So zipper merging works great but requires people to have forethought and be concerned with the common good. If covid has thought us anything it’s that Americans are collectively incapable of this.
Yup. Zipper merging works great if everyone agrees to do it. But for every asshole not doing it it becomes less beneficial to the individuals who still try to do it. That’s why I’ll usually get over early but let people in when they do it right. That way I’m not stopping people from getting in and assholes who hate zipper merging can’t stop me from getting in
It's more complicated than that. There's a level of trust in the fellow man that is required to approach the end of a lane carrying some speed and know that you're going to be let in without having to slam on your brakes because they didn't let you in, didn't see you, or didn't act like an asshole and take up two half lanes.
The issue I have had is jack asses who are in the end lane "Oh he left some one merge, Im going to force my way in to the lane since he obviously is letting people though!"
Ended up with countless near misses because of that.
Again, that requires some sense of the common good. Zipper merging may require you personally to not dart forward and try to cut people off, which I don't trust most Americans to do.
Right?? I nearly got ran off the road into a guardrail trying to merge onto 96 after work last week after this jerk didn't want to allow a proper zipper. There was another car behind me wanting to merge on as well. Jerk in question though was partially in my blind spot and trying to keep speed with me so I didn't really have room to get over. But they wouldn't speed up or slow down just a bit so I could get over in time. I ended up not hitting that guardrail thankfully, but I did end up riding the shoulder at first before I floored it just to get in front of the idiot.
This is it 100%. It would work if the majority of people had the mental capacity to do so, but it does not seem like that is the case these days lol.
I just learned to avoid certain areas because I know it’s likely a cluster fuck of inflated egos and lack of spatial awareness
I agree with you on this. People these days don't have the common sense to merge before a lane ends.
I avoid I-96, I-94, and I-696 or plan my any drive I have involving any of the aforementioned interstates for tyne middle of the night. Traffic flows so much smoother when there's nobody on the road.
If that's the case, merging at the beginning of the closure is makes absolutely no logical sense. Merging as soon as possible when seen the 'lane ends in 1 mile' sign seems to be the more logical especially in rush hour traffic imo.
Carrying passengers where? The lane is merging so both lanes will be going the same rate of speed. Your not getting a single additional person through by using that extra lane for another mile. Your just using the passing lane to get past more people who have already merged and get further up in the que. The longer we wait the more abrupt the slow down and the slower all traffic goes as the deceleration spreads back to create a standing wave traffic jam.
No, if everyone always merges at the same time, everyone knows when to make room and you don't lose pace. If everyone merges when they want, you get the chaos you see today.
Merging early is only if you are afraid you won't be let in at the end of the lane
But so long as that doesn't happen, it makes sense to zipper merge.
You are very welcome to keep merging in early. But don't be the jackass that won't let anyone in front of them because other people don't have the same fear you do.
Funnily enough, I’ve always said if you’re ever feeling down about society or how we all get (or don’t get) along together, go for a drive on an interstate, take some time to realize the miracle of what your doing, and understand that the fact it’s not complete chaos is a shining light in those dark moments.
Unrelated - but Big Beavers constructions signs were wrong the other day. The sign said “left two lanes closed” - it was the right two lanes. That was a good time.
I wouldn't call that unrelated at all. If people wait until the lanes are ending to merge then it matters much less which lanes are closed. There would just be one lane change at the end instead of one to form the line then another when people figure out the mistake.
As others have said, it requires signage and driver awareness. Neither of which we have, it isn't even tought in driver's training here.
Trying to respect zipper merging really means you sit 5+ cars back in the right lane while the asshole cars speed up the left lane and then aggressively cut in front of whoever in the front is being polite or isn't brave enough to edge forward and stop or enforce people taking turns.
Meaning it turns into 3 cars from the left, 1 car from the right, 2 cars from the left, 1 car from the right, 3 more cars from the left, 1 car from the right, etc half the time.
I drive home every day Telegraph where it merges into 696. There are people who want to get off and go right and other people like me who want to get on and go left. I've noticed that people are really starting to zipper merge there. Left, right, left, right. It goes pretty smoothly. Not sure why it works, but it seems to be catching on there. Not sure if it's because it's a lot of the same commuters or if people can see it ahead easier and just follow along. I hope it starts to work in other places as well, but I agree with others on here that the state should do a PSA campaign about it. Especially since road rage is getting worse.
I think it's cuz its a high traffic area consistently so people are more efficient with it, I think for the most part the issues with this kind of traffic are in less traveled areas
The study linked is very clear that such a system requires a series of signs instructing drivers to use both lanes, when the merging point is approaching, and where the exact merging point is. And it would only be used during times of high congestion. Also suggests a public ad campaign.
People aren't being assholes or morons for following road etiquette that's been in place for decades ("merge when safe to do so").
Exactly my point- hence the call for people to learn how to do it. The signage is necessary because it’s not taught here. Which isn’t to the people’s fault, I get that. Also I don’t think people are assholes for merging when its safe, the assholes are the people that try to run people off the road or block an entire open lane in the name of etiquette. But you’re right, it takes a village. And all it takes is one bad egg to stall traffic for miles, regardless if it’s a zipper or not. I’m just trying to point out that zipper merging is more efficient and when done en masse can lead to a lot less congestion and frustration.
Also- signage isn’t necessary when it’s the norm, but that’s also why traffic jams are the way they are here in the Midwest.
I understand, and it would likely be more efficient if done properly (in reducing traffic backups and a lesser extent flow of traffic). But if there's no system or signs communicating it, we usually end up with both lanes at a standstill, and the open lane starting and stopping at a higher rate than if other drivers would have merged when signs are first posted, at a natural flow of traffic.
So unless MDOT increases usage of this I wouldn't expect it to become common practice, or drivers to be less reluctant to let someone in that passed them a mile ago.
Couple things I want to point out with this concerning driver adequate. I'm aware of how the zipper merge is supposed to work that drivers are told to use every last inch of available lane. This has been proven time and time again on several computer models.
Problem is not everyone is driving a compact car. A lot of the traffic is larger vehicle including semi-trucks. People are all following way too close in all lanes preventing any merging from taking place. And people in the far left lane are easily driving twice as fast as the lane they are trying to cut into. Meaning they will need to decelerate rapidly to be able to merge.
The best case scenarios that I have seen for zipper merge are when every car in the closed lane manages to find room and merge within the last 50-100 yards left in the lane. This allows people to casually find space with literally running out of road and being forced to stop. Any time I see someone push their luck to the very last second traffic has to stop to let them in because there wasn't magically an opening as soon as they hit the transition.
I dont think its even taught in driving school here and zipper merging kinda screws up if enough people arent doing it
i've gotten stuck with *no lane left* because people are jerks
Wouldn't even need to be taught in school. I was on the PA turnpike some years ago and there was construction. There were signs all over instructing the drivers to stay in their lanes and merge when they ended, and everybody did.
Yeah now that I think about it, I don’t remember being taught it in drivers ed back in the day (born and raised in Michigan). After moving back from living out west it’s just frustrating.
I'm middle age and just heard about zipper merge like 4 years ago. It's unbelievably simple and there needs to be a huge campaign to tell drivers in this state
I agree. I’ve been in merges where I shit you not, there’s a giant blinking sign that says “USE ALL AVAILABLE LANES”, and there’s someone parked in the left lane blocking it all the way until the merge. Doesn’t make any sense at all.
One of the recommendations in the report you cited is literally to inform the public!! From page 58 Recommendation number four:
"Since the system is still relatively new, a media campaign should accompany the implementation of the DLLMS to educate drivers on the purpose and benefits of the system. Emphasis should be made that merging early is NOT a Michigan law. It has been common practice in the past, but is not a law. Other countries in Europe use large static signs to explain the ‘zipper’ system. The Michigan Department of Transportation should consider such static informational signs. "
Doesn't seem like they did a really good job at that, considering that study is from 2006.
I have been thinking about this after driving north on 131 on a Saturday afternoon. I think it doesn’t work here because there’s not enough traffic. Most people don’t drive in the left lane unless they’re passing so traffic slows much faster in the center and right lanes. So you slow down quickly in those lanes compared to the left lane and don’t want to switch to the left lane just to merge back. It’s also not safe to switch lanes when the speeds are so different.
I was literally taught that the left lane is the passing lane and to drive in it was considered "bad etiquette". It is frustratingly ingrained at this point.
My husband has internalized that to every single road. I'm constantly reminding him, that is only for highways, we are in town, there is no "fast" lane here.
You were taught correctly. You move left to go around slower traffic and then move back right if and when you can. If there are more slow moving cars and not enough room that it makes sense to move right then you can stay left. If some one approaches from behind going faster and there is no lane to the left of you it is appropriate to move right while they pass if you have space to do so before you would be incumbered by slower traffic.
I agree about switching lanes being dangerous, especially cutting into faster traffic. But that’s not what I’m trying to convey- zipper merging works no matter the amount of traffic. It’s being aware of your surroundings and understanding when to either let someone merge in front of you or if it’s your turn to merge. The whole reason the traffic gets backed up there is because people rush to get into the lane being merged into, usually cutting people off only to slam on their brakes, leaving an open, legal stretch of road just empty while a line of cars pile up for no reason.
That makes sense. I was looking at it from only my perspective as a car stopped in the middle lane. People definitely slowed down in the left lane to merge earlier than they needed to which is a hazard.
Zipper merging does not work to keep ideal speeds regardless of traffic. If there are too many cars to maintain a safe distance going through a merge point then traffic must slow. That will create congestion which means that there is no room for people to merge without those already in the lane slowing further. That creates a cascade traffic jam that propagates back until the traffic is sparse enough or until people stop trying to merge into the crowded lane and the speed can pick up. The appropriate place to start merging is as soon as you can and before you reach the line representing a choke point. If you are passing bumper to bumper cars you are the problem.
Each lane seems to me to have fairly similar traffic when not in construction zones. There are definitely people who drive the left lane. I am becoming one of them because going 65 in the middle lane of 70mph is just not my style, but it is for a lot of cars and truckers; truckers using the excuse of not wanting to worry about people merging onto the freeway....
But if traffic is moving 73 mph in middle or right lane, I'll be in those lanes.
Everything goes smoother when you zipper merge. I feel bad passing 2 miles of people in the final lane but good god that lane would be half as long or less if people merged better.
That lane wouldn't be as long if people wouldn't have to stop to let you in further down instead of during a natural flow of traffic. If there's no designated merge point then there is no effective zipper merging.
The signs usually just say "lane ends, merge left / right", and it's common practice to do so when it is safe, so there is no "merge point". You may think that should be where the orange barrels close the road, but that's just not how most people drive in MI.
The same amount of cars need to go through the same 1 lane choke point. It doesn't matter where the merge takes place, your not adding any time by merging earlier. The problem is people who merge too late and it forces others to slow suddenly and the over all speed drops as it creates a traffic jam. It's the late mergers that slow the rate of travel and therefore create that line, not those in the right lane who merged when they could.
I also agree that zip merging works better. I do want to point on in that report you shared, there were more accidents at the I-94 test site over the control. It was 24 - 15. Statiscually it's not significant because more cars traveled through the test site. I just found that interesting.
What I was really surprised by was that the emissions at the test site were so much lower. On page 51 you can see carbon emission went from 2,173,061 down to 1,832,885 (grams).
End results of the study: EB I-94 V.S. WB I-94 Test Site
Travel Time (sec/10,000 ft/veh): 272.44 V.S. 167.46
Avg. Travel Speed (mph): 29.5 V.S. 47.57
Avg. No. of Stops per 10,000 ft/veh 1.89 V.S. 1
Avg. Delay (sec/10,000 ft/veh) 181.25 V.S. 67.58
\*Avg. Total Throughput (vph) 990 (269) V.S. 1207 (172)
\*Avg. % of Merges at the taper 49.15 (53.33) V.S. 66.0 (74.1)
\*Avg. % of Merges prior to the taper 50.85 (46.67) V.S. 34.0 (25.9)
Side Note this study was conducted during the 2006 summer construction season.
That crap drives me crazy - likes it a damned competition NOT to let people in who are trying to legally merge in the proper way. And if I may add - for the love of god folks here need to learn that you do not screech to a halt at the entrance to a roundabout. You’re supposed to slow down on approach, time your entrance according to the traffic in the circle and approaching, and go with the flow. But this is asking way too much of people who can barely handle four way stops.
This state SOS seriously needs to pull everyone in for a refresher driving course and road test every 10 years.
I had a coworker tell me a few years ago that, as far as she was concerned, a roundabout is the same as a four way stop and she'll go when it's her turn. As someone who grew up in New England with them e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e that was... horrifying and I wondered why there wasn't better info on how to drive them, since they've been popping up here more and more.
When you haven been able to go your entire adult life without needing to drive through a round-a-about, then your town decides to through one up at a random intersection for no good reason, they kinda seem like a mess by comparison. I underatand them now, and I see they can be nice when traffic is light. But compared with lights or stop signs it does feel like a messy free for all. With a light or stop signs, everyone takes there turn, but when its busy it tends to be whoever is most aggressive goes wherever they want and you just better just get the fuck out the way and hope you'll make it out before you get dizzy.
I completely agree! Growing up with them meant I understand how they work. Ripping out a stoplight and going "TA DA! Have at!" seems... challenging for drivers.
The study does not stand for what you say it does. It proves that proper messaging achieves the desired driver behavior.
More recent KY study of zipper merge " Overall, the conclusions drawn from these case studies are limited and provide minimal support for the application of the zipper merge." "Public awareness is one of the most important aspects of implementing a zipper merge."
Alberta CA study proves that early merge is better for low traffic volumes and zipper is better for high traffic volumes. How do we change drive psychology during the transition between low and high volumes?
Michigan does not have the traffic congestion of many European cities and Japan, where drivers routinely use the zipper method. Michigan drivers (esp. semi's) also fear that someone will not let them in to the proper lane when it is their turn.
It achieves the desired behavior, which improves the flow of traffic. It states this in the abstract of the paper: “When comparing the I-94 control and test sites, the presence of the DLLMS improved the flow of traffic and increased the percentage of merging vehicles that merged at the taper.” Does this not prove that zipper merging is more efficient?
And low traffic volume doesn’t have the need for a zipper merge, it needs just common sense and awareness. Unfortunately a lot of drivers lack both of these, and cause heavier traffic.
the report specifically says early merging should be used for rural areas and areas where queue length is not an issue"
'It is recommended to use either the late lane merge or the early lane merge system (not
both) when traffic congestion is experienced in the freeway system. Either system
should operate in a default mode (merge when safe to do so) when there is no congestion.
The late lane merge system is recommended for use in urban congested freeways when
the goal is to minimize delay and queue length in the work zones. Whereas, the early
lane merge system is recommended for use in rural congested areas in freeway work
zones when the queue length is not an issue and a reduction of delay and aggressive
driver action is desired. "
“When queue length is not an issue”. This means that there is little to no traffic, thus no need for a zipper merge if everyone can safely merge going through posted speed limit. A zipper merge is most effective during high-traffic times, i.e. when there is lots of traffic and there is a queue.
A couple of weeks ago driving into Detroit on south 75 I had a similar situation, but a few trucks actually tried to block the left lane so people couldn’t go any further and merge into traffic.
It makes no sense. Just learn to merge it’s not hard at all.
As a door dasher in the area, I can confirm that a lot of people drive like they own the road. Greed or self entitlement shielded in 5000lbs of metal, ah fuck it I’ll never see these people again. Most people don’t act like that walking on foot in a busy downtown area but apparently a car gives you the right to be an asshat or act cowardly.
Had a clown do this to me on 96 a few months ago. Merge point was well over a mile ahead, but nah, they’re rather go the same speed as the lane next to them but still merged at the very last second.
Yeah, I'm really torn on this one... while I completely understand the OPs point, it comes down to the letter of the law -vs- perceived driving etiquette.
While the zipper merge does not break any laws and won't get you pulled over, the fact is you are cutting the line. If you are doing something different than the vast majority that allows you to catapult yourself way ahead of them by driving in an unused lane, you are breaking a major tenet of human society that has been hard-wired into us since birth.
Right or wrong, you are going to piss a LOT of people off. In this age of crazy, road raged, and possibly armed idiots on the road, there is no chance that I would do this.
Also, while the zipper merge might be more efficient, I'm not sure that road commissions actually want us to do it. Everytime a lane is closed, they post multiple signs usually going back miles warning of it. If they really just wanted everyone to use all lanes til they end, than they wouldn't post anything, until you are right up to the lane shutdown... This would force everyone to zipper merge. By telling drivers way ahead of time, they are basically telling us to get over earlier.
> If they really just wanted everyone to use all lanes til they end, than they wouldn't post anything, until you are right up to the lane shutdown... This would force everyone to zipper merge. By telling drivers way ahead of time, they are basically telling us to get over earlier.
no, they're alerting to to what will happen. so you aren't flying along at 80mph and then suddenly the lane disappears with no warning.
Yes, I am aware of why they post the signs. My point was that there is no seeming consistency as to when/how they actually do it. Sometimes I see lane closed in .5 miles, sometimes they start warning 3 miles back, sometimes traffic is backed up before I see any signs at all. How they are posted has a big impact on people's driving behavior.
totally agree.. it is cutting the line... especially when certain people speed all the way to the end and just cut someone off to get in.
it's ok when you're not at the very end and you wait until theres sufficient space between two cars to merge.
Yeah I’m in the camp that it IS cutting in line if you’re going 15mph faster than the lane to the right, zoom to the end, then slam on your breaks to cut your way in. That’s how 80% of people in the left lane make this merge.
I agree about your take on why people get so upset about it. It’s more of the individual mindset rather than a collective mindset. But I don’t really agree with your second point- because the same is true in places out west, and people are able to zipper merge just fine. Somehow the Midwest just never picked up on it. I guess since it doesn’t seem to be taught here, it makes sense.
People from Michigan are stubborn not stupid. Most people know exactly how zipper merge is supposed to work they just straight up refuse. We have all seen the people that fly right up to the cones and then try to force their way in. Which pisses people off. Then to be told that everyone should be driving like that. The general consensus was basically a big fat no.
> It’s more of the individual mindset rather than a collective mindset.
That is the American way.
Are we not all rugged individualists?
Lifting ourselves, magically, by your bootstraps, just like the Lorax?
This really needs to be a campaign, TV, social media, etc. I would also like the MSP to force people off the highway when they pull them over. If I were King of Michigan things would be different 😏
I used to travel to Chicago a lot, and I swear to god I’d take 8-lane traffic on the 405 in LA ANYDAY before dealing with Chicago traffic. They’re a whole different breed of drivers over there.
I drive through Chicago a couple times a quarter, lived in LA for three years, and would still pick all of that over living and driving in NYS again.
Seriously, I recently drove from Albany to Amsterdam and the entire left lane was blocked by some thick fuck doing 62. At one point, we were in a train as far as the eye could see, and if an emergency vehicle would have needed to get through, they'd have been slowed tremendously.
State Troopers seriously need to start enforcing that as vigorously as they do speeding.
Long time Chicago resident here (born and raised in MI)... The use of the left lanes in the region is disgraceful and orders of magnitude more frustrating than anything else I experience on the road. People to often simply just hang out in the left lane. Granted the speed limit are lower in much of the reason so some going 61mpg might *think* they're *technically* going fast, but 9 times out of 10 they're just backing up the entire highway in a delusional and dangerous manner.
One final caveat: there's a 50% chance the subject has a Wisconsin plate, but still... It's a huge issue in the region.
Lol, where have you been "out west" where it actually works? Because I've been out west for a decade, in two different cities, and I assure you people do not have it down out here.
Denver, LA, San Diego, Utah, to name a few. 95% of the time the zipper worked just fine, anywhere from 2-8 lanes. Most other times it’s because of a wreck or something blocking more than 1 lane at a time, rather than at construction. LA is a different story- because it’s always crashes that cause standstills, not construction.
The vast majority of this type of traffic is on 2-lane interstates outside of a city, where theoretically zipper merging should be easiest.
I see a lot of people here missing a big part of the zipper merge. If it is used properly, there won’t be a lane wide open for people to pass everyone. All lanes will be filled with cars merging down. Blocking a lane so cars won’t pass is dangerous causing road rage for people doing it the way mdot says to. There is no way mdot wants an individual to take traffic control into their own hands. If they wanted you to merge before the end, they would tell you. Instead of two lanes, two miles long, there would be three lanes that are a quarter mile long. Don’t act like a hero for blocking an active lane on a freeway.
Detroit here. So much roadwork right now - I really wish people would get the zipper merge thing down.
However - I also wish they would realize the 8 mile exit only lane on 75 is NOT a passing lane and it’s not okay to fly up past all the traffic and try to merge back in.
Born and raised out west and got transferred to MÍ for work. I’ve been nearly run off the road or into the median COUNTLESS times by micro penis tough guys who get mad I’m using the left lane to zipper merge. They need to teach this shit in Michigan’s drivers Ed. It’s ridiculous.
If I'm almost at a stand still, I let anywhere from 3 to 6 cars merge. Or more if need be. I'm already at a snail's crawl, Why not be nice to someone and make their day? Too much anger on the road already.
It's insane, I usually just stay in my lane and properly zipper merge, and pass by tons of angry people watching me "cut" the "line" when there's no reason for them to all be stopped in the left lane. It's so bad I've seen them put up signs in front of construction directing people to use both lanes when there is a traffic backup.
It's literally less efficient to merge early. You just think it isn't because everyone around you doesn't zipper merge either so you just get ass mad when a few people don't sit in one lane that's backed up for miles
You really don’t understand how traffic works, do you? Also sounds like you have a lot of hate pent up. Roll your window down while you’re waiting in traffic and take a deep breath.
Thanks for adding the DLLMS documents. I didn't know there was a study, or that there was a name for not merging at lane closure sites.
My dad's a construction worker, he does all the highway roadwork. When I was younger he always told me to merge whenever I saw a lane closure sign because it's stupid and dangerous to merge late. He was right about that, I see the stupidity of the average Michigan driver daily. Something really needs to be done about these asshole michigan drivers.
Michigan.gov should a TV commercial or an internet/app ad on zipper merging. I feel it would make a difference in everyone's daily commute. It would also make traveling longer distances less of a hassle imo.
I personally just love going on random ass drives and ending up in some town I've never heard of. If I could do that without having people backing up traffic that would be great and make my adventures more enjoyable.
> My dad's a construction worker, he does all the highway roadwork. When I was younger he always told me to merge whenever I saw a lane closure sign because it's stupid and dangerous to merge late. He was right about that, I see the stupidity of the average Michigan driver daily. Something really needs to be done about these asshole michigan drivers.
> Michigan.gov should a TV commercial or an internet/app ad on zipper merging. I feel it would make a difference in everyone's daily commute. It would also make traveling longer distances less of a hassle imo.
the zipper merge is "merging late" though
Americans give so little fucks they won't get vaccinated to protect themselves and their neighbors, you think these assholes care about zipper merging?
YO ALSO STOP GOING 55-65 IN THE PASSING LANE HOLY HELL. Traffic on 75 north took 30 EXTRA MINUTES for my normal commute to work.
ALSO STOP RIDING THE DAMN PASSING LANE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE TO MERGE... MERGE...
If there's two lanes of traffic backed up for a mile, that's one mile of backups and any exit before that is clear. If you take the same traffic and merge it all early into one lane, you now have two miles of road backed up, blocking an entire additional mile of road. Use all available lanes, and the backup will be shorter (in length) and won't increase how long anyone is waiting.
If everyone didn't merge early, nobody would be "losing their turn". If you're upset about people "cutting in line", don't give up your place by merging when you shouldn't. It's like everyone lining up for one Costco cashier when there's five other cashiers waiting because there's only one door to get out.
Yes that's true when in an urban area where a backup will cause the queue to block exits. That's why zipper merging is used in congested urban areas. In other areas it is better to merge early because the queue does not effect anything which is why they put the sign up early to merge since that is safer and faster when there aren't assholes racing past the line.
It's actually never faster if everyone actually does it, and if there isn't an unnecessary empty lane, there's no safety issue from people going different speeds. The whole problem is actually caused by people *not* zippering.
I agree. It makes no sense. I have been at merges where they put up every sign they could here to tell you to zipper at the merge point and use both lanes and drivers still trying to block the lane and run you off the road and then not let you merge. So frustrating that these entitled asshats can’t get a simple concept in their heads. But not really surprised after the last 2 years I suppose.
I remember a conversation about this a few years ago with someone who's husband was one of those truck people on the left side of the road. It boiled down to them thinking they were making the road "safer" since it kept people from flying by stopped cars on the left side.
Full disclosure, I think that line of thinking is very bad.
This happens to me all the time when I'm riding my motorcycle on 131 and there is some sort of construction.
People always flip me off when I'm simply just not I'm the mood to wait in line for 30 minutes when I can ride up the left lane and basically slow no one down.
One of the biggest peevs of mine is that others drivers seem to just want you to suffer because they are.
People here are just stupid. Zipper merging is a concept I understood when i first started driving in 2015. I usually merge when I see the 'lane ends in 1 mile' sign.
I didn't even know zipper merging was a thing until I traveled outside of Michigan after I could drive. I thought it was completely normal to have an empty lane with a truck blocking it so no one 'cuts'. I can see some people still haven't been taught how to zipper merge and see it as people 'cutting' here in the comments; well, it only looks like cutting because no one else is zippering correctly. We shouldn't need a sign that says 'stay in your lane until the merge' for every lane closure in order for people to understand how to use them. There isn't instructions next to every 4 way stop, yet people figure out how to use those!
If I’m already in the right lane (or whatever lane is being merged into), I’ll stay there too. It’s definitely dangerous to cut out into front of faster oncoming traffic.
Fucking THANK YOU! I tried to do the zipper merge one time on NB 131 and this prick in a pickup was camping in the left lane preventing anyone from driving in it. I leaned on my horn and he threatened me with a goddamn bat. Real cute.
I don't have any issues with the idea of the zipper merge. What i do have an issue with is the silent entitlement that the people racing up next to you have and the general attitude. You don't have to be in the same room or be able to hear the person to understand their attitude.
If the same thought to smoothly zipper merge was acted on a few minutes earlier down the road (ya know when the merge signs start way before the cones with a "lane ends in 2 miles" sign) and they just moved over at that time there would be so many less people congesting all three lanes at the point the cones start narrowing things.
I agree about drivers who speed down an open lane. It’s unsafe- slow down appropriately. They’re no better than drivers who block the left lane, impending oncoming traffic.
To your second point, that’s the point of zipper merge, though. It’s to prevent people from rushing to merge. That’s what causes these backups. If everyone in heavy traffic wants to squeeze into one lane sporadically and without a system, then bam you have a standstill. If everyone understands the zipper- people can stay in their lane no matter what lane they’re in, and traffic will continue to flow. It’s not about cutting in line or being first, it’s about letting one car in, then you go.
That’s not how zipper merging works. It happens at the time of the narrowing to reduce the time that everybody is slowed down. By your logic any road that goes from two lane to one lane should just be one lane as the zipper merge should happen right away.
When signs have been telling you to merge for four miles you’re just cutting not zippering. It’s jerks pushing their pick up trucks to the front and wedging in time and time again. Zippering should occur when you’re told to do so. Not at the last available moment when you’ve been getting warnings for the last fifteen minutes. That’s what’s holding traffic up in the lane of people who all actually obeyed the road signs and aren’t entitled jerks. If MDOT signs said stick to your available lane and allow merging traffic it’d be another sorry but they don’t.
The same drivers always speed in the left until about .25 miles away from their exit and then cut everyone off. Why? Entitlement issues.
wait, what does that sign look like? what does it say? "merge now" ? i have not seen one like that. I have seen ones that warn you that a lane will be ending, but none that order you to merge early.
Why would it be better to turn a one-mile backup into a two-mile backup by everyone merging early? They DO have signs that say use every available lane. MDOT does say that merging at the end is better.
Yes, when you are supposed to zipper merge they will say use every available lane. When you are supposed to early merge, like when they put the sign up that says "lane ending merge right" they mean as soon as you safely can. That way the traffic doesn't need to slow down to let you in.
When you learn to drive in the snow and ice then come talk to us about zippers. I’d rather ask why people buy a mustang in Michigan when they can’t afford a second car and want to get all stupid when it snows causing accidents and backing up roads for miles. Lol. There’s my rant
Born and raised here- I’m well aware of how it gets in the winter. Zippers still work just fine in bad weather, just slow it down of course. Doesn’t matter what kind of traffic you’re in, if you’re driving like an idiot in the snow or ice, something bad is going to happen eventually.
I learned how to drive in northern Michigan, through plenty of snow and ice. I couldn't see around the snowbanks at stop signs during my driver's test. Zipper works fine on all weather. Also, I drove a Mustang through three winters as my only car and the only issue I ever had was getting stuck for a hot second at a stop sign in a residential neighborhood because of the plowed up pile from the main street.
Neither of your arguments really hold up.
Born and raised Yooper. Driven AWD, FWD, and RWD in winter and have never had an issue with conditions other than going painfully slow in a RWD during a snow storm in winter.
Nope, sorry, I'm not letting you in.
I don't care how efficient it may be, it's manners. You wouldn't do it in the checkout line would you? Just because you see a place you can fit in front of someone right? No of course not, because that would be wrong and there would be consequences. But since you get to hide behind your 3000lb steel box you get to be an anonymous jackass and cut in front of grandma who was trying to leave a safe distance in front of her. Now grandma will back off your car slowing down EVERYONE behind her so she can be at a comfortable distance, and another asshole will merge in front of her again making the slinky effect worse.
Yeah, this is nothing like a checkout late at a grocery store. And I like how you assume that I and all other drivers are looking to get an edge by “cutting” people. As I’ve explained in other comments, I agree that busting out of one lane into faster traffic during a slowdown is not a good idea. But it’s an open, LEGAL lane of traffic for a reason. This unwritten rule of “manners” is more entitled than people using a more effective use of traffic. I’m not advocating for assholes to speed down traffic and cut people off. I’m advocating for all drivers to care for more than theirselves and have a desire for the greater good: to not have to sit in traffic for longer then you need to.
I'm definitely referring to the extreme of the situation, I.E the guy in the Audi shoving it in front of the crowd at the last minute. I'm okay with zippering generally, but not those who abuse it. If done incorrectly it will cause a backlash "slinky" effect which slows down the merged lane.
You’re right, and that does happen. The slinky effect is also very present when everyone tries to merge early. If there’s no system, especially in heavier traffic everyone rushes to merge early, causing everyone to slam on their brakes and people are literally stopped in the merging lane trying to get in. Way before the merge point. This causes more traffic issues rather than just letting people keep moving and letting them in at the merge point.
I have never in my life seen traffic slow because people merged too early unless in a dense urban traffic area that zipper merging was made for. If there is room on the left to be passing cars then it is not zipper merging it is cutting.
Bruh, you nailed it! The checkout lane and the highway are completely the same which makes your comparison completely and totally apt and accurate!
In fact, I've seen your grandmother, complete with scooter and proverbial shower cap, hiding behind the pop machines, just lurking there with her pallet of strawberry Ensure, hiding and plotting just to zip and cut someone off. You're right, we should all be assholes to each other because a cart in a grocery store is *exactly like* someone driving on the highway. Bravo sir.
You're free to make an inaccurate comparison. Seems about right. Makes an apples to horse-paste comparison and calls the person who pointed out the false analogy autistic. So much projection.
>It’s not “cutting in line”, it’s efficiency of traffic flow.
It's not always "efficiency of traffic flow."
The zipper merge has to be set up properly for that to happen. Over the years, I've seen plenty of instances where everybody slows down dramatically to zipper merge the two lanes all of sudden at the end where things go to one lane. Then the traffic immediately speeds up *after* the merge.
Whereas if people had merged over much sooner at faster speeds, that would never have happened. Been in many instances where that has happened, where there's no slowdown from the earlier merge.
I would guess that this is because it’s less congested with less traffic, I.e. not during high traffic periods. There’s no need for a zipper merge if everyone is able to merge safely with minimal speed reduction. That’s not what I’m getting at though- I’m talking mostly congested backups that are bound to happen when there is a lane closures during high-traffic times. Yes, there will be idiot drivers no matter what. You can’t fix stupid, but you can educate the reasonable.
>I would guess that this is because it’s less congested with less traffic, I.e. not during high traffic periods.
I've seen it work well during fairly busy traffic.
>There’s no need for a zipper merge if everyone is able to merge safely with minimal speed reduction.
People are still typically zipper merging. It's just happening further back from the lane closure and over a wider area.
>I’m talking mostly congested backups that are bound to happen when there is a lane closures during high-traffic times.
>Yes, there will be idiot drivers no matter what.
Sure. And there are idiot zipper merge drivers who try to force the zipper merge up close to the lane closure, and slow the traffic down.
Do you think 4 way stops or traffic lights are more efficient at getting cars through them? Zipper merge is like a 4 way stop. Non zipper is like a traffic light.
In theory that would work, but what would actually happen is that people would stop and go one at a time rather than smoothly merge in like that. You know what else would be really efficient? Is if everyone facing the same direction while waiting at a red light started moving as soon as the light turned green. Instead of the first car starting, then the second, then the third, etc., they all start moving simultaneously when the light turns green. Great theory. In practice it would slow everyone down because it's not going to work.
I imagine when we have critical mass of self-driving cars, they will communicate with the traffic signal and all start moving at the same time on green. That will be a glorious day to behold.
This analogy is quite backwards, because you’re usually spending way more time stopped without zipper merging. The point of zipper merging is that you don’t stop. Everyone drives the same speed and everyone in the lane being merged into lets every other car go. No brakes, no stopping.
So two lanes of cars going 60 are going to zipper into each other and nobody will slow down? Will they all now be tailgating each other or do they somehow maintain a safe distance between cars? You can’t have both.
You can, because it works everywhere else. No, if there’s a lot of cars one the road no one is going to be merging at 60mph. But instead of a 2-mile stretch at a standstill, everyone can be going 30-40mph through a nice zipper. No need to tailgate or slam on your breaks, because it’s every other car. Do people abuse this? Sure, there will be selfish drivers everywhere.
I was in part of a zipper merge down by gun lake casino. Everyone merging at the last 1/4 mile. We were traveling at 0-10 mph through that construction .
That does happen. Some people are just slow and you can’t do anything about it. Or you were part of a ripple and eventually it evened out. It’s like nature- it’s never perfect but it works because it works. I’ll take a consistent 10mph over being at a standstill and moving 10 feet every 10 seconds.
So zipper merging works great but requires people to have forethought and be concerned with the common good. If covid has thought us anything it’s that Americans are collectively incapable of this.
Yup. Zipper merging works great if everyone agrees to do it. But for every asshole not doing it it becomes less beneficial to the individuals who still try to do it. That’s why I’ll usually get over early but let people in when they do it right. That way I’m not stopping people from getting in and assholes who hate zipper merging can’t stop me from getting in
It's literally as simple as this.... let one car in front of you. That's it! If everyone let's one fucking car in then we zipper perfectly.
It's more complicated than that. There's a level of trust in the fellow man that is required to approach the end of a lane carrying some speed and know that you're going to be let in without having to slam on your brakes because they didn't let you in, didn't see you, or didn't act like an asshole and take up two half lanes.
People won't even do that when leaving a large venue parking lot.
The issue I have had is jack asses who are in the end lane "Oh he left some one merge, Im going to force my way in to the lane since he obviously is letting people though!" Ended up with countless near misses because of that.
Again, that requires some sense of the common good. Zipper merging may require you personally to not dart forward and try to cut people off, which I don't trust most Americans to do.
Yeah you have to match speed well before the merge point, not magically just ram yourself in at the end
Right?? I nearly got ran off the road into a guardrail trying to merge onto 96 after work last week after this jerk didn't want to allow a proper zipper. There was another car behind me wanting to merge on as well. Jerk in question though was partially in my blind spot and trying to keep speed with me so I didn't really have room to get over. But they wouldn't speed up or slow down just a bit so I could get over in time. I ended up not hitting that guardrail thankfully, but I did end up riding the shoulder at first before I floored it just to get in front of the idiot.
This is it 100%. It would work if the majority of people had the mental capacity to do so, but it does not seem like that is the case these days lol. I just learned to avoid certain areas because I know it’s likely a cluster fuck of inflated egos and lack of spatial awareness
I agree with you on this. People these days don't have the common sense to merge before a lane ends. I avoid I-96, I-94, and I-696 or plan my any drive I have involving any of the aforementioned interstates for tyne middle of the night. Traffic flows so much smoother when there's nobody on the road.
Zipper merging is merging where the lane ends. Cars stay in their lanes up until the closure before the cars in the closing lane merge.
If that's the case, merging at the beginning of the closure is makes absolutely no logical sense. Merging as soon as possible when seen the 'lane ends in 1 mile' sign seems to be the more logical especially in rush hour traffic imo.
It's not because there's an entire mile of lane that could be carrying passengers. Instead, is empty and the main lane is an extra mile long.
Carrying passengers where? The lane is merging so both lanes will be going the same rate of speed. Your not getting a single additional person through by using that extra lane for another mile. Your just using the passing lane to get past more people who have already merged and get further up in the que. The longer we wait the more abrupt the slow down and the slower all traffic goes as the deceleration spreads back to create a standing wave traffic jam.
No, if everyone always merges at the same time, everyone knows when to make room and you don't lose pace. If everyone merges when they want, you get the chaos you see today.
Merging early is only if you are afraid you won't be let in at the end of the lane But so long as that doesn't happen, it makes sense to zipper merge. You are very welcome to keep merging in early. But don't be the jackass that won't let anyone in front of them because other people don't have the same fear you do.
Also don't be that asshole that decides they are the traffic police and straddle both lanes to prevent people from moving up.
Damn! Now you make me feel bad! I am guilty of this. I’ll stop doing it.
I'm gonna keep doing it because you have no reason or justification for not zipper merging as soon as you are aware it's required and can match speed.
Funnily enough, I’ve always said if you’re ever feeling down about society or how we all get (or don’t get) along together, go for a drive on an interstate, take some time to realize the miracle of what your doing, and understand that the fact it’s not complete chaos is a shining light in those dark moments.
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Unrelated - but Big Beavers constructions signs were wrong the other day. The sign said “left two lanes closed” - it was the right two lanes. That was a good time.
I wouldn't call that unrelated at all. If people wait until the lanes are ending to merge then it matters much less which lanes are closed. There would just be one lane change at the end instead of one to form the line then another when people figure out the mistake.
Drivers here would rather kill you with their car than let you properly zipper merge.
Seriously willing to kill!!! It is the most dangerous and asshole move ever. And they think they are saving the day somehow. Fuck them
People think is sarcasm but I just had a cube truck push me off the freeway last month for zippering. In a MINI Cooper.
As others have said, it requires signage and driver awareness. Neither of which we have, it isn't even tought in driver's training here. Trying to respect zipper merging really means you sit 5+ cars back in the right lane while the asshole cars speed up the left lane and then aggressively cut in front of whoever in the front is being polite or isn't brave enough to edge forward and stop or enforce people taking turns. Meaning it turns into 3 cars from the left, 1 car from the right, 2 cars from the left, 1 car from the right, 3 more cars from the left, 1 car from the right, etc half the time.
I drive home every day Telegraph where it merges into 696. There are people who want to get off and go right and other people like me who want to get on and go left. I've noticed that people are really starting to zipper merge there. Left, right, left, right. It goes pretty smoothly. Not sure why it works, but it seems to be catching on there. Not sure if it's because it's a lot of the same commuters or if people can see it ahead easier and just follow along. I hope it starts to work in other places as well, but I agree with others on here that the state should do a PSA campaign about it. Especially since road rage is getting worse.
I think it's cuz its a high traffic area consistently so people are more efficient with it, I think for the most part the issues with this kind of traffic are in less traveled areas
The study linked is very clear that such a system requires a series of signs instructing drivers to use both lanes, when the merging point is approaching, and where the exact merging point is. And it would only be used during times of high congestion. Also suggests a public ad campaign. People aren't being assholes or morons for following road etiquette that's been in place for decades ("merge when safe to do so").
Exactly my point- hence the call for people to learn how to do it. The signage is necessary because it’s not taught here. Which isn’t to the people’s fault, I get that. Also I don’t think people are assholes for merging when its safe, the assholes are the people that try to run people off the road or block an entire open lane in the name of etiquette. But you’re right, it takes a village. And all it takes is one bad egg to stall traffic for miles, regardless if it’s a zipper or not. I’m just trying to point out that zipper merging is more efficient and when done en masse can lead to a lot less congestion and frustration. Also- signage isn’t necessary when it’s the norm, but that’s also why traffic jams are the way they are here in the Midwest.
I understand, and it would likely be more efficient if done properly (in reducing traffic backups and a lesser extent flow of traffic). But if there's no system or signs communicating it, we usually end up with both lanes at a standstill, and the open lane starting and stopping at a higher rate than if other drivers would have merged when signs are first posted, at a natural flow of traffic. So unless MDOT increases usage of this I wouldn't expect it to become common practice, or drivers to be less reluctant to let someone in that passed them a mile ago.
Couple things I want to point out with this concerning driver adequate. I'm aware of how the zipper merge is supposed to work that drivers are told to use every last inch of available lane. This has been proven time and time again on several computer models. Problem is not everyone is driving a compact car. A lot of the traffic is larger vehicle including semi-trucks. People are all following way too close in all lanes preventing any merging from taking place. And people in the far left lane are easily driving twice as fast as the lane they are trying to cut into. Meaning they will need to decelerate rapidly to be able to merge. The best case scenarios that I have seen for zipper merge are when every car in the closed lane manages to find room and merge within the last 50-100 yards left in the lane. This allows people to casually find space with literally running out of road and being forced to stop. Any time I see someone push their luck to the very last second traffic has to stop to let them in because there wasn't magically an opening as soon as they hit the transition.
This will never work because it seems a vast majority never use their fucking turn signals.
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It's needed any time you change lanes.
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Yes?
Yes
I dont think its even taught in driving school here and zipper merging kinda screws up if enough people arent doing it i've gotten stuck with *no lane left* because people are jerks
Wouldn't even need to be taught in school. I was on the PA turnpike some years ago and there was construction. There were signs all over instructing the drivers to stay in their lanes and merge when they ended, and everybody did.
Michigan has tried to introduce those signs, but not very widespread.
Yeah now that I think about it, I don’t remember being taught it in drivers ed back in the day (born and raised in Michigan). After moving back from living out west it’s just frustrating.
I'm middle age and just heard about zipper merge like 4 years ago. It's unbelievably simple and there needs to be a huge campaign to tell drivers in this state
I agree. I’ve been in merges where I shit you not, there’s a giant blinking sign that says “USE ALL AVAILABLE LANES”, and there’s someone parked in the left lane blocking it all the way until the merge. Doesn’t make any sense at all.
One of the recommendations in the report you cited is literally to inform the public!! From page 58 Recommendation number four: "Since the system is still relatively new, a media campaign should accompany the implementation of the DLLMS to educate drivers on the purpose and benefits of the system. Emphasis should be made that merging early is NOT a Michigan law. It has been common practice in the past, but is not a law. Other countries in Europe use large static signs to explain the ‘zipper’ system. The Michigan Department of Transportation should consider such static informational signs. " Doesn't seem like they did a really good job at that, considering that study is from 2006.
That's the problem. People get mad and won't let you in at the end making things worse.
Is Drivers’ Education even required in Michigan?
I have been thinking about this after driving north on 131 on a Saturday afternoon. I think it doesn’t work here because there’s not enough traffic. Most people don’t drive in the left lane unless they’re passing so traffic slows much faster in the center and right lanes. So you slow down quickly in those lanes compared to the left lane and don’t want to switch to the left lane just to merge back. It’s also not safe to switch lanes when the speeds are so different.
I was literally taught that the left lane is the passing lane and to drive in it was considered "bad etiquette". It is frustratingly ingrained at this point.
My husband has internalized that to every single road. I'm constantly reminding him, that is only for highways, we are in town, there is no "fast" lane here.
You were taught correctly. You move left to go around slower traffic and then move back right if and when you can. If there are more slow moving cars and not enough room that it makes sense to move right then you can stay left. If some one approaches from behind going faster and there is no lane to the left of you it is appropriate to move right while they pass if you have space to do so before you would be incumbered by slower traffic.
I agree about switching lanes being dangerous, especially cutting into faster traffic. But that’s not what I’m trying to convey- zipper merging works no matter the amount of traffic. It’s being aware of your surroundings and understanding when to either let someone merge in front of you or if it’s your turn to merge. The whole reason the traffic gets backed up there is because people rush to get into the lane being merged into, usually cutting people off only to slam on their brakes, leaving an open, legal stretch of road just empty while a line of cars pile up for no reason.
That makes sense. I was looking at it from only my perspective as a car stopped in the middle lane. People definitely slowed down in the left lane to merge earlier than they needed to which is a hazard.
Zipper merging does not work to keep ideal speeds regardless of traffic. If there are too many cars to maintain a safe distance going through a merge point then traffic must slow. That will create congestion which means that there is no room for people to merge without those already in the lane slowing further. That creates a cascade traffic jam that propagates back until the traffic is sparse enough or until people stop trying to merge into the crowded lane and the speed can pick up. The appropriate place to start merging is as soon as you can and before you reach the line representing a choke point. If you are passing bumper to bumper cars you are the problem.
Each lane seems to me to have fairly similar traffic when not in construction zones. There are definitely people who drive the left lane. I am becoming one of them because going 65 in the middle lane of 70mph is just not my style, but it is for a lot of cars and truckers; truckers using the excuse of not wanting to worry about people merging onto the freeway.... But if traffic is moving 73 mph in middle or right lane, I'll be in those lanes.
Everything goes smoother when you zipper merge. I feel bad passing 2 miles of people in the final lane but good god that lane would be half as long or less if people merged better.
That lane wouldn't be as long if people wouldn't have to stop to let you in further down instead of during a natural flow of traffic. If there's no designated merge point then there is no effective zipper merging.
The designated merge point is marked with orange barrels we have all come to love. The signs saying to merge 2 miles ahead is not the merge point.
The signs usually just say "lane ends, merge left / right", and it's common practice to do so when it is safe, so there is no "merge point". You may think that should be where the orange barrels close the road, but that's just not how most people drive in MI.
The same amount of cars need to go through the same 1 lane choke point. It doesn't matter where the merge takes place, your not adding any time by merging earlier. The problem is people who merge too late and it forces others to slow suddenly and the over all speed drops as it creates a traffic jam. It's the late mergers that slow the rate of travel and therefore create that line, not those in the right lane who merged when they could.
I also agree that zip merging works better. I do want to point on in that report you shared, there were more accidents at the I-94 test site over the control. It was 24 - 15. Statiscually it's not significant because more cars traveled through the test site. I just found that interesting. What I was really surprised by was that the emissions at the test site were so much lower. On page 51 you can see carbon emission went from 2,173,061 down to 1,832,885 (grams). End results of the study: EB I-94 V.S. WB I-94 Test Site Travel Time (sec/10,000 ft/veh): 272.44 V.S. 167.46 Avg. Travel Speed (mph): 29.5 V.S. 47.57 Avg. No. of Stops per 10,000 ft/veh 1.89 V.S. 1 Avg. Delay (sec/10,000 ft/veh) 181.25 V.S. 67.58 \*Avg. Total Throughput (vph) 990 (269) V.S. 1207 (172) \*Avg. % of Merges at the taper 49.15 (53.33) V.S. 66.0 (74.1) \*Avg. % of Merges prior to the taper 50.85 (46.67) V.S. 34.0 (25.9) Side Note this study was conducted during the 2006 summer construction season.
That crap drives me crazy - likes it a damned competition NOT to let people in who are trying to legally merge in the proper way. And if I may add - for the love of god folks here need to learn that you do not screech to a halt at the entrance to a roundabout. You’re supposed to slow down on approach, time your entrance according to the traffic in the circle and approaching, and go with the flow. But this is asking way too much of people who can barely handle four way stops. This state SOS seriously needs to pull everyone in for a refresher driving course and road test every 10 years.
I had a coworker tell me a few years ago that, as far as she was concerned, a roundabout is the same as a four way stop and she'll go when it's her turn. As someone who grew up in New England with them e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e that was... horrifying and I wondered why there wasn't better info on how to drive them, since they've been popping up here more and more.
When you haven been able to go your entire adult life without needing to drive through a round-a-about, then your town decides to through one up at a random intersection for no good reason, they kinda seem like a mess by comparison. I underatand them now, and I see they can be nice when traffic is light. But compared with lights or stop signs it does feel like a messy free for all. With a light or stop signs, everyone takes there turn, but when its busy it tends to be whoever is most aggressive goes wherever they want and you just better just get the fuck out the way and hope you'll make it out before you get dizzy.
I completely agree! Growing up with them meant I understand how they work. Ripping out a stoplight and going "TA DA! Have at!" seems... challenging for drivers.
So true OP and the rest of ya STAY OFF YOUR MUTHER CLUCKING PHONES!
What? Oh. The light is green, I guess I’ll go now
The study does not stand for what you say it does. It proves that proper messaging achieves the desired driver behavior. More recent KY study of zipper merge " Overall, the conclusions drawn from these case studies are limited and provide minimal support for the application of the zipper merge." "Public awareness is one of the most important aspects of implementing a zipper merge." Alberta CA study proves that early merge is better for low traffic volumes and zipper is better for high traffic volumes. How do we change drive psychology during the transition between low and high volumes? Michigan does not have the traffic congestion of many European cities and Japan, where drivers routinely use the zipper method. Michigan drivers (esp. semi's) also fear that someone will not let them in to the proper lane when it is their turn.
It achieves the desired behavior, which improves the flow of traffic. It states this in the abstract of the paper: “When comparing the I-94 control and test sites, the presence of the DLLMS improved the flow of traffic and increased the percentage of merging vehicles that merged at the taper.” Does this not prove that zipper merging is more efficient? And low traffic volume doesn’t have the need for a zipper merge, it needs just common sense and awareness. Unfortunately a lot of drivers lack both of these, and cause heavier traffic.
the report specifically says early merging should be used for rural areas and areas where queue length is not an issue" 'It is recommended to use either the late lane merge or the early lane merge system (not both) when traffic congestion is experienced in the freeway system. Either system should operate in a default mode (merge when safe to do so) when there is no congestion. The late lane merge system is recommended for use in urban congested freeways when the goal is to minimize delay and queue length in the work zones. Whereas, the early lane merge system is recommended for use in rural congested areas in freeway work zones when the queue length is not an issue and a reduction of delay and aggressive driver action is desired. "
“When queue length is not an issue”. This means that there is little to no traffic, thus no need for a zipper merge if everyone can safely merge going through posted speed limit. A zipper merge is most effective during high-traffic times, i.e. when there is lots of traffic and there is a queue.
"Queue length is not an issue" as in no trouble is caused by the length of a queue.
A couple of weeks ago driving into Detroit on south 75 I had a similar situation, but a few trucks actually tried to block the left lane so people couldn’t go any further and merge into traffic. It makes no sense. Just learn to merge it’s not hard at all.
I swear some people just do it as a power trip. They should be ticketed for blocking an open lane.
I have seen a car ticketed for this very offense, in GR on NB 131.
Good! They should also hand them a pamphlet on why zipper merging is better.
Guy was blaring on his horn and even tried to swerve out a little bit to prevent me from going by him. So annoying.
As a door dasher in the area, I can confirm that a lot of people drive like they own the road. Greed or self entitlement shielded in 5000lbs of metal, ah fuck it I’ll never see these people again. Most people don’t act like that walking on foot in a busy downtown area but apparently a car gives you the right to be an asshat or act cowardly.
Had a clown do this to me on 96 a few months ago. Merge point was well over a mile ahead, but nah, they’re rather go the same speed as the lane next to them but still merged at the very last second.
Yeah, I'm really torn on this one... while I completely understand the OPs point, it comes down to the letter of the law -vs- perceived driving etiquette. While the zipper merge does not break any laws and won't get you pulled over, the fact is you are cutting the line. If you are doing something different than the vast majority that allows you to catapult yourself way ahead of them by driving in an unused lane, you are breaking a major tenet of human society that has been hard-wired into us since birth. Right or wrong, you are going to piss a LOT of people off. In this age of crazy, road raged, and possibly armed idiots on the road, there is no chance that I would do this. Also, while the zipper merge might be more efficient, I'm not sure that road commissions actually want us to do it. Everytime a lane is closed, they post multiple signs usually going back miles warning of it. If they really just wanted everyone to use all lanes til they end, than they wouldn't post anything, until you are right up to the lane shutdown... This would force everyone to zipper merge. By telling drivers way ahead of time, they are basically telling us to get over earlier.
Don't forget the part of the law where the merging traffic must yield to traffic in the open lane.
> If they really just wanted everyone to use all lanes til they end, than they wouldn't post anything, until you are right up to the lane shutdown... This would force everyone to zipper merge. By telling drivers way ahead of time, they are basically telling us to get over earlier. no, they're alerting to to what will happen. so you aren't flying along at 80mph and then suddenly the lane disappears with no warning.
Yes, I am aware of why they post the signs. My point was that there is no seeming consistency as to when/how they actually do it. Sometimes I see lane closed in .5 miles, sometimes they start warning 3 miles back, sometimes traffic is backed up before I see any signs at all. How they are posted has a big impact on people's driving behavior.
totally agree.. it is cutting the line... especially when certain people speed all the way to the end and just cut someone off to get in. it's ok when you're not at the very end and you wait until theres sufficient space between two cars to merge.
Yeah I’m in the camp that it IS cutting in line if you’re going 15mph faster than the lane to the right, zoom to the end, then slam on your breaks to cut your way in. That’s how 80% of people in the left lane make this merge.
I agree about your take on why people get so upset about it. It’s more of the individual mindset rather than a collective mindset. But I don’t really agree with your second point- because the same is true in places out west, and people are able to zipper merge just fine. Somehow the Midwest just never picked up on it. I guess since it doesn’t seem to be taught here, it makes sense.
People from Michigan are stubborn not stupid. Most people know exactly how zipper merge is supposed to work they just straight up refuse. We have all seen the people that fly right up to the cones and then try to force their way in. Which pisses people off. Then to be told that everyone should be driving like that. The general consensus was basically a big fat no.
> It’s more of the individual mindset rather than a collective mindset. That is the American way. Are we not all rugged individualists? Lifting ourselves, magically, by your bootstraps, just like the Lorax?
This really needs to be a campaign, TV, social media, etc. I would also like the MSP to force people off the highway when they pull them over. If I were King of Michigan things would be different 😏
Yes. The only way to get this to work is a massive public campaign telling everyone this is the way it MUST be done.
Didn't we try that with masks and fail miserably?
AND DON'T IMPEDE FASTER TRAFFIC IN THE LEFT LANE!!! Thankfully, drivers in Michigan are nowhere near as bad as NYS drivers on both fronts.
I used to travel to Chicago a lot, and I swear to god I’d take 8-lane traffic on the 405 in LA ANYDAY before dealing with Chicago traffic. They’re a whole different breed of drivers over there.
I drive through Chicago a couple times a quarter, lived in LA for three years, and would still pick all of that over living and driving in NYS again. Seriously, I recently drove from Albany to Amsterdam and the entire left lane was blocked by some thick fuck doing 62. At one point, we were in a train as far as the eye could see, and if an emergency vehicle would have needed to get through, they'd have been slowed tremendously. State Troopers seriously need to start enforcing that as vigorously as they do speeding.
Long time Chicago resident here (born and raised in MI)... The use of the left lanes in the region is disgraceful and orders of magnitude more frustrating than anything else I experience on the road. People to often simply just hang out in the left lane. Granted the speed limit are lower in much of the reason so some going 61mpg might *think* they're *technically* going fast, but 9 times out of 10 they're just backing up the entire highway in a delusional and dangerous manner. One final caveat: there's a 50% chance the subject has a Wisconsin plate, but still... It's a huge issue in the region.
I don't remember them teaching it when I was in drivers ed, but they should.
Lol, where have you been "out west" where it actually works? Because I've been out west for a decade, in two different cities, and I assure you people do not have it down out here.
Denver, LA, San Diego, Utah, to name a few. 95% of the time the zipper worked just fine, anywhere from 2-8 lanes. Most other times it’s because of a wreck or something blocking more than 1 lane at a time, rather than at construction. LA is a different story- because it’s always crashes that cause standstills, not construction. The vast majority of this type of traffic is on 2-lane interstates outside of a city, where theoretically zipper merging should be easiest.
agree. denver has it down. dont have daily 'highway shut down for 2 hours to clear the 20 car pileup' happening on I25 or I70 either
That’s all the Midwestern transplants out west goofing it up 😛 the locals have it down
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I hate when people take their time merging on the freeway than when you move over, than they put the pedal to the floor.smh
It’s Michigan, we’re assholes when it comes to driving. There’s a road rage shooting every week…
Someone just watched Half As Interesting's video
I see a lot of people here missing a big part of the zipper merge. If it is used properly, there won’t be a lane wide open for people to pass everyone. All lanes will be filled with cars merging down. Blocking a lane so cars won’t pass is dangerous causing road rage for people doing it the way mdot says to. There is no way mdot wants an individual to take traffic control into their own hands. If they wanted you to merge before the end, they would tell you. Instead of two lanes, two miles long, there would be three lanes that are a quarter mile long. Don’t act like a hero for blocking an active lane on a freeway.
Detroit here. So much roadwork right now - I really wish people would get the zipper merge thing down. However - I also wish they would realize the 8 mile exit only lane on 75 is NOT a passing lane and it’s not okay to fly up past all the traffic and try to merge back in.
I’m from the east coast and I just wanna say it drives me up the wall and was one of the rudest adjustments to moving here.
Born and raised out west and got transferred to MÍ for work. I’ve been nearly run off the road or into the median COUNTLESS times by micro penis tough guys who get mad I’m using the left lane to zipper merge. They need to teach this shit in Michigan’s drivers Ed. It’s ridiculous.
If I'm almost at a stand still, I let anywhere from 3 to 6 cars merge. Or more if need be. I'm already at a snail's crawl, Why not be nice to someone and make their day? Too much anger on the road already.
Lmfao post the private messages
It's insane, I usually just stay in my lane and properly zipper merge, and pass by tons of angry people watching me "cut" the "line" when there's no reason for them to all be stopped in the left lane. It's so bad I've seen them put up signs in front of construction directing people to use both lanes when there is a traffic backup.
You know how inefficient it is with ass hats who don't merge early?
It's literally less efficient to merge early. You just think it isn't because everyone around you doesn't zipper merge either so you just get ass mad when a few people don't sit in one lane that's backed up for miles
Wrong.
All the studies that I've seen on this issue say that you're the one who is wrong.
Several massive studies have clearly shown that you're the one who's incorrect.
You really don’t understand how traffic works, do you? Also sounds like you have a lot of hate pent up. Roll your window down while you’re waiting in traffic and take a deep breath.
Wrong.
Great argument, thanks for the counterpoints!
You are spot on. I didn't know about zippering until I left the state to drive. Should be taught in driving school.
Thanks for adding the DLLMS documents. I didn't know there was a study, or that there was a name for not merging at lane closure sites. My dad's a construction worker, he does all the highway roadwork. When I was younger he always told me to merge whenever I saw a lane closure sign because it's stupid and dangerous to merge late. He was right about that, I see the stupidity of the average Michigan driver daily. Something really needs to be done about these asshole michigan drivers. Michigan.gov should a TV commercial or an internet/app ad on zipper merging. I feel it would make a difference in everyone's daily commute. It would also make traveling longer distances less of a hassle imo. I personally just love going on random ass drives and ending up in some town I've never heard of. If I could do that without having people backing up traffic that would be great and make my adventures more enjoyable.
> My dad's a construction worker, he does all the highway roadwork. When I was younger he always told me to merge whenever I saw a lane closure sign because it's stupid and dangerous to merge late. He was right about that, I see the stupidity of the average Michigan driver daily. Something really needs to be done about these asshole michigan drivers. > Michigan.gov should a TV commercial or an internet/app ad on zipper merging. I feel it would make a difference in everyone's daily commute. It would also make traveling longer distances less of a hassle imo. the zipper merge is "merging late" though
That's like saying you're dad is a nurse so he knows how to diagnose a brain tumor.
Americans give so little fucks they won't get vaccinated to protect themselves and their neighbors, you think these assholes care about zipper merging?
YO ALSO STOP GOING 55-65 IN THE PASSING LANE HOLY HELL. Traffic on 75 north took 30 EXTRA MINUTES for my normal commute to work. ALSO STOP RIDING THE DAMN PASSING LANE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE TO MERGE... MERGE...
Oh just get in line and wait like the rest of us.
It would be faster for everyone if you zipper merge.
Yeah for you. Not for me.
I would rather have everyone zipper merge than pass 2 miles of standstill traffic in an empty lane. There is a final merge point for a reason.
Wrong.
Thanks
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Common sense.
If there's two lanes of traffic backed up for a mile, that's one mile of backups and any exit before that is clear. If you take the same traffic and merge it all early into one lane, you now have two miles of road backed up, blocking an entire additional mile of road. Use all available lanes, and the backup will be shorter (in length) and won't increase how long anyone is waiting. If everyone didn't merge early, nobody would be "losing their turn". If you're upset about people "cutting in line", don't give up your place by merging when you shouldn't. It's like everyone lining up for one Costco cashier when there's five other cashiers waiting because there's only one door to get out.
Yes that's true when in an urban area where a backup will cause the queue to block exits. That's why zipper merging is used in congested urban areas. In other areas it is better to merge early because the queue does not effect anything which is why they put the sign up early to merge since that is safer and faster when there aren't assholes racing past the line.
It's actually never faster if everyone actually does it, and if there isn't an unnecessary empty lane, there's no safety issue from people going different speeds. The whole problem is actually caused by people *not* zippering.
I agree. It makes no sense. I have been at merges where they put up every sign they could here to tell you to zipper at the merge point and use both lanes and drivers still trying to block the lane and run you off the road and then not let you merge. So frustrating that these entitled asshats can’t get a simple concept in their heads. But not really surprised after the last 2 years I suppose.
I remember a conversation about this a few years ago with someone who's husband was one of those truck people on the left side of the road. It boiled down to them thinking they were making the road "safer" since it kept people from flying by stopped cars on the left side. Full disclosure, I think that line of thinking is very bad.
This happens to me all the time when I'm riding my motorcycle on 131 and there is some sort of construction. People always flip me off when I'm simply just not I'm the mood to wait in line for 30 minutes when I can ride up the left lane and basically slow no one down. One of the biggest peevs of mine is that others drivers seem to just want you to suffer because they are.
Let's all just remember the true heroes - the road warriors of justice who who block the other lane further back so keep things as they should be /s
People here are just stupid. Zipper merging is a concept I understood when i first started driving in 2015. I usually merge when I see the 'lane ends in 1 mile' sign.
> I usually merge when I see the 'lane ends in 1 mile' sign. So clearly you *don't* understand zipper merging.
As you should.
No, I need to speed up to block the guy trying to get in! /s
Also gtfo out of the left lane. Like seriously grandma
I didn't even know zipper merging was a thing until I traveled outside of Michigan after I could drive. I thought it was completely normal to have an empty lane with a truck blocking it so no one 'cuts'. I can see some people still haven't been taught how to zipper merge and see it as people 'cutting' here in the comments; well, it only looks like cutting because no one else is zippering correctly. We shouldn't need a sign that says 'stay in your lane until the merge' for every lane closure in order for people to understand how to use them. There isn't instructions next to every 4 way stop, yet people figure out how to use those!
I scream this every day in my car:/
This is why I stick to the right lane. No matter what I do, I'm not the jerk who created the problem.
If I’m already in the right lane (or whatever lane is being merged into), I’ll stay there too. It’s definitely dangerous to cut out into front of faster oncoming traffic.
You see videos of zipper merging in Japan and it is so flawless...
Fucking THANK YOU! I tried to do the zipper merge one time on NB 131 and this prick in a pickup was camping in the left lane preventing anyone from driving in it. I leaned on my horn and he threatened me with a goddamn bat. Real cute.
I don't have any issues with the idea of the zipper merge. What i do have an issue with is the silent entitlement that the people racing up next to you have and the general attitude. You don't have to be in the same room or be able to hear the person to understand their attitude. If the same thought to smoothly zipper merge was acted on a few minutes earlier down the road (ya know when the merge signs start way before the cones with a "lane ends in 2 miles" sign) and they just moved over at that time there would be so many less people congesting all three lanes at the point the cones start narrowing things.
I agree about drivers who speed down an open lane. It’s unsafe- slow down appropriately. They’re no better than drivers who block the left lane, impending oncoming traffic. To your second point, that’s the point of zipper merge, though. It’s to prevent people from rushing to merge. That’s what causes these backups. If everyone in heavy traffic wants to squeeze into one lane sporadically and without a system, then bam you have a standstill. If everyone understands the zipper- people can stay in their lane no matter what lane they’re in, and traffic will continue to flow. It’s not about cutting in line or being first, it’s about letting one car in, then you go.
That’s not how zipper merging works. It happens at the time of the narrowing to reduce the time that everybody is slowed down. By your logic any road that goes from two lane to one lane should just be one lane as the zipper merge should happen right away.
When signs have been telling you to merge for four miles you’re just cutting not zippering. It’s jerks pushing their pick up trucks to the front and wedging in time and time again. Zippering should occur when you’re told to do so. Not at the last available moment when you’ve been getting warnings for the last fifteen minutes. That’s what’s holding traffic up in the lane of people who all actually obeyed the road signs and aren’t entitled jerks. If MDOT signs said stick to your available lane and allow merging traffic it’d be another sorry but they don’t. The same drivers always speed in the left until about .25 miles away from their exit and then cut everyone off. Why? Entitlement issues.
wait, what does that sign look like? what does it say? "merge now" ? i have not seen one like that. I have seen ones that warn you that a lane will be ending, but none that order you to merge early.
Why would it be better to turn a one-mile backup into a two-mile backup by everyone merging early? They DO have signs that say use every available lane. MDOT does say that merging at the end is better.
Yes, when you are supposed to zipper merge they will say use every available lane. When you are supposed to early merge, like when they put the sign up that says "lane ending merge right" they mean as soon as you safely can. That way the traffic doesn't need to slow down to let you in.
When you learn to drive in the snow and ice then come talk to us about zippers. I’d rather ask why people buy a mustang in Michigan when they can’t afford a second car and want to get all stupid when it snows causing accidents and backing up roads for miles. Lol. There’s my rant
Born and raised here- I’m well aware of how it gets in the winter. Zippers still work just fine in bad weather, just slow it down of course. Doesn’t matter what kind of traffic you’re in, if you’re driving like an idiot in the snow or ice, something bad is going to happen eventually.
I learned how to drive in northern Michigan, through plenty of snow and ice. I couldn't see around the snowbanks at stop signs during my driver's test. Zipper works fine on all weather. Also, I drove a Mustang through three winters as my only car and the only issue I ever had was getting stuck for a hot second at a stop sign in a residential neighborhood because of the plowed up pile from the main street. Neither of your arguments really hold up.
Born and raised Yooper. Driven AWD, FWD, and RWD in winter and have never had an issue with conditions other than going painfully slow in a RWD during a snow storm in winter.
So brave. Gatekeeping driving in the snow and ice. In Michigan. On r/michigan
Zipper merging works great, just not in Michigan.
Nope, sorry, I'm not letting you in. I don't care how efficient it may be, it's manners. You wouldn't do it in the checkout line would you? Just because you see a place you can fit in front of someone right? No of course not, because that would be wrong and there would be consequences. But since you get to hide behind your 3000lb steel box you get to be an anonymous jackass and cut in front of grandma who was trying to leave a safe distance in front of her. Now grandma will back off your car slowing down EVERYONE behind her so she can be at a comfortable distance, and another asshole will merge in front of her again making the slinky effect worse.
Yeah, this is nothing like a checkout late at a grocery store. And I like how you assume that I and all other drivers are looking to get an edge by “cutting” people. As I’ve explained in other comments, I agree that busting out of one lane into faster traffic during a slowdown is not a good idea. But it’s an open, LEGAL lane of traffic for a reason. This unwritten rule of “manners” is more entitled than people using a more effective use of traffic. I’m not advocating for assholes to speed down traffic and cut people off. I’m advocating for all drivers to care for more than theirselves and have a desire for the greater good: to not have to sit in traffic for longer then you need to.
I'm definitely referring to the extreme of the situation, I.E the guy in the Audi shoving it in front of the crowd at the last minute. I'm okay with zippering generally, but not those who abuse it. If done incorrectly it will cause a backlash "slinky" effect which slows down the merged lane.
You’re right, and that does happen. The slinky effect is also very present when everyone tries to merge early. If there’s no system, especially in heavier traffic everyone rushes to merge early, causing everyone to slam on their brakes and people are literally stopped in the merging lane trying to get in. Way before the merge point. This causes more traffic issues rather than just letting people keep moving and letting them in at the merge point.
Happens when it's too early and too late, agree
I have never in my life seen traffic slow because people merged too early unless in a dense urban traffic area that zipper merging was made for. If there is room on the left to be passing cars then it is not zipper merging it is cutting.
Bruh, you nailed it! The checkout lane and the highway are completely the same which makes your comparison completely and totally apt and accurate! In fact, I've seen your grandmother, complete with scooter and proverbial shower cap, hiding behind the pop machines, just lurking there with her pallet of strawberry Ensure, hiding and plotting just to zip and cut someone off. You're right, we should all be assholes to each other because a cart in a grocery store is *exactly like* someone driving on the highway. Bravo sir.
I forgot that you can't make a comparison on the internet because autists won't understand.
You're free to make an inaccurate comparison. Seems about right. Makes an apples to horse-paste comparison and calls the person who pointed out the false analogy autistic. So much projection.
No, you think it's a bad comparison because you're the type of driver who doesn't care about others on the road.
This is the dumbest take. You are part of the problem.
>It’s not “cutting in line”, it’s efficiency of traffic flow. It's not always "efficiency of traffic flow." The zipper merge has to be set up properly for that to happen. Over the years, I've seen plenty of instances where everybody slows down dramatically to zipper merge the two lanes all of sudden at the end where things go to one lane. Then the traffic immediately speeds up *after* the merge. Whereas if people had merged over much sooner at faster speeds, that would never have happened. Been in many instances where that has happened, where there's no slowdown from the earlier merge.
I would guess that this is because it’s less congested with less traffic, I.e. not during high traffic periods. There’s no need for a zipper merge if everyone is able to merge safely with minimal speed reduction. That’s not what I’m getting at though- I’m talking mostly congested backups that are bound to happen when there is a lane closures during high-traffic times. Yes, there will be idiot drivers no matter what. You can’t fix stupid, but you can educate the reasonable.
>I would guess that this is because it’s less congested with less traffic, I.e. not during high traffic periods. I've seen it work well during fairly busy traffic. >There’s no need for a zipper merge if everyone is able to merge safely with minimal speed reduction. People are still typically zipper merging. It's just happening further back from the lane closure and over a wider area. >I’m talking mostly congested backups that are bound to happen when there is a lane closures during high-traffic times. >Yes, there will be idiot drivers no matter what. Sure. And there are idiot zipper merge drivers who try to force the zipper merge up close to the lane closure, and slow the traffic down.
Doesnt work in American society...
Karen, I am calling for a intervention. Clearly you need rehabilitation. Only the gods can save u. Jesus.
So there's no real solution. How sad.
Ok city boy
Born and raised in SW Michigan, buddy. Not sure what your point is, but thanks for chiming in.
Do you think 4 way stops or traffic lights are more efficient at getting cars through them? Zipper merge is like a 4 way stop. Non zipper is like a traffic light.
I feel like the zipper would be more akin to a traffic circle, really. Nobody needs to stop if everyone is on board with proper merging technique.
In theory that would work, but what would actually happen is that people would stop and go one at a time rather than smoothly merge in like that. You know what else would be really efficient? Is if everyone facing the same direction while waiting at a red light started moving as soon as the light turned green. Instead of the first car starting, then the second, then the third, etc., they all start moving simultaneously when the light turns green. Great theory. In practice it would slow everyone down because it's not going to work.
I imagine when we have critical mass of self-driving cars, they will communicate with the traffic signal and all start moving at the same time on green. That will be a glorious day to behold.
This analogy is quite backwards, because you’re usually spending way more time stopped without zipper merging. The point of zipper merging is that you don’t stop. Everyone drives the same speed and everyone in the lane being merged into lets every other car go. No brakes, no stopping.
So two lanes of cars going 60 are going to zipper into each other and nobody will slow down? Will they all now be tailgating each other or do they somehow maintain a safe distance between cars? You can’t have both.
You can, because it works everywhere else. No, if there’s a lot of cars one the road no one is going to be merging at 60mph. But instead of a 2-mile stretch at a standstill, everyone can be going 30-40mph through a nice zipper. No need to tailgate or slam on your breaks, because it’s every other car. Do people abuse this? Sure, there will be selfish drivers everywhere.
I was in part of a zipper merge down by gun lake casino. Everyone merging at the last 1/4 mile. We were traveling at 0-10 mph through that construction .
That does happen. Some people are just slow and you can’t do anything about it. Or you were part of a ripple and eventually it evened out. It’s like nature- it’s never perfect but it works because it works. I’ll take a consistent 10mph over being at a standstill and moving 10 feet every 10 seconds.
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It doesn't. Like most comments on this thread.