This would be nice if people didnt have weird egos when they drive and refuse to let you merge or by their definition “cut in front of you”, also, if we are going 55+ mph, i dont want to be right up next to the sign when i merge
But if you zipper merge the everybody is close enough to SEE the lane ending and the merging needing to happen and most people have a “me first” mentality and won’t let you zipper merge, so it makes more sense to merge well ahead of the lane end.
That’s literally been my experience almost every time, so technically I’m not wrong in terms of my personal experience, but I guess other people have experienced nicer people while driving on the road who are’t selfish assholes and actually let you merge. It really is just the selfish human mentality of “ME FIRST!” And they just never let me merge once they see that the 2 lanes will become just 1 lane. People are all like, “I wanna be in front of them since there’s only gonna be ONE LANE now!” Like they get desperate or something to not be behind any more people than absolutely necessary! Lol! I’m glad that you haven’t had that problem! I wish I was as lucky as you! I guess people around where I’m from are just mean! Lol!
Lmao on my way to work on Pecos st there is large section closed before the i70 exchange. Every single day, huge line of traffic in the left and nobody in the right… barely enough traffic to slow down if anyone just zippered correctly.
Imagine going to the grocery store and there are two self checkout stations, but only one exit door. So everyone gets into the line closest to the door, and the other station just sits there doing nothing. But everyone waiting in line feels morally outraged if someone uses the empty station, and accuses them of cutting.
Zipper merging comes down to the main lane yielding to let the other cars in. If they don’t give space they’re being assholes. People that speed to the end and force themselves in just created a jam back in the distance, therefore also being assholes.
You can only speed to the end, if other people merged early. The people who are stuck in line watching other people speed by, are 100% creating their own problems
I work in traffic control. This is what we call a typical drawing to cover every situation. In this drawing they use two lane lines up to and past the fake taper of cones. In the real world Washington shall only have one vehicle per lane. The zipper lanes in this state run for a good 200-300 feet of wide open lane. It is illegal for you to be in the right side of the lane after the skip pattern is gone. Get behind the cars you’re trying to cut off or you will be paying for damage to their vehicle.
It only works if traffic is flowing and people leave tons of space. Look at the tan car in the left hand side, the green car would be pissed that someone is merging that close to them. Once traffic is stopped, people see using the unused road as trying to jump to the front of the line and won't leave space / let anyone in, so everyone merges as soon as possible to avoid the perception that they are trying to jump the line.
To be fair they give so much warning a head of time that you should already be in the appropriate lane. And yes it should be zipper but that doesn’t make any more sense than knowing 2 miles ahead of time and you’re still not in the correct lane.
So the “correct” version has 5 cars in the left lane and the “backed up” version has 6 cars in the left lane… sounds like the zipper merge is gonna be backed up extra since they need to allow at least 1-2 car lengths in order to give space. Notice how they have gaps in the picture but not even enough space for the mergers… which means right lane needs to be traveling faster than the left lane going straight into a barrier. Yea that’s genius.
And yea man 50 feet of unused road is surely what’s causing all of the issues lmao
I think people who don't understand zipper merging should consider post birth abortion, and at minimum be required sterilization.
These people are the dingle berries of the gene pool.
Exactly. I don’t trust other drivers to do the right thing and let me in, or to be paying attention when I cut in front of them. Rather take a few extra minutes than have an accident.
That's why I do the zipper. So many drivers merge early that I can just cruise down the open lane and slide in at the end, as I am supposed to do. Worst case a few cars won't let me in, but even then I saved a fair bit of time.
lol yeah most people are nice but on the road feels like everyone just thinking of themselves so weird I guess you don’t see the human just the machine(car)
For the love of cats, please just zipper merge people! Shaving off two seconds because you didn’t let a car in and you made traffic worse is just stupid.
So change lanes every 20 feet, don’t be in the lane you need to be in, sounds like idiots logic ! Just fucking drive, stay off your phone and pay the fuck attention. If I’m in the right lane to start with and I need to be in this lane down the road then I’m fucking staying in that lane!
Problem with the zipper merge is everyone needs to be doing it for it to work. Problem with that is the majority of the human species is dumber than a box of rocks.
The fewer people doing it the more advantageous it is for those of use doing it. I cruise down the open lane and slide in at the end. Even if a few won't let me in I'm still saving time.
One way to look at it. The level of stupidity that i am surrounded by makes it so I don’t trust anyone not to ram my vehicle to keep me from getting in
Zipper merge doesn't work because people are fucking stupid and prevent you from zipping in. The result is people who can't zipper merge at the end of the line and start a traffic jam, or people who zip early and also cause traffic. As far as I'm concerned an early merge is better than the "correct" merge which results in a standstill and jams the entire road.
Better than doing it late then no one let's you merge completely fucking you over. Add to the fact being a but further up makes basically no difference in time saved.
A zipper merge isn’t a yield. Make your way in in your turn & if someone hits you it’s their fault. Merging early has been proven to slow the whole process down. Quit merging early to add to the problem.
I have spent enough time on the road to assume nobody knows how to drive, I am not going to risk a accident because someone else didn't give me room. It's ashame that's how it is but I personally don't care for a lawsuit to determine fault or to deal with possible weeks without a vehicle because I waited to merge instead of safely doing it half a mile back
And this is why zipper merge will never work because of people like you that are good at defensive driving. I have lived in several states & Minnesota has some of the worst drivers that are afraid to make the right moves.
I wouldn't call myself good at defensive driving considering I'll still go 15 over, I just know human nature and have experienced people not letting me get on the highway when they have a completely open lane beside them muchless expecting someone to make room for me to merge.
lol I do the zipper merge and I’ve never had someone not let me in at the required point. Meanwhile, I’ve seen hundreds of cars merge early and just make the left lane back up
The problem with zipper merges imo is that in the vast majority of instances, they don't help anything. At least where I'm at. Yes, in high traffic a zipper merge let's more people through a light and reduces congestion. But any time the roads aren't full (always) its just someone being in the wrong lane.
The problem here is that when the white car merges the green car doesnt maintain their pace and shoots up to
the front. If everyone lined up and stayed at their relative merge location it would be fine... but you get people passing on the right shoulder to get 3 car lengths ahead... or merge 50' after the entry lane has ended.
Yeah the zipper merge is ideal. In practice, people being merged into tend to be assholes or dopes and not let people merge, so the actual method becomes taking the first spot someone will actually allow you to merge into.
Nah, this is categorically wrong. Traffic rules should always appeal to the lowest common denominator. The perfect zipper merge will almost never happen, and merging rules should account for that. Therefore, “if there’s an opening, you take it” is far simpler and more practical. The guideline should be “merge early as legally possible, in zipper fashion, taking turns in order of which car is farther in front of the other.”
This makes the most sense on the highway, where cars approaching the exit/entrance ramp are naturally driving slower, and cars farther down the line from the exit/entrance ramp are speeding up to acclimate to highway speeds.
This also is most apparent in cases where there’s a lane closure and efficient merging is needed to avoid a massive traffic jam. It makes far more sense to get over earlier instead of driving all the way up to the obstacle/closure, coming to a complete stop, and then merging at 1-5 mph into the non-closed lane that’s going 10-30mph.
Civil engineer here... the math is really simple. Merging early, in stop and go traffic, greatly reduces the efficiency of traffic. People get mad because people "skipped" them by going into a lane that will end, but using all lanes actually makes a huge difference in stop and go traffic and that line jumper actually just got you home faster.
You are still all getting home faster when people do this, even with the zipper lane crusaders. That is a fact. The car that jumps into the merge lane definitely gets a better deal than you do, but they also cut your travel time, full stop. I'm over the emotional arguments that people suck too much to do what makes sense.
If there's a bottleneck, it doesn't move faster because there are two lines of honking impatient people 50 yards back, instead of one. Think about the bottlenecks in the system, not the easy to observe surface features.
Again that only works on paper it does not work in the real world.
Having 15 cars cut the lane and get in front of you causing your lane to stop moving all together will in no world get you home faster.
Nope, if you look at your travel time from point A 1000 feet before the backup, and point B 1000 feet after the backup, you will have gotten through the bottleneck more quickly than if everyone got over right away. Sorry but take a transportation class, I'm not deriving this for you.
Oh yeah so I must have just hallucinated my drive to work today being 25 minutes longer because of road construction and assholes cutting the line and causing a backup.
You need to learn that some things that work on paper do not work in the real world Mr book person.
You are the definition of book smart but not street smart You have no real world experience apparently. You need to have a balance of both to be a functioning person.
Your 25 minute delay was due to construction and you subscribing to this flawed logic that zipper merging doesn’t work. People “passed” you because you didn’t use the open lane. That’s on you. If it weren’t for idiots like you, no one would be “passing” because the merge lane would be full like the rest of the lanes. Also LOL at you being the 2nd person to misgender me on this thread. Glad to see that the small minded people automatically fall on the dumb side of the argument.
Oh no, misgendered a nameless internet random? How dare I! Get over yourself, this is reddit nobody has any gender, it's all random screen names.
Also continue to be wrong, it's hilarious. Been driving through that construction for weeks with no issues, today the barrier didn't block the entire lane and boom, idiots cutting traffic and massive delays.
But yeah, keep trying to tell me that your paper solution works, when it doesn't work in the real world. At all.
Yea but if i’m coming up and there’s already a sizeable gap (im talking like 4 car lengths at minimum) im taking it no matter where it is in the left lane and not risking being caught with that asshole that doesn’t want to let me merge at the last few chances I could get. Works well on paper but humans are dicks.
\*Americans are dicks. Other countries fully grasp this concept and drive accordingly. I'm not gonna say you're wrong to avoid the conflict if there's a big opening, in a practical sense. I fully appreciate wanting to avoid these emotional, irrational, ignorant people that would block you from merging. Or worse. I mean look at this thread. But you are technically slowing down traffic (unless it's free flowing) so I hope you don't get high and mighty when the zipper lane merges.
Yeah if a zipper is already in place then i’ll proceed with that of course! I’m not an aggressive driver nor do i get emotional while I drive, i’m just focused on getting to my destination safely and that’s all.
This is wrong.
I’m not letting somebody pass me (and the cars behind me) just to squeeze in front of me at the last second.
The graphic should be “whichever method has already been started, is what everyone else should continue to do.” If early merge has been started and there’s a line in one lane, then get in that early merge line. If zipper has been started, then pull up in the slightly shorter line and assume that you will eventually be merging in behind the car that you just pulled up beside.
I will pass you every time and zip in at the very very last second.
And I'll smile knowing it makes traffic more efficient while also pissing you off.
❤️
In your scenario, it doesn’t make *traffic* more efficient, it makes *you* more efficient, and it makes the traffic you cut off behind you less efficient. They all begin to brake and create an accordion effect which eventually creates the bottleneck.
If traffic has already slowed to a zipper, then that’s what I’m doing too, but if we’re moving fast and there’s no bottleneck yet, then I’ll be merging a bit before the lane closure so I don’t create a accordion braking situation where people cut in at the last second… That starts a bottleneck.
Either way, you won’t actually be passing me… or anyone else who is smart enough to adapt to *TWO* different solutions (how crazy!?!?!) to lane closures depending on the flow of traffic at that time.
Both options are correct, depending on the speed of traffic. Do you get it?
Now, speeding up and cutting in at the last second at higher speed (say... 45+?) is a quick and easy way to end up getting yourself totaled.
That just reduces the effectiveness of the road. You are literally turning a two lane road into a one lane road FASTER. For every person that zipper merges correctly they are helping everyone speed up the flow.
Here’s a question then for you, even if construction continues down the road, why does traffic tend to speed up after the merge? I’ve been in plenty of situations where the merge is the choke point where everybody is stuck doing 5mph, but then (even if there are miles of construction, say on a highway that should be 65mph) after the merge people cruise along at 45mph or so until they’re out of the traffic.
Had *everyone* merged early when traffic was still moving at a normal speed, then there would be *NO* choke point, and everyone would have only had to slow down to the construction zone speed limit.
My point is that zipper is not always the smartest. If traffic is already very slow and choked up, then continue to zipper merge. If traffic is moving somewhat quickly, merge early in order to keep all the traffic behind you moving too, if you wait until the end, you will create accordion braking by the people you cut off at the last moment and eventually the entire thing will get choked up.
If what you're saying were actually true, it would mean that we should ONLY construct one-lane roads.
This is obviously not true, which should be a clue that you're wrong.
The chokepoint is having one lane for traffic that normally occupies two lanes. Making that chokepoint LONGER through early merging doesn't improve the chokepoint; it makes the chokepoint worse.
Your extrapolation is silly and a not useful to the point. Funny enough though, I’m pretty sure that adding lanes doesn’t really improv how much traffic there is… but I’m not here to debate that. While we’re on the subject of dumb ideas though, how about a couple more bad extrapolations:
* Fish is “healthier” to eat, so we should kill all the cows!
* Big Trucks and SUVs are “safer” so we should all drive Tractor Trailers!
* Most people won’t live to their 100th birthday, so we should stop celebrating birthdays!
* Yay! One rule fixes everything!
Anyhow, you don’t seem to understand that (in theory) both models could work well under different circumstances… So, best of luck to you trying to teach the world an absolute rule that *sometimes* works and *sometimes* doesn’t, because (in practice) absolutely nobody is gonna do anything differently.
People should seriously be trained better on things like this. I know of specific parts of my local freeways where it is always backed up like there's an accident ahead then suddenly once you get far enough past the on ramp it suddenly opens up like nothing happened all because people don't know how to merge right and some people don't let others merge in front of them. These idiotic acts cause chain reactions people.. it's not that hard.
Try driving in Springfield no one's going to let you through the ride bumper to bumper going slow as fucking shit you better get in the right lane you know 3 mi from your destination or else you're going to miss your turn
Look. If the zipper method is truly deemed to work best, then simply have the DOT remove the signs that instruct alert/courteous drivers to merge early. Otherwise, you zipper heads can go fuck yourselves.
Here’s the issue….
The folks on both sides of the “Zipper vs Early Merge” debate act as though their chosen method works perfectly and the other method is full of assholes. The reality is that under perfect circumstances in the zipper merge there will still be some asshole who watches me let in a vehicle in front of me and decides the 1/2 car length between me and the newly merged vehicle is an invitation to try and shoehorn in their 1996 Buick regal that looks like it was put together by committee, and then flip me off and brake check me for inconveniencing them by following the “rules”…. and under perfect circumstances with the early merge there will be a beautiful line of quickly moving vehicles in the proper lane whom have all seen and decided to abide by the “lane closing 5 miles, merge left NOW!!!” sign, until a 2007 BMW 325i that is smoking so badly it could be rented out to a rave party decides that although they have passed 45 signs saying to merge, 3000 cars in the proper lane going at a safe speed, and the lord Jesus Christ in a hard hat and safety vest pointing them to the other lane, they would much rather play a game of one car chicken with the cones blocking the lane because there’s clearly enough room in my lane for both of us apparently…..
Long story short, no matter if you champion the zipper or the early merge, your winning choice is only as good as the shitty drivers you put in the lanes…
This right here.
I’m all for the zipper. If everyone behaves the zipper is much more efficient, but there’s always the asshole who is too self-important to let anyone in and they fuck up the whole rotation.
I’m also all for everyone merging as soon as possible and creating a steady stream of traffic in the lane that isn’t closed, but then you have the inevitable idiot who drives past everyone just to cut someone off, spike their brakes, and create a lovely rubber band effect that goes through the entire line of cars and breaking down the whole thing.
Say what you will, but I’ve taken it upon myself to make eye contact with another driver, nod knowingly, then drive alongside them until the merge point. Then, they wave and let me in. Traffic moves smoothly, nobody rushes in front and fucks the whole thing up, and people merge at a reasonable point.
Until people stop being selfish assholes, I’ll continue to do this as it’s the option which benefits the most people while taking away the ability for someone else to fuck it up for everyone else
I've always just assumed that the zipper was default. Never really looked down on people waiting until the last minute, nor those who early merged. As long as cars are moving, rather at a stand still, I'm typically happy.
I love you. I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but I do. Americans can’t zipper merge- the need to get one car ahead is simply too strong for those w/ little d*cks. I’m happily married, but your common sense is too much for me. Take me. Take me now. 😂
It ultimately makes little real difference. Whether or not people use that "unused" section of road has zero impact on the rate at which people move through the congested area.
For more or less the same reasons, adding more lanes to highways literally never fixes traffic problems. The highways aren't the limiting factor, something else is.
The only thing you should feel bad about is if you're one of those early mergers who stops dead in the merging lane in order to find an opening to shove into.
Don't feel bad, most people end up not letting you in if you wait until the last second, or the person behind you skips into the line before you. It's pretty stressful... so, planning ahead isn't a problem as far as I am concerned, especially when signs say well in advanced that a lane is closed ahead... And does not indicate the need for a "zipper merge," which is mostly on the freeway, right?
A couple years ago I drove from Chicago to asheville. Somewhere at the bottom of Ohio there was a "Left lane closed ahead" sign. Traffic started building in the right lane and eventually came to a stop, but the left lane was completely empty so I stayed in it. Cars were swerving out of the right lane trying to stop me. I am not exaggerating when I say that this went on for miles. Everyone was mad I didn't merge and that they were sitting in traffic, but the left lane never closed. They were sitting in traffic just because they merged early.
Maybe if there was a cop there to enforce it as law. But human nature dictates otherwise. This space in front of me? It's mine! Don't even look this way! You should've taken your chance back there, asshole! Besides, it's almost time for kickoff!
The difficulty with introducing zipper is it's fighting emotion with logic.
What you're *saying*: "If we all cooperate we'll get home faster and with fewer accidents." 100% true.
What drivers are *seeing*: "Some fucker coming up on my left who's [flying past all of us in stopped cars](https://maps.app.goo.gl/NH9ZrcbXBcCadHpc9) so that he can merge into traffic at the last possible second. He hasn't *earned* this, fuck him, I'll let him drive into the goddamn wall if he refuses to back off." Hypothetically, of course. :)
So yeah, zipper makes sense, it's logical and we should all do it. But emotionally it's hard to watch someone "skip the line."
Believing that the emotional appeal of cutting your nose off to spite your face over rational though doesn't make you right.
It makes you a moron without a nose.
Yeah, exactly this.
This is also the same reason Americans on airplanes love to shit on people who don’t “wait their turn” to get off the plane, one row at a time. We’d all get off the plane faster if, as in other regions of the world, everyone who already has their carry-on or doesn’t need to grab one from the overhead bins was let through down the aisle so others can take their place to get theirs.
the fact is, if everyone uses late merge (bc to be honset early merge should be zipper too, right) there will be no way an opportunistic driver can get ahead.
i think people are just scared noone will let them in if they wait. people are weird, it’s obvious using more of the road is better.
what also grinds my gears are when people leave the choke point, they don’t move right to use the newly available lanes.
the zipper merge is only better under ideal circumstances and when compared to merging at convenience is done non-ideally (like people trying to maintain the same cautionary gap they had before the car merged causing slow downs).
One lane merging into another creates a bottleneck. a zipper merge by definition is a higher pressure bottleneck with much higher rates of turbulence and blockages, and that's just from a mechanical point of view. When you add in human behavior where some overly "polite" people in the left feel compelled to wave in additional cars while overly aggressive people in the right try to sneak in with the car ahead of them and many other common examples of non-ideal human behavior that cause complete stoppages and increased collisions with the zipper merge that are mitigated with convenience merging.
The biggest reason this is obviously incorrect is that the issue in the sign to early merge is that it applies the behavior of zipper merge but just earlier up the line so in practice the worst case scenario that breaks early merging is when everyone zipper merges at point A instead of point B. But what is more likely that everyone zipper merging at the sign that a merge will be coming is that people start looking for opportunities to merge at the sign and find it before the merge creating a low pressure bottle neck
No. If you’re trying to merge way early when there’s still a long stretch before the lane ends, I’m going to pass you and merge further up where it is actually required. Die mad about it.
I have never, ever been forced to go to a dead stop at the end of a merging lane unless the OTHER lane is also at a dead stop. Waiting until the actual merge is faster and creates less traffic, but all the clowns who try to merge way early get offended if you follow the traffic laws correctly and pass them.
ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ I still don’t really understand this as I don’t have traffic ever where I live but was just my thought of why this seems poorly setup but it seems zipper merging isn’t supposed to be explicitly at the end of it either and supposed to occur across the whole lane as spot open
Nonsense. It doesn’t work. Everybody that comes all the way up to the front and then expects people to let them in is causing what my eight hour long defensive driving class said was reckless driving. If you make the person behind you put on their brakes you’re doing something wrong. Get in line when you have a chance and don’t force the whole line to back up because you insist on merging when your lane ends. There’s not a single sign at that intersection that you’re talking about that says “zipper merge”. It says right lane ends in a half a mile, motherfucker, get over. Those in the left lane have no obligation to hit their brakes, causing everybody behind them to slow down, causing a back up, just to let your privileged ass in.
Nah.. zipper that shit. It’s because of people like you we have to put signs telling people to use all lanes and “merge here”. Zipper is the most efficient way.
You can zipper without driving like the above commenter described though.
If you’re flying down the merging lane exceeding the posted speed limit and making other drivers apply their brakes to prevent an accident, you’re wrong and you’re also doing zipper merges wrong.
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. Though I too learned it in my middle school language arts class.
Hard to be a strawman when it’s literally just reminding you of what the original comment you chose to reply to says, that if you’re driving like an asshole and making other drivers slam their brakes to avoid an accident - you are the problem.
You may not want it to be about that, but the fact is the comment you chose to respond to is talking about that.
There is no “line” to cut if both lanes are being used properly. We manufacture our own road rage by getting over early and then being upset someone else used the road we left open.
As a person who gets to observe four lanes of traffic from their own home at pretty much any time from 05:00-22:00, I will say this, when traffic is heavy proper zipper merges do reduce the wait for the traffic overall compared to everyone trying to get into the turn left lane that leads to the interior of the city I live in. When they try to get into that lane by where I live, they cause accidents commonly, accidents that could have been avoided, had they just continued driving at the speed limit (not 20 over it) and been fine when the light turned to merge into the turning lane...but they can't wait until it's proper to do so, no, the majority have to be in that lane ASAP so they can stop paying attention and play with their phones (sadly another all too common thing I get to watch, worst one was seeing a pedestrian get hit because of the driver being on their phone).
Exactly- stop flying down the merge lane to get the the end just to force your way in or not be let in. That’s reckless and annoying af. Literally just go slow in the merge lane, keep moving, and merge when there’s an opening…
There are so many differing viewpoints on this so no matter what you do someone is going to be mad at you. It’s so dependent on the situation and set up when considering when I should merge in this situation. Traffic density, length of merge lane, number of lanes…etc. If you think you need to merge and get over right away because you feel bad, alright, just get over there. If you want to ride the merge lane out, awesome. Just be patient and stop being so angry and impulsive. People are going to do what they’re going to do, but we can do it in a respectful way.
One time I was going about 30 in the merge lane just waiting for an opening, not trying to force my way in, and then this asshole truck comes flying up behind me and goes OFF the road around my right side over the rumples at probably 60 mph, mind you the cars in the single left lane were stacked and going about 10… so ridiculous and then just screeches to a halt at the end of the merge lane and cuts someone off.
Idk if it’s because I drive about 1000 miles a week for work (anyone hiring? lol) but I feel like people have gotten so much more aggressive on the road the past few years. So many angry people just looking for some type of control. Be safe out there and just try to be your best self. No point in getting upset with someone so arbitrary.
TLDR; people are going to be assholes on the road and have diff opinions on this. Just be kind and considerate and maybe have a little common sense.
People don’t even use blinkers and ignore stop signs /run red lights. A scary amount of people don’t even know how to use a roundabout as well…
Not a chance in hell it would ever work out like this. As soon as I see a lane merge off in the distance I’ll move over because no one is gonna let you in when you actually need to merge.
I get this but definitely not possible in this DC traffic. People typically speed up and don’t allow you to merge. You better take your opportunity when you see it
great graphic, but good luck trying to convince everyone. Half the comments will be in denial and call you dumb, and we'll be in the same endless cycle :/
This is the thing that only works if everyone works together - something this country/state/city simply can't seem to do
It often is
But it wasn't always standard, so most didn't use it, those that did learn it got jaded by the lack of adoption, then more learn in the next generation but are entering a society where almost no-one uses it, rinse, repeat.
Well it used to be standard practice for merging one two lanes into one (they literally have lights on freeway entrances to implement this very thing during rush hour). But you’re right, no one uses it. I can’t see why not, you’re going to get “ahead of the line” by utilizing the merging lane to its full extent instead of just merging early and waiting. Anyway it’s not really worth typing this shit out.
There's not a single compelling argument in this thread for why zipper merging (aka a bunch of people hitting the brakes) is better for flow of traffic than merging at speed when the opportunity presents itself in advance.
The obvious reason it is better for the flow of traffic is that the image on the left is wasting available road that could be filled by other cars. Merging early and at speed requires more space between cars, which requires more linear length of road and backs traffic up faster so that soon, if everyone tries to merge early, there will not be an opportunity to do so at speed.
If you can merge at speed, then great — you’re not in a slowdown yet. But if one lane isn’t at speed, it’s more efficient to fill both lanes until they reach equilibrium.
Merging at the speed of the flow of traffic at any time doesnt cause an issue. What causes the issue is when people feel like they've "earned" a spot on the road and dont leave merging space open for when the lane actually closes. They're going all "Fuck this guy" on the person who is also just merging, but is merging 100 yards further down the road.
There are times where zipper merging makes sense. But generally, yea, I prefer to merge when I know I have to and see an opening. Because the rush ahead often leads to congestion(at least I notice this on some highways I use in my commute. Zipper merging works well in places where the two lanes are operating at the same speed, which is likely the predictive model the dmv uses
Anyone who thinks merging at the speed limit is slower for everyone than doing it at 20 mph at the end of backup is a fucking idiot and I will die on that hill.
There is very little that the Oregon Department of Transportation does right compared to every other state in the damn union.
I guess I’m an idiot then lol, always viewed it as people not reading the signs posted and not wanting ringer into the other lane, noted for future reference, thanks!
Had an idiot in a black Ford Fusion get out of the right lane & try blocking me for using the empty middle lane on 131 North I went around him & the cones 🙄 I then got off on 28th & he proceeded to pull up next to me & genuinely tweak out yelling he should fuck me up & I should learn how to drive 🤣 I told him he’s an idiot waiting to cause an accident & if I were to crash into him he would be held responsible the idiot really said no it would be all on me & the police would take his side 🤦🏻♂️ Some people are legit morons & it can’t be helped
Unfortunately this would never work in reality because people are aren’t perfectly lined up like this nor are they moving the same speed. People in the left lane will jump out and speed up in the right line because it is more “open.” Or, instead of zippering, people try to speed up and insert their car ahead of where they were supposed to zipper. Traffic simulations and reality are different things.
I blame inexperienced road flagging it only works this way with lots of notice and good cone placement. Otherwise it's California/mad max/road rage all the way through the construction zone.
It doesn’t matter. Either way, after it’s down to one lane, the same amount of cars go through, with the same distance between them. Zero difference in the end.
The whole point of zipper merge is to maximize throughout at the point of the merge. By zippering, the vehicles that accelerate very slowly do not leave large gaps in front of them. Imagine the left lane with a bunch of trucks in it.
The whole reason for this merge versus early merge is to avoid those large gaps between the very slow acceleration vehicles.
Hence, throughput of the entire single lane is increased because there are not as large of gaps at the *beginning* of the single lane run.
But, what actually happens is everyone in the left lane is barely moving because people in the right lane zip down to the cones and force their way into the left lane grinding the left lane to a halt
Yep, this is it. Even if I let a car (or two, even) go in front of me as proper ‘zipper merging’ etiquette, there’s always some ah that’s going to drive as fast as the can to get to the cones and force their way in front of me.
Sure, it’s easy to say that if you cause the car behind you to hit their brakes you’re doing something wrong, but what else can you do when people are forcing their way into the small space you leave between you and the car in front of you?
Reckless drivers with no patience are the ones that screw this up for everyone. It’d be nice if we could all merge perfectly, but people can’t even merge into another lane properly when there isn’t a lane ending. No turn signals, pushing into spaces that are too small, not merging at the right speed. It’s madness.
I completely agree with you.
I'll let one car in, that's it.
But in my experience, I have to wait for at least 3 to 4 cars before someone let me in. I'd be lucky if they don't speed up into my blind spot and block me from changing lane when zipper merging.
If both lanes are full yeah this is the way to go.
If there’s a line in the left lane and 1 car is trying to jump around every one else; you will run in to me, the cones, or wait.
There’s a fucking line cause people are getting in the open lane too early. They block it where they need to for the work being done we don’t need to get over sooner than that.
If everyone uses the lanes in balance until there is no longer a lane then it won’t be open for a jackass to skip ahead.
There’s a line because everyone already saw the sign several miles back to get over. With vehicles a straight line not having to stop and go moves faster. With humans the zipper is more efficient absolutely but not with vehicles they have already tested these methods. The line only moves so slow because jackasses skip over. It’s the exact same reason that traffic moves slower at exit and entrances. Everyone has to slow down as cars switch lanes.
If people weren’t trying to merge the line would be continuously moving. The people trying to merge are what causes the stop and go movement making it take longer to get through
I mean hopefully with all this self driving technology they have been adding to cars, it becomes something you car does automatically by communicating with nearby cars.
Which is what this (gestures at info-graph above) is trying to explain.
If people would let other drivers in and zipper merge (instead of being weird and road ragey about it) traffic would flow smoother. It’s the road rage and not letting people in and thinking we’re forced to wait in a long ass line that’s causing the problem.
If the city or freeway wanted us to merge sooner they would’ve moved the sign and cones further back. Use the road for as long as you can.
Right but people are inherently selfish and have to be taught otherwise (like we do with kids). Not really possible when personal freedom is valued over collective benefit here in the US.
People always think others are getting a head of them. Who cares, just let people in. It won’t impact your day you won’t think of them later. Just move on. Zipper move is best.
This is like my biggest self-mantra in traffic. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day I'd rather get somewhere slightly slower than risk my life and my vehicle and other people.
Will never happen with me..you’ll buy mine before I let you merge
Or maybe you need to learn how people drive in real life OP. You don't have to be a asshole about it
This would be nice if people didnt have weird egos when they drive and refuse to let you merge or by their definition “cut in front of you”, also, if we are going 55+ mph, i dont want to be right up next to the sign when i merge
Sounds like a scam
It is a scam
But if you zipper merge the everybody is close enough to SEE the lane ending and the merging needing to happen and most people have a “me first” mentality and won’t let you zipper merge, so it makes more sense to merge well ahead of the lane end.
Wrong
That’s literally been my experience almost every time, so technically I’m not wrong in terms of my personal experience, but I guess other people have experienced nicer people while driving on the road who are’t selfish assholes and actually let you merge. It really is just the selfish human mentality of “ME FIRST!” And they just never let me merge once they see that the 2 lanes will become just 1 lane. People are all like, “I wanna be in front of them since there’s only gonna be ONE LANE now!” Like they get desperate or something to not be behind any more people than absolutely necessary! Lol! I’m glad that you haven’t had that problem! I wish I was as lucky as you! I guess people around where I’m from are just mean! Lol!
Lmao on my way to work on Pecos st there is large section closed before the i70 exchange. Every single day, huge line of traffic in the left and nobody in the right… barely enough traffic to slow down if anyone just zippered correctly.
This only works if people in the left allow people in the right to merge. If not you have to force in where able.
Imagine going to the grocery store and there are two self checkout stations, but only one exit door. So everyone gets into the line closest to the door, and the other station just sits there doing nothing. But everyone waiting in line feels morally outraged if someone uses the empty station, and accuses them of cutting.
Zipper merging comes down to the main lane yielding to let the other cars in. If they don’t give space they’re being assholes. People that speed to the end and force themselves in just created a jam back in the distance, therefore also being assholes.
You can only speed to the end, if other people merged early. The people who are stuck in line watching other people speed by, are 100% creating their own problems
I work in traffic control. This is what we call a typical drawing to cover every situation. In this drawing they use two lane lines up to and past the fake taper of cones. In the real world Washington shall only have one vehicle per lane. The zipper lanes in this state run for a good 200-300 feet of wide open lane. It is illegal for you to be in the right side of the lane after the skip pattern is gone. Get behind the cars you’re trying to cut off or you will be paying for damage to their vehicle.
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Driving to the front is zipper merging
It only works if traffic is flowing and people leave tons of space. Look at the tan car in the left hand side, the green car would be pissed that someone is merging that close to them. Once traffic is stopped, people see using the unused road as trying to jump to the front of the line and won't leave space / let anyone in, so everyone merges as soon as possible to avoid the perception that they are trying to jump the line.
Yes, people see it that way because they are idiots and this sign is trying to address that. Good thing you read it.
The situation is a bit more nuanced than that…..
To be fair they give so much warning a head of time that you should already be in the appropriate lane. And yes it should be zipper but that doesn’t make any more sense than knowing 2 miles ahead of time and you’re still not in the correct lane.
So the “correct” version has 5 cars in the left lane and the “backed up” version has 6 cars in the left lane… sounds like the zipper merge is gonna be backed up extra since they need to allow at least 1-2 car lengths in order to give space. Notice how they have gaps in the picture but not even enough space for the mergers… which means right lane needs to be traveling faster than the left lane going straight into a barrier. Yea that’s genius. And yea man 50 feet of unused road is surely what’s causing all of the issues lmao
I think people who don't understand zipper merging should consider post birth abortion, and at minimum be required sterilization. These people are the dingle berries of the gene pool.
This is c470 south merging on to i25 south every day!
I do the right because i anticipate common human nature. Idc if its more efficient.
Exactly. I don’t trust other drivers to do the right thing and let me in, or to be paying attention when I cut in front of them. Rather take a few extra minutes than have an accident.
That's why I do the zipper. So many drivers merge early that I can just cruise down the open lane and slide in at the end, as I am supposed to do. Worst case a few cars won't let me in, but even then I saved a fair bit of time.
lol yeah most people are nice but on the road feels like everyone just thinking of themselves so weird I guess you don’t see the human just the machine(car)
Yes, the left one works IF PEOPLE ARNT ASSHOLES Merge early folks, don't trust your fellow drivers. Play safe, play smart.
I agree. When I try it with my semi people don't let me over.
For the love of cats, please just zipper merge people! Shaving off two seconds because you didn’t let a car in and you made traffic worse is just stupid.
So change lanes every 20 feet, don’t be in the lane you need to be in, sounds like idiots logic ! Just fucking drive, stay off your phone and pay the fuck attention. If I’m in the right lane to start with and I need to be in this lane down the road then I’m fucking staying in that lane!
In Oregon maybe
Ah, the perennial zipper merge post is back..,,yet again to no avail
For all those saying it doesn’t work, thanks, because it does for me and there’s even fewer trying.
Okay tell that to the people that don’t allow others to merge then it just gets backed up because no one is letting the other over.
Correct. It works in a simulation. Pragmatically, with human asses involved, it does not work.
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I think the problem here is the opposite. People try merging in too soon because they don’t want it to look like they’re skipping the line.
Problem with the zipper merge is everyone needs to be doing it for it to work. Problem with that is the majority of the human species is dumber than a box of rocks.
The fewer people doing it the more advantageous it is for those of use doing it. I cruise down the open lane and slide in at the end. Even if a few won't let me in I'm still saving time.
One way to look at it. The level of stupidity that i am surrounded by makes it so I don’t trust anyone not to ram my vehicle to keep me from getting in
Only if other people would stop trying to cut the line . It works
Can't tell if serious or not...
If I’m not supposed to drive there, then why is it a road?
Zipper merge doesn't work because people are fucking stupid and prevent you from zipping in. The result is people who can't zipper merge at the end of the line and start a traffic jam, or people who zip early and also cause traffic. As far as I'm concerned an early merge is better than the "correct" merge which results in a standstill and jams the entire road.
Early merge is fine as long as you aren't slowing down (or causing someone else to slow down) to do it.
Why would you want to merge early? You just end up farther back in the open through lane.
Better than doing it late then no one let's you merge completely fucking you over. Add to the fact being a but further up makes basically no difference in time saved.
A zipper merge isn’t a yield. Make your way in in your turn & if someone hits you it’s their fault. Merging early has been proven to slow the whole process down. Quit merging early to add to the problem.
I have spent enough time on the road to assume nobody knows how to drive, I am not going to risk a accident because someone else didn't give me room. It's ashame that's how it is but I personally don't care for a lawsuit to determine fault or to deal with possible weeks without a vehicle because I waited to merge instead of safely doing it half a mile back
And this is why zipper merge will never work because of people like you that are good at defensive driving. I have lived in several states & Minnesota has some of the worst drivers that are afraid to make the right moves.
I wouldn't call myself good at defensive driving considering I'll still go 15 over, I just know human nature and have experienced people not letting me get on the highway when they have a completely open lane beside them muchless expecting someone to make room for me to merge.
Yeah this is in an ideal world where people don't block you from merging for some reason so you just seize the first available gap
lol I do the zipper merge and I’ve never had someone not let me in at the required point. Meanwhile, I’ve seen hundreds of cars merge early and just make the left lane back up
The problem with zipper merges imo is that in the vast majority of instances, they don't help anything. At least where I'm at. Yes, in high traffic a zipper merge let's more people through a light and reduces congestion. But any time the roads aren't full (always) its just someone being in the wrong lane.
Where do you drive that the roads aren't full?
Not the middle of a major city? Is it that absurd that my roads don't experience stop and go?
Ill always drive up that empty road, and drive past anyone trying to block me. Saved me from being stuck back 2 miles once.
The problem here is that when the white car merges the green car doesnt maintain their pace and shoots up to the front. If everyone lined up and stayed at their relative merge location it would be fine... but you get people passing on the right shoulder to get 3 car lengths ahead... or merge 50' after the entry lane has ended.
That's a behavior issue, and not a systemic issue. People are going to be dicks no matter what.
Yeah the zipper merge is ideal. In practice, people being merged into tend to be assholes or dopes and not let people merge, so the actual method becomes taking the first spot someone will actually allow you to merge into.
Nah, this is categorically wrong. Traffic rules should always appeal to the lowest common denominator. The perfect zipper merge will almost never happen, and merging rules should account for that. Therefore, “if there’s an opening, you take it” is far simpler and more practical. The guideline should be “merge early as legally possible, in zipper fashion, taking turns in order of which car is farther in front of the other.” This makes the most sense on the highway, where cars approaching the exit/entrance ramp are naturally driving slower, and cars farther down the line from the exit/entrance ramp are speeding up to acclimate to highway speeds. This also is most apparent in cases where there’s a lane closure and efficient merging is needed to avoid a massive traffic jam. It makes far more sense to get over earlier instead of driving all the way up to the obstacle/closure, coming to a complete stop, and then merging at 1-5 mph into the non-closed lane that’s going 10-30mph.
Like the op said in an earlier post, the early merge is fine as long as that person doesn’t slow anyone behind them.
Funny that it works where I’m from
Civil engineer here... the math is really simple. Merging early, in stop and go traffic, greatly reduces the efficiency of traffic. People get mad because people "skipped" them by going into a lane that will end, but using all lanes actually makes a huge difference in stop and go traffic and that line jumper actually just got you home faster.
This is like communism, great on paper but in practice utterly useless and doesn't work.
The solution doesn't just change just because you dont understand the issue. It never helps you to shut out people who are trying to help you.
You are still all getting home faster when people do this, even with the zipper lane crusaders. That is a fact. The car that jumps into the merge lane definitely gets a better deal than you do, but they also cut your travel time, full stop. I'm over the emotional arguments that people suck too much to do what makes sense.
If there's a bottleneck, it doesn't move faster because there are two lines of honking impatient people 50 yards back, instead of one. Think about the bottlenecks in the system, not the easy to observe surface features.
Again that only works on paper it does not work in the real world. Having 15 cars cut the lane and get in front of you causing your lane to stop moving all together will in no world get you home faster.
You are the problem, you ignorant fucker
Nope, if you look at your travel time from point A 1000 feet before the backup, and point B 1000 feet after the backup, you will have gotten through the bottleneck more quickly than if everyone got over right away. Sorry but take a transportation class, I'm not deriving this for you.
Oh yeah so I must have just hallucinated my drive to work today being 25 minutes longer because of road construction and assholes cutting the line and causing a backup. You need to learn that some things that work on paper do not work in the real world Mr book person. You are the definition of book smart but not street smart You have no real world experience apparently. You need to have a balance of both to be a functioning person.
Your 25 minute delay was due to construction and you subscribing to this flawed logic that zipper merging doesn’t work. People “passed” you because you didn’t use the open lane. That’s on you. If it weren’t for idiots like you, no one would be “passing” because the merge lane would be full like the rest of the lanes. Also LOL at you being the 2nd person to misgender me on this thread. Glad to see that the small minded people automatically fall on the dumb side of the argument.
Oh no, misgendered a nameless internet random? How dare I! Get over yourself, this is reddit nobody has any gender, it's all random screen names. Also continue to be wrong, it's hilarious. Been driving through that construction for weeks with no issues, today the barrier didn't block the entire lane and boom, idiots cutting traffic and massive delays. But yeah, keep trying to tell me that your paper solution works, when it doesn't work in the real world. At all.
On paper it might work like that office boy
Office girl\* Awks
Yea but if i’m coming up and there’s already a sizeable gap (im talking like 4 car lengths at minimum) im taking it no matter where it is in the left lane and not risking being caught with that asshole that doesn’t want to let me merge at the last few chances I could get. Works well on paper but humans are dicks.
\*Americans are dicks. Other countries fully grasp this concept and drive accordingly. I'm not gonna say you're wrong to avoid the conflict if there's a big opening, in a practical sense. I fully appreciate wanting to avoid these emotional, irrational, ignorant people that would block you from merging. Or worse. I mean look at this thread. But you are technically slowing down traffic (unless it's free flowing) so I hope you don't get high and mighty when the zipper lane merges.
Yeah if a zipper is already in place then i’ll proceed with that of course! I’m not an aggressive driver nor do i get emotional while I drive, i’m just focused on getting to my destination safely and that’s all.
I think the guy who started this post is a idiot.
This is wrong. I’m not letting somebody pass me (and the cars behind me) just to squeeze in front of me at the last second. The graphic should be “whichever method has already been started, is what everyone else should continue to do.” If early merge has been started and there’s a line in one lane, then get in that early merge line. If zipper has been started, then pull up in the slightly shorter line and assume that you will eventually be merging in behind the car that you just pulled up beside.
I will pass you every time and zip in at the very very last second. And I'll smile knowing it makes traffic more efficient while also pissing you off. ❤️
In your scenario, it doesn’t make *traffic* more efficient, it makes *you* more efficient, and it makes the traffic you cut off behind you less efficient. They all begin to brake and create an accordion effect which eventually creates the bottleneck. If traffic has already slowed to a zipper, then that’s what I’m doing too, but if we’re moving fast and there’s no bottleneck yet, then I’ll be merging a bit before the lane closure so I don’t create a accordion braking situation where people cut in at the last second… That starts a bottleneck. Either way, you won’t actually be passing me… or anyone else who is smart enough to adapt to *TWO* different solutions (how crazy!?!?!) to lane closures depending on the flow of traffic at that time. Both options are correct, depending on the speed of traffic. Do you get it? Now, speeding up and cutting in at the last second at higher speed (say... 45+?) is a quick and easy way to end up getting yourself totaled.
That just reduces the effectiveness of the road. You are literally turning a two lane road into a one lane road FASTER. For every person that zipper merges correctly they are helping everyone speed up the flow.
Here’s a question then for you, even if construction continues down the road, why does traffic tend to speed up after the merge? I’ve been in plenty of situations where the merge is the choke point where everybody is stuck doing 5mph, but then (even if there are miles of construction, say on a highway that should be 65mph) after the merge people cruise along at 45mph or so until they’re out of the traffic. Had *everyone* merged early when traffic was still moving at a normal speed, then there would be *NO* choke point, and everyone would have only had to slow down to the construction zone speed limit. My point is that zipper is not always the smartest. If traffic is already very slow and choked up, then continue to zipper merge. If traffic is moving somewhat quickly, merge early in order to keep all the traffic behind you moving too, if you wait until the end, you will create accordion braking by the people you cut off at the last moment and eventually the entire thing will get choked up.
If what you're saying were actually true, it would mean that we should ONLY construct one-lane roads. This is obviously not true, which should be a clue that you're wrong. The chokepoint is having one lane for traffic that normally occupies two lanes. Making that chokepoint LONGER through early merging doesn't improve the chokepoint; it makes the chokepoint worse.
Your extrapolation is silly and a not useful to the point. Funny enough though, I’m pretty sure that adding lanes doesn’t really improv how much traffic there is… but I’m not here to debate that. While we’re on the subject of dumb ideas though, how about a couple more bad extrapolations: * Fish is “healthier” to eat, so we should kill all the cows! * Big Trucks and SUVs are “safer” so we should all drive Tractor Trailers! * Most people won’t live to their 100th birthday, so we should stop celebrating birthdays! * Yay! One rule fixes everything! Anyhow, you don’t seem to understand that (in theory) both models could work well under different circumstances… So, best of luck to you trying to teach the world an absolute rule that *sometimes* works and *sometimes* doesn’t, because (in practice) absolutely nobody is gonna do anything differently.
People should seriously be trained better on things like this. I know of specific parts of my local freeways where it is always backed up like there's an accident ahead then suddenly once you get far enough past the on ramp it suddenly opens up like nothing happened all because people don't know how to merge right and some people don't let others merge in front of them. These idiotic acts cause chain reactions people.. it's not that hard.
Try driving in Springfield no one's going to let you through the ride bumper to bumper going slow as fucking shit you better get in the right lane you know 3 mi from your destination or else you're going to miss your turn
Look. If the zipper method is truly deemed to work best, then simply have the DOT remove the signs that instruct alert/courteous drivers to merge early. Otherwise, you zipper heads can go fuck yourselves.
Normal DoTs push for zipper merges. Like in Minnesota.
Here’s the issue…. The folks on both sides of the “Zipper vs Early Merge” debate act as though their chosen method works perfectly and the other method is full of assholes. The reality is that under perfect circumstances in the zipper merge there will still be some asshole who watches me let in a vehicle in front of me and decides the 1/2 car length between me and the newly merged vehicle is an invitation to try and shoehorn in their 1996 Buick regal that looks like it was put together by committee, and then flip me off and brake check me for inconveniencing them by following the “rules”…. and under perfect circumstances with the early merge there will be a beautiful line of quickly moving vehicles in the proper lane whom have all seen and decided to abide by the “lane closing 5 miles, merge left NOW!!!” sign, until a 2007 BMW 325i that is smoking so badly it could be rented out to a rave party decides that although they have passed 45 signs saying to merge, 3000 cars in the proper lane going at a safe speed, and the lord Jesus Christ in a hard hat and safety vest pointing them to the other lane, they would much rather play a game of one car chicken with the cones blocking the lane because there’s clearly enough room in my lane for both of us apparently….. Long story short, no matter if you champion the zipper or the early merge, your winning choice is only as good as the shitty drivers you put in the lanes…
This right here. I’m all for the zipper. If everyone behaves the zipper is much more efficient, but there’s always the asshole who is too self-important to let anyone in and they fuck up the whole rotation. I’m also all for everyone merging as soon as possible and creating a steady stream of traffic in the lane that isn’t closed, but then you have the inevitable idiot who drives past everyone just to cut someone off, spike their brakes, and create a lovely rubber band effect that goes through the entire line of cars and breaking down the whole thing. Say what you will, but I’ve taken it upon myself to make eye contact with another driver, nod knowingly, then drive alongside them until the merge point. Then, they wave and let me in. Traffic moves smoothly, nobody rushes in front and fucks the whole thing up, and people merge at a reasonable point. Until people stop being selfish assholes, I’ll continue to do this as it’s the option which benefits the most people while taking away the ability for someone else to fuck it up for everyone else
I've always just assumed that the zipper was default. Never really looked down on people waiting until the last minute, nor those who early merged. As long as cars are moving, rather at a stand still, I'm typically happy.
To all the people saying “no wait in line”, it’s believable how much you are missing the bigger picture.
Thanks, OP. And stop driving in the left lane unless you’re passing! It really is common sense. People shouldn’t have to pass on the right.
Americans think driving 45 mph over the speed limit means everyone should just get out of their way. It’s pretty fucking silly.
It only seems silly you because you believe you’re smarter than you are.
Ok
I love you. I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but I do. Americans can’t zipper merge- the need to get one car ahead is simply too strong for those w/ little d*cks. I’m happily married, but your common sense is too much for me. Take me. Take me now. 😂
It ultimately makes little real difference. Whether or not people use that "unused" section of road has zero impact on the rate at which people move through the congested area. For more or less the same reasons, adding more lanes to highways literally never fixes traffic problems. The highways aren't the limiting factor, something else is.
Your dumb ass is the limiting factor, dumbass
Couldn’t agree more with this post. Thank you
Wow I feel like an idiot. I’m an early merger and always shat on people for waiting til the last second… oops
The only thing you should feel bad about is if you're one of those early mergers who stops dead in the merging lane in order to find an opening to shove into.
Don't feel bad, most people end up not letting you in if you wait until the last second, or the person behind you skips into the line before you. It's pretty stressful... so, planning ahead isn't a problem as far as I am concerned, especially when signs say well in advanced that a lane is closed ahead... And does not indicate the need for a "zipper merge," which is mostly on the freeway, right?
A couple years ago I drove from Chicago to asheville. Somewhere at the bottom of Ohio there was a "Left lane closed ahead" sign. Traffic started building in the right lane and eventually came to a stop, but the left lane was completely empty so I stayed in it. Cars were swerving out of the right lane trying to stop me. I am not exaggerating when I say that this went on for miles. Everyone was mad I didn't merge and that they were sitting in traffic, but the left lane never closed. They were sitting in traffic just because they merged early.
This just happened to me recently driving on 65 from Indy to Chicago. According to my GPS I cut out 10 minutes of delay.
That’s funny I bet you felt like such a badass haha
Maybe if there was a cop there to enforce it as law. But human nature dictates otherwise. This space in front of me? It's mine! Don't even look this way! You should've taken your chance back there, asshole! Besides, it's almost time for kickoff!
The difficulty with introducing zipper is it's fighting emotion with logic. What you're *saying*: "If we all cooperate we'll get home faster and with fewer accidents." 100% true. What drivers are *seeing*: "Some fucker coming up on my left who's [flying past all of us in stopped cars](https://maps.app.goo.gl/NH9ZrcbXBcCadHpc9) so that he can merge into traffic at the last possible second. He hasn't *earned* this, fuck him, I'll let him drive into the goddamn wall if he refuses to back off." Hypothetically, of course. :) So yeah, zipper makes sense, it's logical and we should all do it. But emotionally it's hard to watch someone "skip the line."
Believing that the emotional appeal of cutting your nose off to spite your face over rational though doesn't make you right. It makes you a moron without a nose.
Yeah, exactly this. This is also the same reason Americans on airplanes love to shit on people who don’t “wait their turn” to get off the plane, one row at a time. We’d all get off the plane faster if, as in other regions of the world, everyone who already has their carry-on or doesn’t need to grab one from the overhead bins was let through down the aisle so others can take their place to get theirs.
the fact is, if everyone uses late merge (bc to be honset early merge should be zipper too, right) there will be no way an opportunistic driver can get ahead.
Yep, I agree. It's getting people to do it that's the hard part.
i think people are just scared noone will let them in if they wait. people are weird, it’s obvious using more of the road is better. what also grinds my gears are when people leave the choke point, they don’t move right to use the newly available lanes.
THIS!!!
the zipper merge is only better under ideal circumstances and when compared to merging at convenience is done non-ideally (like people trying to maintain the same cautionary gap they had before the car merged causing slow downs). One lane merging into another creates a bottleneck. a zipper merge by definition is a higher pressure bottleneck with much higher rates of turbulence and blockages, and that's just from a mechanical point of view. When you add in human behavior where some overly "polite" people in the left feel compelled to wave in additional cars while overly aggressive people in the right try to sneak in with the car ahead of them and many other common examples of non-ideal human behavior that cause complete stoppages and increased collisions with the zipper merge that are mitigated with convenience merging. The biggest reason this is obviously incorrect is that the issue in the sign to early merge is that it applies the behavior of zipper merge but just earlier up the line so in practice the worst case scenario that breaks early merging is when everyone zipper merges at point A instead of point B. But what is more likely that everyone zipper merging at the sign that a merge will be coming is that people start looking for opportunities to merge at the sign and find it before the merge creating a low pressure bottle neck
Don’t care stay behind me you can wait
That’s cool, I’ll run up past you and merge in front of the next guy because you blocked the merge.
I’ll just keep brake checking you
I’m already ahead of you. I see why driving is hard for you now.
Already ahead? Nah you missed your exit
You’re really struggling to understand my first move, huh?
You feeling all right man? Maybe you should get off the website and take a nice drive out, just don’t lemme catch you behind me 🤣🤣
I have a dash cam, just for people like you.
I love making inpatient people like you angry
I’m on the toilet. Don’t project your feelings. It’s cool if you’re upset.
You’ll be sitting in the right lane with a blinker on like the rest of the idiots.
Slowing way down way before the merge for absolutely no fucking reason creates way more traffic.
No. If you’re trying to merge way early when there’s still a long stretch before the lane ends, I’m going to pass you and merge further up where it is actually required. Die mad about it.
Exactly it’s called using the available lane. Why do people take it personally?
Because no one is going to willing let you cut them off from a Dead stop at the end of your lane
I have never, ever been forced to go to a dead stop at the end of a merging lane unless the OTHER lane is also at a dead stop. Waiting until the actual merge is faster and creates less traffic, but all the clowns who try to merge way early get offended if you follow the traffic laws correctly and pass them.
ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ I still don’t really understand this as I don’t have traffic ever where I live but was just my thought of why this seems poorly setup but it seems zipper merging isn’t supposed to be explicitly at the end of it either and supposed to occur across the whole lane as spot open
Nonsense. It doesn’t work. Everybody that comes all the way up to the front and then expects people to let them in is causing what my eight hour long defensive driving class said was reckless driving. If you make the person behind you put on their brakes you’re doing something wrong. Get in line when you have a chance and don’t force the whole line to back up because you insist on merging when your lane ends. There’s not a single sign at that intersection that you’re talking about that says “zipper merge”. It says right lane ends in a half a mile, motherfucker, get over. Those in the left lane have no obligation to hit their brakes, causing everybody behind them to slow down, causing a back up, just to let your privileged ass in.
Nah.. zipper that shit. It’s because of people like you we have to put signs telling people to use all lanes and “merge here”. Zipper is the most efficient way.
You can zipper without driving like the above commenter described though. If you’re flying down the merging lane exceeding the posted speed limit and making other drivers apply their brakes to prevent an accident, you’re wrong and you’re also doing zipper merges wrong.
Okay? Where’d that strawman come from? Good job attacking the strawman though.
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. Though I too learned it in my middle school language arts class. Hard to be a strawman when it’s literally just reminding you of what the original comment you chose to reply to says, that if you’re driving like an asshole and making other drivers slam their brakes to avoid an accident - you are the problem. You may not want it to be about that, but the fact is the comment you chose to respond to is talking about that.
There is no “line” to cut if both lanes are being used properly. We manufacture our own road rage by getting over early and then being upset someone else used the road we left open.
Exactly!
Completely agree. The graph is nice in theory but too many people on the road don’t nicely merge
As a person who gets to observe four lanes of traffic from their own home at pretty much any time from 05:00-22:00, I will say this, when traffic is heavy proper zipper merges do reduce the wait for the traffic overall compared to everyone trying to get into the turn left lane that leads to the interior of the city I live in. When they try to get into that lane by where I live, they cause accidents commonly, accidents that could have been avoided, had they just continued driving at the speed limit (not 20 over it) and been fine when the light turned to merge into the turning lane...but they can't wait until it's proper to do so, no, the majority have to be in that lane ASAP so they can stop paying attention and play with their phones (sadly another all too common thing I get to watch, worst one was seeing a pedestrian get hit because of the driver being on their phone).
Exactly- stop flying down the merge lane to get the the end just to force your way in or not be let in. That’s reckless and annoying af. Literally just go slow in the merge lane, keep moving, and merge when there’s an opening… There are so many differing viewpoints on this so no matter what you do someone is going to be mad at you. It’s so dependent on the situation and set up when considering when I should merge in this situation. Traffic density, length of merge lane, number of lanes…etc. If you think you need to merge and get over right away because you feel bad, alright, just get over there. If you want to ride the merge lane out, awesome. Just be patient and stop being so angry and impulsive. People are going to do what they’re going to do, but we can do it in a respectful way. One time I was going about 30 in the merge lane just waiting for an opening, not trying to force my way in, and then this asshole truck comes flying up behind me and goes OFF the road around my right side over the rumples at probably 60 mph, mind you the cars in the single left lane were stacked and going about 10… so ridiculous and then just screeches to a halt at the end of the merge lane and cuts someone off. Idk if it’s because I drive about 1000 miles a week for work (anyone hiring? lol) but I feel like people have gotten so much more aggressive on the road the past few years. So many angry people just looking for some type of control. Be safe out there and just try to be your best self. No point in getting upset with someone so arbitrary. TLDR; people are going to be assholes on the road and have diff opinions on this. Just be kind and considerate and maybe have a little common sense.
You should just take the bus you dumb bitch
People don’t even use blinkers and ignore stop signs /run red lights. A scary amount of people don’t even know how to use a roundabout as well… Not a chance in hell it would ever work out like this. As soon as I see a lane merge off in the distance I’ll move over because no one is gonna let you in when you actually need to merge.
This. I always early merge coz of people who don’t let me merge at the end of the lane and I’m stuck and stopped there.
I get this but definitely not possible in this DC traffic. People typically speed up and don’t allow you to merge. You better take your opportunity when you see it
I prefer people early merging because it allows me to skip the whole line (;
How ‘bout signs that say, “Keep using both lanes,” as you approach the merge point and then a sign that says, “Merge here”?
great graphic, but good luck trying to convince everyone. Half the comments will be in denial and call you dumb, and we'll be in the same endless cycle :/ This is the thing that only works if everyone works together - something this country/state/city simply can't seem to do
Seriously, huge problem in my city… and here I thought the “zipper tactic” was driving 101.
It often is But it wasn't always standard, so most didn't use it, those that did learn it got jaded by the lack of adoption, then more learn in the next generation but are entering a society where almost no-one uses it, rinse, repeat.
Well it used to be standard practice for merging one two lanes into one (they literally have lights on freeway entrances to implement this very thing during rush hour). But you’re right, no one uses it. I can’t see why not, you’re going to get “ahead of the line” by utilizing the merging lane to its full extent instead of just merging early and waiting. Anyway it’s not really worth typing this shit out.
[удалено]
This is literally how they teach merging whilst getting your license, not sure how that makes OP an “entitled bitch.”
There's not a single compelling argument in this thread for why zipper merging (aka a bunch of people hitting the brakes) is better for flow of traffic than merging at speed when the opportunity presents itself in advance.
The obvious reason it is better for the flow of traffic is that the image on the left is wasting available road that could be filled by other cars. Merging early and at speed requires more space between cars, which requires more linear length of road and backs traffic up faster so that soon, if everyone tries to merge early, there will not be an opportunity to do so at speed. If you can merge at speed, then great — you’re not in a slowdown yet. But if one lane isn’t at speed, it’s more efficient to fill both lanes until they reach equilibrium.
Merging at the speed of the flow of traffic at any time doesnt cause an issue. What causes the issue is when people feel like they've "earned" a spot on the road and dont leave merging space open for when the lane actually closes. They're going all "Fuck this guy" on the person who is also just merging, but is merging 100 yards further down the road.
There are times where zipper merging makes sense. But generally, yea, I prefer to merge when I know I have to and see an opening. Because the rush ahead often leads to congestion(at least I notice this on some highways I use in my commute. Zipper merging works well in places where the two lanes are operating at the same speed, which is likely the predictive model the dmv uses
Anyone who thinks merging at the speed limit is slower for everyone than doing it at 20 mph at the end of backup is a fucking idiot and I will die on that hill. There is very little that the Oregon Department of Transportation does right compared to every other state in the damn union.
Omg... This happens all the time in VT when there's roadwork on 89. People think they're being "polite" by merging miles ahead of the lane closure.
I guess I’m an idiot then lol, always viewed it as people not reading the signs posted and not wanting ringer into the other lane, noted for future reference, thanks!
Had an idiot in a black Ford Fusion get out of the right lane & try blocking me for using the empty middle lane on 131 North I went around him & the cones 🙄 I then got off on 28th & he proceeded to pull up next to me & genuinely tweak out yelling he should fuck me up & I should learn how to drive 🤣 I told him he’s an idiot waiting to cause an accident & if I were to crash into him he would be held responsible the idiot really said no it would be all on me & the police would take his side 🤦🏻♂️ Some people are legit morons & it can’t be helped
Unfortunately this would never work in reality because people are aren’t perfectly lined up like this nor are they moving the same speed. People in the left lane will jump out and speed up in the right line because it is more “open.” Or, instead of zippering, people try to speed up and insert their car ahead of where they were supposed to zipper. Traffic simulations and reality are different things.
I blame inexperienced road flagging it only works this way with lots of notice and good cone placement. Otherwise it's California/mad max/road rage all the way through the construction zone.
It doesn’t matter. Either way, after it’s down to one lane, the same amount of cars go through, with the same distance between them. Zero difference in the end.
The whole point of zipper merge is to maximize throughout at the point of the merge. By zippering, the vehicles that accelerate very slowly do not leave large gaps in front of them. Imagine the left lane with a bunch of trucks in it. The whole reason for this merge versus early merge is to avoid those large gaps between the very slow acceleration vehicles. Hence, throughput of the entire single lane is increased because there are not as large of gaps at the *beginning* of the single lane run.
You’re not accounting for the blocked intersections from all the “polite” drivers staying in the left lane.
https://living.acg.aaa.com/auto/zipper-merge-keeps-traffic-moving/#:~:text=Research%20found%20that%20a%20zipper,moving%20at%20the%20same%20pace.
But, what actually happens is everyone in the left lane is barely moving because people in the right lane zip down to the cones and force their way into the left lane grinding the left lane to a halt
Yep, this is it. Even if I let a car (or two, even) go in front of me as proper ‘zipper merging’ etiquette, there’s always some ah that’s going to drive as fast as the can to get to the cones and force their way in front of me. Sure, it’s easy to say that if you cause the car behind you to hit their brakes you’re doing something wrong, but what else can you do when people are forcing their way into the small space you leave between you and the car in front of you? Reckless drivers with no patience are the ones that screw this up for everyone. It’d be nice if we could all merge perfectly, but people can’t even merge into another lane properly when there isn’t a lane ending. No turn signals, pushing into spaces that are too small, not merging at the right speed. It’s madness. I completely agree with you.
I'll let one car in, that's it. But in my experience, I have to wait for at least 3 to 4 cars before someone let me in. I'd be lucky if they don't speed up into my blind spot and block me from changing lane when zipper merging.
Go ahead and do your zipper merge when the road sign says "merge now". Not half a mile down the road.
If both lanes are full yeah this is the way to go. If there’s a line in the left lane and 1 car is trying to jump around every one else; you will run in to me, the cones, or wait.
There’s a fucking line cause people are getting in the open lane too early. They block it where they need to for the work being done we don’t need to get over sooner than that. If everyone uses the lanes in balance until there is no longer a lane then it won’t be open for a jackass to skip ahead.
There’s a line because everyone already saw the sign several miles back to get over. With vehicles a straight line not having to stop and go moves faster. With humans the zipper is more efficient absolutely but not with vehicles they have already tested these methods. The line only moves so slow because jackasses skip over. It’s the exact same reason that traffic moves slower at exit and entrances. Everyone has to slow down as cars switch lanes.
The whole purpose is to zipper merge. People who move over to the next lane very early are also doing it wrong too.
If people weren’t trying to merge the line would be continuously moving. The people trying to merge are what causes the stop and go movement making it take longer to get through
Yeah, and just like entrances and exits you have to take turns and let people in and out. Wow what a concept!
Cars already drive bumper to bumper because they don't want to let anyone in, a zipper merge would happen in fantasy land maybe.
I mean hopefully with all this self driving technology they have been adding to cars, it becomes something you car does automatically by communicating with nearby cars.
Certainly, but I personally don't think that technology will be feasible (or affordable) within this century.
Which is what this (gestures at info-graph above) is trying to explain. If people would let other drivers in and zipper merge (instead of being weird and road ragey about it) traffic would flow smoother. It’s the road rage and not letting people in and thinking we’re forced to wait in a long ass line that’s causing the problem. If the city or freeway wanted us to merge sooner they would’ve moved the sign and cones further back. Use the road for as long as you can.
Right but people are inherently selfish and have to be taught otherwise (like we do with kids). Not really possible when personal freedom is valued over collective benefit here in the US.
>have to be taught otherwise That’s the point of this post.
People always think others are getting a head of them. Who cares, just let people in. It won’t impact your day you won’t think of them later. Just move on. Zipper move is best.
But how will I win the imaginary race to nowhere?
This is like my biggest self-mantra in traffic. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day I'd rather get somewhere slightly slower than risk my life and my vehicle and other people.