Lane-ending merging

[SonicHKS]

This should be an interesting poll...

Ok, you're driving down the highway, only 2 lanes available. A sign comes up saying "LANE ENDS 1 MILE - MERGE RIGHT". Traffic is heavy in the right lane, and there's a line, and you need to get to work. The left lane has some people zooming down it to cut in at the end. What do you do? Do you queue up and wait in line, or do you drive down the other lane til it ends and merge?


edit: FFS noob5,000,000 lol

[noob5,000,000]

I get over as soon as I can. I understand the whole 'zipper' theory, but no one else does. IMO, it's best to just get merging out of the way before the end of the lane. You'll experience a slow-down either way, so might as well merge further back when traffic is still moving.

[SonicHKS]

I get over as soon as I can. I understand the whole 'zipper' theory, but no one else does so it's best to just get merging out of the way before the end of the lane. You experience a slow-down either way, so might as well merge when traffic is still moving.

Even if its stacked up? Would a big enough line of cars change your mind?

[noob5,000,000]

I get over as soon as I can. I understand the whole 'zipper' theory, but no one else does so it's best to just get merging out of the way before the end of the lane. You experience a slow-down either way, so might as well merge when traffic is still moving.

Even if its stacked up? Would a big enough line of cars change your mind?

As in, the ending lane is open till the end, and the right lane is full of slopped or slow moving traffic? traffic? In that case I'd probably go to the end I guess. You'd have to come to a nearly complete stop to get over in that situation, and it wouldn't be nice to leave 500 feet of empty space in front of you while you try to merge into a non-moving lane.

Ultimately I'd hope that I'd be able to read traffic far enough back to get into the correct lane before reaching a clusterf*ck.

I don't do much driving in conditions described in the OP. I don't have to drive in work traffic on a crowded highway parking lot, so I don't come upon the above situation. Traffic being slow or stopped does complicate the situation, I'm used to highway traffic moving at highway speeds, so merging early is easy.

[SonicHKS]

lol, moving over early to get into the "correct" lane? As long as a lane is open its a correct lane .

This is something that's a touchy subject, so I was wondering what SS thought. Most American drivers agree with you, noob, and tend to get over early because they think waiting in line is fair. That's actually wrong, and this is something that causes traffic clusterfarks to begin with.

The proper way to merge 2 lanes to 1 is a zipper merge, where people just stay in their lanes and merge in sequence, with people in the ending lane waiting until the last second if need be. No line, no stacking up, just people merging together into the remaining lane smoothly.

Besides that, I figured this out 1 day while commuting. People are going to zoom around anyways, so you might as well join them and leave the idiots behind. The majority just lining up and waiting is what causes it to stack up in the first place because of inefficient use of the roadway, and you shouldn't make it worse by lining up too. I've never had a problem merging in traffic unless its stopped like an actual parking lot. Normally I can just coast or idle down the road and wait for traffic in the right lane to start moving, at that point its easy to make a space by nudging my way in. That's how I always merge and change lanes, I don't put on my turn signal and ask for a spot, I simply look for an opening and take it, and my signaling is to indicate my changing lanes. I usually do it so well I just blend into traffic seamlessly. Makes traffic much easier .

People get pissed off about this though. I've read about drivers coming out of the right lane to block the left lane to keep people from zooming ahead . My opinion is, if you don't know how to merge properly, then feel free to line up and wait an extra 30 minutes and be late to work. But zooming up to the front in the left lane WORKS and if you can do it, you shouldn't feel bad about it.

I never wait in line like that. Traffic in Atlanta is horrible and many times you have to cover long distances, and a 30 minute drive can easily turn into 1hr+ if you get bogged down in stuff like this. I've been doing this since my early years in college. I'm finding out that there are plenty of valuable skills to have in traffic

[IMBoring25]

What's being called a "zipper merge" works best when you're not simultaneously trying to find a hole in traffic and trying to figure out how much longer you can keep trying before you have to nail the binders to keep from becoming one with the upcoming culvert.

As the number of traffic lanes decreases, cars either have to get closer together or speed up to maintain the same traffic flow as existed with the previous number of lanes. Even if the merge went smoothly the cars would not speed up so they will get closer together. The closer you get to the lane reduction the more risk you run of not having sufficient space to move over and winding up being unable to properly merge and completely snarling traffic.

[AHTOXA]

First, a merge sign will not be posted a mile before. I think I saw that once in construction zone.
In any case, I don't ride until the end. I will merge when required and zipper in according to signage. I see lots of folk squeeze ahead.

[SonicHKS]

First, a merge sign will not be posted a mile before. I think I saw that once in construction zone.
In any case, I don't ride until the end. I will merge when required and zipper in according to signage. I see lots of folk squeeze ahead.

Makes sense, all you seem to do is follow the crowd and never think for yourself.

Rude remarks and petty revenge aside, just because you've never seen it doesn't mean you can discount it. That's what they do here, if a lane is ending and people have to merge they will post a sign from a couple hundred feet to as much as a mile back.

[AHTOXA]

[Shadow]

[zenfiz6]

lol, moving over early to get into the "correct" lane? As long as a lane is open its a correct lane .

This is something that's a touchy subject, so I was wondering what SS thought. Most American drivers agree with you, noob, and tend to get over early because they think waiting in line is fair. That's actually wrong, and this is something that causes traffic clusterfarks to begin with.

What we're talking about is often called the argument between the "early merge" and the "late merge." The late-mergers feel that they're making better use of the roadway by using all available lanes for as long as possible. But most early-mergers get angry at late-mergers because the former believe that, once the orange diamonds are posted, they have to move to the open lane ASAP. They then interpret the late-mergers as "zooming" ahead and "unfairly" getting well in front of them while they've been "playing by the rules."

I used to be an early-merger. But I see the point of the late-mergers, now. And I kind of wish that the construction workers would put up the "pregnant lady crossing" signs only a few hundred feet before the merge point. Then nobody will feel slighted.

Of course, this requires people to zipper merge properly. And, as I've said in another thread, the roads are getting pretty unfriendly these days.

[Saabstory02]

Assuming the situation you posted in the OP (merge sign a mile out); If everyone merged a mile early, IE as soon as they saw the sign, then traffic would shortly be backed up at the sign, where everyone was trying to get over and both lanes get clogged.

The difference is, using the full second lane until the actual merge point (and doing so correctly) and then zipper merging allows more traffic to fill the available space, and less overall delay for BOTH lanes.

While it is a hot topic, it has actually been proven by numerous different sources in numerous studies. The true traffic delays come from all the people who merge early, and then get mad and try to block the traffic in the right lane or not allow people to merge when the correct time comes...

[Squint]

I feel like there should be another answer possible in this poll. "Keep going in the soon-to-close-lane until merging close enough where you don't look like a douche." There are several places in my regular drives where lanes change. I typically keep using the open lanes until I'm relatively close to being forced over, but not waiting until the last second.

[ClutchFork]

I have a situation like this on my daily drive. Two lanes that split off for the freeway I would need are backed up about 2 miles. Some cut in late. I just decided that I don't want the headache, so exit and take a surface street the last few miles in. On the bright side, that lets me row the gears a bit before I have to park.

I realise that this thread is about the situation when you do NOT have the option to take a different route.

[Shadow]

I don't do one or the other consistently. I merge whenever I fee like it, which is usually when an opportunity presents itself. Sometimes it's early and other times it's late.

This thread reminds me of another related merge topic that we've all seen at one time or another---when you're stuck on the highway in slow-moving traffic and the people on the ramp go all the way to the end before merging into the right lane. Some people really get pissed when other drivers do that. Personally, I don't care either way. I mean, if they get a few cars in front of me, they'll save a few seconds at most once the traffic clears. No biggie....LOL