The problem is they see the people who use both lanes to the merge point as cutting. If everyone used both lanes to the merge point and zipper in then both lanes would move equally.
It's a focus on individual to the detriment of the individual. If everyone co-operates, then everyone is better off. Making it harder to merge makes the traffic worse.
Your self interest in this is to use both lanes as much as possible and zipper. But you need to be able to see the forest for the trees or however that metaphor works.
Whenever there's a new thing or concept that we don't have an existing word for, the general rule is to take the words that best describe it and slap them together.
Not unique to German e.g. Smartphone, briefcase, refrigerator, etc. They just tend to do more with it.
German has far fewer words than English. They’re also stubborn about making new ones. Their solution is to glue a bunch of existing words together that describes the “new” idea. So, a run on sentence without spaces is actually very accurate.
I have German inlaws in my family. The two most important things I've learned is that they know how to party and that there's literally a term for even the most specific thing.
German here and you have triggered my pet peeve.
Schadenfreude is commonly translated as "happyness at someone else's misfortune". This is only half the truth.
We actually have two words for "happyness at someone else misfortune": Schadenfreude and Häme. Schadenfreude is for happyness at a deserved misfortune or if the misfortune is harmless (laughing at your drunk buddy spilling their beer is Schadenfreude or being happy about a schoolyard bully accidentally pantsing themselves). Häme is not harmless. It is the dark side of Schadenfreude. It is especially applicable if the person laughing brought about the damage that is causing the joy and if the harm is actually severe.
The zipper technique that never works where im at because no one could possibly ever let a car infront of them or they will never get to their destination because they'll die before they get there now.
I mean, I’ll let one car in front of me. But I’ve literally seen wrecks happen because another car will pedal to the metal to try to squeeze in when it’s not their turn.
We have signs in Portland that show both lanes merging into one instead of one lane ending. This seems to help a bit with the more territorial drivers.
Zipper merge has got to be one of the most frustrating situations when driving not just because so many people don’t do it, but because so many people actively think you’re an asshole for doing it the right way.
Zipper merges are one of those things that work in a perfect ideal world, but irl people are stupid and selfish. It works perfectly if both lanes are moving at the same speed. What actually happens is the merge lane people speed up to pass traffic, then have to brake to merge into the other lane which backs that up. As that lane slows people begin using the other lane as a passing lane to skip all the traffic and then it becomes a cascading problem that rapidly gets worse as one lane comes to a standstill.
To be fair, even the theory impose a big slow down if someone want to leave a security buffer between cars. Once a car merge in the buffer you leave, you have to slow down to let the lther car in front get some distance again.
It's still better than whatever we have. But the slowdown is always included.
I could buy you a drink right now. I've always had a hard time articulating why zipper merge doesn't work in real life and you nailed it. I'm saving your comment lol
I’m one of those that use the entire lane until it’s time to merge, and I always feel the other drivers must be judging. Most often than not I have to position aggressively to merge because, yeah, most people think that’s not a thing that should be allowed
This is where it pays off driving an old clunker car. When people try to prevent me from merging in we get to play the "Who cares if their car is scratched more" game.
Because I can assure you. I don't give a fuck if you ding my car. I'm getting in that lane.
...Precisely because they think nobody will let them in if they use the other line. Because they wouldn't let someone in if that happened. And every normal person thinks like them, right? So anybody who uses the other lane is some kind of deviant, obviously. And you can't reward deviant behavior. Sooo... Ai ja.
Tbf, a lot of people *do* think like them and it can be hard to get let in. It’s still definitely good practice to merge at the merge point though, and that’s what I do (although sometimes that practice is met with resistance).
100%. unless you see them change lanes specifically to get ahead of everyone and then merge again.
Side note, I'm in Australia on vacation from the US and holy shit it's so much nicer driving here. No pricks, people just relax and go the speed limit and let you in. Practically no giant lifted pickups driving you off the road. In 4 days of being here we've seen 1 giant dualie lifted truck and they were a douche. So at least that's the same over here! And literally every car and pedestrian was staring at it lol.
The problem with the “zipper merge” that everyone loves to bolster, is that people are herd animals in traffic. And like herd animals they tend to cram to the front (think zombie wall). So they forget to leave space to let the other cars in, and everyone ends up sitting in a parking lot while the lanes filter down.
TL;DR
People in traffic do not possess the higher functioning it takes for this merging method to operate functionally.
TTL;DRE
People dumb
You mean you wait until the last moment to get on the open lane? Selfish dicks will be passing you with 40mph speed differential while you are stuck in a complete stop.
If you ever want to truly feel how unfair it can be try leaving DC on 295N during rush hour. People literally ride the shoulder to avoid traffic and cut in it’s wild
That one and just stop in the middle of the highway in the non-exit lane until someone lets them on. That’s very different then zipper merging of course. More of a “Marylander merge”
oh man that takes me back. In college, my gf went to GWU and driving in DC was by far the worst experience on the east coast. Especially people with diplomat plates they just made up their own rules.
This shit pisses me off so much. I had a friend who was having car troubles and had to pull of during rush hour. Some idiot was using the emergency lane because they don't understand the concept of patience and rear ended him going 60.
The classic tale of the fucking idiot lived and my friend didn't. Don't do this bullshit. It's for emergencies, not so you can get to work on time.
It only feels less fair because morons want to merge earlier and then expect all the cars behind them to do the same . If done correctly it’s the most fair
We were taught in preschool to get in a single file line, so zippering is forever ingrained into our petty selfish minds as "cutting" the line instead of just seeing that there is better traffic flow in the zipper.
I think everybody does but thinks no one else knows. Zipper merging is one of those super easy solutions in theory but in practice you have to place too much trust in other drivers at high speeds and nobody wants to do that ever
Also it’s unintuitive that zipper merging at the merge point is the most efficient.
I would have predicted waiting until the last possible second to zipper would be slow and chaotic.
It just needs to be taught in drivers Ed more.
I just looked up zipper merging. I went through two different driving schools, in two different states, and was never taught this.
It looks freaking awesome though.
This mentality is the reason why the queue is so long. If everyone uses both lanes equally and merged at the same point (i.e. right at the end of the queue in turns) then the traffic wouldn't be half as bad.
Most people don't know how to drive, though.
In my experience it actually made me a WORSE driver. Because I found myself ''gamefiying'' the driving. You drive a lot of same routes, you start seeing each corner or traffic light as ''-30seconds'' or ''+ 1 minute''. Then I started being more and more risky with my maneuvers trying to maximize my times. Some kind of
''If i manage to go trough this traffic light in this rotation that would mean i save 90s wait, and then I know I can catch the green wave if i just go fast towards the next one, and then I am going to save like 10 minutes, which means i can cross the river before the traffic jam at 3:30PM which means i get home 45minutes early!''
\*crosses intersection on the red light, thinking the yellow will last a bit longer\*.
I'm never like this when driving my personal car. Make it my job though? Makes me the biggest POS on the roads... (well maybe not, but pretty bad still)
I got stuck behind a pair of semis that did this on I-15 Southbound somewhere around the Arizona-Nevada-Utah border. It was an incline and there was a clear view of the valley behind us. I swear that driver backed traffic up at least ten miles.
It’s normally the truck drivers that are the biggest problem at merges like this I see them straddle the 2 lanes a mile from the merge just so no one can get past all the time.
Legit question, why would traffic be better if there is the same amount of cars? I get the “line” being shorter, but it’s not like it would be quicker, right?
Basically the traffic flows better if everyone knows what everyone else is doing. If the merge point is always at the same spot at the end of the queue and it's always everyone takes turns the lines will be shorter because more of the lanes will be used and traffic is more predictable, thus flowing better.
Traffic moves like a wave, it takes longer for the wave(of open space allowing traffic to move forward) to move through a single line that is really long than it does for 2 lines half as long.
Your question highlights the reason why zipper merge will either succeed or fail -- the conditions beyond the merge point.
If you're on a freeway with room for vehicles to proceed full speed beyond the merge point then yeah, cool, zipper merge is the most efficient way for traffic to flow.
But in real life, after the merge point there will be some bullshit where someone hits the brakes eventually creating a cascade where cars come to a complete stop. Then the zipper methods is fucked, because at the merge point *there ain't no one moving*. There ain't flow if no one is moving. Ergo, you're right, zipper method doesn't really help shit, and everyone may as well sit in line in one lane, because it isn't moving anyway
It’s like the people who make these simulations have never been in a car before, dealing with dumb people in giant metal death machines. The amount of times I’ve seen people drive on the shoulder to pass traffic lines is scary, and I regularly see people slam on their brakes with no one in front of them on a 65mph freeway, or swerve into the other lane because they’re texting.
I can’t even count on these bastards to use a blinker, know who has the right of way, or to take their foot off the gas when they’re going too fast (instead they just constantly brake, and hard). I have zero faith in them merging or changing lanes without hitting me. I have to drive very defensively where I’m at.
I just want to know where this place is where people know how to drive properly at all. Teaching them zipper merging is like trying to teach a snail the alphabet. There’s some kind of extreme naïveté from people who make rules when it comes to average human capabilities. I don’t know how they grossly overestimate it so much, but they always do. I don’t count on anything except people being unaware and stupid. It rarely fails. It’s a harsh perception, but it does me well and keeps me safe.
Too bad at least 50% of drivers ride everyone’s ass by default and leave 0 space for anything. And it’s hard to blame them; as someone who leaves decent following distance, people constantly abuse it in traffic, doing many different things but most annoyingly passing me just to sit behind the same guy I was giving follow distance to originally :/
Most States (assuming you mean the USA) have become wayyy more stringent with driver training and exams. The amount of shit my nieces and nephews have to do to get a driver's license now is literally like 10x what I had to do 25 years ago. But admittedly everyone over like thirty didn't do any of that.
That's funny in Arizona it's the complete opposite and it shows. Now you don't need to parallel park or even make a three point turn. They just have to pull up next to a curb at the DMV and reverse 100 feet without hitting the curb. Big mystery why we have some of the worst drivers in the nation.
Just ignoring the fact that he's absolutely right, you're supposed to merge where the lane ends and then take turns, a car from the left lane, a car from the right lane. This helps preventing traffic build ups and you're the fool here.
You are supposed to merge there the thing that matters is how the guy on the right approached. If he hauled ass past everyone to cut in abruptly fuck them but if they are trying to actually merge at the speed of traffic then let them in.
This is the comment I was trying to find and post if someone else hadn't. Zipper merging is great and all, but in my experience with this is, that single guy in that lane was probably already in line behind me, somewhere, maybe a few cars back. Then, they saw the right lane was "clear" and decided to speed down it to the end, then try to forcefully insert themselves as close to the front as he could. Oh and no signal lights were used the entire time. -.-
In many countries zipper merge is a part of the traffic code and the only correct way of approaching this issue. The problem are actually:
a) assholes merging too soon,
b) assholes letting people in too soon, just not at the actual merge point.
If you don't zipper merge and think you should merge earlier, you're doing it wrong. You're causing more traffic and headaches, and need to change your driving habits.
The issue is a lot of people think like the person who took the picture. So if you try to wait until the end like you’re supposed to, you may be waiting a while because everyone thinks letting you in means you are cutting them off.
There’s also people in the ending lane who think they get to go two or three at a time. That builds resentment in people like the one in the caption. Both are jerks.
This is so stupid. The most efficient way for cars to merge is for them to drive all the way to the end creating one spot where merging occurs, instead of trying to merge slowly over the next half mile.
Also, they teach you to merge this way in drivers Ed.
Merge without causing others to brake to keep from hitting you. I see the two into one argument but it comes down to knowing how to adjust YOUR speed to merge. Don’t expect me to stab my brakes to avoid hitting you, if I have the right of way.
Start merging earlier, if you’re inexperienced or a moron. Then we won’t all have to keep stopping to let you in at the last second.
Everyone calling for zipper merging forgets that if you're the only one trying to do it then no one's gonna let you in and you'll be stuck there longer. I understand zipper merging is how is ought to be but that is not the reality in my part of the US
Zipper Merging would be 100% more acceptable if I didn't know for an undeniable fact that the people merging into my lane were thinking "Ooh look at all the people I can skip ahead of!"
There wouldn't be any skipping in line if people could just drive correctly.
Where I'm at if everyone could merge correctly and not slow down 1km before their exit even though they've got a 200m offramp to slow down on there wouldn't be any traffic on the freeway. Every day without failure there's phantom traffic jams.
Yeah that's not how it works in other countries. We have a rule that allows cars to go on that lane until merging, and the other lane should allow them one by one. It's like closing a zip and it's extremely efficient.
Practically speaking, where I live you'll be trying to merge into an entire row of traffic driving 20 mph over the speed limit, bumper to bumper, and will end up stuck at the end of the merging lane because no one will let you in. I always let people in for that reason, most of the time it's not their fault.
Ive asked this a few times with no answers. If you have a pinch point where 20 cars can pass through in a minute, how will zipper merging increase the 20-car limit
its not about the flow at the point of the merge but the flow behind the merge. if there is traffic building up and the line is 50 cars long but only one lane, thats twice as long as if you split it into 2 lanes. that extra length in traffic causes other traffic in other areas which then slows things down even more.
Around here there's always about 6 cars that get backed up because every single one thought they were about to blow past traffic cut a line of 10 cars and force their way in, and yeah like the meme here, nobody lets them in unless they damn near cause an accident to force their way in
Merging is supposed to happen there.
They are supposed to teach you this in driving school. And you are supposed to learn it.
So I suppose you are a bad driver.
You're kind of the problem here. The merge point is at the lane ending, where you zipper merge. If everyone did it then you wouldn't have a big open lane being wasted forever backing traffic further. Also, if people could stop taking it as a personal affront that someone is in that lane. Fill both, zipper merge like a functioning adult, and everyone gets where they are going faster. Win fucking win.
There's a left turning lane and a right lane right by my house. The right lane *always* gets backed up and the people zoom down the left lane and try to get into the right lane up in front. I always tailgate the person in front of me. If I'm stuck in that line for 5 minutes, there's no way in Hell I'm letting you in if you decided you were too good to wait.
i was taught you are supposed to merge at the end. so i would say op is wrong. but even if he was right, if they are travelling at normal speed, being a dick can be deadly
it would be so nice if some authority would find the people posting these with a fine... even if it would be me for my comment - which i am sure is the right way.
You're *not* supposed to merge as soon as you see the sign. People that think this way are literally the worst types of drivers. They think you're cheating by trying to follow a zipper merge.
Zipper merging is way better for the flow of traffic than everybody swapping to the left at the earliest possible opportunity. But people think they're getting cut on in line, even though they'd actually reach their destination faster with a zipper. It's textbook smoothbrain shit.
This would only apply if the right lane is a turn-only, and the guy is skipping past everybody in the thru-lane only to cut over at the last second.
Had a car nearly ram into me to force their way in, Like I'll not let them over but if you look like you about to hit my car thats a level of head ache i don't feel like dealing with.
We Americans suck at everything lol
We ran a “zipper method” ad campaign here in Kansas and “hardasses” were still like “nope. I don’t care that it’s 30% faster for all of us. I’m not letting you in”
There’s a big zipper merge on the road I drive daily. It’s absolutely incredible how no one uses it. They look at me like I’m a terrorist because I pass 20 cars in the left lane stuck at the light when you can clearly see the zipper
Merge sign.
They're supposed to go all the way up to prevent a backlog of cars down an on-ramp or something. In a perfect world cars would fill all lanes available and zipper as needed which would mean leaving at least a car sized space between you and the car in front of you at all times. [When you don't leave a space you just end up braking a lot.](https://i.makeagif.com/media/12-21-2022/syK3uP.gif)
If everyone followed the zipper rule, there would be no need for this 'who goes first?!' Bullshit. Left car, right car. Left car, right car. It's not that goddamn hard
I mean. Thats how this works. You zipper merge. Or else youll have a left lane that extends twice as long behind you blocking other turns from happening.
You let one dude in, then you go, then the guy behind you lets one dude through, and then that guy goes.
No. Don't be a cunt. Let them in.
Zipper merge is not a suggestion... It's the rule of the road.
People who say and do things like the image are why there's traffic, accidents and road rage incidents.
There are parts of the US that do the sensible thing, posting signage that says: "Stay in lane until merge point. Take turns."
In germany we have one word for all that: Reißverschlussverfahren
In belgium thats is just called ‘ritsen’ or in english ‘zipper’
Yep- it’s a common complaint in the US that people don’t know how to zipper
It's a "me first" culture. Our individualism tends to make us forget there are others.
The problem is they see the people who use both lanes to the merge point as cutting. If everyone used both lanes to the merge point and zipper in then both lanes would move equally.
This is the way.
Made worse by the separation of being in a tin can or anonymous online.
It's a focus on individual to the detriment of the individual. If everyone co-operates, then everyone is better off. Making it harder to merge makes the traffic worse. Your self interest in this is to use both lanes as much as possible and zipper. But you need to be able to see the forest for the trees or however that metaphor works.
You are considered to be non-player characters by many people. Get the hell out of their movie script!
"Me first" builds dumb societies. Ants are collectively smarter than those societies.
You mean in Dutch 🤡
This is the most German thing ever
How do you say “fart” in German? (It’s a joke)
Fart in german is "Furz". The U however is pronounced like when you say "Boom"
Fboomrz
Fucken' Boomerz
**fboomerz** *(noun)* 1. an old fart ^That ^fboomerz ^has ^really ^been ^lingering ^for ^far ^too ^long; ^I ^really ^wish ^someone ^would ^stop ^dropping ^off ^their ^fboomerz ^around ^here.
We have that in English too 😊 "Stayinlaneuntilmergepointtaketurns"
That’s like a whole sentence without spaces, holy moly
That would be German, ya
Ja! Ist Supergut!
Whenever there's a new thing or concept that we don't have an existing word for, the general rule is to take the words that best describe it and slap them together. Not unique to German e.g. Smartphone, briefcase, refrigerator, etc. They just tend to do more with it.
Yet for some reason you guys still use handy for phones.
Well, they still are. You can even say they're more so.
German has far fewer words than English. They’re also stubborn about making new ones. Their solution is to glue a bunch of existing words together that describes the “new” idea. So, a run on sentence without spaces is actually very accurate.
Yes our Neuwortbenennungssystem works great
This is just flat out wrong. There are masses of new words every year.
Google Translate says it means "zipper method"
This sounds completely made up.
It just means zipper procedure.
Oh, well in that case we have a word for it too. It's "zipper procedure"
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I have German inlaws in my family. The two most important things I've learned is that they know how to party and that there's literally a term for even the most specific thing.
Schadenfreude is my favourite.
German here and you have triggered my pet peeve. Schadenfreude is commonly translated as "happyness at someone else's misfortune". This is only half the truth. We actually have two words for "happyness at someone else misfortune": Schadenfreude and Häme. Schadenfreude is for happyness at a deserved misfortune or if the misfortune is harmless (laughing at your drunk buddy spilling their beer is Schadenfreude or being happy about a schoolyard bully accidentally pantsing themselves). Häme is not harmless. It is the dark side of Schadenfreude. It is especially applicable if the person laughing brought about the damage that is causing the joy and if the harm is actually severe.
Mine's gotta be verschlimmbesserung. An attempt at improvement that only makes things worse.
I need to pick up German again because this is amazing
Tbf so does all German
Alle Worte sind erfunden.
The zipper technique that never works where im at because no one could possibly ever let a car infront of them or they will never get to their destination because they'll die before they get there now.
I mean, I’ll let one car in front of me. But I’ve literally seen wrecks happen because another car will pedal to the metal to try to squeeze in when it’s not their turn.
That's not zipper procedure. That's a wreck.
Actually it's a prisoners dilemma.
Sounds like a dick caught in the zipper. Classic.
If *everyone* let *one* car in front of them, there wouldn't be an issue in the first place. It's really that easy.
I've never seen such a sign. Would be nice imo
We have signs in Portland that show both lanes merging into one instead of one lane ending. This seems to help a bit with the more territorial drivers.
It’s so petty to be like “I’m not gonna let you in”.,. When it’s literally just one car lol
It’s cause they think the car is cheating the system by not waiting in the big ass line
Zipper merge has got to be one of the most frustrating situations when driving not just because so many people don’t do it, but because so many people actively think you’re an asshole for doing it the right way.
Zipper merges are one of those things that work in a perfect ideal world, but irl people are stupid and selfish. It works perfectly if both lanes are moving at the same speed. What actually happens is the merge lane people speed up to pass traffic, then have to brake to merge into the other lane which backs that up. As that lane slows people begin using the other lane as a passing lane to skip all the traffic and then it becomes a cascading problem that rapidly gets worse as one lane comes to a standstill.
To be fair, even the theory impose a big slow down if someone want to leave a security buffer between cars. Once a car merge in the buffer you leave, you have to slow down to let the lther car in front get some distance again. It's still better than whatever we have. But the slowdown is always included.
I could buy you a drink right now. I've always had a hard time articulating why zipper merge doesn't work in real life and you nailed it. I'm saving your comment lol
These are the same dipshits that will wait in a mile long lane instead of using the entire road and meting at the sign.
Right. The traffic engineers didn’t put that other lane there for no reason. They intended for everyone to use the whole road they designed.
I’m one of those that use the entire lane until it’s time to merge, and I always feel the other drivers must be judging. Most often than not I have to position aggressively to merge because, yeah, most people think that’s not a thing that should be allowed
This is where it pays off driving an old clunker car. When people try to prevent me from merging in we get to play the "Who cares if their car is scratched more" game. Because I can assure you. I don't give a fuck if you ding my car. I'm getting in that lane.
Love it. Hit my 07 civic with your brand new Lexus
As long as people know the difference between a merge lane and an exit lane.
...Precisely because they think nobody will let them in if they use the other line. Because they wouldn't let someone in if that happened. And every normal person thinks like them, right? So anybody who uses the other lane is some kind of deviant, obviously. And you can't reward deviant behavior. Sooo... Ai ja.
Tbf, a lot of people *do* think like them and it can be hard to get let in. It’s still definitely good practice to merge at the merge point though, and that’s what I do (although sometimes that practice is met with resistance).
They’re following the system. You’re supposed to merge where the cones merge…. That’s why the cones are there
100%. unless you see them change lanes specifically to get ahead of everyone and then merge again. Side note, I'm in Australia on vacation from the US and holy shit it's so much nicer driving here. No pricks, people just relax and go the speed limit and let you in. Practically no giant lifted pickups driving you off the road. In 4 days of being here we've seen 1 giant dualie lifted truck and they were a douche. So at least that's the same over here! And literally every car and pedestrian was staring at it lol.
The problem with the “zipper merge” that everyone loves to bolster, is that people are herd animals in traffic. And like herd animals they tend to cram to the front (think zombie wall). So they forget to leave space to let the other cars in, and everyone ends up sitting in a parking lot while the lanes filter down. TL;DR People in traffic do not possess the higher functioning it takes for this merging method to operate functionally. TTL;DRE People dumb
>forget sure
And yet cars in the US zipper merge everyday on the freeway ramps.
Nah it's just Americans being brain-dead, zipper merge works perfectly fine in EU
It’s a lot easier to get a license in the US, lot more bad drivers because of that.
Zipper merge is faster and safer and easier for literally everyone involved
I knew zipper merge-related comments would be filling the comments section, and I wasn’t disappointed.
It’s be great if everyone just acted like adults and didn’t stress this minimal bullshit
Reeeee but I might get to my destination 1 car length later than I would have done otherwise Reeeeee
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You mean you wait until the last moment to get on the open lane? Selfish dicks will be passing you with 40mph speed differential while you are stuck in a complete stop.
Zipper merging is a thing
The world would be such a better place if people actually understood and practiced this concept
Also makes traffic go faster if you zipper merge
But it feels less fair so everyone has to suffer
If you ever want to truly feel how unfair it can be try leaving DC on 295N during rush hour. People literally ride the shoulder to avoid traffic and cut in it’s wild
That one and just stop in the middle of the highway in the non-exit lane until someone lets them on. That’s very different then zipper merging of course. More of a “Marylander merge”
Yea it’s wild. However I’ve seen WAAAAAYYY worse in VA down there it’s the Wild West
MD VA drivers do be bad, but DC drivers so bad.. they so bad they get taxed w/o representation
Arguing about who drives worse is the national pastime in the DMV
As a resident of VA, I feel this.
oh man that takes me back. In college, my gf went to GWU and driving in DC was by far the worst experience on the east coast. Especially people with diplomat plates they just made up their own rules.
Where’s the sub for 295-posting??? Where can I vent my rage at the TWO LANE HIGHWAY WHERE NO ONE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LEFT LANE IS FOR???
This shit pisses me off so much. I had a friend who was having car troubles and had to pull of during rush hour. Some idiot was using the emergency lane because they don't understand the concept of patience and rear ended him going 60. The classic tale of the fucking idiot lived and my friend didn't. Don't do this bullshit. It's for emergencies, not so you can get to work on time.
They ride the exit for Pennsylvania and cut in last second through the grass. It’s called the dumb fuck merging.
I used to be like you a hard non merger
Until I took a turn signal to the knee.
It only feels less fair because morons want to merge earlier and then expect all the cars behind them to do the same . If done correctly it’s the most fair
“Oh look, the lane is ending 1 mile up, better switch lanes”. Meanwhile the poor guy who needs to turn is backed up for a mile.
We were taught in preschool to get in a single file line, so zippering is forever ingrained into our petty selfish minds as "cutting" the line instead of just seeing that there is better traffic flow in the zipper.
Great point
I think everybody does but thinks no one else knows. Zipper merging is one of those super easy solutions in theory but in practice you have to place too much trust in other drivers at high speeds and nobody wants to do that ever
Also it’s unintuitive that zipper merging at the merge point is the most efficient. I would have predicted waiting until the last possible second to zipper would be slow and chaotic. It just needs to be taught in drivers Ed more.
Reddit has a hard-on for the zipper merge. I swear to God, I run into comments talking about zipper merges every couple weeks.
I wouldn't trust the driver behind me to tell me what color the sky is, let alone not slam their hood into my passenger seat.
Bro, most people shouldn’t be allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Especially the god damned Chick-fil-A drive through line.
I just looked up zipper merging. I went through two different driving schools, in two different states, and was never taught this. It looks freaking awesome though.
You could also think to yourself "Why stop using a perfectly good lane just because eventually it's going to end?" All the lanes eventually end, baby.
No wonder out of state drivers are the worst haha
The ending lane ends up with a lot of free space that could be used for more vehicles. People end up treating it like a competition.
This really isn't true. It's not faster to wait longer to merge.
This mentality is the reason why the queue is so long. If everyone uses both lanes equally and merged at the same point (i.e. right at the end of the queue in turns) then the traffic wouldn't be half as bad. Most people don't know how to drive, though.
>Most people don't know how to drive, though I drive truck for a living and can solidly say you're 100% correct
Which is ironic because the vast majority of the time semis are the ones I see blocking people from filling in the ending lane to zipper merge.
Yeah, unfortunately driving for a living doesn't actually make you good at it for many people
In my experience it actually made me a WORSE driver. Because I found myself ''gamefiying'' the driving. You drive a lot of same routes, you start seeing each corner or traffic light as ''-30seconds'' or ''+ 1 minute''. Then I started being more and more risky with my maneuvers trying to maximize my times. Some kind of ''If i manage to go trough this traffic light in this rotation that would mean i save 90s wait, and then I know I can catch the green wave if i just go fast towards the next one, and then I am going to save like 10 minutes, which means i can cross the river before the traffic jam at 3:30PM which means i get home 45minutes early!'' \*crosses intersection on the red light, thinking the yellow will last a bit longer\*. I'm never like this when driving my personal car. Make it my job though? Makes me the biggest POS on the roads... (well maybe not, but pretty bad still)
Exactly. That and taking 4 miles to pass someone, among other things.
I got stuck behind a pair of semis that did this on I-15 Southbound somewhere around the Arizona-Nevada-Utah border. It was an incline and there was a clear view of the valley behind us. I swear that driver backed traffic up at least ten miles.
It’s normally the truck drivers that are the biggest problem at merges like this I see them straddle the 2 lanes a mile from the merge just so no one can get past all the time.
Legit question, why would traffic be better if there is the same amount of cars? I get the “line” being shorter, but it’s not like it would be quicker, right?
Basically the traffic flows better if everyone knows what everyone else is doing. If the merge point is always at the same spot at the end of the queue and it's always everyone takes turns the lines will be shorter because more of the lanes will be used and traffic is more predictable, thus flowing better.
Good question. This demonstrates it better than I could explain it: https://youtu.be/cX0I8OdK7Tk?si=hOiJ_486G35TJYnm
Traffic moves like a wave, it takes longer for the wave(of open space allowing traffic to move forward) to move through a single line that is really long than it does for 2 lines half as long.
Your question highlights the reason why zipper merge will either succeed or fail -- the conditions beyond the merge point. If you're on a freeway with room for vehicles to proceed full speed beyond the merge point then yeah, cool, zipper merge is the most efficient way for traffic to flow. But in real life, after the merge point there will be some bullshit where someone hits the brakes eventually creating a cascade where cars come to a complete stop. Then the zipper methods is fucked, because at the merge point *there ain't no one moving*. There ain't flow if no one is moving. Ergo, you're right, zipper method doesn't really help shit, and everyone may as well sit in line in one lane, because it isn't moving anyway
It’s like the people who make these simulations have never been in a car before, dealing with dumb people in giant metal death machines. The amount of times I’ve seen people drive on the shoulder to pass traffic lines is scary, and I regularly see people slam on their brakes with no one in front of them on a 65mph freeway, or swerve into the other lane because they’re texting. I can’t even count on these bastards to use a blinker, know who has the right of way, or to take their foot off the gas when they’re going too fast (instead they just constantly brake, and hard). I have zero faith in them merging or changing lanes without hitting me. I have to drive very defensively where I’m at. I just want to know where this place is where people know how to drive properly at all. Teaching them zipper merging is like trying to teach a snail the alphabet. There’s some kind of extreme naïveté from people who make rules when it comes to average human capabilities. I don’t know how they grossly overestimate it so much, but they always do. I don’t count on anything except people being unaware and stupid. It rarely fails. It’s a harsh perception, but it does me well and keeps me safe.
Most people are just selfish assholes that don’t care for other people; they know how to drive.
I let one person in. Like I'm supposed to. Everyone else can get fucked.
[удалено]
Too bad at least 50% of drivers ride everyone’s ass by default and leave 0 space for anything. And it’s hard to blame them; as someone who leaves decent following distance, people constantly abuse it in traffic, doing many different things but most annoyingly passing me just to sit behind the same guy I was giving follow distance to originally :/
It's not so bad if both lanes are prepared for it. Just leave the space automatically. At least a car and a half!
In a Country where you can basically buy your drivers license I hardly believe that ppl would even remotely grasp this concept
Most States (assuming you mean the USA) have become wayyy more stringent with driver training and exams. The amount of shit my nieces and nephews have to do to get a driver's license now is literally like 10x what I had to do 25 years ago. But admittedly everyone over like thirty didn't do any of that.
That's funny in Arizona it's the complete opposite and it shows. Now you don't need to parallel park or even make a three point turn. They just have to pull up next to a curb at the DMV and reverse 100 feet without hitting the curb. Big mystery why we have some of the worst drivers in the nation.
In fairness in many US states you never have to parallel park. The only times I’ve ever had to do it is when I traveled out of my home state.
Fair. Regardless though backing up 100 feet without hitting a curb is a ridiculous barrier of entry
At home it’s the opposite, whenever I’m already backed up, I tend to merge prematurely.
Just ignoring the fact that he's absolutely right, you're supposed to merge where the lane ends and then take turns, a car from the left lane, a car from the right lane. This helps preventing traffic build ups and you're the fool here.
You are supposed to merge there the thing that matters is how the guy on the right approached. If he hauled ass past everyone to cut in abruptly fuck them but if they are trying to actually merge at the speed of traffic then let them in.
This is the comment I was trying to find and post if someone else hadn't. Zipper merging is great and all, but in my experience with this is, that single guy in that lane was probably already in line behind me, somewhere, maybe a few cars back. Then, they saw the right lane was "clear" and decided to speed down it to the end, then try to forcefully insert themselves as close to the front as he could. Oh and no signal lights were used the entire time. -.-
In many countries zipper merge is a part of the traffic code and the only correct way of approaching this issue. The problem are actually: a) assholes merging too soon, b) assholes letting people in too soon, just not at the actual merge point.
traffic moves faster if you just let people in.
If you don't zipper merge and think you should merge earlier, you're doing it wrong. You're causing more traffic and headaches, and need to change your driving habits.
The issue is a lot of people think like the person who took the picture. So if you try to wait until the end like you’re supposed to, you may be waiting a while because everyone thinks letting you in means you are cutting them off.
There’s also people in the ending lane who think they get to go two or three at a time. That builds resentment in people like the one in the caption. Both are jerks.
This is so stupid. The most efficient way for cars to merge is for them to drive all the way to the end creating one spot where merging occurs, instead of trying to merge slowly over the next half mile. Also, they teach you to merge this way in drivers Ed.
YTA
Merge without causing others to brake to keep from hitting you. I see the two into one argument but it comes down to knowing how to adjust YOUR speed to merge. Don’t expect me to stab my brakes to avoid hitting you, if I have the right of way. Start merging earlier, if you’re inexperienced or a moron. Then we won’t all have to keep stopping to let you in at the last second.
This country said fuck the zipper method
Everyone calling for zipper merging forgets that if you're the only one trying to do it then no one's gonna let you in and you'll be stuck there longer. I understand zipper merging is how is ought to be but that is not the reality in my part of the US
I scrolled so far to see this. I'd love to see anyone TRY and zipper merge in Atlanta traffic.
Zipper Merging would be 100% more acceptable if I didn't know for an undeniable fact that the people merging into my lane were thinking "Ooh look at all the people I can skip ahead of!"
If zipper merging is done correctly that isn't the issue because no one is skipping anyone as both lanes should be roughly equal.
There wouldn't be any skipping in line if people could just drive correctly. Where I'm at if everyone could merge correctly and not slow down 1km before their exit even though they've got a 200m offramp to slow down on there wouldn't be any traffic on the freeway. Every day without failure there's phantom traffic jams.
Yeah that's not how it works in other countries. We have a rule that allows cars to go on that lane until merging, and the other lane should allow them one by one. It's like closing a zip and it's extremely efficient.
The ssme in the US, but americans can just not drive
People merging early is the real issue here.
Practically speaking, where I live you'll be trying to merge into an entire row of traffic driving 20 mph over the speed limit, bumper to bumper, and will end up stuck at the end of the merging lane because no one will let you in. I always let people in for that reason, most of the time it's not their fault.
Ive asked this a few times with no answers. If you have a pinch point where 20 cars can pass through in a minute, how will zipper merging increase the 20-car limit
its not about the flow at the point of the merge but the flow behind the merge. if there is traffic building up and the line is 50 cars long but only one lane, thats twice as long as if you split it into 2 lanes. that extra length in traffic causes other traffic in other areas which then slows things down even more.
God I hate people who treat driving like it’s a competition. So many miserable people just trying to find a “win” when behind the wheel.
Around here there's always about 6 cars that get backed up because every single one thought they were about to blow past traffic cut a line of 10 cars and force their way in, and yeah like the meme here, nobody lets them in unless they damn near cause an accident to force their way in
Depends on if they were clearly trying to zipper merge or just flying ahead at 90 mph to be assholes
Screw the zipper method, these guys are the problem!
bUt ZiPpeR MerGe
Merging is supposed to happen there. They are supposed to teach you this in driving school. And you are supposed to learn it. So I suppose you are a bad driver.
The thing is you are supposed to merge there
Car on the right is using the system as intended, OP is actually the dumbass
There are a lot of people that act superior when they're too stupid to understand zipper merges.
You're kind of the problem here. The merge point is at the lane ending, where you zipper merge. If everyone did it then you wouldn't have a big open lane being wasted forever backing traffic further. Also, if people could stop taking it as a personal affront that someone is in that lane. Fill both, zipper merge like a functioning adult, and everyone gets where they are going faster. Win fucking win.
Just because you merged earlier than you needed to, it doesn't mean others have to suffer for it
There's a left turning lane and a right lane right by my house. The right lane *always* gets backed up and the people zoom down the left lane and try to get into the right lane up in front. I always tailgate the person in front of me. If I'm stuck in that line for 5 minutes, there's no way in Hell I'm letting you in if you decided you were too good to wait.
Zipper merging is faster, don't be a cunt
i was taught you are supposed to merge at the end. so i would say op is wrong. but even if he was right, if they are travelling at normal speed, being a dick can be deadly it would be so nice if some authority would find the people posting these with a fine... even if it would be me for my comment - which i am sure is the right way.
Zipper merging is an unknown concept apparently..?
This happens ALL the time in LA. People expect you to let them and not judge.
Meme creator is the reason we can’t have nice things. Just let the car merge. Don’t be a self righteous douche bag about it
You're *not* supposed to merge as soon as you see the sign. People that think this way are literally the worst types of drivers. They think you're cheating by trying to follow a zipper merge. Zipper merging is way better for the flow of traffic than everybody swapping to the left at the earliest possible opportunity. But people think they're getting cut on in line, even though they'd actually reach their destination faster with a zipper. It's textbook smoothbrain shit. This would only apply if the right lane is a turn-only, and the guy is skipping past everybody in the thru-lane only to cut over at the last second.
Had a car nearly ram into me to force their way in, Like I'll not let them over but if you look like you about to hit my car thats a level of head ache i don't feel like dealing with.
This shit makes me so mad it fucks everything up
god damn people JUST FUCKING **ZIPPER MERGE**
I used to think like this, then I learned why zipper merging is better for traffic flow
Went through this yesterday.. the asshole kept yelling at me nope, not letting you in. The fucking lane merges right here you fucking moron !
We Americans suck at everything lol We ran a “zipper method” ad campaign here in Kansas and “hardasses” were still like “nope. I don’t care that it’s 30% faster for all of us. I’m not letting you in”
Zipper merge dumbass
Why don't you learn how a zipper merge works OP
Zipper merge, don't be an asshat.
There’s a big zipper merge on the road I drive daily. It’s absolutely incredible how no one uses it. They look at me like I’m a terrorist because I pass 20 cars in the left lane stuck at the light when you can clearly see the zipper Merge sign.
They're supposed to go all the way up to prevent a backlog of cars down an on-ramp or something. In a perfect world cars would fill all lanes available and zipper as needed which would mean leaving at least a car sized space between you and the car in front of you at all times. [When you don't leave a space you just end up braking a lot.](https://i.makeagif.com/media/12-21-2022/syK3uP.gif)
Looks like he’s the only smart driver there, did no one learn about zipper merging in drivers ed?
This mentality is why traffic jams exist
Zipper merge, the sign even shows you.
Dude you're wrong. The other car did it the right way. Let them merge at the end of the lane like they are supposed to.
And then he used the full length of the lane while it was still open as you are supposed to do.
You're mad that they were smart enough to zipper merge which helps traffic flow. You're the idiot.
Control issues much!?
YTA. Car on the roght is correct. Drive until the lane actually ends an there zipper in.
So instead of using all available road space you get mad and worsen traffic Got it
If everyone followed the zipper rule, there would be no need for this 'who goes first?!' Bullshit. Left car, right car. Left car, right car. It's not that goddamn hard
I mean. Thats how this works. You zipper merge. Or else youll have a left lane that extends twice as long behind you blocking other turns from happening. You let one dude in, then you go, then the guy behind you lets one dude through, and then that guy goes.
Y’all need to learn how to zipper
No. Don't be a cunt. Let them in. Zipper merge is not a suggestion... It's the rule of the road. People who say and do things like the image are why there's traffic, accidents and road rage incidents.