Photo courtesy of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

VIDEO: Merging onto a Busy Highway

Merging onto a busy highway is one of the most challenging tasks your drivers undertake on a regular basis. It requires paying close attention to the vehicles both ahead and behind. Drivers must adjust their speed to match the flow of traffic and yet yield to drivers already on the highway.

To watch a video from DefensiveDriving.com that offers tips on merging, click on the photo or link above. You may want to pass this along to your drivers as a friendly reminder.

Here are some additional tips from State Farm:

• Yield to drivers on the freeway, but avoid stopping unless absolutely necessary.

• Adjust your speed to match the flow of traffic before entering the freeway.

• Find a three- to four-second gap in traffic to merge into. Don’t look for the vehicle you want to get ahead of. Rather, look for the vehicle you want to be behind.

• Check for cars around your vehicle before entering a lane and remember to turn your head to check your blind spot.

• Signal your intentions early — 100 to 300 feet before merging or changing lanes.

• Wait for the solid line to end before merging.

• Cross one lane of traffic at a time.

• If you must pass a slower-moving vehicle, pass on the left and return to your lane only after the vehicle is visible in your rearview mirror. Increase this distance when passing larger vehicles.