This is how you get over your ‘vehophobia’ when merging onto the highway | Car

Fear of driving is sometimes also referred to as vehophobia. Literally it means: the fear of driving a car yourself. One of the most stressful activities for motorists is merging onto the highway between oncoming traffic.

A police station in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia once called this “one of the greatest mysteries in human history” on its Facebook page. In Germany they even came up with a separate term for it: ‘German Fear‘.

Especially during roadworks, the motorway slip roads are a disaster for some. The lanes are often narrow and the length of the merging lane is also often shortened. “Every day, thousands of motorists face this seemingly insurmountable challenge,” said the police of Märkisches Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia.

With some tips she tries to take away the fear of the driveway. First of all, according to the police, you have to keep on gasping on the entry lane and not dive into the first hole you see on the highway at 60 kilometers per hour. For your reassurance: you can even overtake cars or trucks on the right here.

The second tip is: look in your mirrors a few times and then over your shoulder to make sure no one is sitting next to you, then turn off the turn signal and gently steer to the left. Please note: traffic on the highway always has priority, so don’t just throw your car in between. Yet in many cases space is made by other motorists.

Another point of attention: the journey procedure does not apply here, so look carefully when there is a gap in the traffic flow. The most important tip: don’t stress! According to the officers, there is no abyss at the end of the insertion lane. ‘If you haven’t found space to merge, you can just use the hard shoulder. You can’t get fined for that.’