You're using an on-ramp to enter an Oregon freeway. What's the correct merging procedure?
-
A.
Stop at the end of the ramp and wait for a gap to merge.
-
B.
Speed up to match freeway traffic and yield to vehicles already on the freeway. Correct
-
C.
Merge at your current speed; traffic already on the freeway must slow or change lanes to let you in.
-
D.
Drive on the shoulder until you find a gap.
The answer is "Speed up to match freeway traffic and yield to vehicles already on the freeway."
Use the on-ramp to speed up and match freeway traffic. You must yield to vehicles already on the freeway; they don't yield to you. Check your mirrors and blind spots, signal, and merge during a gap. Keep moving if possible: drivers behind you on the ramp expect you to speed up, not slow down. Stopping on a freeway on-ramp is dangerous unless a ramp meter requires it. The manual does tell freeway drivers to adjust their speed to permit a safe, smooth merge, but that instruction does not transfer the right of way; the legal duty to yield stays with the entering driver. Reading that courtesy as a duty binding freeway traffic is the trap in C.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Stop at the end of the ramp and wait for a gap to merge.
Stopping at the end of an on-ramp is dangerous; the manual says to keep moving if at all possible and use the ramp to speed up to match freeway traffic. Drivers behind you on the ramp expect you to speed up, not slow down. This answer treats the on-ramp like a yield or stop entrance instead of a merge ramp; ignores the manual's instruction to keep moving if at all possible and use the on-ramp to speed up.
C. Merge at your current speed; traffic already on the freeway must slow or change lanes to let you in.
The manual tells freeway drivers to adjust their speed to permit a safe, smooth merge, but that instruction does not transfer the right of way. You must yield to traffic already on the freeway, and you should speed up on the ramp rather than hold your ramp speed. This answer turns the manual's instruction that freeway drivers adjust speed to permit a safe, smooth merge into a legal duty to yield, reversing the rule that the entering driver must yield to traffic already on the freeway.
D. Drive on the shoulder until you find a gap.
The shoulder is not a travel lane; the manual says it should only be used in an emergency. This answer treats the shoulder as an extra merge lane; the manual reserves the freeway shoulder for emergency use only.
This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Entering a Freeway," p.34..
Related Oregon questions
- What is the "blind spot" referenced in the Oregon Driver Manual? →
- Before changing lanes on an Oregon road, what should you do? →
- How far in advance must you signal before a lane change in Oregon? →
- When changing lanes in Oregon in a passenger vehicle, when are hand-and-arm signals acceptable in place of turn signal lights? →
- You realize you have started to enter an Oregon freeway the wrong way. You should: →
You just took one Oregon question apart. The book does it for the whole test.
The Oregon book unlocks a free companion: an adaptive study plan, progress synced across your devices, a denser laminate cheat sheet, and a test-day walkthrough. Verify your copy once, usually in seconds; there's nothing extra to buy.
$18.99 paperback, free companion included.