question on onramps

[MikeEMT609]

Hello Everyone
I live in Los Angeles. When I go to work I take York Blvd to Delevan Drive then turn onto the long onramp to the 2 north (I believe this area is covered by the Altadena Station). This is a long single lane ramp.
Most mornings when I enter the ramp I have to follow other cars driving 25 to 30 until they enter the freeway before slowly climbing to freeway speed, which IMHO is not safe.
I seem to remember that an onramp is used to accelerate to freeway speeds before merging into traffic.
If there are no other cars in front of me I start to speed up as soon as I enter the ramp so I can safely enter the freeway.

I guess what I'm asking here is this-
Who is right in this situation...the driver that waits until they enter the freeway to speed up, or am I right in that we are supposed to speed up as soon as we enter the ramp?

I consider myself to be a safe driver, try to follow all traffic laws all the time as I can't afford to get tickets, so I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing when it comes to using ramps and transition roads.

[The Highway Man]

Don't worry, the same thing happens here in the UK. Luckily most of our onramps (or entry slips) have 2 lanes so you can overtake slower moving vehicles to be at a decent speed to join the main carriageway. :wink:

[bcjack]

If I remember correctly (it has been about 40 years since I took driver's ed) you should enter the freeway at freeway speed so you can smoothly merge into the traffic. So many dopes putt along and enter the freeway at like 35, 40, 45 and almost get creamed when they pull into 75 mph traffic.

Some times I wish I had a giant inflatable air bag on the front of my truck so i could "help" those dopes get up to speed...:badgrin:

[G. Reaper]

I am not familiar with this on ramp in particular but you are correct. The speed limit on an off or on ramp is the same as the speed limit on the freeway. There may be posted yellow cautionary signs that recommend a slower speed due to a curve or something but you should be at or near the speed limit when you merge onto the freeway from the ramp.

Hope this helps.

[PapaBear]

On Ramps are commonly called "Acceleration Ramps" and are designed for the specific purpose of merging traffic from surface street to the freeways and to do so as smoothly as possible. There is no specific law that addresses how that is to be accomplished; but, the California Driver Handbook does address it.


Enter the freeway at or near the speed of traffic. (Remember that the maximum speed allowed is 65 mph on most freeways.) Do not stop before merging into freeway traffic unless absolutely necessary. Freeway traffic has the right-of-way.
Any time you merge with other traffic, you need a gap of at least four seconds, which gives both you and the other vehicle only a two-second following distance. When it is safe, go back to following the "three-second rule".

Do not try to squeeze into a gap that is too small. Leave yourself a big enough space cushion.

Watch for vehicles around you.

Use your mirrors and turn signals. Turn your head to look quickly over your shoulder before changing lanes. Leave three seconds of space between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Make sure you can stop safely if necessary.
If you need to cross several freeway lanes, cross them one at a time. If you wait until all of the lanes are clear, you may cause traffic delays or a collision.

[LadyVol@330]

There was a paricularly long on-ramp that I travelled on my way to work with road boulders holding things up, so I used to linger and let them advance quite a way in front of me so that I could have the room to get up to freeway speed after they were out of my way. Of course, had to check the rear view mirror to see that I didn't block too many other people with that maneuver, but it worked well. Now there are metering lights at a point before entry so that no longer works, but at least now we each get a run at entering the freeway at a correct speed. That situation is one of the most dangerous I can think of --entering the freeway while hardly moving when regular traffic is whizzing by. Grrrrr

[MikeEMT609]

I am not familiar with this on ramp in particular but you are correct. The speed limit on an off or on ramp is the same as the speed limit on the freeway. There may be posted yellow cautionary signs that recommend a slower speed due to a curve or something but you should be at or near the speed limit when you merge onto the freeway from the ramp.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information you (and everyone else) have given me here.
I don't know if you work this area or not, but let me give you more details to the ramp in question-
If you're driving on the 2 south and exit at York Blvd, turn left at the bottom of the ramp then turn left on the 1st street and the ramp in question will be on your left.
The only curve on the ramp is at the very bottom, you make the left turn onto the ramp, slight right then it's a straight shot until you enter the freeway.

What usually happens is someone will enter the ramp in front of me, then drive at 25-30 all the way to the freeway lanes, then keep driving slow waiting to merge into traffic. I usually stay behind them until we get to the top of the ramp and as soon as the solid white line ends I signal and move left and get up to freeway speeds...and the slow driver is still trying to merge in at 25-30.

[Fire1]

I used to work that area. Yes, that is an uphill ramp and some people drive slow on it. There is a short passing section that you could get around a really slow person but for the most part, if you are unlucky enough to get behind someone like that then you just have to wait it out and hope you can speed up when you get to the top. And yes, you are supposed to be moving at the speed limit or with the flow of traffic ir it is slower than the limit.

[cjincognito]

You're right, but it's a hollow victory, as your speed limit is the same or less than they are moving, since you can't pass at that point. Just don't let their ignorance or selfishness get to you, relax, jam to some Mozart and enjoy the day.

[The Highway Man]

The thing that irritates me the most probably happens over there as well. You get a motorist accelerates to a good joining speed and as they reach the end of the ramp, haven't got the nerve to join the main carriageway and slam the brakes on!!! :hitwall: :hitwall: :hitwall: