A message to NJ drivers that try to block others from merging (Opinion)

No doubt most New Jerseyans have dealt with this before while driving on our roadways. It's that situation when you've just made that turn to enter the highway, but have a hard time getting on because of one driver.

You begin to accelerate so you can get onto the highway safely. But while you're doing so, the person in the lane next to you... the one traveling in the lane you need to merge into... starts to speed up alongside you.

As you're approaching the end of the acceleration lane, it becomes clear this person's not going to move. So you're only options are to either keep up with them and drive into the shoulder and possibly get into a crash, or, to slow down and let them go.

More often than not, we'd slow down to let our "hero" continue on their merry way which forces you to merge at a considerably slower speed. As a result, the flow of traffic gets interrupted by you thanks to that driver who decided to play their little "game" with you.

Seems familiar, right? And it's unfortunate with how often this scenario plays out on New Jersey's roadways. Even if there's not a lot of traffic, there's usually that one driver who feels they own the road.

So if you've ever dealt with this before, here's a little note for you to see that's addressed primarily to the drivers who do this. And if you're one of those drivers, then I'm glad you're here. Please take the pointers below seriously, and do your part in trying to keep us all safe.