A Lesson on Entering an Expressway

• Patiently wait your turn entering the ramp.
• Gradually build up speed as you traverse the on-ramp.
• As you build up speed, be careful as to not get too far in front of the courteous motorist behind you.
• Do not, under any circumstances, glance in your mirror or over your shoulder.
• When reaching a distance of less than 50 feet of the end of the ramp, firmly apply brakes. Slowly look over your shoulder to see if freeway traffic has stopped to let you in. Take this time to check the motorist behind you to see if he may be communicating with you.
• If after five cars go by without letting you in, you may proceed into the right traffic lane. Your fellow motorists will happily let you in at this point.
• Please proceed slowly to the left lane to ensure fellow motorists entering the freeway adequate room for their entrance.

Why the Left Lane?

The traffic around here has gotten out of hand. The state could save thousands of dollars by removing and not replacing the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs. No one is obviously reading them.

Only around Milwaukee will the quickest lane often be the right lane. Can someone please explain the proliferation of slow driving in the left lane? I understand the abundance of our infamous left lane exits tend to encourage slower drivers to be in the left lane, and that is understandable. I am not including these motorists in this discussion.

I am talking about motorists heading west, past the bypass, up the hill wondering why all the traffic is passing them so fast on the right. Or the individuals making a statement by purposely driving slow in the left lane watching the rest of traffic maneuver around them. My favorite is the driver who drives in rush hour every day, probably at traffic speeds around 35 mph. This driver will drive at 45 mph, when there is no traffic jam thinking he is living in the fast lane. He is somewhat nervous about those crazy people driving 55 right next to him. He feels safe because he has a firm grip on the wheel, and as long as there is no car within 300 feet in front of him, and no brake lights visible in any lane in front of him, he will keep plugging along.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not defending the wild drivers careening in and out of traffic, cutting off as many people as they can. The people are as dangerous as the slow one creating the bottlenecks. Normal everyday motorists can become frustrated with unaware or inconsiderate drivers rather easily.

More examples of our driving citezens coming soon.