Dancing the
onramp tango

My daughter will be learning to drive soon and I'm giving her tips.

Tip No. 1: Beginning drivers should never get on the freeway heading east from University Avenue.

This onramp usually requires cars to come to a complete stop and wait for a break in traffic. When your break appears, you have about 90 feet to accelerate before you have to merge.

Naturally, the University Avenue offramp comes immediately after the onramp, so the right lane is heavily used.

When I spot an opening in the traffic, I begin accelerating in advance. That way I can reach at least 40 mph by the end of the onramp and slip into the opening at a speed that is not too far below the flow of traffic.

Trouble is, some freeway drivers, when they see me accelerating on the onramp, don't understand that my intention is to merge behind them. They think I mean to get in ahead of them. So they brake. Then I have to brake -- or floor it.

The curving onramp for town-bound traffic poses similar hazards. If you're heading up University and want to get on H-1 town-bound, it's infinitely easier to make a U-turn at Our Redeemer Lutheran and take the long, easy onramp meant for cars coming down University.

--Jim Borg

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