How to Merge on a Highway
In the words of Steppenwolf, when you get your motor running and you head out on the highway, you can be born to be wild. Just because it’s fun to drive at highway speeds doesn’t mean that you can be born to be wild; you still need to follow the rules of the road that keep you and other people safe. Here are some tips to help you drive safely when merging into a highway.
Drive within the limit. Most highways have a prescribed legal speed limit that you should maintain or keep under. The speed limit is displayed on very conspicuous locations on the road. To avoid accidents, it’s best to drive towards the highway and into your lane in more or less the same speed as the other cars driving on the road.
Maintain your distance. Drafting and slipstreaming are absolutely prohibited in highways; the road is not a race course, and driving is not a racing video game. You should give yourself ample distance in front to approach the lane, and at the same time, give yourself ample distance at the back to prevent a rear collision.
Look both ways. It’s not enough for you to rely on your side mirror or rear-view mirror to determine whether or not you’re safe to approach the highway and enter the lane. Collision damage often happens on the blind spots of your vehicle, so you need to give quick but observant glances at those spots before approaching the highway entry. Always use your turn signals.
Approach, don’t cut, the entry. In a racing game, you’re probably used to dashing into the highway in one quick drift, but you simply cannot do that on the road without harming yourself or other vehicles. Instead of cutting through the entry ramp to get into the highway, you should gradually approach the entry to keep up with traffic and have enough clearance at all sides of your vehicle.
Driving can really make things happen as long as you follow safe driving tips. With these steps, you can go ahead and look for any adventure that comes along the highway safely.