Pete Curtis, who drives big rigs, has a gripe. When driving his tractor-trailer on the interstate, Curtis said in an e-mail to the Kennebec Commuter, he too often is a party to drivers trying to the enter the interstate from an on-ramp who barrel down the ramp and merge into the interstate's right lane, without yielding.

"It seems that people have the attitude that whoever is on the interstate is somehow required to move to the left lane to accommodate them," Curtis wrote in an e-mail. "In a tractor-trailer, I often cannot move over, as there is another motorist beside me. It's amazing that they will still enter the highway, riding beside me in the breakdown lane (now three abreast), blowing their horn and cursing me!"

Curtis brought up a valid point. After all, how many times has something similar happened to you while driving on Interstate 295, I-95 or the turnpike? Probably more than once.

There are few things more nerve-wracking than driving with the flow of traffic in the non-passing lane of the interstate, only to see some chump trying to enter from the on-ramp and not slowing down to let you speed up so they can merge.

The Kennebec Commuter can always appreciate a good gripe, so we decided to check in with the experts on this. Is yielding at the end of an on-ramp to enter an interstate required in Maine? And what are the consequences for pushy drivers who think the breakdown lane is an option to drive in until they can merge?

Sgt. Roderick Charette, a state trooper with Troop C of the Maine State Police, said failure to yield on Maine interstates "happens often enough." It's illegal not to yield, he said.

"You are bound by law to yield at the end of a ramp, most definitely," Charette said (check out Title 29-A, Sec 2057, Sub-sec. 10-A for the details).

Like speeders, drivers who insist on making those in the right lane move to accommodate them are on state troopers' radar.

"It's a violation we aggressively enforce," Charette said. "Do we catch everyone? No. But when the situation warrants it, we will summons a driver for it."

And for obvious reasons. Drivers who fail to yield when entering an interstate are dangerous to themselves and others on the road.

"Clearly, there's the potential for a collision," Charette said. "And when traffic is going 65 to 75 miles per hour, there's a good chance this could cause a secondary collision, because traffic won't have enough time to stop."

Such chain reactions may not happen daily on Maine interstates, but troopers do encounter them, Charette said. And like most consequences in life, there's money involved. Charette said troopers can give a fine of $137 for failure to yield on an on-ramp, which is separate from other possible violations, such as driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The $137 ticket is also only specific to those cases in which a motorist doesn't yield and no one gets hurt, Charette explained.

"If you cut someone off, and you actually hit someone because of that, you're looking at criminal charges," he said. The charges are a misdemeanor, but again, the trooper warned, if you're under the influence or you happen to kill someone in the process, you're not just looking at a slap on the wrist.

Charette advised drivers to "be on guard. Be alert."

Watch the flow of traffic on the interstate when on an on-ramp. Also check for how many vehicles are on the interstate, he added.

"You may need to stop at the end of the ramp or adjust your speed accordingly," Charette said. "The bottom line is, this is a law people must observe."

Follow Meghan Malloy's commuter blog and track the cheapest gasoline prices in town daily at www.kjonline.com.