Merging Mistakes Can Be Severe

In most cases, a driver who is merging into a lane has to give up the right of way to the drivers already in the lane. Watch any freeway merge lane for any length of time and you'll soon get the justified impression that most people don't know this to be the case. If someone causes you injury because they failed to follow traffic laws, they may be liable for being sued for negligence. Here are some things to watch out for near merge lanes and things that may indicate negligence.

Racing.

There are drivers that will try to race ahead of the cars already on the freeway. This is counter-intuitive, since those cars on the freeway are already at freeway speed and the person merging has to catch up to that speed before they can overtake them. Nevertheless, people will do this and they sometimes cause wrecks.

Crossing the double line.

Merge lanes usually have a stretch of double line before the line breaks up and you're free to slide into the travel lane. You're never supposed to cross a double line, but people do it all the time. This sometimes causes very bad accidents, since the people traveling in the lane assume that the person won't cross when there's a double line.

Ignoring signals.

Some cities do have signals on their merge lanes. You have to obey these if they're there. These signals, however, oftentimes confuse drivers, simply because of the context. Never trust other drivers to obey such signals, though you have to obey them yourself.

Multi-lane crossing.

You're only supposed to move into the rightmost lane of travel—or leftmost, if the arrangement is different—when you use an onramp. You're not supposed to cross several lanes of traffic, though people do it all the time. This can cause bad wrecks and it can also land you a ticket. Be sure to obey the rules of the road when you merge and don't make multiple lane crossings on one turn signal.
If you're hurt by someone on the freeway, contact an car accident attorney for assistance. There's no guarantee that they can help you with a lawsuit but, if they can, an auto wreck lawyer in Dallas may be able to get you considerable compensation for your property damage, injuries and your pain and suffering by filing a lawsuit against the negligent driver.