• NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    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

    • Nougat@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      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.

      • fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com
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        1 year ago

        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.

        • Nougat@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          The United States has a strong general culture of “I got mine, fuck you.” That is certainly playing a part in this thread.

      • howsetheraven@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        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.

        • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          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.

        • Nougat@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          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.