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Dizzy_Necessary8860 t1_iwentr0 wrote

I'm a driver's ed instructor in Mass. When merging on highway, I tell them to get up to highway speed by the top of the ramp, check mirrors, and signal onto the highway, only stopping for a hazard or stopped traffic. They are instructed to yield to traffic on the highway, but adjust speed and find a gap to slide into the travel lanes of the highway. Some students hesitate and stop or slow down and you are right, it causes other problems.

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BannedMyName t1_iwf7rfz wrote

I was taught in MA that you don't need a signal because where the heck else would you be going at that point

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Thomas_Perscors t1_iwg6w89 wrote

I’m also from the Midwest and it was a bit of culture shock to see how rarely people out here use turn signals. It’s like you’re saving it for a special occasion.

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TzarKazm t1_iwg7z92 wrote

You don't want to end up running out of blinker fluid. That stuff is expensive.

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AhBuckleThis t1_iwggw0i wrote

In MA, turn signals are a sign of weakness. Never let your opponent know your next move lol.

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dontcomeback82 t1_iwgs4mc wrote

If you are trying to merge, putting on a turn signal up here is a sign for everyone in that lane to pass you immediately. You have to save it for when you have an opening and hit them with a surprise merge

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madtho t1_iwhbh39 wrote

Driving box trucks in NYC my buddy always said “You’re giving privileged information to the enemy!”

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BlaineTog t1_iwh4328 wrote

Hilldale, 1955, clearly. Or possibly Narnia, if someone lost a wardrobe off the side of their truck.

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LadyGreyIcedTea t1_iwhim3e wrote

I was taught way back when (2000) to put your left blinker on when merging on to the highway because it will make the cars on the highway more likely to move over for you. No idea if that's true or not.

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[deleted] t1_iwg8jv7 wrote

My mom yelled at me after I got my license that I wasn’t doing it and I told her this very question, I’m not going anywhere, and my drivers ed instructor never taught me that

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MatthewMcDerpFace t1_iwguztq wrote

Me and several of me peers in the 2000's never once went on the highway for Driver's Ed. This should be a requirement.

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Dizzy_Necessary8860 t1_iwgysnu wrote

Agreed. Not all driving schools do it because the RMV doesn't require it, but the school I work for does.

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thafunkyhomosapien t1_iwhrkcr wrote

I did my driver's test in 1999, and am originally from one of the lovely towns in central Mass that has both an RMV and is conveniently located right on rt. 2. I most definitely had to go on the highway for my driver's test. Not all my peers did, but I did. Definitely depended on the officer you got back then. (do they still have state troopers sit in the passenger seat or is it someone from the RMV?)

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Dizzy_Necessary8860 t1_iwhs0zw wrote

Someone from the RMV.... Sounds like the Leominster RMV!

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thafunkyhomosapien t1_iwhsyyp wrote

Correct :) It's good that they changed that. Having a state trooper in your car definitely freaked the hell out of a lot of 16 year olds. As an old person now, maybe it was a good thing :)

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[deleted] t1_iweul0t wrote

[deleted]

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Dizzy_Necessary8860 t1_iwevwoz wrote

I know exactly what and where you are referencing here. When traffic is stopped on the highway, doing a "zipper" merge is really the best way to keep the traffic moving- both the traffic already on the highway and the traffic trying to enter the highway from the ramp. Yes, the merging traffic from the ramp is required to yield- but in a practical sense, the traffic from the ramp would never move if every car on that ramp just yielded stopped and waited. All it takes is one or two aggressive drivers to gum up the works. It's all about being predictable... and aggressive drivers are not.

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CompleteAndUtterWat t1_iwixce3 wrote

When my dad taught me to drive he made me get on and off every single exit/on ramp for 2 hours straight. I was a god damn pro in one day.

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