Proper Merging in Heavy Traffic (Duluth, New Brighton: cost, cars, commuter)

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by Slig

Or we could force every midwesterner to spend a week on the east coast or in Southern California with a rental car and ask them to drive for a week in order to take a full immersion driving course and understand how nice and stress-free zipper merging works. If we weren't currently leeching billions from our poor schools I'd say LET IT BE DONE!

Lol thats funny. But i think we'd be better off installing big Video boards beside the freeway with a video showing you the process of the "Zipper Merge" like what ozzie679 posted

[widowmom22]

why cant everyone be curteous?We all need to use the same roads so does it cause pain to allow someone in front of you?I'd rather get there late safely than not get there at all!

[Navelinski]

I think a lot of midwesterners are trying to be "nice" and merge way to soon. I think they need to change the signs and have something that says... Wait for it... Wait for it... OK Merge Here!

I do not generally merge early because that just makes the problem worse. Some people are bound to misunderstand and get upset, but they'll get over it.

This is NOT to be confused with merging onto a highway from a sidestreet. Way too often, people forget that they have to yield to the traffic already on the highway.

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by swmrbird

Minnesotans follow directions too well. They move over early because they think it's the *right* thing to do.

Personally I take the open lane as far as I can. You might get some looks and some honks, but really it's their own fault for being dumb enough to just sit there waiting. I think that's the extent of the overreacting you'll get - and it's totally worth it.

Minnesotans see the merge sign way back, think to themselves: "Oh Gosh, construction... well, I don't feel like thinking really so I'm just gonna get behind all the other cars and wait until it's my turn so I can gawk off at stuff. Oh look at that jerk speeding by!" Not knowing the "jerk" is actually following directions and paying attention to the signs that say "Use Both Lanes".

East and West Coasters actually pay attention to driving and think of it more as a creative and harmonic means for transportation. Minnesotans try to be nice and end up accidentally pissing themselves off in the process.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by Navelinski

I think a lot of midwesterners are trying to be "nice" and merge way to soon. I think they need to change the signs and have something that says... Wait for it... Wait for it... OK Merge Here!

I do not generally merge early because that just makes the problem worse. Some people are bound to misunderstand and get upset, but they'll get over it.

This is NOT to be confused with merging onto a highway from a sidestreet. Way too often, people forget that they have to yield to the traffic already on the highway.

I think poor merging skills are due to fear and stupidity.

[demtion35]

Ive seen many times drivers actually stopped on the on ramp with the blinker on and waiting to merge from a complete stop and there is a big difference between merge and yeild

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by demtion35

Ive seen many times drivers actually stopped on the on ramp with the blinker on and waiting to merge from a complete stop and there is a big difference between merge and yeild

They do that all the time in St Cloud Morons!

[Sonata36]

Originally Posted by BobMarley_1LOVE

In Minnesota in construction zones before a lane ends i notice signs that say "Use both lanes during backups".

However. . .
Lets say the right lane is gonna end in this imaginary situation on a 2 lane in each direction highway

I always notice a very long line of cars in the Left lane going between 0-10mph . . . . and a few cars in the right lane going 40-60mph which is a really scary situation

I drive all over the country and i notice situations like this happening in alot of places (Alot in the Mid-West however)

However i notice on the West or East coast people actually use both lanes during backups which is how its suppose to be done because id rather have 2 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic going 25 - 40 mph which lets say its a 6 mile long back up . . . . But if all the cars in the left merge WAYYY before than it could cause double the traffic that would be a 12 mile line long

I drive in MN and notice this alot but i dont understand why they dont use BOTH lanes during backups

Also what do you do if you see this situation happening???

Do you use right lane and risk having some person with anger problems over-reacting at you ? ? ? ?

Or do you just wait in the long line wasting about 20 minutes of your time
? ? ? ?

I am not going to read the replies in this thread because I will just start screaming at the computer, but, yes, use BOTH lanes during merges. MN started a campaign for this in the early 90s and it didn't seem to work.

I actually emailed MNDOT recently and they said there is already another campaign in place. Glad to see that some people are noticing it.

The biggest reason for this, though, is because if people don't use both lanes, then the back-ups get so long that it causes congesting on otherwise unrelated highways, as well.

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

They do that all the time in St Cloud Morons!

Last summer in a construction zone in Duluth, on the 35 project, a driver had gone past the exit, by about a 1/4 mile and he was actually backing up in the shoulder when the traffic was a little less, then stopping and waiting, then backing up again/ trying to get to that exit...

[Blue Earth]

A better explanation for why cars back up in one lane in those situations is because a lot of people do not want to be in the position of having to ask for someone's "permission" to merge back in to the main lane of traffic when they get to where their lane ends. Someone in the other lane of traffic has to stop for you and let you merge back in. It is easier to just stay in the lane that you need to be in, even if the traffic is backed up, because at least that way you don't have to get someone's "permission" to let you merge back into that lane when you need to merge. The irony is that the people who stay in that lane because they don't want to merge into a long line of bumper-to-bumper traffic are themselves forced to stop and let other people merge in front of them. That's probably where the passive-aggression comes from.

It wouldn't be a problem if everyone on the road knew to use both lanes and to expect to have to slow down and stop when other cars merge over into their lane in those situations. That's what the zipper merge thing does. If people know that they will be able to merge back into the main lane when they need to merge, and that they won't be the "oddball" trying to get someone to stop for them, then they will use both lanes. If people think that they will have a hard time merging back into the main lane because someone won't stop for them, then they will stay in the lane that they need to be in so they don't have to merge.