@bloody_knuckles - You’re talking about THEORY…great…but in many parts of the country (aka Boston)…it’s NOT practiced that way. There’s theory and reality.
Mike - In theory I am getting in line early. In reality I am zipper merging. I have driven in Boston, NYC, Chicago, DC, Miami, Dallas, L.A., Minneapolis, and Detroit as well as many suburban and rural areas in between. I’m sorry if merging the correct way makes people upset but it wouldn’t be the first time that people lacking the facts got mad at someone who knew what he was talking about. Or I’m just a butt head (depending on your point of view). My skin is pretty thick so I’m not sure I care either way.
Did you see that 50 lane freeway in Beijing China that merges into 20 lanes for a checkpoint?
I'm sorry if merging the correct way makes people upset but it wouldn't be the first time that people lacking the facts got mad at someone who knew what he was talking about.
If you’re a loan wolf zipper merging then all you’re doing is causing problems and causing accidents. The person who drives 5mph UNDER the speed limit when everyone else is doing 75 is doing the same…best to just stay at home for the safety of everyone else on the road.
If there are independent studies that say filling all the lanes all the way to the choke point, then zippering at the choke point, if that yields the fastest throughput, then I’m wrong. But it seems like if the bottleneck point is entirely responsible for the flow rate of the traffic along the entire segment of the road , if that bottleneck point occurs at one spot, the less merging occurring at that exact spot in the road, the better the flow rate for the road segment. It seems common-sense that you’d want cars zipping past that particular spot one after another as quickly as possible, since the flow rate through that spot determines the flow rate for the entire road.
As I posted above, its a moot point here in SJ b/c all the lanes are always filled all the way to the choke point … lol
George - The link I posted previously was based on research done by recognized organizations. It is not the only research that supports zipper merging. My brother-in-law is a traffic engineer in London England and he is up on the latest research in traffic flow and safety. He thinks our traffic flows here are often poorly designed and dangerous. Interestingly, some of the things he suggested are now being implemented. We have seen a huge increase in “rotaries” replacing dangerous intersections. This was one of his biggest suggestions.
On the matter of merging, he cited many studies that showed zipper merging is always best. People who insist on early merging (and states too) are relying on the myth that EVERYONE will get in line early. Zipper merging eliminates the ridiculousness of that argument. With a zipper merge everyone lines up side by side and takes turns merging. Because nobody “raced ahead” there are no hard feelings that cause drivers to block merging traffic.
Let’s face it. If you oppose zipper merging it is because you are an early merger. That is a “belief bias” and not evidence that you are right.
Lastly, I follow the laws of the road and, like other motorists, bend them at times where it is in the best interests of traffic flow. If the speed limit is 65 but traffic is flowing at 75 I blend with traffic and go 75. How I merge (which seems to offend some) is not an indication that I am a bad driver. I have had one minor fender bender in almost 30 years of driving and zero speeding tickets. You may not like how I merge but simply disagreeing with you on one driving issue does not make me a bad driver that should be told to “stay home”.
Now where the hell do I put that soapbox?
You may not like how I merge but simply disagreeing with you on one driving issue does not make me a bad driver that should be told to "stay home".
I suggest you re-read my posts…I NEVER once said that zipper merging is bad…show me where I did? I’ll go a step further…and say outright that zipper merging is the BEST…However…if there are several hundred cars merging…and you’re the ONLY one doing a zipper merge…then you’re causing a problem …what are we suppose to do…stop all the cars that AREN’T zipper merging and hold them for the police. Zipper merging works GREAT when EVERYONE is doing. People in MA and NH have no idea how it works. Other parts of the country seem to do. When at a merge lane (which are abundant here in New England) it’s extremely easy to determine if people are zipper merging…If they aren’t…then the lone wolf that’s going to zipper merge is making the situation FAR MORE DANGEROUS.