That is the question...
When two lanes are merging into one, are you supposed to merge early and wait in the line, or keep driving and merge just as the two lanes come together?
I deal with this everyday, as there is a point in my drive where two lanes become one as I drive through Los Gatos. Usually the left lane is heavily congested, while the right lane moves freely up until the point where the lanes merge.
The experienced commuter I am, I always cruise into the right lane until they merge, shaving precious minutes off my commute. But today I read an article that made me question whether this practice was right or ethical.
My official stance is that late merging isn't an issue of right or wrong or ethics, its a matter of using the freeway in the most efficient manner possible. But what do you think? Are you a do-gooder early merger, or do you live life on the wild side and merge late?
10 comments:
Heather: late merger.
Matt: do gooder.
I think that's why we work out so well! :) haha
I don't remember where I saw this, but just recently I saw a study done where they showed that merging at the merge point is the fastest, most effective (and therefore best and nicest for all) way to move traffic through a "choke point." It's called the zipper effect, I believe. The key, however, is for the cars from each lane to take turns (one from one lane, one from the next and so on). Otherwise, if people aren't taking turns (perhaps because they don't want to let the person in who waited to merge because they think they are "cutting in line" because they didn't merge straight away), people just turn into bullies and no one wants to let anyone in, things get tight, and the whole process comes to a painfully slow drag.
I am defiantly a later merger, by far the quickest way
I'm a late merger! Actually I am just LATE period. Shaving precious commute minutes is of the utmost importance as it is the difference between being a mere 10 minutes late to work (which is acceptable) and being 15 - 20 minutes late (which is just plain late). I don't see why one would merge early... just to be merged upon later by someone smarter or as you put it "more efficient" at navigating a merge lane.
Rachel thinks it's rude not to merge earlier. I think you should get as far ahead as possible before you merge. Drives Rachel nuts. But hey, why should I have to wait because nobody else is smart enough to use the perfectly good lane that hasn't ended yet?
let's be real and call a spade a spade huh. merging early is for pussys.
Here's another thing to consider. Is your vehicle a point and squirt type or a large slow responding lump (vanagon)? I tend to merge whenever I see an opening regardless of where it presents itself in the merging lane.
I'm an early merger...
And then I read recently that merging later actually helped to flow of traffic...
I am one of those who still gets highly annoyed with the driver on 17 who KNOWS that we have all moved to the left lane to pass a truck, yet they try to zip past us all and then squeeze over to the left. I am a line person, so I have to be in a good mood to back off and give them enough room to move over.
I was just thinking about this when I was on hwy 1 sitting in traffic due to that diesel truck explosion. People were merging WAY too early and leaving so much room in the right lane to just cruise through. It didn't make sense to move over! Yay for the zipper!
im concerned that you have 9 comments about merging yet only 3 about politics, that says something about your readers and americans. maybe merging should be a topic at the debates
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