Merging into freeway traffic is hands down one of the most scary driving situations. It’s scary even if you don’t have driving anxiety.
One thing that helps is to make sure you’re using the correct procedures for freeway merging in order to make it less scary.
Making Freeway Merging Less Scary
- Travel at the same speed — You want your car to be at or near freeway traffic speed when you reach the end of the on ramp. You’ll generally have a few hundred feet to accelerate. Merging is actually much easier when traveling the same speed as the traffic you’re entering.
- Look for merge gaps ahead — Scan the traffic ahead of you while you’re in the merge lane. Find a gap you fit into and prepare to merge.
- Look behind you — Glance back over your left shoulder to make sure you have room to merge behind you. Make sure the gap is big enough in front of and behind the car.
- Merge quickly — Once you’ve made sure you have enough room, quickly merge into the stream of traffic.
You can see how it looks in the video below, which is actually pretty helpful. They also cover some tips about how to change lanes once you’re on the freeway. Thanks to Howcast.com for providing the video.
Knowing the correct driving steps for freeway merging can help you so it’s less stressful… and less scary.
