Merge denial

Merging onto a highway can be a little nerve wracking to inexperienced drivers, especially in heavy traffic.  Merging vehicles must accelerate to highway speed (not slow down or stop) in order to merge safely and sometimes, the on-ramp for the merging vehicles is way too short to allow for highway speeds to be achieved. Drivers on the highway approaching the merge must remain alert, proactive and courteous.

When approaching a merge, you should keep an eye on the traffic around you and notice if there are any gaps for the merging vehicle to merge into.  If there are no gaps in the traffic for the merging vehicle, you should create one if at all possible, in order to allow them to merge onto the highway safely.  To create a break in traffic for the merging vehicle you move over into the left lane so the merging vehicles can safely enter the highway.  If this isn't possible, adjust your speed to create a break in front of or behind you signaling the other driver if possible.  The worst thing you can do is a merge denial.

A merge denial is when you, for what ever reason, stay in the right lane and speed up (or continue speeding) when approaching a traffic merge in order to insure that the merging vehicle does not get in front of you.  This situation cannot be avoided sometimes, such as when the merging vehicle hesitates and/or you are being tailgated by a horde of traffic pushing you beyond the speed limit and you cannot move over due to high traffic in both lanes, but from personal experience, a lot of the time, a merge denial isn't implemented because of no options, but rather out of distracted driving habits or a form of road rage.  This will inevitably cause the merging vehicle to be forced to stop on the on-ramp, often suddenly, to avoid hitting the guardrail or running off the road.

Be kind when you see others merging. Ease off the gas a bit if someone's trying to merge onto the highway in front of you, or speed up if that's the safer option. Stay alert and try to make things easier for the other drivers - it makes the highway safer for everyone.