Real Kato Blog: To The Jerk Who Doesn't Understand Merging

I apologize for giving you the finger... but you kinda deserved it.

You: driving a black SUV on westbound I-40.
Me: coming down the on-ramp from Gorman street.

I accelerated to match the speed of traffic in the right-most lane. I was going the same speed as you, and as the person in front of you. I put on my turn signal and let it blink half a dozen times. So I fulfilled all the responsibilities on my side of the Laws of Merging.

You had ONE thing to do: leave a gap to let me in. You didn't have to slow down unreasonably. I just wanted a small gap. Two or three car lengths would have been enough. But instead, you closed the distance on the car in front of you as my on-ramp ran out. So that's why I just cut you off. Otherwise I would have turned into that shmuck who slows down to 20 at the end of the ramp and makes things dangerous for everyone else who's trying to merge behind him.

And what did you do? You honked at me. So I gave you the standard response: the righteously extended middle finger. I probably shouldn't have done it. But I was angry.

The worst part? You didn't even need to be in the right lane. You switched lanes five seconds after trying to squeeze me off the freeway. If you had made that lane change just a little sooner, all this unpleasantness could have been avoided.

So in short: sorry about the finger. But please, please learn how to merge.

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