please show us how you adjust your mirrors and how to check your mirrors for safe merging and lane changes! Talk us through it

Ty I just drove on the highway today for the first time in a long time with an instructor for a refresher course. And it was scary exciting and fun! 😊

If there are 3 lanes, I typically use the middle lane because I’m usually faster than right lane traffic, and there’s also traffic entering or exiting the highway. I prefer using the middle lane so I’m not constantly changing lanes back and forth. Since I’m typically faster than that right lane traffic, it all works out.

Good video that is sadly needed. One thing I do especially when in lower powered cars is to accelerate more than I may need early so that I can slow by throttle lift or some braking as it is faster and easier to reduce speed than it is to increase it if there is limited gaps or short on ramp lane. I see way too many people on the on ramp at 35-45MPH trying to enter traffic traveling at 75-80MPH by accelerating at the last minute in low powered car or worse trucks and trailers. This is even more beneficial on long curve cloverleaf style on ramps. So many people will drive at very low speeds around the curved ramp and then try to match speeds in the short straight when traffic is present.

This video needs to be shown in drivers ed class. A lot of newly minted drivers don’t know how to execute a proper merge sometimes causing accidents.

I’m a new driver, so thanks a lot! This helped me!

Thank you for this video, refreshing to see people who are conscious of freeway etiquette.

a LOT of people don't do this in south FL. Especially them semis who think they have a God given right to the lane and then they accelerate. Drives me bonkers behind them because I have to move one more lane left to fully accelerate and the rest of traffic moves over left and that is where one wrong move by one driver can ruin it for everyone.

Tedward thank you for this video. I’m from Brooklyn NY and driving here is very unorthodox compared to the rest of the country. I’m getting ready to move my car up to my college and these videos really help!!

I havent finished watching this, but I did want to comment: In Massachusetts, merging traffic has the right of way (unlike what you said.... maybe CA is different?) The trick is to use the onramp to match speed as you said, but also realize that your job is to keep moving while you merge. Awesome job thanks!

The fact that these videos actually educate people and even new drivers is awesome, and I don’t think many of our behind the wheel instructors are doing tough merges that feed directly into the highway, instead they choose an easily new lane added on ramp, at least my BTW instructor did exactly that

I recently moved to Cincinnati. It is baffling to me how many people here try to merge only going 50 mph when the speed limit is 65 and flow of traffic is 80. Makes me want to put signs at the beginning of every ramp saying you should try to be going 70 before you merge.

The single lane double ramps: If I'm trying to get onto the freeway I'm the one who has to speed up. If you're getting off the freeway you have to slow down. If the both of us need to use the same ramp at the same time _you have no right to cut me off just to get in front of me _*_when you're the one who needs to slow down_* Seriously, I'm the one who needs to speed up, you need to slow down. Get behind me and leave me the open lane to speed up.

Was fortunate to already have an idea on how to merge before I got my license. I live in a city where the interstate infrastructure isn’t nearly as modern as other cities nearby so the on-ramps are pretty nonexistent. It’s been a good learning lesson of just knowing when and where to commit because the time you have is extremely minimal and the distance to get to speed is also very small

They are actually acceleration lanes (on ramps) and deceleration lanes (off ramps). Yes, they are to facilitate merges and exits, but they are built to allow you headspace to get up to speed of traffic and to allow you headspace to reduce your speed coming off the highway. When com8ng onto the highway, it is YOUR responsibility to have you vehicle at highway speed (or speed of traffic) BEFORE you merge. And, when exiting a highway, you should not reduce your speed UNTIL YOUR VEHICLE IS FULLY IN THE DECELERATION LANE. So many drivers begin slowing while still on the highway.

Do not stop next to a guard rail unless absolutely necessary!!! Stop where the shoulder is open and doesn't put you close to traffic. Good video. Drove OTR truck for a decade, and most of this is defensive driving that is taught at the bigger companies.

No driving courses around here deal with highways at all. This is surprising as highways are all over the place here. I've taught my kids and others what you are saying here. The trouble is when there is a heavy volume and rude drivers try to prevent you from merging in by speeding up and slowing down until you run out of lane. That's why they refer to drivers around here as "Massholes." Having good command and control of your car, and having it be capable, then acting with predictability and sureness help a lot too. I had to go to Germany for work and they do things a little differently, having arrows on the highway nudging drivers out of the right-most lane to help incoming traffic get on. I think the highway cars still have right or way but this does get many to move over which helps the flow. Seems courteous and efficient, which is probably why many here won't do it.

Thank you Tedward for taking the time. The current driver’s ed program is out of date especially in Canada/ON. I hope many Ontario drivers sees this as well. Keep it up 👍

When people are learning how to drive, they need to put in the hours to get confident in themselves. I was deathly afraid to go above 10 mph in my neighborhood when I started driving. But after practicing for 4-5 hours every day I became really good at driving around. Once my confidence was there, and I knew how to handle my car, I could take on the highways with much more confidence and get to the speed that I need to.

This video was very helpful as a new driver. I might go when there’s not enough traffic

Yeah in NJ you put your blinker on, people speed up and block you, yes use the on ramp to get up to speed, don't drive 15 till the end and speed up. Also when your in an on/off ramp leave your blinker on so we know if your getting on, off or just using the on/off as a bypass.

Enjoyed you video, sir, and I shared it with my daughter. When I merge in, I sometimes like to pretend I’m flying, and I say V1, and rotate as I enter the lane.

I don't have trouble merging, and I watched this video out of curiosity. I'm glad to say that I agree with everything on it. Particularly, I share the view that it is good to drive in the right lane on freeways as much as possible. That is very good advice.

This video is way more restrained, informative, and less colorful than when I “explain” merging to the other cars rocketing off of I-95 in Massachusetts.

People I drive with call me an A-hole for telling them how get on interstates, yielding, not camp in the left lane, etc. It just drives me nuts that people aren't taught this.

I was running across a home depot parking lot when it suddenly began raining hard the other day. That was the one time i regretted parking far away from everyone else lol

Great tips!! Learned all of this in Driver’s Ed in high school in the late 80’s. Really should bring that back to the school systems. I also have used the 2” convex stick-on mirrors on my side mirrors on all of my vehicles since the early 90’s. They are great as blind spot remover and they help when parking (parallel as well) and backing into a slot. Thanks for the great content.

Omg, May your video go viral! I would like to point out, though, that I never merge into another lane where I will be placing myself into another’s blind spot.

Things to consider: 1. Maintaining proper distance between vehicles provides needed merging spaces. 2. The rightmost lane is typically use by slower traffic i.e. large trucks, merging vehicles, or drivers that obey the posted speed limit, not doing 10 mph over 8:42 3. With the right lane seen as the "slow lane", it is natural for longer distance "cruise" drivers to stay in the middle lane, not constantly hop back and forth between slow and "average" speeds. 4. Lane changes are inherently more dangerous than keeping to your lane, so the fewer lane changes made, the more predictable and safer you are.

A lot of on-ramps near me don’t have their own dedicated lane. They go for about 50 feet, and just dump you into the right lane. I live in California, so traffic is horrible even outside of rush hour, so merging here is an art of its own, and almost requires a powerful car.

This needs to be sent to about 90% of car owners in NC; it doesn’t surprise me to learn that this isn’t well covered in drivers ed, and it seems most basic driving skills aren’t well covered around here. This is the first time in decades that I’ve heard anyone correctly define the proper use of a freeway ramp.

I’m glad that you corrected your error at the start of the video where you implied that cars on the freeway have right-of-way over cars on the on ramp (1:18) by thoughtfully slowing a smidge to match your speed on the freeway to that of the car on the on ramp (10:09).

The on-ramp for Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn was so short that they eventually cut off the whole lane. That thing was the Bermuda Triangle of accidents

You always have the best videos. Crazy to think I was like your 250th subscriber.

Glad you're demonstrating this in the rain.

3rd gear, floor it, use the entirety of the merge lane, use your mirrors and take a quick look over your shoulder. That's how I learned it

Thanks for the vid sir - super useful. We used to have a really short, tight merge NB 405 to EB 520 out here in Bellevue, WA that our instructors would have us practice on. Honestly it was scary as sh!# the first time you do it, super tight right hand curve into a blind super short merging zone. But after doing it successfully a few times it sure gave folks confidence they could handle other difficult situations. You really do have to "attack" a merge, don't be timid, passive or unaware.

Not everywhere has merge lanes. Wisconsin doesn't seem to have them at all. You just have to hope you get lucky and people move over for you. Most people do so it's not too bad, but it can be intimidating because you are almost immediately in the travel lanes.

I am from Pakistan , came to US few times and has the option to drive , really enjoyed the discipline of the traffic . I normally watch tedward channel , which reminds me of those good times to drive in US. Good job man .,

One of my pet peeves is when I slow down to change lanes in heavy traffic the racecar drivers behind me jump over and around and into the gap before my turn signal clicks twice.

I think the middle lane is used as a cruising lane because on US highways its common that the right lane turns into a exit only lane

I know all this stuff and don’t get me wrong, this is GREAT info. I’m simply watching because I miss real driving 😢. I’m enjoying the manual transmission.

Don't even get me started on the morons who move FROM the main lanes INTO the merging lane, just to use it as a passing lane and "pretend" to be entering the highway.

This is common courtesy, but many drivers in LA lack this courtesy. Often people will get in the left/passing lane and just cruise forcing the drivers in a hurry to pass on the right, even the far right lane: not safe at all. These ideas should be taught to all drivers.

What nice weather. Oh, and your video was very informative. Thanks!

Can you do a video like this during rush hour? I don't have a problem when highways are like this, but sometimes there is much more traffic and it's like there is no room to merge.

The worst types of drivers: -Tailgaters -Stay in far left lane immediately after getting on to right before their exit -Signal when about to pass, but don't when they move back over

You are doing god’s work with this video. The entire city of portland needs to watch this video.

This video should be shown in every driving school

You should be using that ramp to pick a 'target' you plan to merge into while you have the visibility afforded by your height advantage. Adjust speed until you match that pocket all the way down the ramp.

Wow!! Your videos are so helpful with the clear narration and POV cam. Thank you!!

Clower leaf are the wors , and you make it look so easy

If there is a speed limiting turn followed by a short merging area then hard acceleration is necessary. I always aim to be at the speed of traffic the second the solid line turns dotted, but that doesn’t mean that I jump across 50 lanes suddenly, just want to make sure that by that time I have the ability to safely merge.

Great video. I gave some highway driving lessons to my mom just recently. She was very anxious especially about the onramp (called Beschleunigungsstreifen - Acceleration lane - in German) since she did only 3 maybe 5 highway rides in the last decade just out of nessessity. The key for her (with an 79 hp manual small car) was basically to STAY in second, maximum third gear and just give it full throttle until she is on the highway. Maybe only slightly adjusting to behind a truck/car. Second gear is just enough to be in truck speed area in Germany (50-55mph) for her car and if the engine screems at 6000 rpm, thats not major a problem. If it helps, just care about the transmission 20 seconds after merging. That took much of the stress from her in that situation. She still doesn't like driving on the highway, but at least she is now again (mentaly) able to use it if really needed.

Some merging lanes in the US are just way too short, and sometimes the lanes just merge without a clear sign or indication, which is dangerous since the drivers may not expect that. In Germany/Netherlands and where I am from (Hong Kong), they always have very clear signs on the side and markings on the ground to let you know when two lane merge or a lane disappears.

“We don’t wanna stop cause we don’t wanna get rear ended by someone behind us, that’s INSANE” 😂I died laughing at this part but you are speaking the truth !

as a german, this is very interesting to see. on-ramps here tend to be a lot shorter than US ramps and often have very tight turns which can be challenging if your car only has 75 hp which mine does and if there is lots of traffic. the main problem is probably just the lack of proper highway training for drivers which makes these "easier" ramps a challenge for many drivers

I'd be happy if there're more than 50% of the drivers know that when you're merging onto the highway, you don't have the right of way. I moved from another country to California 10 years ago, and was immediately given a finger by some guy merging into my lane from ramp. I was really shocked and thought probably it's California's law to yield to merging vehicles? later I found out that so many people take it for granted that they always have the right of way.

As someone who drives all day for work in MA, thank you. People merging onto 95 doing 35mph... it's maddening.

Great video, I just passed my G test this video helped a lot

I came here to get back some of my sanity. Great work.

The main problem with onramps is tailgaters. Both the traffic on the road and the cars on the onramp. This makes merging a very jerky process. And a lot of ignorant drivers goes into a wild rage if someone merges in front of them. Merging only works well when both lanes keep a proper distance between cars and avoid messing up the zipper.

I was never nervous about merging on the highway until I got my JDM RHD car. It's a pain in sometimes while merging as left side visibility is not as great as a LHD car.

I appreciate the reminder on merging onto the freeway from an on ramp. Now I will feel more at ease when I face the situation. I agree with you that the places on the highway where there is an off ramp within just a few yards of an on ramp can be very dangerous if we don’t really pay attention to the driver coming on. Thank you 1:11