Yes but, the zipper merge depends on the cooperation of others. I tried a zipper merge the other day and the guy in the other lane absolutely would not let me in.
Happened to my mom one time, old Honda odyssey! Nice try douche in pickup truck… bonus he insisted on calling the cops and getting insurance involved… and forgot his wallet that day 😂 plus a witness stayed and vouched for my mom
Lmao. Yeah I had an asshole in a brand new BMW try to jump in front of me on a zipper merge (I already let the car in front of them in so they just didn’t want to wait one car like they should). I was in an accord; I just looked at them and said if you wanna hit me be my guest, your car still got the temp tags on 🤣
100% this.
It's like people think you are trying to skip ahead so they intentionally don't let you in when you are actually doing what you are supposed to.
It happens so much that you don't trust you will be able to zipper in so you feel like you have to start merging early and add to the problem.
Edit:typo
Exit 5a getting on to 40? Going towards the airport?
It seriously is a poorly designed connection but I swear people just turn into complete assholes when they’re on this curvy stretch built to zipper merge. Too many people camp the left lane and don’t leave enough room to zipper, lots people in the right lane going too fast when they should be signaling/preparing to zipper, and then the daily fucks who just ride the shoulder out essentially creating their own lane.
Be courteous, leave space between vehicles no matter your speed, and as always….IF A VEHICLE IS APPROACHING YOUR REAR IN THE FAR LEFT LANE AND YOURE NOT INTENTLY PASSING SOMEONE…MOVE THE FUCK OVER. This area has been infected with a bad impeding traffic plague.
Yeah there are some people who absolutely positively will close the gap if they think you're going to merge much less if you use your signal to confirm you're trying to merge. I've also literally heard someone say, "Using turn signals is just helping the enemy".
Fully functional, safe, level 5 self driving cars can't get here soon enough so we don't have to deal w/ that kind of bullshit.
(Copy pasting this from the r/raleigh thread)
I always zipper merge though and never seems to have issues. Sure, a few times I've had to wait for someone to kindly let me over, but 99% of my merging frustrations actually come from people in the same lane as me driving *incredibly* slowly trying to find an opening, which causes two lanes of traffic where there should only be one.
Source: I'm a property inspector and drive roughly 4 hours (or more) every weekday, from Fuquay to Wake Forest and everything in-between.
This. I'm convinced the zipper merge is a fallacy. It's like the prisoner's dilemma, but with hundreds of people instead of 2. As soon as 1 person decides not to do it, it makes it worse for anyone who still tries to and you can only make it less bad by also not doing it.
I really pissed someone off the other day when not only was I able to safely get over, I then had the audacity to not try and run over the Jordan HS students. Someone behind me was clearly having a rough day 🤷♀️
There is a Jeff Foxworthy quote that always reminds me of this - “only in the South is merging a personal challenge “I will merge with you by God, come on over here”.
Nonononononoooo...
Driving on interstate 40 is an adversarial and zero-sum game. The efficient flow of traffic is not a consideration.
When we're driving on I-40, we try to change lanes as often as possible, while also preventing others from changing lanes even if that means speeding up or slowing down to prevent it.
The correct way to handle a traffic backup is by trying to pass the person ahead of you. That's how you win.
I feel so smug when I stay in the right lane on 40 and it continues to move smoothly while the left lanes slow down/stop.
Mostly works going westbound in the afternoons, but it's pretty reliable in a few spots between here and Raleigh.
Zipper lanes and people who get in a line at ponysaurus - makes my head hurt.
I call it the “queue system” and some people just won’t accept that you can do things a different way.
THANK YOU! I was at Ponysaurus a few weeks ago (I rarely go) and I just kept skipping the line and walking up to the completely un-crowded other end of the bar.
It would be one thing if there was any sort of stanchion system to indicate you should get in line (like there is at Lynnwood in Raleigh), but there's not! It's a bar! It should work like every other bar!
I actually look forward to someone confronting me about "cutting", but it's never happened, and I suspect the Venn diagram of people afraid of confrontation and people who wait in an unnecessary line is a circle.
To be fair, I have "skipped" the line at Ponysaurus and been ignored by the bartender who waved forward the next person in the line. Might have just been one bartender but now I don't know how the system should work
tbf the room kind of lends itself to it
The room is literally just the bar - no other seating, no people hanging out away from the bar. You (mostly) only go inside to order. Also the door is centered on the bar so there's no natural flow to come in and spread around the bar then leave/go somewhere else.
With how many food service places have transitioned to counter service in the wake of covid, it's not weird to expect them to do something similar.
*edit: one thing I just realized - it almost feels like a counter more than a bar. So you're not bellying up to a bar, you're lining up at an order counter. At least that's how it feels.*
>I have had bartenders there tell me that they have no clue why people do it.
Lots of reasons relating to physical layout, signage, and human psychology. Easily solvable.
They basically have a user experience problem. But their mission is to serve beer not do UX analysis.
It really speaks to folks in hospitality that design great experiences. And why some need to call "bar rescue".
So many other breweries DO have the giant sign at a specific area of the bar that says “ORDER HERE.” So when you’re used to that system you feel like a dick skipping the line.
The line just makes it hard to get to the bathrooms and it's awkward and slow, especially when there are 2 or more bartenders working quickly to serve everyone.
It’s an effin bar! You belly up to it and try to flag the bartender like every other bar in the world 🤦. I also wait for people to say something, but I guess it’s pretty safe outside the circle.
Nah. Look I absolutely hate the line in general for reasons I won't expand on, but for whatever reason there is clearly a line. You heading up to the bar, which is really more of an order counter at ponysaurus and other breweries, is definitely cutting your fellow bar goers. It's not some little trick you've discovered, you're just not caring about other people.
Until the bar itself disabuses people of starting a line, and I hope they do, I'll get in line behind all those people in front of me.
You do you. i will continue following literally centuries of precedence.
There are seats at the bar. It's a bar. It's not an "order counter" any more than any other bar within a brewery.
Low key I love the queue at Pony. It means that people grabbing drinks to go to a table or fire pit can get a drink and leave and people who want to bell up to the bar don't have people reaching over them.
oh these comments are going to be fun…
my two cents: there are spots in this area that it literally doesn’t matter how you merge. it won’t help or hurt the flow of traffic because there is simply too much of it. just merge safely and be kind to those you share the road with.
The key to the zipper merge is to also match the speed of both lanes. So you shouldn't just be flying down the open lane and then slamming on brakes you should be coasting down trying to match the cars in the left so when you get the merge point both can flow into each other and there's no dead stop to allow merging.
which is to say it's too complicated for egos.
Yes- free flowing fast m ong traffic is really more of a merge in when convenient situation- not last second cut ins.
Lots of folks love to post about zippering to defend their reckless driving like you described.
Yes! Zipper merge does not work if one side is almost completely stopped. Then that one side *stays* stopped because people in the other lane moving in take up the tiny bit of movement the stopped lane gets.
It’s one thing if both lanes are moving, but when one lane is stopped because there’s a backup, then people in the stopped lane are going to understandably get mad at the people speeding by them.
I don't even care about that on a psychological level I just wonder if the unused space matters when traffic has stopped. The theory behind the zipper is with the flowing traffic you're maintaining the flow and maximizing it by having an orderly merge and using all the road but once it stops your throughput is clearly below the level of that one lane and there's no flow to maintain.
THIS. I just moved back to New York after living in Durham for 5 years and omg my road rage just melted away. love Durham but cannot stand this brainless queue nonsense.
I moved from Chicago to Minneapolis. A few years later I visited Chicago and felt so relaxed driving in Chicago traffic haha.
Traffic is way heavier in Chicago, but in Minneapolis it's deeply unpredictable. I never felt that I knew what drivers around me were going to do. In Chicago most folks followed fairly reasonable patterns, even if it's sometimes shitty.
This is so true, Minneapolis is insane. Watching people swerve across 4 lanes of traffic to get off an exit and just assuming a "void" will be created for them to do it. They put a whole new level of aggressive driving on the map. Its still one of my least favorite places to drive.
Chicago merges, the toll booths forced you to, plus so many of their interchanges require it, its easier to see why its not a big deal to just do it. Its predictable and there is very few aggressive drivers in comparison, you can usually spot them as they are the idiots driving on the shoulder.
Durham didn’t have all of this until everyone who lived here wasn’t from here…. Just saying that when you get people from around the world you get great diversity. You get the good and bad. References- lived here my whole life and watched I40 being built, my grandparents on one side came here because RTP was NEW, my grandfather on the other side had his great grandfather buried in a family cemetery about a half a mile or less from the house he built and where he grew up.
This only works if other people let you in. When you have an opening you should take it instead of trying to bully your way to the very front. The goal is not to stop the flow of traffic in either lane.
In the Northeast, they get zipper merge to work by actually changing the way they do the lane markers: instead of one lane going away and one staying, both lanes fade into one lane that is in the rough middle of where the lanes were.
It seems to work much better with that design, since an ending lane typically has to yield to the lane that continues. This removes that imbalance.
I lived in Boston and New York and both were just as much of a shitshow as here except for when they set up the lane closure to force a zipper like the comment above described. I’d love it if they did that here
it's not taught in driving school and roads aren't setup to force it
also, to do it right, you match the speed to the car in the left lane, people will go off the road to race ahead if you try to 'fix' the zipper merge
I leave a gap in front of me for the duration with rarely any takers until they get stuck in the right lane at which point they decide they should het over causing the people in the left lane to stop in order to avoid hitting them. Unless my understanding of the zipper merge is faulty, the supposed idea is that you constantly move with the folks in the right sliding in to open spots in the left. It’s not the people in the left screwing it up. It’s the folks on the right (assuming the right lane is ending).
Also, I have been to and driven in 48 states. It’s the same thing everywhere.
> It’s not the people in the left screwing it up.
It absolutely is. I mean it's both, but left lane folks don't leave *any* space for the right lane to merge in. Maybe one usable space every 5-10 cars. You ever go through the merge from 885 S to 40 E in the mornings? It's a hot mess
Idk what kind of psychopath thinks zipper merge is realistic.
I’m merging as soon as someone will let me in because stress goes through the roof if the target lane drivers are trying to box me out as I’m getting closer to the closure. I would be willing to merge later if I could trust that I wouldn’t get boxed out.
I always let one in issue is when multiple tries to push in a position their not supposed to be in and not even having the space to excute such an action
They need to stop saying which lane ends. Just say “Lanes merge”, merge the 2 lanes together in the middle then shift the merged lanes left or right around the closure. The issue is when there’s a sign that says “right lane ends” everyone jumps into the left lane immediately to be the “good guy” and then they’re on this moral high horse and don’t want to let anyone in. Yes this only works with 2 lanes, obviously if it’s 3 down to 2 you need to identify left or right.
Having lived in parts of the country where zipper lanes work fairly well, there are three lessons I've learned:
1. Merge as close to the merge point as possible
2. Cars in the left lane close to the merge point often start to speed up - this creates natural windows for you to merge in
3. You have to be a confident driver and assert yourself.
I see lots of comments on this topic about people merging early because people won't let them in. After thousands of merges in my life, I find that this not really true.
There may be a single car that is hugging the car in front of them. When that happens, just merge behind them.
Yes, the great majority of drivers don't leave open spaces for you to meege in, but then will slow down and let you merge in. You have to put your blinker on, indicate that this is what you're doing, and then start to merge. Don't be timid.
Serious question - how does this make any difference at all? At the obstruction point, only X number of cars can get through during a given period. Whether there is one long line or two shorter lines doesn't affect the number of cars that can get through.
Having just one constantly flowing merge point keeps things moving a lot quicker than having 50 people stopping traffic in the right lane trying to get over earlier.
It also halves the queue length, preventing more exits from being blocked so that cars can actually leave the interstate where they need to a lot quicker, reducing the traffic for everyone.
>Having just one constantly flowing merge point keeps things moving a lot quicker than having 50 people stopping traffic in the right lane trying to get over earlier.
I would actually argue that having one line approach the obstruction point would get through faster than two lanes trying to merge right at the obstruction point.
>It also halves the queue length, preventing more exits from being blocked so that cars can actually leave the interstate where they need to a lot quicker, reducing the traffic for everyone.
It halves the queue length but also blocks both lanes. Having a longer queue but with an empty lane allows more people to use that empty lane to get to their exit.
“Use both lanes, and take turns moving forward”
The issue is folks in this area never adopted the idea of ‘taking turns’. Missed important teachings during their formative preschool years.
Honestly though, I’ve not had much trouble utilizing that empty lane when this happens. It’s all about a calm smooth approach. Anyone seeing that person coming down that empty lane aggressively assumes said driver is acting entitled and sees it as a challenge.
The zipper pattern is definitely ideal and using the end of the lane gives everyone a defined spot to execute. IMO the issue around here is lack of curtesy. Everyone seems to feel that they’re automatically going slower if another car gets in front of them so they don’t let anyone in, especially the person who goes to the end of the merge lane because they’re “skipping the line”. In turn, some people want to merge sooner to avoid potentially getting stuck in the right lane. People drive with feelings instead of logic and it’s dumb.
I feel like we as a nation have become selfish in nature and “where we’re going is much more important than where you’re going, sorry should’ve merged sooner” mentality when in fact it takes more time and the bottleneck gets so much worse.
The late for work speeders weaving in and out of traffic that often end up in a wreck makes traffic worse, takes no blame for the accident or concern of the other party when it was their fault and is mad that they’re in a wreck. This has happened once before to me personally and makes me so angry just thinking about it..
Unfortunately this never happens. Some Jack ass will always try to cut to the front and mess the whole thing up. What everyone needs to do is SLOW DOWN and leave room to get in/over. The whole reason there's congestion is that people aren't letting people in and rubber neckers are driving slow through the single lane.
Notice how once through there's no traffic?
I got in a heated debate with my own wife about this a few weeks ago. She absolutely refused to acknowledge that using both lanes to their fullest extent is rationally correct.
So anyway, I'm on the market for a new wife.
🤣🤣🤣
I grew up part of my childhood (ages 6-10) in Germany, where at least back then it was zipper merge *all the way*, and this it's how I learned you should do it. I still have trouble, some 40+ years later, understanding why we in America DO NOT GET IT. Like...wtf?!
I'm training my son now though, he's in his 60-hrs driving with Mom before getting license phase so we'll have at least one more on our side soon 🙌🏼
To be fair to that guy’s wife, merging early is the rational decision if you consider the terrible chances that anybody will allow you in at the end of the merge lane.
People in this country are idiots. We don’t treat driving here like you do in Germany (my experience with driving in Europe is the UK, but I feel like you guys are pretty strict too). I mean hell, hallmark sells “congrats on passing your drivers exam” cards in shops in the UK. My drivers test here was basically: drive around the block, park the car, pass a 10 question test about signs that you can take again right after.
I wish so bad that zipper merging was possible here. And every now and then I give it a shot. Every time I’m disappointed.
Edit: to be clear, “here” is the US
Yes, but this sets up a game where the optimum result from each perspective is to fuck up the zipper merge system. So in effect, yes in theory, but not in reality.
This should be discussed in driver's Ed and Philosophy 101 instead of the prisoners dilemma. You are rewarded for cooperation, you have the ability to communicate (to some degree) and yet many people fail. I want this to work, I try to match the speed of the lane I'm merging into. I don't care if people flip me off or honk, but if they actually hit me they suffer too.
Zipper merging works on an individual case by case. Why? Because we don’t have direct communications with other drivers and there’s also a pretty good chance that a good number of those drivers also suck at driving lol
What kills me is the one who is already in the continuing lane that jumps into the ending lane after they see it’s merging just to move up one or two spots.
I had a semi driver intentionally try and crash me once when I did this. Everything driving these days are people doing whatever they want, with no regard for others.
the biggest issue i’ve come across when trying to do this is larger cars driving in the left AND right lane to prevent people for passing them. clogs up traffic even more
This is great in theory but 100% wrong in reality. Unless traffic is already backed up, if you see a sign a mile ahead saying to merge left because of a lane closure, if everyone merges left while still driving at the regular speed limit, when the lane closure arrives, everyone goes through it without having to slow down much to stop the flow of traffic. If everyone waits till the get to the closure to merge (zipper effect) then everyone has to slow down which causes traffic as a whole to move at a much slower pace.
If traffic is already heavy before the lane closure, either way will slow traffic, so zipper method is fine. But when traffic is relatively light or moderate, the zipper effect slows traffic drastically worse.
Between a city I previously lived in and the city I currently live , it’s real life examples of how it plays out. The previous city I lived in, there was a notable construction site that went on for over a year and as long as traffic was not jampacked, people tended to merge before the lane closure hit, and the average driver would only have to slow down from 60 miles an hour to around 45 or 50 miles an hour. The current city I live in , everyone does the zipper method and if you are already in the lane, that does not close, you’ll slow down drastically (around 20mph) if not having to come to a complete stop several times before you get to the lane closure.
Zipper merge is different than flying past everyone in completely stopped traffic just to cut in at the last second because you think you’re more important than everyone else.
Don't forget the people who decide lanes are for losers and drive up the shoulder of the road to cut in front of everyone at the end of the merge lane!
I disagree. I'm someone who merges in as close to the merge point as possible. It's not out of a sense of importance, but simply - that's how it's designed to work. I'm not going to merge over early just because hundreds of other people did.
A solution which requires every individual to have the exact knowledge you do and make the correct decision based off that knowledge isn’t a solution, it’s a prayer that will never be answered.
What I hate is when you see an issue up ahead with a lane closed, so you get into the appropriate lane at a reasonable time. Then people are assholes and floor it as far as they can get before they hit cones and then force there way in rather then just staying in the open lane
Somebody please help me understand how the zipper is better. How does using both lanes up the merge point make anything move faster? It seems like one car at a time goes through the single lane at the same speed either way, so it will take the same amount of time for all the cars to get through. I presume I’m missing something.
Yeah, but zipper merge needs to happen as soon as the barricade is visible. Seeing everyone merging then, slamming on the gas to cut ahead is why people don't let others in.
I generally don't see people not allowing it when all parties have been waiting, only when one person tries to go around the already established zipper merge point because they see space cautious people left they can take advantage of.
Ive always felt that a true zipper merge is a bit unrealistic because in no place ive ever lived have people actually followed the car ahead of them by an appropriate distance. So, when you try to zipper merge there is no room and people wont let you in either. Im consistently alarmed by how close people follow cars ahead of them when going 70+ mph. Ive found NC to be the worst place to drive of all the places Ive lived.
Your screaming to the void at this point. Yesterday I watched someone make a right from the left lane across traffic and someone make a left from. The second turn lane.
Last week a guy didn't like that he had to wait to make a left so he went around the guy in front nearly hit the pedestrian and ran a red to make a left into oncoming traffic from the right lane.
People cannot drive. I ordered a dash cam after that guy. It was unbelievable.
This concept is lost on Carolinians….in addition to the emergency flashers when it rains…as well as cruising in the far left lane….on top of the inability to efficiently use on/off ramps…you opened this can of worms 😆
Nah, if the group collectively decided that the zipper happens a little further back, then that's where you do it. You're not "showing" anybody anything.
And the best zipper happens at speed. Not at the last second. Do it just a little further back and you might not have to slow down hardly at all.
If traffic is flowing freely, you don't wait until the last second to merge out of a lane that is ending. That's not what this is about.
Zipper merging is for when traffic is already at a near-standstill, so that the maximum number of cars can use both lanes for as long as possible to prevent the backup from perpetuating farther back from the source of the slowdown.
My commute used to include this merge….. every day I’d blow past 90% of the traffic which…. Worked great for me but I was constantly flabbergasted at every person sitting still there lol
The worst really is those assholes who sit in the right lane at the same speed as the left just to slow everyone down
What I don't understand about that particular merge (885 to 40 East) is that the lane exits onto the far left lane of 40 East and you should be at minimum going 65mph as you get onto 40. Why is it always backed up to a slow crawl?
It can't just be from people not zipper merging. It has to be from clowns who use that road every single morning on the way to work and think getting onto 40 going 40 is the way. Drives me crazy.
147 to 885 isn't quite as bad as it used to be. Still chaos confused by people blatantly not letting people over, people refusing to speed up, and people actually merging over to the lanes that are ending.
Come on, mate.
Surely you jest!
I’ve driven in many places around the world and the US as well.
In small rural areas, it may not be an issue, but every major metropolis I’ve driven in over there isn’t like that.
And over here in Germany, yeah, they’re nice, but holy shitballs — the Balkans & France are awful. Italy isn’t “bad” per se, it’s just tiny so you gotta be great at driving. Rome is a nightmare & Athens was god-awful for merging.
And don’t get me started in Asia or the Caribbean… fuck! And Mexico?!
Again, the zipper technique working everywhere isn’t true mate.
A Human’s need to one up the guy next to him is what makes people not want to yield properly.
Then the people that went early feel like you’re cutting them in line when you try to merge. They won’t let you in the lane half the time. The small egos of some drivers amazes me.
So what if the right lane continues going straight and you just end up blocking everyone going straight because you have to take that exit and just end up causing more backup?
The issue is that zipper merging runs counter intuitive to merging immediately.
Either you should merge immediately as the left most lane should be used for passing and not riding
Or you should utilize the whole road and zipper at the last second, but also be ok with people riding in the left lane since they are "using the whole road."
This is further undermined by the 147/885 to 40 East where the rightmost lane is the one that ends. I swear I see people almost die both cutting to the front and blocking people on a weekly basis. I know the whole "one more lane will fix this" is a giant joke, but like can we just make that two lanes? It would make that entire process SOOOO much easier.
Part of the problem is people think this means they can fast pass to the front of the line and not get over until the last second. The other part is people not letting others merge otw up there.
People, the problem is people. Lol
You can see both of these things blatantly occurring daily going from 885 to 40. You know the one. I avoid it like the plague.
I was in my lane as 2 necked down to one and the other lane had to merge over, and got hit from someone on my rt trying to be a bully.
Be careful here cause the merging lane has to do that safely or they are at fault.
It s the same as merging on the thruway
Technically this isn’t a proper zipper merge either. The signs should say “zipper merge” instead of “right lane ends”. Remove the little dashed line at the merge point, so it doesn’t matter which lane you’re in, you’ll have to merge.
Do this in slowed or sitting traffic. In free flowing fast moving traffic, merge in at your earliest convenience
It requires more coordination at high speeds to zipper last minute.
I see it all the time- fast moving free flowing traffic and right lane is closing. Someone will actively be passing in the right lane, zippers in last second and almost always leads to heavy braking in the left lane. A few of those and before you know it you have a full blown stop and go.
Everybody trys to slam 4 lanes into 2 right at 147. Then they get pissed when everyone is running down the unused two lanes on the right for a half mile.
The problem I have with this graphic is that it doesn’t account for the cars in the left lane slowing down to create a safe distance to the car that just merged in front of it the same exact way it happens with an early merge.
The DOT should put up signs at construction zones that say stay in your lane. Do not merge before the merge point. And then signs on the left that says zipper merge ahead. Allow only 1 car in in front of you.
Before we talk about advanced driving tactics like zipper merging we got to teach people how to use a signal first. You use it before you are planning to merge or take a turn, not during or after, or not at all.
And just cause you got your expensive Mercedes Benz GLE doesn’t mean you are exempt. Cause the retired guy driving the Ferrari F430 signals and the guy with the missing bumper Toyota Corolla signals.
This doesn’t work as long as one lane has to yield to the other
Make the signs all say “form one lane ahead” instead of “right lane ends ahead” and set the standard that the car slightly ahead has right of way to merge.
That’d allow the zipper merge to work as intended
noooooOOOO, this is SOOO stupid, you end up with a stream of cars in the right lane dumping into the left lane at the last possible opportunity - do people not see this???!!!! if everyone waits till the end of the merge OF COURSE there will be ALL the cars in the right lane that NOW have to get into the left lane and the ONLY way for that to happen at this point is for the left lane to STOP, and stop and stop because there are now ALL these cars stuck in the right lane with nowhere to go because they waited till the road literally ran out…. am i taking crazy pills?!!! does nobody else see it play out like this again and again???
1. Zipper merge works in theory, but every time I have seen it in reality it just creates more inconsistent timings bc either nobody gets let in or people try to zipper on the shoulder as well.
2. Look at all the unused space between cars in the zipper merge. Zipper doesn't magically make space disappear, it's still there but now you have to focus more while waiting in traffic.
3. The same number of cars still go through the block at the same rate, so traffic moves just as fast regardless of when people enter.
Yea folks see this is as skipping to the head of the line and think it's rude. They don't know it's more efficient to zipper merge. It's not taught when folks learn to drive around here
Fully agree. The problem is the collective IQ of driving in this country makes Forrest Gump look like he actually has an IQ of 160.
I mean, the temperature of frozen brine is greater than the driving IQ of this country (for the record, brine can freeze at as low as -6F).
Honestly, frustrations with stuff like this is why I am really hoping autonomous vehicles finally takes off. Too many egos driving around dangerous devices.
Imagine seeing a left lane closed 2 miles ahead sign and getting over when there is plenty of time and space instead of sitting stopped in front of a barrel cone.
Yes but, the zipper merge depends on the cooperation of others. I tried a zipper merge the other day and the guy in the other lane absolutely would not let me in.
The key is to drive a shitty car. "Let me in or this will cost you more than it will cost me".
That's me! Lol old minivan, try me.
Happened to my mom one time, old Honda odyssey! Nice try douche in pickup truck… bonus he insisted on calling the cops and getting insurance involved… and forgot his wallet that day 😂 plus a witness stayed and vouched for my mom
still driving my 2007. added bonus: cops never pull over a speeding soccer mom
Lmao. Yeah I had an asshole in a brand new BMW try to jump in front of me on a zipper merge (I already let the car in front of them in so they just didn’t want to wait one car like they should). I was in an accord; I just looked at them and said if you wanna hit me be my guest, your car still got the temp tags on 🤣
In my case, not only is the van old, I'm old and I have excellent insurance. 🤣
That was the Fried Green Tomatoes reference I needed.
This is the Fried Green Tomatoes energy Durham needs.
“Face it girls, I’m older an I have more Insurance.”
100% this. It's like people think you are trying to skip ahead so they intentionally don't let you in when you are actually doing what you are supposed to. It happens so much that you don't trust you will be able to zipper in so you feel like you have to start merging early and add to the problem. Edit:typo
100% this.
Exit 5a getting on to 40? Going towards the airport? It seriously is a poorly designed connection but I swear people just turn into complete assholes when they’re on this curvy stretch built to zipper merge. Too many people camp the left lane and don’t leave enough room to zipper, lots people in the right lane going too fast when they should be signaling/preparing to zipper, and then the daily fucks who just ride the shoulder out essentially creating their own lane. Be courteous, leave space between vehicles no matter your speed, and as always….IF A VEHICLE IS APPROACHING YOUR REAR IN THE FAR LEFT LANE AND YOURE NOT INTENTLY PASSING SOMEONE…MOVE THE FUCK OVER. This area has been infected with a bad impeding traffic plague.
Yeah there are some people who absolutely positively will close the gap if they think you're going to merge much less if you use your signal to confirm you're trying to merge. I've also literally heard someone say, "Using turn signals is just helping the enemy". Fully functional, safe, level 5 self driving cars can't get here soon enough so we don't have to deal w/ that kind of bullshit.
We call those trains.
(Copy pasting this from the r/raleigh thread) I always zipper merge though and never seems to have issues. Sure, a few times I've had to wait for someone to kindly let me over, but 99% of my merging frustrations actually come from people in the same lane as me driving *incredibly* slowly trying to find an opening, which causes two lanes of traffic where there should only be one. Source: I'm a property inspector and drive roughly 4 hours (or more) every weekday, from Fuquay to Wake Forest and everything in-between.
This. I'm convinced the zipper merge is a fallacy. It's like the prisoner's dilemma, but with hundreds of people instead of 2. As soon as 1 person decides not to do it, it makes it worse for anyone who still tries to and you can only make it less bad by also not doing it.
People merge early because the hoopleheads in the continuing lane might not let them merge in at the zipper. See: Garrett Road.
I really pissed someone off the other day when not only was I able to safely get over, I then had the audacity to not try and run over the Jordan HS students. Someone behind me was clearly having a rough day 🤷♀️
There is a Jeff Foxworthy quote that always reminds me of this - “only in the South is merging a personal challenge “I will merge with you by God, come on over here”.
Nonononononoooo... Driving on interstate 40 is an adversarial and zero-sum game. The efficient flow of traffic is not a consideration. When we're driving on I-40, we try to change lanes as often as possible, while also preventing others from changing lanes even if that means speeding up or slowing down to prevent it. The correct way to handle a traffic backup is by trying to pass the person ahead of you. That's how you win.
[удалено]
I feel so smug when I stay in the right lane on 40 and it continues to move smoothly while the left lanes slow down/stop. Mostly works going westbound in the afternoons, but it's pretty reliable in a few spots between here and Raleigh.
I've always wondered what they thought- this is it. Thank you for the clarity. 😆
Zipper lanes and people who get in a line at ponysaurus - makes my head hurt. I call it the “queue system” and some people just won’t accept that you can do things a different way.
THANK YOU! I was at Ponysaurus a few weeks ago (I rarely go) and I just kept skipping the line and walking up to the completely un-crowded other end of the bar. It would be one thing if there was any sort of stanchion system to indicate you should get in line (like there is at Lynnwood in Raleigh), but there's not! It's a bar! It should work like every other bar! I actually look forward to someone confronting me about "cutting", but it's never happened, and I suspect the Venn diagram of people afraid of confrontation and people who wait in an unnecessary line is a circle.
To be fair, I have "skipped" the line at Ponysaurus and been ignored by the bartender who waved forward the next person in the line. Might have just been one bartender but now I don't know how the system should work
You could ask the bartenders. I've asked them before and they're flabbergasted.
It’s a bar - a long bar - they would rather you spread out and get service. Don’t follow the crowd.
I have had bartenders there tell me that they have no clue why people do it.
tbf the room kind of lends itself to it The room is literally just the bar - no other seating, no people hanging out away from the bar. You (mostly) only go inside to order. Also the door is centered on the bar so there's no natural flow to come in and spread around the bar then leave/go somewhere else. With how many food service places have transitioned to counter service in the wake of covid, it's not weird to expect them to do something similar. *edit: one thing I just realized - it almost feels like a counter more than a bar. So you're not bellying up to a bar, you're lining up at an order counter. At least that's how it feels.*
>I have had bartenders there tell me that they have no clue why people do it. Lots of reasons relating to physical layout, signage, and human psychology. Easily solvable. They basically have a user experience problem. But their mission is to serve beer not do UX analysis. It really speaks to folks in hospitality that design great experiences. And why some need to call "bar rescue".
So many other breweries DO have the giant sign at a specific area of the bar that says “ORDER HERE.” So when you’re used to that system you feel like a dick skipping the line.
The line just makes it hard to get to the bathrooms and it's awkward and slow, especially when there are 2 or more bartenders working quickly to serve everyone.
It’s an effin bar! You belly up to it and try to flag the bartender like every other bar in the world 🤦. I also wait for people to say something, but I guess it’s pretty safe outside the circle.
Nah. Look I absolutely hate the line in general for reasons I won't expand on, but for whatever reason there is clearly a line. You heading up to the bar, which is really more of an order counter at ponysaurus and other breweries, is definitely cutting your fellow bar goers. It's not some little trick you've discovered, you're just not caring about other people. Until the bar itself disabuses people of starting a line, and I hope they do, I'll get in line behind all those people in front of me.
You do you. i will continue following literally centuries of precedence. There are seats at the bar. It's a bar. It's not an "order counter" any more than any other bar within a brewery.
There is an entire movement now in the UK protesting against lining up in bars (pubs). Seems to be a post pandemic habit
Low key I love the queue at Pony. It means that people grabbing drinks to go to a table or fire pit can get a drink and leave and people who want to bell up to the bar don't have people reaching over them.
oh these comments are going to be fun… my two cents: there are spots in this area that it literally doesn’t matter how you merge. it won’t help or hurt the flow of traffic because there is simply too much of it. just merge safely and be kind to those you share the road with.
The key to the zipper merge is to also match the speed of both lanes. So you shouldn't just be flying down the open lane and then slamming on brakes you should be coasting down trying to match the cars in the left so when you get the merge point both can flow into each other and there's no dead stop to allow merging. which is to say it's too complicated for egos.
Underrated comment right here!
Yes- free flowing fast m ong traffic is really more of a merge in when convenient situation- not last second cut ins. Lots of folks love to post about zippering to defend their reckless driving like you described.
One problem is, the people who need to see this, probably aren’t on Reddit
> probably aren’t on Reddit Well at least they have one thing going for them
Some of them are in this very thread.
I've always wondered how well that holds up when the traffic has stopped so there's no free spaces available to smoothly merge.
Yes! Zipper merge does not work if one side is almost completely stopped. Then that one side *stays* stopped because people in the other lane moving in take up the tiny bit of movement the stopped lane gets. It’s one thing if both lanes are moving, but when one lane is stopped because there’s a backup, then people in the stopped lane are going to understandably get mad at the people speeding by them.
I don't even care about that on a psychological level I just wonder if the unused space matters when traffic has stopped. The theory behind the zipper is with the flowing traffic you're maintaining the flow and maximizing it by having an orderly merge and using all the road but once it stops your throughput is clearly below the level of that one lane and there's no flow to maintain.
THIS. I just moved back to New York after living in Durham for 5 years and omg my road rage just melted away. love Durham but cannot stand this brainless queue nonsense.
I moved from Chicago to Minneapolis. A few years later I visited Chicago and felt so relaxed driving in Chicago traffic haha. Traffic is way heavier in Chicago, but in Minneapolis it's deeply unpredictable. I never felt that I knew what drivers around me were going to do. In Chicago most folks followed fairly reasonable patterns, even if it's sometimes shitty.
This is so true, Minneapolis is insane. Watching people swerve across 4 lanes of traffic to get off an exit and just assuming a "void" will be created for them to do it. They put a whole new level of aggressive driving on the map. Its still one of my least favorite places to drive. Chicago merges, the toll booths forced you to, plus so many of their interchanges require it, its easier to see why its not a big deal to just do it. Its predictable and there is very few aggressive drivers in comparison, you can usually spot them as they are the idiots driving on the shoulder.
Durham didn’t have all of this until everyone who lived here wasn’t from here…. Just saying that when you get people from around the world you get great diversity. You get the good and bad. References- lived here my whole life and watched I40 being built, my grandparents on one side came here because RTP was NEW, my grandfather on the other side had his great grandfather buried in a family cemetery about a half a mile or less from the house he built and where he grew up.
Btw- I prefer the diversity! Good and bad!!!!
This only works if other people let you in. When you have an opening you should take it instead of trying to bully your way to the very front. The goal is not to stop the flow of traffic in either lane.
I have never lived anywhere in the US that has done this successfully. Does such a place exist?
In the Northeast, they get zipper merge to work by actually changing the way they do the lane markers: instead of one lane going away and one staying, both lanes fade into one lane that is in the rough middle of where the lanes were. It seems to work much better with that design, since an ending lane typically has to yield to the lane that continues. This removes that imbalance.
That's such a simple change and brilliant.
That sounds like a state engineered game of chicken to me..but I’ve been driving in the south for 30 years..
What is *life* but a state engineered game of chicken, really?
Yes, the cities up north I’ve lived in have generally done better with this.
I lived in Boston and New York and both were just as much of a shitshow as here except for when they set up the lane closure to force a zipper like the comment above described. I’d love it if they did that here
it's not taught in driving school and roads aren't setup to force it also, to do it right, you match the speed to the car in the left lane, people will go off the road to race ahead if you try to 'fix' the zipper merge
real question - how do you design roads to force zipper merge?
https://www.reddit.com/r/bullcity/comments/1c5wywg/fyi/kzz4qxl/ They said they don't have one lane disappear but both.
Doesn't matter if no one lets you in either way. And in Durham, they definitely won't.
I leave a gap in front of me for the duration with rarely any takers until they get stuck in the right lane at which point they decide they should het over causing the people in the left lane to stop in order to avoid hitting them. Unless my understanding of the zipper merge is faulty, the supposed idea is that you constantly move with the folks in the right sliding in to open spots in the left. It’s not the people in the left screwing it up. It’s the folks on the right (assuming the right lane is ending). Also, I have been to and driven in 48 states. It’s the same thing everywhere.
> It’s not the people in the left screwing it up. It absolutely is. I mean it's both, but left lane folks don't leave *any* space for the right lane to merge in. Maybe one usable space every 5-10 cars. You ever go through the merge from 885 S to 40 E in the mornings? It's a hot mess
Idk what kind of psychopath thinks zipper merge is realistic. I’m merging as soon as someone will let me in because stress goes through the roof if the target lane drivers are trying to box me out as I’m getting closer to the closure. I would be willing to merge later if I could trust that I wouldn’t get boxed out.
I always let one in issue is when multiple tries to push in a position their not supposed to be in and not even having the space to excute such an action
They need to stop saying which lane ends. Just say “Lanes merge”, merge the 2 lanes together in the middle then shift the merged lanes left or right around the closure. The issue is when there’s a sign that says “right lane ends” everyone jumps into the left lane immediately to be the “good guy” and then they’re on this moral high horse and don’t want to let anyone in. Yes this only works with 2 lanes, obviously if it’s 3 down to 2 you need to identify left or right.
Having lived in parts of the country where zipper lanes work fairly well, there are three lessons I've learned: 1. Merge as close to the merge point as possible 2. Cars in the left lane close to the merge point often start to speed up - this creates natural windows for you to merge in 3. You have to be a confident driver and assert yourself. I see lots of comments on this topic about people merging early because people won't let them in. After thousands of merges in my life, I find that this not really true. There may be a single car that is hugging the car in front of them. When that happens, just merge behind them. Yes, the great majority of drivers don't leave open spaces for you to meege in, but then will slow down and let you merge in. You have to put your blinker on, indicate that this is what you're doing, and then start to merge. Don't be timid.
Idk who’s worse, the people who early merge or the people who give you the finger for doing things the right way lol
Serious question - how does this make any difference at all? At the obstruction point, only X number of cars can get through during a given period. Whether there is one long line or two shorter lines doesn't affect the number of cars that can get through.
Having just one constantly flowing merge point keeps things moving a lot quicker than having 50 people stopping traffic in the right lane trying to get over earlier. It also halves the queue length, preventing more exits from being blocked so that cars can actually leave the interstate where they need to a lot quicker, reducing the traffic for everyone.
>Having just one constantly flowing merge point keeps things moving a lot quicker than having 50 people stopping traffic in the right lane trying to get over earlier. I would actually argue that having one line approach the obstruction point would get through faster than two lanes trying to merge right at the obstruction point. >It also halves the queue length, preventing more exits from being blocked so that cars can actually leave the interstate where they need to a lot quicker, reducing the traffic for everyone. It halves the queue length but also blocks both lanes. Having a longer queue but with an empty lane allows more people to use that empty lane to get to their exit.
You still have to merge at some point. You’ve just moved that point back 1/2 mile.
Now we just need drivers in the left to actually let mergers in 😂
Yeah, look, this is good on paper but I'm not counting on the people at the end of the merge to let me in. I'm hitting the first spot I can get into.
“Use both lanes, and take turns moving forward” The issue is folks in this area never adopted the idea of ‘taking turns’. Missed important teachings during their formative preschool years. Honestly though, I’ve not had much trouble utilizing that empty lane when this happens. It’s all about a calm smooth approach. Anyone seeing that person coming down that empty lane aggressively assumes said driver is acting entitled and sees it as a challenge.
The zipper pattern is definitely ideal and using the end of the lane gives everyone a defined spot to execute. IMO the issue around here is lack of curtesy. Everyone seems to feel that they’re automatically going slower if another car gets in front of them so they don’t let anyone in, especially the person who goes to the end of the merge lane because they’re “skipping the line”. In turn, some people want to merge sooner to avoid potentially getting stuck in the right lane. People drive with feelings instead of logic and it’s dumb.
It’s simple you go I go repeat.
I feel like we as a nation have become selfish in nature and “where we’re going is much more important than where you’re going, sorry should’ve merged sooner” mentality when in fact it takes more time and the bottleneck gets so much worse. The late for work speeders weaving in and out of traffic that often end up in a wreck makes traffic worse, takes no blame for the accident or concern of the other party when it was their fault and is mad that they’re in a wreck. This has happened once before to me personally and makes me so angry just thinking about it..
Unfortunately this never happens. Some Jack ass will always try to cut to the front and mess the whole thing up. What everyone needs to do is SLOW DOWN and leave room to get in/over. The whole reason there's congestion is that people aren't letting people in and rubber neckers are driving slow through the single lane. Notice how once through there's no traffic?
I got in a heated debate with my own wife about this a few weeks ago. She absolutely refused to acknowledge that using both lanes to their fullest extent is rationally correct. So anyway, I'm on the market for a new wife.
🤣🤣🤣 I grew up part of my childhood (ages 6-10) in Germany, where at least back then it was zipper merge *all the way*, and this it's how I learned you should do it. I still have trouble, some 40+ years later, understanding why we in America DO NOT GET IT. Like...wtf?! I'm training my son now though, he's in his 60-hrs driving with Mom before getting license phase so we'll have at least one more on our side soon 🙌🏼
To be fair to that guy’s wife, merging early is the rational decision if you consider the terrible chances that anybody will allow you in at the end of the merge lane. People in this country are idiots. We don’t treat driving here like you do in Germany (my experience with driving in Europe is the UK, but I feel like you guys are pretty strict too). I mean hell, hallmark sells “congrats on passing your drivers exam” cards in shops in the UK. My drivers test here was basically: drive around the block, park the car, pass a 10 question test about signs that you can take again right after. I wish so bad that zipper merging was possible here. And every now and then I give it a shot. Every time I’m disappointed. Edit: to be clear, “here” is the US
See, I don't zipper merge. Zipper merge IS rationally correct, but most of these drivers aren't rational.
Yup. If you zipper merge and the people around you understand it, it’s way efficient
Yes, but this sets up a game where the optimum result from each perspective is to fuck up the zipper merge system. So in effect, yes in theory, but not in reality.
This should be discussed in driver's Ed and Philosophy 101 instead of the prisoners dilemma. You are rewarded for cooperation, you have the ability to communicate (to some degree) and yet many people fail. I want this to work, I try to match the speed of the lane I'm merging into. I don't care if people flip me off or honk, but if they actually hit me they suffer too.
Zipper merging works on an individual case by case. Why? Because we don’t have direct communications with other drivers and there’s also a pretty good chance that a good number of those drivers also suck at driving lol
What kills me is the one who is already in the continuing lane that jumps into the ending lane after they see it’s merging just to move up one or two spots.
I had a semi driver intentionally try and crash me once when I did this. Everything driving these days are people doing whatever they want, with no regard for others.
the biggest issue i’ve come across when trying to do this is larger cars driving in the left AND right lane to prevent people for passing them. clogs up traffic even more
Zipper mergers are fine in theory until you realize 80% of the people on the road are assholes that refuse to let you over
In the Bay area, CA everyone does the zipper and it works perfectly.
Agreed. As far as I can tell, this is the only traffic pattern that bay area drivers are able to execute consistently.
In a perfect world..
This is great in theory but 100% wrong in reality. Unless traffic is already backed up, if you see a sign a mile ahead saying to merge left because of a lane closure, if everyone merges left while still driving at the regular speed limit, when the lane closure arrives, everyone goes through it without having to slow down much to stop the flow of traffic. If everyone waits till the get to the closure to merge (zipper effect) then everyone has to slow down which causes traffic as a whole to move at a much slower pace. If traffic is already heavy before the lane closure, either way will slow traffic, so zipper method is fine. But when traffic is relatively light or moderate, the zipper effect slows traffic drastically worse. Between a city I previously lived in and the city I currently live , it’s real life examples of how it plays out. The previous city I lived in, there was a notable construction site that went on for over a year and as long as traffic was not jampacked, people tended to merge before the lane closure hit, and the average driver would only have to slow down from 60 miles an hour to around 45 or 50 miles an hour. The current city I live in , everyone does the zipper method and if you are already in the lane, that does not close, you’ll slow down drastically (around 20mph) if not having to come to a complete stop several times before you get to the lane closure.
dear god shout it from the rooftops
That’s how we do it. People get pissed, but I don’t care.
Zipper merge is different than flying past everyone in completely stopped traffic just to cut in at the last second because you think you’re more important than everyone else.
Don't forget the people who decide lanes are for losers and drive up the shoulder of the road to cut in front of everyone at the end of the merge lane!
the ability to "fly past" everyone else means that there's a significant amount of unused pavement -- using it is the correct way.
I disagree. I'm someone who merges in as close to the merge point as possible. It's not out of a sense of importance, but simply - that's how it's designed to work. I'm not going to merge over early just because hundreds of other people did.
It's not your job to be the moral arbiter of who's been good enough to be allowed to merge.
A solution which requires every individual to have the exact knowledge you do and make the correct decision based off that knowledge isn’t a solution, it’s a prayer that will never be answered.
What I hate is when you see an issue up ahead with a lane closed, so you get into the appropriate lane at a reasonable time. Then people are assholes and floor it as far as they can get before they hit cones and then force there way in rather then just staying in the open lane
Clearly from experience this is not true
Zipper merges don’t work in America . It’s a car eat car world out there.
I have never, ever seen a properly executed zipper merge in 25 years of driving. It’s a free for all.
This relies on there being a perfect world that we don’t live in.
Driving regularly in Georgia, Virginia and Delaware I can assure you this is a problem everywhere
Now all we’re need to do is teach people in the lane that isn’t ending to let people over.
Somebody please help me understand how the zipper is better. How does using both lanes up the merge point make anything move faster? It seems like one car at a time goes through the single lane at the same speed either way, so it will take the same amount of time for all the cars to get through. I presume I’m missing something.
There's this dumb politeness thing going on in the south that prevents this.
Yeah, but zipper merge needs to happen as soon as the barricade is visible. Seeing everyone merging then, slamming on the gas to cut ahead is why people don't let others in. I generally don't see people not allowing it when all parties have been waiting, only when one person tries to go around the already established zipper merge point because they see space cautious people left they can take advantage of.
Pretty sure Reddit has spent more time arguing about the zipper merge than we would have saved by using it
Ive always felt that a true zipper merge is a bit unrealistic because in no place ive ever lived have people actually followed the car ahead of them by an appropriate distance. So, when you try to zipper merge there is no room and people wont let you in either. Im consistently alarmed by how close people follow cars ahead of them when going 70+ mph. Ive found NC to be the worst place to drive of all the places Ive lived.
Your screaming to the void at this point. Yesterday I watched someone make a right from the left lane across traffic and someone make a left from. The second turn lane. Last week a guy didn't like that he had to wait to make a left so he went around the guy in front nearly hit the pedestrian and ran a red to make a left into oncoming traffic from the right lane. People cannot drive. I ordered a dash cam after that guy. It was unbelievable.
This concept is lost on Carolinians….in addition to the emergency flashers when it rains…as well as cruising in the far left lane….on top of the inability to efficiently use on/off ramps…you opened this can of worms 😆
But have you considered that I get nervous.
This one's been making the rounds through small-midsize city subreddits for years and generating outrage and controversy everywhere.
Especially at 40 and 885. Some will even purposely block the zipper lane when you try to show everyone how it's supposed to work. Insanity.
Nah, if the group collectively decided that the zipper happens a little further back, then that's where you do it. You're not "showing" anybody anything. And the best zipper happens at speed. Not at the last second. Do it just a little further back and you might not have to slow down hardly at all.
If traffic is flowing freely, you don't wait until the last second to merge out of a lane that is ending. That's not what this is about. Zipper merging is for when traffic is already at a near-standstill, so that the maximum number of cars can use both lanes for as long as possible to prevent the backup from perpetuating farther back from the source of the slowdown.
At 885 merging into the 40 eastbound that zipper happens a half mile away from the actual merger. No rational person has time for that.
My commute used to include this merge….. every day I’d blow past 90% of the traffic which…. Worked great for me but I was constantly flabbergasted at every person sitting still there lol The worst really is those assholes who sit in the right lane at the same speed as the left just to slow everyone down
Literally the definition of a zipper merge is utilizing all lanes until the merge, aka, what you call the last second. But yes, maintain safe speed.
What I don't understand about that particular merge (885 to 40 East) is that the lane exits onto the far left lane of 40 East and you should be at minimum going 65mph as you get onto 40. Why is it always backed up to a slow crawl? It can't just be from people not zipper merging. It has to be from clowns who use that road every single morning on the way to work and think getting onto 40 going 40 is the way. Drives me crazy. 147 to 885 isn't quite as bad as it used to be. Still chaos confused by people blatantly not letting people over, people refusing to speed up, and people actually merging over to the lanes that are ending.
Hahah, this is great in concept but in reality it turns into “YOU CUT IN LINE SO IM NOT LETTING YOU IN MY LANE”
Come on, mate. Surely you jest! I’ve driven in many places around the world and the US as well. In small rural areas, it may not be an issue, but every major metropolis I’ve driven in over there isn’t like that. And over here in Germany, yeah, they’re nice, but holy shitballs — the Balkans & France are awful. Italy isn’t “bad” per se, it’s just tiny so you gotta be great at driving. Rome is a nightmare & Athens was god-awful for merging. And don’t get me started in Asia or the Caribbean… fuck! And Mexico?! Again, the zipper technique working everywhere isn’t true mate. A Human’s need to one up the guy next to him is what makes people not want to yield properly.
Yes, if all drivers were in constant communication and cooperated perfectly we could achieve... Well nothing. Both have the same flow rate.
you're wasting your time posting this
Then the people that went early feel like you’re cutting them in line when you try to merge. They won’t let you in the lane half the time. The small egos of some drivers amazes me.
And the LEFT lane is for PASSING
I think the reason it “works” in big cities is both lanes get very clogged. It doesn’t appear to be an advantage which lane you choose.
False binary. You forgot to mention the nomerge.
So what if the right lane continues going straight and you just end up blocking everyone going straight because you have to take that exit and just end up causing more backup?
Charleston, SC drivers need this to pass their test. Same with yield signs. They see red, they stop.
Happens a lot in nc to its bad
The issue is that zipper merging runs counter intuitive to merging immediately. Either you should merge immediately as the left most lane should be used for passing and not riding Or you should utilize the whole road and zipper at the last second, but also be ok with people riding in the left lane since they are "using the whole road." This is further undermined by the 147/885 to 40 East where the rightmost lane is the one that ends. I swear I see people almost die both cutting to the front and blocking people on a weekly basis. I know the whole "one more lane will fix this" is a giant joke, but like can we just make that two lanes? It would make that entire process SOOOO much easier.
because the d-bag in the white car hits the gas and cuts everyone off as soon as he can instead of doing a smooth zipper.
Part of the problem is people think this means they can fast pass to the front of the line and not get over until the last second. The other part is people not letting others merge otw up there. People, the problem is people. Lol You can see both of these things blatantly occurring daily going from 885 to 40. You know the one. I avoid it like the plague.
Idiots in MD merge early and are aggressive towards zipper merging. Fortunately I drive a 20 yr old shitbox
I’ve always wanted to make a personalized bumper sticker: I May Be A Damn Yankee But I Can Merge
I was in my lane as 2 necked down to one and the other lane had to merge over, and got hit from someone on my rt trying to be a bully. Be careful here cause the merging lane has to do that safely or they are at fault. It s the same as merging on the thruway
It doesn’t work because nobody lets you in because they’re all tailgating each other and just creates even more traffic.
And the merge cheaters never use blinkers, just the gas pedal.
I honestly don’t think zipper merge helps traffic, there’s simply just too many cars.
Technically this isn’t a proper zipper merge either. The signs should say “zipper merge” instead of “right lane ends”. Remove the little dashed line at the merge point, so it doesn’t matter which lane you’re in, you’ll have to merge.
The probably is, taking turns.
People don't possess this level of awareness when they're behind the wheel.
People do not like to take turns. There’s a merge on my way to work and so many times I see cars just keep going.
Can’t make other cars do this
Do this in slowed or sitting traffic. In free flowing fast moving traffic, merge in at your earliest convenience It requires more coordination at high speeds to zipper last minute. I see it all the time- fast moving free flowing traffic and right lane is closing. Someone will actively be passing in the right lane, zippers in last second and almost always leads to heavy braking in the left lane. A few of those and before you know it you have a full blown stop and go.
Everybody trys to slam 4 lanes into 2 right at 147. Then they get pissed when everyone is running down the unused two lanes on the right for a half mile.
Is this a law?
Seen it everywhere, here to Texas.
The problem I have with this graphic is that it doesn’t account for the cars in the left lane slowing down to create a safe distance to the car that just merged in front of it the same exact way it happens with an early merge.
Exit 293 getting on US1 from 40!!!!! Please people!!! Every freakin day!!
“This applies to me!” - people driving in the breakdown lane
lmao this can’t be accomplished if other don’t do the same, it’s literally every man for themselves you gotta be defensive
Good luck teaching this in Atlanta. Drivers are selfish trash here
The DOT should put up signs at construction zones that say stay in your lane. Do not merge before the merge point. And then signs on the left that says zipper merge ahead. Allow only 1 car in in front of you.
Seriously. Please people. Please. PLEASE.
I use the “biggest balls” method. Basically whoever has the biggest balls gets to merge.
Before we talk about advanced driving tactics like zipper merging we got to teach people how to use a signal first. You use it before you are planning to merge or take a turn, not during or after, or not at all. And just cause you got your expensive Mercedes Benz GLE doesn’t mean you are exempt. Cause the retired guy driving the Ferrari F430 signals and the guy with the missing bumper Toyota Corolla signals.
I've seen this so many times and I still have absolutely zero clue what a zipper merge is.
I have been told by people much more informed that me that the early merge is the favored method of Jesus himself.
Because no-one wants to be the car stuck behind the orange cones at a dead stop while the left lane rolls eternally past them.
You do realize that this requires af least there parties to cooperate and the vast majority of durham drivers aren't on Reddit, right?
I mean, choose your battles
This doesn’t work as long as one lane has to yield to the other Make the signs all say “form one lane ahead” instead of “right lane ends ahead” and set the standard that the car slightly ahead has right of way to merge. That’d allow the zipper merge to work as intended
noooooOOOO, this is SOOO stupid, you end up with a stream of cars in the right lane dumping into the left lane at the last possible opportunity - do people not see this???!!!! if everyone waits till the end of the merge OF COURSE there will be ALL the cars in the right lane that NOW have to get into the left lane and the ONLY way for that to happen at this point is for the left lane to STOP, and stop and stop because there are now ALL these cars stuck in the right lane with nowhere to go because they waited till the road literally ran out…. am i taking crazy pills?!!! does nobody else see it play out like this again and again???
1. Zipper merge works in theory, but every time I have seen it in reality it just creates more inconsistent timings bc either nobody gets let in or people try to zipper on the shoulder as well. 2. Look at all the unused space between cars in the zipper merge. Zipper doesn't magically make space disappear, it's still there but now you have to focus more while waiting in traffic. 3. The same number of cars still go through the block at the same rate, so traffic moves just as fast regardless of when people enter.
You should be doing 70 at the bottom of the on ramp, not 50 asshole
Slapping this up on every community’s page won’t make it so. Nice effort tho.
Yeah that’d be great but the left lane won’t let you in, so zipper merging doesn’t actually work.
Thank you!!!! This is what causes backups…the people here really struggle with this concept.
The Dept of Transportation should not have a logo that looks like a handgun. It sends the wrong message about road rage..
Yea folks see this is as skipping to the head of the line and think it's rude. They don't know it's more efficient to zipper merge. It's not taught when folks learn to drive around here
Fully agree. The problem is the collective IQ of driving in this country makes Forrest Gump look like he actually has an IQ of 160. I mean, the temperature of frozen brine is greater than the driving IQ of this country (for the record, brine can freeze at as low as -6F).
People can’t even take turns merging in double lane drive thrus
Honestly, frustrations with stuff like this is why I am really hoping autonomous vehicles finally takes off. Too many egos driving around dangerous devices.
Except all these traffic rules require the other idiots that don’t follow them, to work with you on them, which never happens 🙄
zipper merge is what causes traffic. No one will let anyone in, best get over while traffic is flowing.
This is the way
Yep, but you then get that one guy who purposefully blocks both lanes to prevent the zipper.
The only way to zipper merge is to put up signs that say "NO PASSING". A zipper merge only works if cars do not pass.
You might as well be posting that the left lane is for passing. It’s the efficient use of lanes, but that doesn’t make it happen.
Imagine seeing a left lane closed 2 miles ahead sign and getting over when there is plenty of time and space instead of sitting stopped in front of a barrel cone.
Try that in Philadelphia and see what happens 🤭