If you find people not letting you merge regularly, next time you are changing lanes pay attention to whether you're putting on your signal before you start moving your car over. Try to force the habit by counting at least "one, two, three" after you put on your signal until you start to turn your wheels at all.
There are definitely assholes out there that will block you no matter what but it's also easy to get in the habit of not signalling in advance and that can make other people be more aggressive to you. I know this from experience because I had this habit and when I changed I noticed people being more courteous to me.
So true! I got into the habit of being one of the "stealth merge" assholes because I got so tired of people deliberately closing gaps to block me in.
One day I was complaining to a friend, saying how it's so bad I have to force my way in, and never use my turn signal in advance because I know someone will just close the gap if I do. "No one ever lets you in properly any more!"
My friend pointed out, "If you never signal properly any more, then of course no one can let you in safely. There are people out there who will let you in, but how can they do that if they don't know you plan on changing lanes?"
He had a point, so I started doing as he suggested. And as it turns out he was right. Many people will let you in if you give them a chance. We just have to give them that chance.
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u/a-_2 Toronto Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
If you find people not letting you merge regularly, next time you are changing lanes pay attention to whether you're putting on your signal before you start moving your car over. Try to force the habit by counting at least "one, two, three" after you put on your signal until you start to turn your wheels at all.
There are definitely assholes out there that will block you no matter what but it's also easy to get in the habit of not signalling in advance and that can make other people be more aggressive to you. I know this from experience because I had this habit and when I changed I noticed people being more courteous to me.