this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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The other issue is people who have no spatial awareness of their vehicle and need like eight car lengths to merge over.
Done with a modicum of competence: Zipper merges are efficient and you should only merge near the end
In reality? If you see an opening, merge over sooner than later to prevent disruptions to traffic
This actually creates disruptions in traffic. Use all lanes, zipper merge at the end.
No, it fucking doesn't because we don't live in a perfect world and entitled/dumbasses fill the road. If I'm in the right lane and some chucklefuck is matching my speed in the on-ramp next to me and doesn't either speed the fuck up or slow the fuck down in the 2 whole minutes they have in that lane, they're gonna end up slamming their brakes at the end. All it would take is a modicum of awareness to get over and stop this awkward bullshit. That's just ONE example.
This isn't a traffic jam. This isn't the middle of Delhi. We're talking about normal everyday traffic. It's 2 cars in a 4 lane highway, and the dumbass can't even merge.
And no, it's not my responsibility to make sure they get over. I'm not hand holding idiots.
Point is, we don't live in a fucking vacuum and all it takes is opening your eyes and judging the situation in front of you accordingly.
God yes.
I am generally a nice-ish person. I'll try to slow down a little to give them more room. And then they just slow down too because they don't know how to drive without matching speed with a car next to them. And, fortunately, they aren't looking at me so I can't even wave them in. So it is just a waiting game of "Are they going to speed up and cut me off so that I have to slam on the brakes, or are they going to slam on the brakes at the last second and stop their lane until my lane stops to let them in?"
Nobody is saying to force your way in to the merge lane five miles ahead of the closure. If traffic is moving along, move along. But if you see an opening and know the lanes are going to merge? Merge then and there.
I was taught to move left in that case - it eliminates any potential confusion and moves you completely out of the interaction.
We're talking about two different things then. Open road, light fast-moving traffic, lane ending - the "merge zone" lengthens with that speed and space.
Heavy slow-moving traffic, lane ending, use the lanes which are available and zipper merge at the end. Merging too soon in this situation does create congestion.
In a vacuum it creates congestion, in reality things can be different, usually shitty drivers
For example: I drove a large truck most of last year and people simply will not let you in if you attempt to zipper mete properly in a vehicle deemed slow or cumbersome. They will literally close in as tight as they can on each other knowing that should you hit them you'll be found at fault
This can even result in the people in the lane behind said vehicle to start zippering at the point behind the vehicle, essentially moving the zipper a car length down the highway. These people also frequently close in and box out that cumbersome vehicle as well.
This technically keeps traffic flowing, but massively breaks flow when the vehicle finally managed to edge enough into the lane to force a merge or someone gives them room to actually get in
Shitty drivers create congestion, yes.
I always defer to commercial vehicles on the road, no matter what. Those people are at work; I'm not. It's not a perfect analogy, but I also don't go into retail stores and get in the way of employees, either.
Theory: Everyone down voting you has never driven outside the US.
We don't teach the proper way to zipper merge, so people block those doing it for cutting in line. It's a different culture that should be changed for efficiency, just like middle lane squatting, but it's just not important enough to address.
The United States has a strong general culture of "I got mine, fuck you." That is certainly playing a part in this thread.
I mean. The UK (particularly Northern Ireland) are gods of zipper merging. It is like all of the queuing is to train them for exactly that. Every single time I felt like an asshole because I slowed down even a km/h or two to "let someone in" when they knew exactly how much space they needed and had it under control.
Germany... I am honestly gobsmacked at how bad Berlin and Frankfurt were at zipper merging. It felt like if I suddenly discovered that nobody in mainland China could make rice without a rice cooker. Like... I think the US might somehow actually be better. And we are HORRIBLE at zipper merges. At least New England, if not Chicagoland.
If I am traveling internationally and driving? The bare minimum is that I'll ask the person at the rental counter if there are any "gotchas" to be aware of. And if I have any friends in the area, I'll chat with them on a hangouts/discord call before I fly over.
Hell, I SHOULD do the same when driving domestically but at this point I can handle NYC, LA, Boston, Chicago, and all the stupidity in between so... fuck it and sorry if I cut you off.
But also....
Theory: People think speaking in absolutes based on driver's ed manuals is stupid? And you actually have to understand "the rule of the road" and how to drive defensively.
It's not just Berlin and Frankfurt, the autobahn is known for two things in the countries surrounding Germany; no speed limit and people completely skipping the acceleration lane.