The zippermerge is the same as an on ramp merge. You don't go immediately. You don't wait until it's unsafe at the end. You find an opening and you try to match speeds then keep it like that until it's best to act.
Conspirazy False. Just as with an on-ramp merge, you either slow down or speed up to catch onto flowing traffic. The only time it is acceptable to come to a complete stop, is if there is a traffic jam on either the ramp or on the lane you are trying to merge on to.
At least this video admits that there's a flaw in the zipper merge system that makes it crumble. Because there's no way everyone will actually get on board and let people in front of them. We'd have world peace and no hunger at that point.
it's actually law in some countries in Europe (so you get fines if you don't zip, and if you hit another car while zipping, you have right of way and thus are not in fault manouvering into the merge lane).
Exactly Don, I never heard of this method until a few days ago. Hard to participate/cooperate if you don't know about the method. If most are on board it sounds like it is a good way.
I use it all the time. It helps me get around, literally, hundreds of cars. I often wonder why the open lane traffic is moving so slowly, while the closing lane traffic is just zipping along.
No video has ever explained to me how a bottleneck that allows 10 cars per minute through it is any faster regardless of what is happening upstream. The zipper is more efficient because it uses as much capacity of the roadway as possible but it cannot be faster.
@@greggmaisonneuve8388he problem is, that you just can't get everyone into one long line. Eventually the line will go past where other cars are entering the road (on ramp, intersection, etc). If those cars that are new to the traffic, merge over immediately, it causes backup behind them and onto other roads... Basically jamming up the entire flow of traffic everywhere. Sure one long stream would be faster, but you are always going to have cars joining mid traffic jam. Its why they always say, get over early, ONLY IF TRAFFIC is moving at speed.
@@Coach_Brian as I stated the zipper is more efficient at using capacity which means that it is less likely to interfere with other traffic. The claim that it is faster is wrong, it is more efficient.
@@greggmaisonneuve8388 So, it's not faster, it doesn't stop the douche bags from nosing into traffic, and the blockage of cross traffic doesn't apply on closed highways or in many other places. Bottom line, every argument for this seems weak. With warnings miles back from a blockage, merging earlier allows every car to proceed at its original speed. For a zipper merge, every other car has to slow down.
Great question. To increase overall traffic flow we have to focus our attention on the restricted lane ahead, not the lanes leading up to it. The goal is to maximize traffic flow on the restricted lane. If everyone merges early you will get sub optimal flow as people may hesitate in moving forward when the car in front does and there may be fairly large gaps between vehicles in the restricted lane. With the zipper merge you have two or more lanes feeding the restricted lane thereby maximizing the flow in the restricted lane. This because when you get to the front of the line you are paying close attention in order to do the zipper merge and will move when your turn comes. If you don't pay close attention in your lane leading up to the zipper merge that's less of an issue, if you hesitate the delay doesn't impact flow through the restricted lane, just your lane.
Because if there's a pattern and a plan and everybody understands it, it flows quicker. When you haphazardly STOP on the road 2 kms early to try to figure out who will be nice enough to let you in in front of them, it takes longer to merge than if you know that at the end, you let one car go, then YOU go!
Zipper merge only works if every car has twice the safe distance from the car in front of it. If not, then every single driver from the merger back has to decelerate.
Or... if drivers in the thru lane notice that they are at a merge point and tap the brake to allow the merging car in. A very quick transaction that keeps traffic moving with minimal delay over a shorter distance.
Many years ago I learned when driving on a multilane highway to leave one car length between you and the car in front of you for every 10 miles per hour of speed you were both traveling. These days that is fruitless as the speeders dart in and out of every space they can find including the go through lane so there are no spaces left in the go through lane and everyone has to slow down.
Usually the people I see complaining about 'speeders' are the ones doing at or under the limit; acting as bandleaders to huge lineups of cars crawling behind them. This is especially bad when those who will be damned if they do 1km over the limit refuse to move out of the left lane (AKA the fast or passing lane). There's being safe, and then there's observing "safety" and law to the letter. If everyone drove exactly the way they were taught in driver's ed in regard to never speeding, leaving x car-lengths between cars when coming a stop, counting x seconds for proper spacing when turning onto a road, etc etc, then traffic would never get anywhere. I've come to learn the best way to deal with dangerous speeders is simply get out of their way; let them pass, whatever. Leaving lots of space between you and the car ahead is also great _when feasible._ A lot of times it's simply too busy to stick 100% to the rules, and then all you're doing by continuing to slow down, speed up, move around etc to keep your buffer length regardless of conditions and traffic is just hold everyone else up. This isn't to approve tailgaiting either, just common sense and common courtesy. Again if everyone followed such 'rules' to the letter, our roadways would all but grind to a standstill.
They do in MN and I have seen them in other states in my travels. They say to use both lanes during a merge. These signs are usually in the area preceding an upcoming merge area.
Scott B I heard that. They should put up signs that say make room for and allow merging ahead. prepare for merging ahead. Make Space. You see that guy in the front of the line he didn't care about anybody behind him and the guy right behind him in the left lane and each driver behind him in the left lane does not want any of those cars to pull ahead of them and the only reason that is because they didn't make the room for it when they found out it was going to happen and if somebody did slide in nicely ahead of them a little sooner than they felt the merge should have taken place then they feel like they got cheated because somebody pulled ahead of them sooner than they thought they wanted or something so everyone is actively sabotaging merging. We need signs that say make room. give way ahead. make room now
@@huawafabe but French Canadians speak French too, so it fits. Touché is also a part of the English lexicon as a borrow word. It also appears in Creole French, Portuguese and Spanish.
I can fully agree with the arguments against creating free lane for douchebags and, most importantly, blocking some previous intersections. However, I really don't understand the idea that merging late will actually make traffic faster. First of all, there are plenty of videos to demonstrate that simply changing lanes on a highway will cause the overall pace of traffic to drop, which could eventually lead even to massive traffic jam. If so (and I tend to believe it's true), why should it make sense that merging to one lane could be any way smoother than driving on one lane? Going on, why would the lane change at some point later make the overall average speed higher compared to earlier merging? Isn't that basically the same operation, simply done on different time?
Jan K YES THIS IS WHAT I SAY EVERY TIME!!!! You just spent 50 miles driving in one lane and had no problem doing it. Now that there are cones in the lane you weren’t driving in anyway, you have to slow down 20 mph????
This only works if the person at the front of the lane which continues doesn't slow down to let the person in the lane which ends into the lane. As soon as that person in the front of the continuing lane does that then we will slow down.
Don't close the Left or Right lanes... close half of each lane... force both the left and right to move into a middle lane... no lane has priority and so no lane can queue in advance... you can even run cones down the middle of the two lane queue to stop early merging.. (early merging makes the receiving lane run slower!)
Most peeps do it wrong. They speed up all the way to the end. They cut off forcing the driver to use brake button at the end of the merge. Zipper merge done wrong is simply slower. It creates useless stand still traffic waves. A proper zipper merge, you have to sync your speed near the end of the merge.
I like this because it's fair! And great point that it would reduce issues further BEHIND. But how this would get us more efficiently though the single lane (i.e. bottleneck) - I don't think makes any sense.
This. The bottleneck itself is unchanged regardless of what happens prior. Main merit are situations where the back up is impeding unrelated traffic, but that's not what these campaigns for zipper merging advocate.
This depending heavily, even unreasonably, upon the belief that someone down the road a ways will actually be gracious enough to let you merge in so close to the merge point. I've been driving for a long time, and in my experience, prevailing upon the kindness of mostly self-serving drivers is going to leave you sorely disappointed more often than not. The closer you get to the mandatory merge point, the more the cars start to close up ranks. No thanks. Don't need the headache.
It wouldn’t be someone down the road a ways. It would be the person that has been driving right next to you for miles completely unhampered by everyone trying to merge early like an idiot.
It works IF people understand it & cooperate. It's like roundabouts in Europe - way more efficient, environmentally friendly & safer, but people have to learn to use them properly.
Robots would know that the correct way is to maintain speed, and leave room in front and behind for other robots to merge in early. Because the real problem isn’t merging early, but incorrectly. A correct merge means switching lanes without impeding others, hitting breaks, and maintaining your speed to move to the remaining lane. Using the whole road doesn’t help but hinder the process, as cars must slow down to perform this task safely.
shane b no that's not the case at all everybody doesn't have to play the same game you just need people to not be actively trying to prevent people from merging. Most people are active saboteurs at merging points
@@ZoffixZnet Because where I drive, they were behind me and have swung out into an on-ramp to gain a few car lengths because they are more important than everyone in front of them. By definition, that's an asshole. Very frequently they are not entering and merging onto the highway they were already on it.
@@23Fibonacci there needs to put in lane monitoring technology to stop that crap on all major road networks around urban areas...automatically ticketed for que jumping
“In Germany where they actually know how to drive” just scored you a dozen brownie points! THANK YOU! But yes - it works, and you could actually get a fine in Germany if you are caught not competing with the Reisverschlussverfahren! The word is simply awesome - isn’t it? 🤣
This is fine and works well enough on long, uninterrupted roads like freeways. Until you see (as is often the case here) that the construction narrows from 2 or 3 down to 1 lane _at a major stoplight intersection._ Sorry, but personally driving back and forth through two such places on a main artery road twice daily for literally months now, the "zipper" isn't going to work and doesn't move any faster when traffic must already come to a dead stop every ~20 seconds for the lights anyway. Especially as there's always someone making a left, or even a right when pedestrians are crossing, keeping the entire bottleneck stopped through a couple lights in a row. So, when people do show up in the right lane, nobody on the left is inclined to let them in when it means they're likely to sit through another light or two. Secondly, if you want people to "zipper", stop placing the lane reduction sign like 4 blocks away. As this video itself points out: Those paying attention will move over to the open lane asap, whereas the douchebags will stay where they are, zooming on down to the end and expecting to be let in. Again that might work on a highway with fast continuous traffic, just like an on-ramp, but with the construction so often at intersections with long lights I'm sorry but I really do not buy this theory. Sometimes in life you just have to get in line and wait your turn. When "doing the smart thing" means my sitting through another light or two just to let you zipper merge in ahead of me, the answer is no.
If using both lanes as long as possible means you leave it to the last minute to get in the correct lane. Now maybe on a clearer day you can do this without problems but, add a few long vehicles and people like YOU get caught out and now require me to have to break to let you in, which then creates a domino effect of braking cars. The merge in turn was never meant to be bumper to bumper, it can easily be accomplished by everyone getting in the correct lane early while there are sufficent spaces to do so without affecting others. If EVERYONE leaves it to the last minute to merge it always ends up with congestion, if EVERYONE got into the correct lane early, we ALL travel through the roadworks at the given speed limit ie 40. The bottle neck and resulting que in closing lane is totally made up of people that didnt want to merge at speed a mile back before and think this bumper to bumper merge is faster somehow. So to all the people saying "the tailbacks trail back and cause problems if we only use 1 lane", the point is there wouldnt be a que in the first place.
I tried that today, everyone else had gone into the through lane, so I became the douche who drove right past miles of cars, eventually a big rig saw me coming and decided to use BOTH lanes specifically so I couldn't get past. Lucky me I just stayed behind him and rejoined the through lane while there, already having kipped hundreds of cars.
The zipper method isn't any faster. If there are 100 cars ahead of me going in to a funnel it doesn't matter if they are one line of 100 or two lines of 50, it's still 100 cars. The zipper does guarantee every car has to stop wheres early merging if done well can mean nobody has to stop. But what the zipper method does do is tell everybody to be an A-hole because somebody always will.
If everyone uses the zipper approach all works well. The problem is that many confuse the douche bag behavior (43 secs) with attempting to perform zipper behavior. I just had a large discussion about it. Some think everyone should just keep driving to the end of the empty lane. It causes resentment and doesn't work. In my opinion you need someone in the "empty" lane to slow down to the speed of the other lane to eventually force the zipper. Obviously this needs to happen at a sensible distance from the merge. Not too far and not too short. Its not covered in the video. I can see from the comments that this is where the issues arise. Some people feel this behavior is blocking the zipper. They will zipper at the end at the same speed as all the other cars. (1:10 in the video) It is in fact blocking the douche bags.
The problem exists because whatever system whatever system we try, people try to prevent merging. If I let more than one person in a merge point OR leave an open space ahead of me (let's say creeping traffic at a construction zone) people behind me always start honking at me leaving a full car length of space that I leave ahead of me even though I'm still actively keeping up and traveling the speed of the car ahead of me and often times people will try to go from behind me in my lane to the empty spot ahead of me that I'm making for others to merge into while traffic is moving or even stopped. If I fill that space so they can't Hopscotch around me they feel as if I have cut them off and this can cause dangerous situations. This type of selfishness to this extreme seems to occupy the minds of the vast majority of people that drive cars. I make videos on the subject and I get a lot more people telling me that I'm a jerk for letting someone merge than comments from people saying thanks for trying to be considerate and speed up everyone's driving. A lot more negative comments my friends, so until you all start driving with a distance ahead of you that helps traffic merge ahead of YOU at merge places, all of this is irrelevant and no merging system is any better than any another because none of them will work if you don't try to help others merge. But pre-point merging or endpoint merging or zipper merging??? it doesn't matter, if you people are actively trying to prevent merging no system will work. So just because it's a zipper merge and somebody thinks it's a pre merge when n merge don't do anything to prevent or not help that merge regardless cuz you're just going to hurt everybody down the line just help people merge.
I believe it would work great if people practiced the idea. It will never prevent congestion, that's not what they are saying despite idiotic people responses that the engineers are saying it will prevent back ups. That's just not possible. But it is a safer practice than people diving in any chance they get and then opening one lane up to speeding assholes trying to get to the front as fast as possible. So the zipper merge would be much safer and organized, in turn making it faster in the long run. Not zipper merging creates speeding and careless merging which Causes accidents and extreme backups. So the idiotic naysayers of the zipper merge idea should probably shut the hell up and let the smart people do the thinking for them.
Reißverschlussverfahren, baybay!! As someone who spent 2-1/2 years in W. Chermany, courtesy of Uncle Sam's Flying Circus, trust me when I say: THOSE CHERMANS DO KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!!
😂🤣 works terrific on paper! And with toy cars with ONE mind controlling them. Why are there exactly ZERO videos of this working in real life as described? 🤣
The problem is getting every driver onboard-even if there is a sign that says, “Use both lanes.” So what I do is keep driving in whatever lane is free until the point of merge. I figure at least I’m not stuck in bumper to bumper traffic-that’s a rear-end collision waiting to happen.
It used to work in the 1980's and 90's when there still was a certain amount of common sense and courtesy but in this modern selfish world where it's all about me and me first there is no hope!
I think it also has a lot to do with a significant lack of driver's training. We took an entire semester out of PE when I was in High school. My son's generation was "parent taught." Taking the driving test is outsourced to private companies. I have friends that don't even know how to use their cruise control.
You miss the point. Being courteous and merging early is counter productive. Zipper merge is the "unwritten rule" in Europe and works well. In the US there is less cooperation because people exaggerate the importance of being "free" and acting interdependently.
100% And my biggest beef is watching an entire highway of traffic try to squeeze around some twit driving slowly in the middle lane despite being passed on both the right and the left. Those shitheads have no idea they are hated with the power of a million suns.
If you are properly spaced and positioned (certainly a mighty big IF -- this really needs to be the focus for smooth traffic flow, not specifically where you merge), zipping early or late is irrelevant. Truth is, with proper spacing, lane flow doesn't have to come to a halt just because someone decides to change lanes. Even better, for the person who wants to speed ahead of the rest of traffic (there's always a few -- no avoiding it), they are free to do so without screwing with the flow of traffic, either. Fault tolerance is key to fixing jams before they start. I'd rather be past the obstruction as quickly as possible, not trying to police people choosing to drive less than politely.
If zippermerging actually worked, then why don’t we see 6 lane major interstates abruptly end in a 2 lane road? No, it gradually reduces by one lane as you leave the high volume area. A large opening suddenly reducing to a small opening is called an aneurism, and the end result is what you would expect.
Zipper merge is the superior way to manage congestion due to a reduction in the number of lanes. Its not intended to be superior to more lanes of traffic. Why reduce from 6 to 2 one lane at a time? The zipper only works with two lanes of traffic merging into one. So you do so over long distances one lane at a time.
Pretty simple recipe. Let everyone merge in front of you. That is the only space you control by keeping your speed at a constant pace of slower than the person in front of you. In doing so, every single person who is driving behind you doesn't have to stop. No break lights going off? Means everyone is traveling at the same speed. Means not traffic jam. Means just a little bit of slow down before you start the normal speed again. I always leave enough space for a semi or about 5 vehicles to merge infron of me.
I'm way more likely to do something stupid due to making quick decisions, if there comes a point where I have to merge RIGHT NOW, rather than merging when I find an opportunity. Neither is likely, but one is much more likely, and surprises are always possible when driving. Especially because we're probably too congested to fit smoothly into the single lane at the same speed.
This assumes there are the same number of vehicles in both lanes. On 2 lane highways, most of the cars are in the right lanes. If the left lane is ending, should drivers move left to use the open lane only to move right again? That doesn't seem efficient at all.
In the maritimes, people don’t zipper merge because it’s the culture to be polite and patient, and wait your turn. If a car arrives at a spot before you, the people of the maritimes believe you should allow that car to proceed first because it’s polite, so they all line up one behind the other. Yes, douche bags do take advantage of the empty lane and arrogantly push their way in at the bottleneck, but I’ve found that most maritimers don’t even get upset at the douche bags and actually let them in most of the time.
The douche bags you talk about are zipper merging. It’s not their fault that you don’t know how to zipper merge and don’t want to use all of the available lane space because it doesn’t look polite to you.
Agree. The only fair merging system that everybody would agree on would be the one that keeps the order of incoming cars. Something losely similar to the principle of airport snake queues or so…
Zipper merges store vehicles in two lanes reducing the length of the backup along the highway, which can be a good thing, especially where the congestion interferes with interchanges, intersections or other access upstream. The efficiency of a merge is almost exclusively determined by the rate at which traffic passes through the choke point. The reporter claims it also claims the zipper improves flow through the choke point. I am not finding any technical evidence that that is correct.
So every other situation in life when a line must be formed we take courtesy over efficiency and wait our turn, but in a metal can flying down the road with peoples tempers already on edge we say courtesy be damned and recommend cramming two lanes into one at the last second? Seems like the last place you would want to abandon order and courtesy to me.
Curtis B no, that's not what happens in every other situation. There are many other times where you have 2 (or more) lines that have to queue up to a single agent and people manage to alternate fine in those situations. With traffic, they're randomly jumping from line 2 into the middle of line 1; nobody would do that. By merging early, you're causing people to merge with people that have already merged and that's slower and more dangerous. People need to realize that in a merge situation, the other lane has the same right and you're not being courteous letting them in, you *have* to. Most people are pretty good but I've had people refuse to let me in. We used to have a bridge with a middle lane which a changed direction based on traffic flow, requiring you to merge. One lady in a van, with kids, just leaned on the horn and refused to let me in.
@@stephenshoihet2590 Actually, you're wrong. You should let people in, but you do not "have" to. Responsibility rests with the merging vehicle to do so safely. Call your insurance broker if you don't believe me. Ask about fault attribution in this case.
@@23Fibonacci This actually varies from place to place Steve, so it depends on where you live. Look up the VC in WA state, or MN. Also take a peek at traffic laws overseas where the accident rate per capita is much lower. The sole responsibility of merging falling to the ending lane is a poorly conceived concept that has time and time again been shown to be less effective and less safe in actual practice, particularly in areas where traffic is of a higher volume. I hope that more people will review the data available and see the benefits of lawfully enforced zipper merging. Preventing someone from merging in could easily be construed as 'obstructing the flow of traffic', and is punishable by traffic laws in many places around the world, including places where the zipper merge isn't a part of the literal code as those codes still tend to have phrasing that take into account 'all factors of the circumstance'. The law is subject to mitigating factors and so anyone that is found to have intentionally caused an accident to stick to their supposed 'right of way' is still going to be found at fault, even if only partially, if the decision is brought to court (which is exactly what you should do if you feel you are found wrongfully at fault). This is exactly why more and more people appreciate the use of dashboard cameras as most situations are not simply black and white. Think about it. There are some great comments on this video that have numerous citations of these facts, but I trust you can use a search engine. :) A fun thought experiment is to consider safe driving distances, tailgating, and that people who take it upon themselves to 'force people to be unable to cut in' by following too closely the vehicle ahead of them, who are in fact breaking driving codes themselves. We should have all been taught about "leaving yourself an out" and about safe driving distance as defined by your local vehicle codes. So are you obeying the rules of the road when you drive? Or are you like so many other minor vigilantes who choose to make it their responsibility to deny others the ability to safely maneuver in traffic by subsequently ignoring safe distances? Any merging system will rely on the proper observation of these distances, not just the zipper. In my whole life I have only rarely observed people respecting proper distances while driving in various states in the US, and have seen countless comments on videos like this one where people who are even in favor of zipper merging saying "one or two car lengths" is what is expected. Shocking to see when the safe distance when traveling above 40 mph in most any state in the us is actually equal to more like 10-12x car lengths. This is typically referred to by seconds of travel at that speed in those vehicle codes, which at 65/mph is roughly 95 feet per second. At 40+mph you should observe 2 seconds plus an additional second for each 10feet of length on the vehicle ahead of you. In other words, if you are driving behind a sedan you are expected to leave over 180 feet between your cars (Half of a football field!). A 30 foot truck ahead of you means you should be allowing roughly twice that distance. Watch traffic next time you are on the freeway; How many people deserve a ticket for driving too close? It's a frightening thing to observe when you consider the dangers inherent to motor vehicle travel. Personally, I think tailgating is an overlooked danger on the road and deserves more attention by law enforcement in general, not just near merging situations. If that issue were more readily rectified by aggressive ticketing, accidents would be reduced at large and the ability for more mathematically sound systems like this merging technique would become far more readily applicable and appreciated by more people. Again, look at evidence as provided in places where systems like these are already in effect and heavily enforced. Try your best to take the numerous haters' opinions with a grain of salt and stick to factual data. The reason this makes traffic 'faster' is simply that without any confusion about whose 'turn' it is to slip through the bottleneck caused by closure, everyone should be able to maintain proper speeds. Someone mucking it up by being stubborn or simply not being comfortable driving at the proper speed will mess things up, yes, but that isn't a fault in this particular system, but a fault of that individual driver that should merit a citation (as it does, in many places). We are only as strong as our weakest link, so let's help everyone get on the same page. The 'cramming' referred to by the OP in this thread is an obvious symptom of rampant tailgating, as traffic laws around the world agree that with safe distances observed, there will be no cramming involved, only a seamless flow of traffic. If there are too many cars altogether, traffic may ensue, but that's an indicator of either a lack of total roadway space or of an instance of an accident or other mistake in these systems occurring independently of the merging method in question being applied. Pointlessly sticking to old rules or systems only denies progress. Embrace change!
@@maxrhad9532 Well, all fine and good, but traffic on a highway (or any roadway for that matter) has a finite amount of throughput (capacity) that it can accommodate and the highways that I drive on quickly reach that point - albeit perhaps from people following too closely and braking to cause complete stops - still the driving skill of those already on it can be criticized till the cows come home but it does not overcome that absolute fact. So without controlled access the arterials begin to supply more vehicles than can be accomodated on the roadway and things grind to a halt. Now if cars continued to insert themselves in an alternating zipper fashion you'd start to have them running into each other if the burden of responsibility lay on those already on the highway making space (that doesn't exist) available to them. Sorry - but that is ludicrous. The responsibility lies on those entering to do so safely. I do agree, a dashcam would provide evidence of someone being a dick and not allowing me to move in - but that in no way means I can start to move across aggressively even if the traffic around me is stopped. In my experience, the lane to the right is always moving faster and that is because more cars entering the roadway are moving in than cars already on the roadway - and this creates backups. If the opposite were true, then the flow would remain below maximum capacity. It is physically impossible to exceed that capacity, and thus the zipper merge (and shared responsibility) is a mathematical impossibility.
Any solution must be a solution based on people not behaving. because if people behave, the systems we already have would already work. If you're going to offer a solution, offer a solution to misbehaving drivers, not a solution that only works if everybody participates. A mature and responsible solution will consider that immature and irresponsible drivers will always be present.
People think that bad drivers are what causes traffic but reality is that the roads can't take that much cars. More lanes reduce traffic (at least for a brief period of time, since there's always an increase in cars).
VEGA don't make the mistake as a deity engineer I'm here to tell you more lanes are specifically for faster and faster pass passing all traffic is supposed to drive in the right-most lane and that's the way we draw it up two lanes would suffice if people would pass with due diligence but too many people have the impatience driving them to pass but when they do they then fear getting a ticket or fear the speed they're going so the pass without appropriate diligence but we draw the roads for everyone to stay in the right-most lane if you feel crowded back off from the car ahead of you but the other lands are strictly for passing and pressure relief we call it pressure relief but it's temporary you're not to drive the lane next to traffic unless you're driving faster or slower than that traffic but do not change lanes just a thin out that's what slows traffic
that's just true IF the amount of cars is smaller than the roads. Imagine you make a 1km two-lane road and the amount of cars that commute take 3 km of lane, you'll think the solution is to people to drive faster and respecting the "fast lane" but the road is not big enough to support 3km of cars so people will use the second lane because simply there's no space elsewhere. So you make two more lanes and the problem is solved momentarily but then the amount of cars increase to 6km, is a vicious cycle. Public transportation is the ONLY viable and real solution.
VEGA well Vega, it's clear to see by your remark that at least some people are actually thinking with some real world math, thank you. Yes you're correct you cannot put 5 liters of water into a 4 liter container.
Interesting comments VEGA and you’re absolutely bang on with your comments on capacity! But if a road does have the capacity to serve the amount of cars and it is still slowing down that’s when I have to disagree with your first comment; in such a situation then “bad drivers” can be what is causing traffic. How many times do we see someone cut someone else off and the person who gets cut off over brakes causing the person behind them to brake hard. And the wave of brake lights cascades down the road. In this scenario I would consider both drivers “bad” in their own right. One being a poor driver and one being unsafe and inconsiderate. And both aiding in the creation of traffic.
+VEGA More lanes just lead to more cars and the problem starts again, what we need is efficient public transport so the number of vehicles reduce not more lanes to keep the problem getting bigger.
Totally disagree with the assessment that zip merging is more efficient. While this may be the case on a few very very busy roads, most roads have enough excess capacity to get into single file as soon as you start seeing the lane closed signs without slowing anyone down. It is the zip mergers that slow everyone down in these scenarios and they need their proper punishment doled out for it.
The zipper merge method is used when there is congestion... It is not valid without congestion. This is assumed to be understood. Your opinion does not supercede Science
It's funny because the "assholes" (notice the sarcastic quotes) who cut in at the merge rather than 3 miles early on, are really the people doing the correct thing. The REAL assholes are the morons who merge monumentally early, and then sit in traffic for 15 more mins than they needed to, then get mad when people are taking turns at the merge, and decide to block a merger from entering the open lane because of their own ignorance. This incompetence is far too common on the road, and drivers ed really need to better educate people on how to merge CORRECTLY. This is why zipper merges aren't working good; drivers don't cooperate with each other, or they are ignorant, or both.
People want to believe it's faster because it lets them go "I'm helping!" when they jump in front, but it isn't really. It _does_ put more road space to use, so doesn't block intersections as often, but you still have to merge. All those cars will be single-file sooner or later, and the bottleneck is the bottleneck. If you have room to get over, then it doesn't matter whether you do it now vs. later.
Show an analysis when everyone uses one lane and stays a safe distance from the vehicle in front. In theory this method does not mean anyone needs to slow down and will pass the maximum number of vehicles per unit time. Contrast that with a zipper system where every vehicle approaches at a constant speed but then needs to slow down to allow the merging vehicle to enter……the vehicle letting the other car in needs to pull back to allow additional space. The zipper system is not faster but it does minimise the tailback distance but does nothing for throughout.
There's no methodology to this. It's common sense that if everyone simply let one car over when merging, construction or not, traffic will flow better. However, it's not human nature. Especially in areas with heavy traffic. People are not going to let the other car over and both lanes always end up backed up. With technology today, they know where there will be congestion and roadwork before leaving home. Plan accordingly, get over EARLY when possible and everyone knows that a straight line is the fastest way to get from point A to point B. Unless millennials want to change that too.
When will they admit that this doesn't follow the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (or most provinces for that matter)? This MIGHT be a better technique but we have to follow the law. In Ontario the through lane has right of way. We don't just get to make up laws because we like it. How about we have the 4 way zipper stop where you slow down then zip through when it's your turn.
Just dont forget where you liability and responsibility lie. If your lane ends then you alone bear the full responsibility to merge safely and properly. Not the drivers in the thru lane....They dont merge, only you do. Unless it is clearly posted that BOTH lanes must merge together into one lane. Then it becomes a shared responsibility
At 1 minute 10 seconds you say “stay right the hell in your own lane”, but I bring forth a question, is it not the law to be in the right hand lane unless passing? No one should be in the left lane like you so have your toy cars layed out except for the couple of people in the process of passing. You have your mock up set up for a scenario that doesn’t exist. If you want to do it right, place every toy car in the right hand lane and explain how to properly zipper to the left hand lane. I’ll wait
No one let's anyone zipper merge here they swerve at u or drive in 2 lanes to block u. I once physically drove on the grass the get around a van that was blocking 30 cars from zipper merging in Windsor
Windsor california? There are some real winners here on the road that's for sure. Just had someone swerve out like that to block all of the cars. Caused a backup and almost an accident.
A line of traffic isn't inherently slow. Grains of sand in an hour glass would take less than an hour it all lined up and then dropped through the hole. Your graphic showing zippering working awesome would work if everyone merged early as well as they flow is still the same. Zippering is endorsed by governments because when traffic is backed up (By gawker traffic or reduced speed in construction zones) The line formed to get through would he half as long if people used the two lanes and this helps avoid backups through intersections etc.
This might work well in Europe, where just to get a driver's license, you have to spend thousands, and Driving School is months long. Their drivers are better at many things, than American drivers. Especially merges. In AZ, you can get a license after a 6 minute road test, consisting of only right turns at stop signs in a neighborhood. And it doesn't expire for 50 years! No left turns, no lane changes, no freeway, no parallel parking, on most AZ road tests. American drivers are dangerously underqualified compared to German or English drivers. This video is attributing way too much faith in the competency of others and ignoring the reality, that a LOT of people here are just playing on Facebook while driving, and don't even notice there was a merge until they are leaving skidmarks up the wall. Zipper merges on the i17 (4th deadliest highway in America) cause tons of wrecks and traffic jams, that otherwise wouldn't have happened if everyone wasn't looking at their phones. When you're driving in the US, not everything works the same way it does in Germany. In a perfect driving world, sure. But some people are unrealistic in their expectations of others.
The cause of the congestion comes after the merge point. There is still only so many cars that can pass thru the obstruction....Regardless of what they have done at the merge point. Having two shorter lanes of cars may stop them from blocking other traffic. But that is the only benefit that comes from the zipper merge. It is definitely not faster.
I have to disagree, this will not work because people don't know what they are doing on the road. The average sedan is around 15 feet so if you have 24 cars trying to cut in your line using the zipper method or not it will slow everything down because 24 sedans equals to 1 football field. Somebody is losing space and/or distance when you have a football field cutting into your line.
Zipper merge doesn't work. The lane ending is always faster because they cut off the next lane. That's why is constantly jammed up because everyone haul ass in the lane ending. Doesn't matter if you merge early or late, it will still be jammed up. I drive in traffic everyday. I never seen it work
This principle works great in theory but not in practice. That animation just looks so clever with everyone maintaining the exact same distance and speed - it should be called precision driving just like acrobatic flying displays (even some of those end disastrously). In reality, many (I'm tempted to say most) people change into the desired lane upon entering a road either immediately (so they don't have to think about it anymore and they can get back to listening to their music or playing with their phone) or at the last possible moment because they weren't paying attention (because they were listening to their music or playing with their phone) and not normally when it is the safest time to change lanes which could be somewhere in between. When you ask a group of drivers to maintain the same speed, they will slow down to do so, not maintain speed or speed up. They will go only as fast as the slowest car and the slowest car will invariably stop (because many (most) drivers don't know the difference between "merge" and "yield" (or stop) and, in any case, the Domino Effect* will eventually cause everyone to stop. Different vehicle types also accelerate differently with some large vehicles taking forever to match speeds. The best approach is to always merge well before you are actually forced to by a blockade which results in a quick aggressive change or a complete stop. In any merge once a stop is achieved there isn't any going back without extreme precision (there's that word again) getting to columns crawling again or until traffic lightens enough for the queues to disappear. It requires EVERYONE to do this and you always get some clown who thinks that he (or she) is somehow more important than the other courteous drivers on the road and must pass as many vehicles as humanly possible before merging. These queue jumpers exist everywhere, not just on the roadways. They have the prevalent attitude that says "I'll just take advantage of someone else, we are not created equal and we don't have to get through this situation together". The Alberta Motor Association is partly to blame for this (as is any organization that can issue a drivers license). You have to try really hard (in many countries) to fail a drivers exam. The Zipper Merge is never on the road test because you can never find a good merge situation when you need to. Just ask the little old lady I got stuck behind this morning trying to MERGE (the sign says quite clearly MERGE) onto Groat Road from 107 Avenue. I watched her cautiously slow down and come to a dead stop right at the end of the merge lane and sits there with her indicator on (lonely sentinel against a world gone mad). Horns from multiple drivers (I know right, so rare) would not budge her. Now instead of some kind of orderly attempt at a zip merge the local traffic scheme quickly became a full on free-for-all. They really need a taser equipped police cruiser to just sit there and zap each offending driver every morning. I have stopped counting the number of rear end collisions at that exact same spot because drivers were expecting the timid soul ahead of them to actually accelerate and match the speed of the mergee(?) lane. * If you are 10 cars back at a red light and that light goes green, you cannot immediately accelerate can you? You have to wait (unless you are part of a precision driving troupe). The Domino Effect is the same principle in reverse. You have been a wonderful audience, thank you.
I'm not convinced. Douchebags are looking for validation. The alternate of waiting until the last second isn't "merging immediately and as fast as possible." It's casually merging when the safe and convenient opportunity presents itself. If everyone did that, there would be no reason for everyone to slow down.
One issue is the length of the stoppage. Not usually a major problem on interstates, but if there are intersections it means you could have traffic build up into intersections behind the merge. 2 queues makes for (roughly) half the length
Austin A an open lane, that you know is ending, meaning you’ll have to cut someone off once you hit the end of it since I’m sure you’ll be zooming to get nowhere
@@extremeencounter7458 the lane ends so either people will slow down, speed up or change lanes to let you in. Been doing it my whole life. I waste id say about 20 minutes of driving everyday because people merge early. Slows everyone down.
If I stay in the closed lane until the last minute, I then have to depend on someone not being a douche-bag and letting me in. The open lane is the best place for a responsible driver so they can leave a space in front for all the last-minute douche-bags to cut in. I prefer to maintain control of my surroundings by merging at a time and place of my choosing rather than letting the flow of traffic tell me where and when to go. The only way to properly enforce this is a stoplight like a metered on-ramp.
Lane ends in 1000 feet. Adjust accordingly. The problem isn't those recognizing their lane is ending and adjusting within the flow of traffic, it's the dimwits that DON'T recognize their lane is ending, or speed up to try and jump ahead of the traffic.
Lol I didn't say merge over 800 feet early (unless you want to), I said adjust within the flow of traffic, 800 feet up, 750, 400 take your pick just try to do it smoothly without being a jerk lol
Heat Lifer But that's the whole point, people see that a lane is ending and want to get over right away when they should stay where they are so both lanes are being utilized to the fullest. If everybody did this then they wouldn't be able to speed up and jump ahead of traffic because both lanes would be moving about the same.
Correct and when traffic is basically at a stand still most people aren't on the ball enough to maintain bumper to bumper so even if there are some angry drivers not wanting to let you merge, a late merger can easily squeeze in before long at all. Late mergers may not be rude but are more educated and understand that there will be gaps (due to human drivers not being so efficient as to maintain zero space between cars) for the 2nd lane to fit to easily merge in making flow through the bottleneck faster.
Is nobody going to comment on this guy’s terrible outfit? The suspenders, ill-fitting button-down, black on black with a visible WHITE undershirt. I can’t trust this man.
Bumper to bumper traffic, who will let closing lane cars in? Not many. Put in turn signal and accept any chance to get in line. Or go to end and sit while bumper to bumper cars pass you by.
Add in the cell phone user who won't let the zipper move,the old guy trying to merge early holding everyone up in both lanes,and the occasional old lady who can't see over the steering wheel taking up way to much buffer zones and not doing the speed limit, yeah that's what I observe at the zipper merge!! But we can get through this together!!
It does work in America and on real roads. Colorado have been successful in fostering this behavior and with positive results. www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-mergers-are-good-for-traffic.html "Won't work for us" is a poor excuse for not changing ingrained habits. You aren't that special or different.
People who talk about zipper merges clearly don’t understand basic physics. A zipper only works when there’s space to merge; otherwise, it jams. If the lanes are already gaped, you can close into one lane and maintain speed. But without extra room, merging two lanes into one can't happen at anything more than half the speed. So when drivers push ahead and justify their selfish behaviour with 'zipper merging,' they’re not just inconsiderate, they're showing they don’t understand how traffic flow really works. Drivers that get close to the vehicle in front at a stop are also demonstrating their lack of driving ability. They delay traffic and are to blame for that annoying “wave” at lights as people move forward, nothing more fun than the light turning red just as you start to move. If people left room when they stopped instead of waiting for it as the person in front moves, then everyone can go when the light turns, the “NASCAR” start. The slower number of vehicles moving through the intersection is often the cause of the traffic buildup to begin with. Even if it feels like you are further from the light or turning lanes fill up, traffic would flow better.
@tomyourmom connect.ncdot.gov/projects/research/RNAProjDocs/2015-08%20Final%20Report.pdf www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/05-r6.pdf There's this thing called Google.
Nova Scotia used to use the Zipper but now there are so many non NOVA SCOTIANS here now that cant drive and mess things up like they did where the use to live.
faster at causing accidents... move over early to prevent impeding traffic and prevent accidents because you wanna cut everyone off.... your lane ended lmfao mine keeps going that's on you sit back and wait for room
Ok, but if we had a fully-autonomous, self-driving car system, controlled by some centralized computer, can you really imagine it coordinating all cars to use this method of merging at the last second in a 20-50' length of road? I still think that a system where cars merged earlier (or at least in a way to minimize any decrease in speed) would be more efficient. I can't imagine cars merging in that short of a distance at higher speeds (at least not safely)
you failed to consider one thing if the zipper merge is coming from the right how would you know the driver on the left will give in? I would suggest to slow turn to the left before the end of the lend that way there is still time to let some douche bags from the left to go forward.. better yet the local government should assign one controller in that area to prevent any chaos and accident, or if they are lazy just put up a traffic sign there
If you want to fix the whole problem you need to have the early merge system WITH flashing signs that tell cars not to pass, only merge and to do so early, thus preventing the 'douche-bag' divers mentioned. If they decide to zip ahead to add in the zipper merge they get pulled over by the police and ticketed. That way you don't get Early Merge + Zipper Merge where people are trying to keep the 'Douche-bag' from zippering in last minute. Early merge is much faster when you don't have the zipper idiots trying to cut in last minute as the early merge system allows more flexibility in spacing and speed adjustment.
Hmm yes well you can do that I am going to make sure I am in the right lane so people cant cut me off at the last min and stop me getting past the construction works.
The zippermerge is the same as an on ramp merge. You don't go immediately. You don't wait until it's unsafe at the end. You find an opening and you try to match speeds then keep it like that until it's best to act.
You can do it safely at the end every time. I am still amazed that people do not get this in Canada.
Conspirazy
False. Just as with an on-ramp merge, you either slow down or speed up to catch onto flowing traffic. The only time it is acceptable to come to a complete stop, is if there is a traffic jam on either the ramp or on the lane you are trying to merge on to.
Nobody ever matches speeds. They just cut you off and slow everyone down.
When it's stop start traffic... the merge speed is literally zero...
At least this video admits that there's a flaw in the zipper merge system that makes it crumble. Because there's no way everyone will actually get on board and let people in front of them. We'd have world peace and no hunger at that point.
Don Hockenberry
In Germany WE DO!! And yes, it does work!
i never do fuck that you saw all the signs you had the chance to move lol now sit back and wait for an opening
If more people learn it, then it will work. The world is made up of people, when people change, the world changes.
it's actually law in some countries in Europe (so you get fines if you don't zip, and if you hit another car while zipping, you have right of way and thus are not in fault manouvering into the merge lane).
Exactly Don, I never heard of this method until a few days ago. Hard to participate/cooperate if you don't know about the method. If most are on board it sounds like it is a good way.
It takes exactly ONE suboptimal move to screw the entire thing up.
Try it and you will see it works much better.
I use it all the time. It helps me get around, literally, hundreds of cars. I often wonder why the open lane traffic is moving so slowly, while the closing lane traffic is just zipping along.
I still would want to see truly objective mathematical analysis of zipper merging
I as well, I want to see a mathematical analysis.
No video has ever explained to me how a bottleneck that allows 10 cars per minute through it is any faster regardless of what is happening upstream. The zipper is more efficient because it uses as much capacity of the roadway as possible but it cannot be faster.
@@greggmaisonneuve8388he problem is, that you just can't get everyone into one long line. Eventually the line will go past where other cars are entering the road (on ramp, intersection, etc).
If those cars that are new to the traffic, merge over immediately, it causes backup behind them and onto other roads... Basically jamming up the entire flow of traffic everywhere.
Sure one long stream would be faster, but you are always going to have cars joining mid traffic jam.
Its why they always say, get over early, ONLY IF TRAFFIC is moving at speed.
@@Coach_Brian as I stated the zipper is more efficient at using capacity which means that it is less likely to interfere with other traffic. The claim that it is faster is wrong, it is more efficient.
@@greggmaisonneuve8388 So, it's not faster, it doesn't stop the douche bags from nosing into traffic, and the blockage of cross traffic doesn't apply on closed highways or in many other places. Bottom line, every argument for this seems weak. With warnings miles back from a blockage, merging earlier allows every car to proceed at its original speed. For a zipper merge, every other car has to slow down.
How does this increase the flow rate if there is a hesitation every time someone that the front of the line needs to marriage?
Correct
This is the exact question i need to be answered before im fully convinced of this method
Great question.
To increase overall traffic flow we have to focus our attention on the restricted lane ahead, not the lanes leading up to it. The goal is to maximize traffic flow on the restricted lane.
If everyone merges early you will get sub optimal flow as people may hesitate in moving forward when the car in front does and there may be fairly large gaps between vehicles in the restricted lane.
With the zipper merge you have two or more lanes feeding the restricted lane thereby maximizing the flow in the restricted lane. This because when you get to the front of the line you are paying close attention in order to do the zipper merge and will move when your turn comes.
If you don't pay close attention in your lane leading up to the zipper merge that's less of an issue, if you hesitate the delay doesn't impact flow through the restricted lane, just your lane.
Because if there's a pattern and a plan and everybody understands it, it flows quicker. When you haphazardly STOP on the road 2 kms early to try to figure out who will be nice enough to let you in in front of them, it takes longer to merge than if you know that at the end, you let one car go, then YOU go!
Exactly
Zipper merge only works if every car has twice the safe distance from the car in front of it. If not, then every single driver from the merger back has to decelerate.
Or... if drivers in the thru lane notice that they are at a merge point and tap the brake to allow the merging car in. A very quick transaction that keeps traffic moving with minimal delay over a shorter distance.
Many years ago I learned when driving on a multilane highway to leave one car length between you and the car in front of you for every 10 miles per hour of speed you were both traveling. These days that is fruitless as the speeders dart in and out of every space they can find including the go through lane so there are no spaces left in the go through lane and everyone has to slow down.
Usually the people I see complaining about 'speeders' are the ones doing at or under the limit; acting as bandleaders to huge lineups of cars crawling behind them. This is especially bad when those who will be damned if they do 1km over the limit refuse to move out of the left lane (AKA the fast or passing lane). There's being safe, and then there's observing "safety" and law to the letter. If everyone drove exactly the way they were taught in driver's ed in regard to never speeding, leaving x car-lengths between cars when coming a stop, counting x seconds for proper spacing when turning onto a road, etc etc, then traffic would never get anywhere.
I've come to learn the best way to deal with dangerous speeders is simply get out of their way; let them pass, whatever. Leaving lots of space between you and the car ahead is also great _when feasible._ A lot of times it's simply too busy to stick 100% to the rules, and then all you're doing by continuing to slow down, speed up, move around etc to keep your buffer length regardless of conditions and traffic is just hold everyone else up. This isn't to approve tailgaiting either, just common sense and common courtesy. Again if everyone followed such 'rules' to the letter, our roadways would all but grind to a standstill.
The DOT should put up signs that say Maintain two lanes to the merge point.
They do in MN and I have seen them in other states in my travels. They say to use both lanes during a merge. These signs are usually in the area preceding an upcoming merge area.
Scott B , great comment. DOT hopefully will get it.
Scott B I heard that. They should put up signs that say make room for and allow merging ahead.
prepare for merging ahead.
Make Space.
You see that guy in the front of the line he didn't care about anybody behind him and the guy right behind him in the left lane and each driver behind him in the left lane does not want any of those cars to pull ahead of them and the only reason that is because they didn't make the room for it when they found out it was going to happen and if somebody did slide in nicely ahead of them a little sooner than they felt the merge should have taken place then they feel like they got cheated because somebody pulled ahead of them sooner than they thought they wanted or something so everyone is actively sabotaging merging. We need signs that say make room.
give way ahead.
make room now
Or only put up one sign 100 feet from the merge point that says “Merge”.
Scott B Always...in every instance...
"In Germany, where people actually know how too drive"
Touché
Touché is French though 😂 maybe 'genau' would fit better here
@@huawafabe but French Canadians speak French too, so it fits. Touché is also a part of the English lexicon as a borrow word. It also appears in Creole French, Portuguese and Spanish.
You can forget that in America. We can't have anyone getting anywhere before us.
I can fully agree with the arguments against creating free lane for douchebags and, most importantly, blocking some previous intersections. However, I really don't understand the idea that merging late will actually make traffic faster. First of all, there are plenty of videos to demonstrate that simply changing lanes on a highway will cause the overall pace of traffic to drop, which could eventually lead even to massive traffic jam. If so (and I tend to believe it's true), why should it make sense that merging to one lane could be any way smoother than driving on one lane? Going on, why would the lane change at some point later make the overall average speed higher compared to earlier merging? Isn't that basically the same operation, simply done on different time?
Jan K YES THIS IS WHAT I SAY EVERY TIME!!!! You just spent 50 miles driving in one lane and had no problem doing it. Now that there are cones in the lane you weren’t driving in anyway, you have to slow down 20 mph????
What I also dont understand is how is he a douchebag if hes using the lane he should
This only works if the person at the front of the lane which continues doesn't slow down to let the person in the lane which ends into the lane. As soon as that person in the front of the continuing lane does that then we will slow down.
The "Douche Bag that zips by" in your story is just a good Samaritan trying to restore order to the universe.
Yeah, that's me! LOL
Don't close the Left or Right lanes... close half of each lane... force both the left and right to move into a middle lane... no lane has priority and so no lane can queue in advance... you can even run cones down the middle of the two lane queue to stop early merging..
(early merging makes the receiving lane run slower!)
Most peeps do it wrong. They speed up all the way to the end. They cut off forcing the driver to use brake button at the end of the merge. Zipper merge done wrong is simply slower. It creates useless stand still traffic waves. A proper zipper merge, you have to sync your speed near the end of the merge.
I like this because it's fair! And great point that it would reduce issues further BEHIND. But how this would get us more efficiently though the single lane (i.e. bottleneck) - I don't think makes any sense.
This. The bottleneck itself is unchanged regardless of what happens prior. Main merit are situations where the back up is impeding unrelated traffic, but that's not what these campaigns for zipper merging advocate.
I'm not sure about now but years ago in Pa.if there was a lane closed the allowed you 1 mile to move over after that you were ticketed .
This depending heavily, even unreasonably, upon the belief that someone down the road a ways will actually be gracious enough to let you merge in so close to the merge point. I've been driving for a long time, and in my experience, prevailing upon the kindness of mostly self-serving drivers is going to leave you sorely disappointed more often than not. The closer you get to the mandatory merge point, the more the cars start to close up ranks. No thanks. Don't need the headache.
Wrong. Never had an issue, yes you may get one or two assholes that will not let you merge but eventually you get in.
It wouldn’t be someone down the road a ways. It would be the person that has been driving right next to you for miles completely unhampered by everyone trying to merge early like an idiot.
@@1983Jacko But you have to stop the movement of traffic to get in. Merging early does not stop traffic.
@@feedbak007 I disagree. It may slow down traffic but you may also slow it down while merging early.
You ARE the headache if you believe in that system 😆👍🏻
It works really great and fast ... for autonomous cars or robots. As soon as humans are involved, it won't work that well as on paper.
It works perfectly fine in Germany
@@huawafabe The Germans are robots...
@@theyeastinfection9871 we are not. Beep boop beep 10011110010
It works IF people understand it & cooperate. It's like roundabouts in Europe - way more efficient, environmentally friendly & safer, but people have to learn to use them properly.
Robots would know that the correct way is to maintain speed, and leave room in front and behind for other robots to merge in early. Because the real problem isn’t merging early, but incorrectly. A correct merge means switching lanes without impeding others, hitting breaks, and maintaining your speed to move to the remaining lane. Using the whole road doesn’t help but hinder the process, as cars must slow down to perform this task safely.
so the zipper merge fails if EVERYONE doesnt play the same game.... which you explain in the beginning of the video is the problem with merging early.
shane b no that's not the case at all everybody doesn't have to play the same game you just need people to not be actively trying to prevent people from merging. Most people are active saboteurs at merging points
Yeah, that annoys the shit out of me. They think you're an asshole "cutting in line" and try to block you.
@@ZoffixZnet Because where I drive, they were behind me and have swung out into an on-ramp to gain a few car lengths because they are more important than everyone in front of them. By definition, that's an asshole. Very frequently they are not entering and merging onto the highway they were already on it.
Here's what I do, i get to the end of the lane, turn on my blinker and then i start merging. People always move out of the way for you, trust me.
@@23Fibonacci there needs to put in lane monitoring technology to stop that crap on all major road networks around urban areas...automatically ticketed for que jumping
“In Germany where they actually know how to drive” just scored you a dozen brownie points! THANK YOU!
But yes - it works, and you could actually get a fine in Germany if you are caught not competing with the Reisverschlussverfahren!
The word is simply awesome - isn’t it? 🤣
@@derekakaderek and they learn it in mandatory driving school
We have a name for it in the UK it's called Queue Jumping. It's usually reserved for BMW's, AUDI's and Chelsea Tractors.
In the US, BMW owners are required to to take a class on how to drive like an asshole before they purchase ;)
@@gidgetscores and Mercedes
@@gidgetscores that would be an Audi these days
This is fine and works well enough on long, uninterrupted roads like freeways. Until you see (as is often the case here) that the construction narrows from 2 or 3 down to 1 lane _at a major stoplight intersection._ Sorry, but personally driving back and forth through two such places on a main artery road twice daily for literally months now, the "zipper" isn't going to work and doesn't move any faster when traffic must already come to a dead stop every ~20 seconds for the lights anyway. Especially as there's always someone making a left, or even a right when pedestrians are crossing, keeping the entire bottleneck stopped through a couple lights in a row. So, when people do show up in the right lane, nobody on the left is inclined to let them in when it means they're likely to sit through another light or two.
Secondly, if you want people to "zipper", stop placing the lane reduction sign like 4 blocks away. As this video itself points out: Those paying attention will move over to the open lane asap, whereas the douchebags will stay where they are, zooming on down to the end and expecting to be let in. Again that might work on a highway with fast continuous traffic, just like an on-ramp, but with the construction so often at intersections with long lights I'm sorry but I really do not buy this theory. Sometimes in life you just have to get in line and wait your turn. When "doing the smart thing" means my sitting through another light or two just to let you zipper merge in ahead of me, the answer is no.
If using both lanes as long as possible means you leave it to the last minute to get in the correct lane. Now maybe on a clearer day you can do this without problems but, add a few long vehicles and people like YOU get caught out and now require me to have to break to let you in, which then creates a domino effect of braking cars. The merge in turn was never meant to be bumper to bumper, it can easily be accomplished by everyone getting in the correct lane early while there are sufficent spaces to do so without affecting others. If EVERYONE leaves it to the last minute to merge it always ends up with congestion, if EVERYONE got into the correct lane early, we ALL travel through the roadworks at the given speed limit ie 40. The bottle neck and resulting que in closing lane is totally made up of people that didnt want to merge at speed a mile back before and think this bumper to bumper merge is faster somehow. So to all the people saying "the tailbacks trail back and cause problems if we only use 1 lane", the point is there wouldnt be a que in the first place.
I tried that today, everyone else had gone into the through lane, so I became the douche who drove right past miles of cars, eventually a big rig saw me coming and decided to use BOTH lanes specifically so I couldn't get past. Lucky me I just stayed behind him and rejoined the through lane while there, already having kipped hundreds of cars.
The zipper method isn't any faster. If there are 100 cars ahead of me going in to a funnel it doesn't matter if they are one line of 100 or two lines of 50, it's still 100 cars. The zipper does guarantee every car has to stop wheres early merging if done well can mean nobody has to stop. But what the zipper method does do is tell everybody to be an A-hole because somebody always will.
This one neat trick means I will NEVER have a problem getting over out of a closing lane. Try it today.
0:43 I wouldn't say douche bag, I've done this in an attempt to get people to start the zipper and fill up that lane.
If everyone uses the zipper approach all works well.
The problem is that many confuse the douche bag behavior (43 secs) with attempting to perform zipper behavior. I just had a large discussion about it. Some think everyone should just keep driving to the end of the empty lane. It causes resentment and doesn't work.
In my opinion you need someone in the "empty" lane to slow down to the speed of the other lane to eventually force the zipper. Obviously this needs to happen at a sensible distance from the merge. Not too far and not too short. Its not covered in the video. I can see from the comments that this is where the issues arise. Some people feel this behavior is blocking the zipper. They will zipper at the end at the same speed as all the other cars. (1:10 in the video) It is in fact blocking the douche bags.
The problem exists because whatever system whatever system we try, people try to prevent merging.
If I let more than one person in a merge point OR leave an open space ahead of me (let's say creeping traffic at a construction zone) people behind me always start honking at me leaving a full car length of space that I leave ahead of me even though I'm still actively keeping up and traveling the speed of the car ahead of me and often times people will try to go from behind me in my lane to the empty spot ahead of me that I'm making for others to merge into while traffic is moving or even stopped. If I fill that space so they can't Hopscotch around me they feel as if I have cut them off and this can cause dangerous situations.
This type of selfishness to this extreme seems to occupy the minds of the vast majority of people that drive cars.
I make videos on the subject and I get a lot more people telling me that I'm a jerk for letting someone merge than comments from people saying thanks for trying to be considerate and speed up everyone's driving.
A lot more negative comments my friends, so until you all start driving with a distance ahead of you that helps traffic merge ahead of YOU at merge places, all of this is irrelevant and no merging system is any better than any another because none of them will work if you don't try to help others merge. But pre-point merging or endpoint merging or zipper merging??? it doesn't matter,
if you people are actively trying to prevent merging no system will work. So just because it's a zipper merge and somebody thinks it's a pre merge when n merge don't do anything to prevent or not help that merge regardless cuz you're just going to hurt everybody down the line just help people merge.
Why do they bother putting signs up 3km prior if we’re supposed to wait tell the last min......I can see this working on surface streets in the city.
they also put up signs saying stay in lane and merge at lane closure.
I believe it would work great if people practiced the idea. It will never prevent congestion, that's not what they are saying despite idiotic people responses that the engineers are saying it will prevent back ups. That's just not possible. But it is a safer practice than people diving in any chance they get and then opening one lane up to speeding assholes trying to get to the front as fast as possible. So the zipper merge would be much safer and organized, in turn making it faster in the long run. Not zipper merging creates speeding and careless merging which Causes accidents and extreme backups. So the idiotic naysayers of the zipper merge idea should probably shut the hell up and let the smart people do the thinking for them.
Reißverschlussverfahren, baybay!!
As someone who spent 2-1/2 years in W. Chermany, courtesy of Uncle Sam's Flying Circus, trust me when I say:
THOSE CHERMANS DO KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!!
Many traffic laws state cars doing a lane change must give right of way. So this would not work anyways.
Unit23OnPatrol
It does work perfectly fine in Europe. You know why? Because it’s been taught this way!
😂🤣 works terrific on paper!
And with toy cars with ONE mind controlling them. Why are there exactly ZERO videos of this working in real life as described? 🤣
The problem is getting every driver onboard-even if there is a sign that says, “Use both lanes.” So what I do is keep driving in whatever lane is free until the point of merge. I figure at least I’m not stuck in bumper to bumper traffic-that’s a rear-end collision waiting to happen.
It used to work in the 1980's and 90's when there still was a certain amount of common sense and courtesy but in this modern selfish world where it's all about me and me first there is no hope!
I think it also has a lot to do with a significant lack of driver's training. We took an entire semester out of PE when I was in High school. My son's generation was "parent taught." Taking the driving test is outsourced to private companies. I have friends that don't even know how to use their cruise control.
Explain what is common sense to you
About this i mean
You miss the point. Being courteous and merging early is counter productive. Zipper merge is the "unwritten rule" in Europe and works well. In the US there is less cooperation because people exaggerate the importance of being "free" and acting interdependently.
Most Canadians can't even figure out what lane they're supposed to drive in, zipper merging is way too complicated.
100% And my biggest beef is watching an entire highway of traffic try to squeeze around some twit driving slowly in the middle lane despite being passed on both the right and the left. Those shitheads have no idea they are hated with the power of a million suns.
not just Canadians but the majority of selfish drivers the world over, except for Germany.
I moved to Canada from New Zealand. I am super confused when I see people stacked in single file. This never happens in NZ and it's not a shit show!
If you are properly spaced and positioned (certainly a mighty big IF -- this really needs to be the focus for smooth traffic flow, not specifically where you merge), zipping early or late is irrelevant. Truth is, with proper spacing, lane flow doesn't have to come to a halt just because someone decides to change lanes. Even better, for the person who wants to speed ahead of the rest of traffic (there's always a few -- no avoiding it), they are free to do so without screwing with the flow of traffic, either. Fault tolerance is key to fixing jams before they start. I'd rather be past the obstruction as quickly as possible, not trying to police people choosing to drive less than politely.
If zippermerging actually worked, then why don’t we see 6 lane major interstates abruptly end in a 2 lane road? No, it gradually reduces by one lane as you leave the high volume area. A large opening suddenly reducing to a small opening is called an aneurism, and the end result is what you would expect.
Zipper merge is the superior way to manage congestion due to a reduction in the number of lanes. Its not intended to be superior to more lanes of traffic.
Why reduce from 6 to 2 one lane at a time? The zipper only works with two lanes of traffic merging into one. So you do so over long distances one lane at a time.
cool. while you're at it, fix road rage.
Pretty simple recipe. Let everyone merge in front of you. That is the only space you control by keeping your speed at a constant pace of slower than the person in front of you. In doing so, every single person who is driving behind you doesn't have to stop. No break lights going off? Means everyone is traveling at the same speed. Means not traffic jam. Means just a little bit of slow down before you start the normal speed again.
I always leave enough space for a semi or about 5 vehicles to merge infron of me.
I'm way more likely to do something stupid due to making quick decisions, if there comes a point where I have to merge RIGHT NOW, rather than merging when I find an opportunity. Neither is likely, but one is much more likely, and surprises are always possible when driving. Especially because we're probably too congested to fit smoothly into the single lane at the same speed.
This assumes there are the same number of vehicles in both lanes. On 2 lane highways, most of the cars are in the right lanes. If the left lane is ending, should drivers move left to use the open lane only to move right again? That doesn't seem efficient at all.
In the maritimes, people don’t zipper merge because it’s the culture to be polite and patient, and wait your turn. If a car arrives at a spot before you, the people of the maritimes believe you should allow that car to proceed first because it’s polite, so they all line up one behind the other. Yes, douche bags do take advantage of the empty lane and arrogantly push their way in at the bottleneck, but I’ve found that most maritimers don’t even get upset at the douche bags and actually let them in most of the time.
The douche bags you talk about are zipper merging. It’s not their fault that you don’t know how to zipper merge and don’t want to use all of the available lane space because it doesn’t look polite to you.
Agree. The only fair merging system that everybody would agree on would be the one that keeps the order of incoming cars. Something losely similar to the principle of airport snake queues or so…
Zipper merges store vehicles in two lanes reducing the length of the backup along the highway, which can be a good thing, especially where the congestion interferes with interchanges, intersections or other access upstream. The efficiency of a merge is almost exclusively determined by the rate at which traffic passes through the choke point. The reporter claims it also claims the zipper improves flow through the choke point. I am not finding any technical evidence that that is correct.
So every other situation in life when a line must be formed we take courtesy over efficiency and wait our turn, but in a metal can flying down the road with peoples tempers already on edge we say courtesy be damned and recommend cramming two lanes into one at the last second? Seems like the last place you would want to abandon order and courtesy to me.
Curtis B no, that's not what happens in every other situation. There are many other times where you have 2 (or more) lines that have to queue up to a single agent and people manage to alternate fine in those situations. With traffic, they're randomly jumping from line 2 into the middle of line 1; nobody would do that. By merging early, you're causing people to merge with people that have already merged and that's slower and more dangerous. People need to realize that in a merge situation, the other lane has the same right and you're not being courteous letting them in, you *have* to.
Most people are pretty good but I've had people refuse to let me in. We used to have a bridge with a middle lane which a changed direction based on traffic flow, requiring you to merge. One lady in a van, with kids, just leaned on the horn and refused to let me in.
Exactly, teach your kids to do this in the lunchroom and see how many times they come home with a note from the principal.
@@stephenshoihet2590 Actually, you're wrong. You should let people in, but you do not "have" to. Responsibility rests with the merging vehicle to do so safely. Call your insurance broker if you don't believe me. Ask about fault attribution in this case.
@@23Fibonacci This actually varies from place to place Steve, so it depends on where you live. Look up the VC in WA state, or MN. Also take a peek at traffic laws overseas where the accident rate per capita is much lower. The sole responsibility of merging falling to the ending lane is a poorly conceived concept that has time and time again been shown to be less effective and less safe in actual practice, particularly in areas where traffic is of a higher volume. I hope that more people will review the data available and see the benefits of lawfully enforced zipper merging. Preventing someone from merging in could easily be construed as 'obstructing the flow of traffic', and is punishable by traffic laws in many places around the world, including places where the zipper merge isn't a part of the literal code as those codes still tend to have phrasing that take into account 'all factors of the circumstance'. The law is subject to mitigating factors and so anyone that is found to have intentionally caused an accident to stick to their supposed 'right of way' is still going to be found at fault, even if only partially, if the decision is brought to court (which is exactly what you should do if you feel you are found wrongfully at fault). This is exactly why more and more people appreciate the use of dashboard cameras as most situations are not simply black and white. Think about it. There are some great comments on this video that have numerous citations of these facts, but I trust you can use a search engine. :)
A fun thought experiment is to consider safe driving distances, tailgating, and that people who take it upon themselves to 'force people to be unable to cut in' by following too closely the vehicle ahead of them, who are in fact breaking driving codes themselves. We should have all been taught about "leaving yourself an out" and about safe driving distance as defined by your local vehicle codes. So are you obeying the rules of the road when you drive? Or are you like so many other minor vigilantes who choose to make it their responsibility to deny others the ability to safely maneuver in traffic by subsequently ignoring safe distances? Any merging system will rely on the proper observation of these distances, not just the zipper. In my whole life I have only rarely observed people respecting proper distances while driving in various states in the US, and have seen countless comments on videos like this one where people who are even in favor of zipper merging saying "one or two car lengths" is what is expected. Shocking to see when the safe distance when traveling above 40 mph in most any state in the us is actually equal to more like 10-12x car lengths. This is typically referred to by seconds of travel at that speed in those vehicle codes, which at 65/mph is roughly 95 feet per second. At 40+mph you should observe 2 seconds plus an additional second for each 10feet of length on the vehicle ahead of you. In other words, if you are driving behind a sedan you are expected to leave over 180 feet between your cars (Half of a football field!). A 30 foot truck ahead of you means you should be allowing roughly twice that distance.
Watch traffic next time you are on the freeway; How many people deserve a ticket for driving too close? It's a frightening thing to observe when you consider the dangers inherent to motor vehicle travel. Personally, I think tailgating is an overlooked danger on the road and deserves more attention by law enforcement in general, not just near merging situations. If that issue were more readily rectified by aggressive ticketing, accidents would be reduced at large and the ability for more mathematically sound systems like this merging technique would become far more readily applicable and appreciated by more people. Again, look at evidence as provided in places where systems like these are already in effect and heavily enforced. Try your best to take the numerous haters' opinions with a grain of salt and stick to factual data. The reason this makes traffic 'faster' is simply that without any confusion about whose 'turn' it is to slip through the bottleneck caused by closure, everyone should be able to maintain proper speeds. Someone mucking it up by being stubborn or simply not being comfortable driving at the proper speed will mess things up, yes, but that isn't a fault in this particular system, but a fault of that individual driver that should merit a citation (as it does, in many places). We are only as strong as our weakest link, so let's help everyone get on the same page. The 'cramming' referred to by the OP in this thread is an obvious symptom of rampant tailgating, as traffic laws around the world agree that with safe distances observed, there will be no cramming involved, only a seamless flow of traffic. If there are too many cars altogether, traffic may ensue, but that's an indicator of either a lack of total roadway space or of an instance of an accident or other mistake in these systems occurring independently of the merging method in question being applied. Pointlessly sticking to old rules or systems only denies progress. Embrace change!
@@maxrhad9532 Well, all fine and good, but traffic on a highway (or any roadway for that matter) has a finite amount of throughput (capacity) that it can accommodate and the highways that I drive on quickly reach that point - albeit perhaps from people following too closely and braking to cause complete stops - still the driving skill of those already on it can be criticized till the cows come home but it does not overcome that absolute fact. So without controlled access the arterials begin to supply more vehicles than can be accomodated on the roadway and things grind to a halt. Now if cars continued to insert themselves in an alternating zipper fashion you'd start to have them running into each other if the burden of responsibility lay on those already on the highway making space (that doesn't exist) available to them. Sorry - but that is ludicrous. The responsibility lies on those entering to do so safely. I do agree, a dashcam would provide evidence of someone being a dick and not allowing me to move in - but that in no way means I can start to move across aggressively even if the traffic around me is stopped. In my experience, the lane to the right is always moving faster and that is because more cars entering the roadway are moving in than cars already on the roadway - and this creates backups. If the opposite were true, then the flow would remain below maximum capacity. It is physically impossible to exceed that capacity, and thus the zipper merge (and shared responsibility) is a mathematical impossibility.
Where's the data for this?
does this apply to regular too roads or just on the highway?
Any solution must be a solution based on people not behaving. because if people behave, the systems we already have would already work.
If you're going to offer a solution, offer a solution to misbehaving drivers, not a solution that only works if everybody participates.
A mature and responsible solution will consider that immature and irresponsible drivers will always be present.
Zipper merge doesn't work in America. In my town Trucks drive through "construction" this regularly.
I almost died from a stupid driver and the coordination of this technique would cause crashes no doubt about it
This would only work with automated cars using sensors and NFC devices to be efficient
It works in Europe just fine.
@Kevin Lee My point exactly.
People think that bad drivers are what causes traffic but reality is that the roads can't take that much cars. More lanes reduce traffic (at least for a brief period of time, since there's always an increase in cars).
VEGA don't make the mistake as a deity engineer I'm here to tell you more lanes are specifically for faster and faster pass passing all traffic is supposed to drive in the right-most lane and that's the way we draw it up two lanes would suffice if people would pass with due diligence but too many people have the impatience driving them to pass but when they do they then fear getting a ticket or fear the speed they're going so the pass without appropriate diligence but we draw the roads for everyone to stay in the right-most lane if you feel crowded back off from the car ahead of you but the other lands are strictly for passing and pressure relief we call it pressure relief but it's temporary you're not to drive the lane next to traffic unless you're driving faster or slower than that traffic but do not change lanes just a thin out that's what slows traffic
that's just true IF the amount of cars is smaller than the roads. Imagine you make a 1km two-lane road and the amount of cars that commute take 3 km of lane, you'll think the solution is to people to drive faster and respecting the "fast lane" but the road is not big enough to support 3km of cars so people will use the second lane because simply there's no space elsewhere. So you make two more lanes and the problem is solved momentarily but then the amount of cars increase to 6km, is a vicious cycle. Public transportation is the ONLY viable and real solution.
VEGA well Vega, it's clear to see by your remark that at least some people are actually thinking with some real world math, thank you.
Yes you're correct you cannot put 5 liters of water into a 4 liter container.
Interesting comments VEGA and you’re absolutely bang on with your comments on capacity! But if a road does have the capacity to serve the amount of cars and it is still slowing down that’s when I have to disagree with your first comment; in such a situation then “bad drivers” can be what is causing traffic. How many times do we see someone cut someone else off and the person who gets cut off over brakes causing the person behind them to brake hard. And the wave of brake lights cascades down the road. In this scenario I would consider both drivers “bad” in their own right. One being a poor driver and one being unsafe and inconsiderate. And both aiding in the creation of traffic.
+VEGA More lanes just lead to more cars and the problem starts again, what we need is efficient public transport so the number of vehicles reduce not more lanes to keep the problem getting bigger.
Totally disagree with the assessment that zip merging is more efficient. While this may be the case on a few very very busy roads, most roads have enough excess capacity to get into single file as soon as you start seeing the lane closed signs without slowing anyone down. It is the zip mergers that slow everyone down in these scenarios and they need their proper punishment doled out for it.
The zipper merge method is used when there is congestion... It is not valid without congestion. This is assumed to be understood.
Your opinion does not supercede Science
The key to the zipper merge is not passing all the way through the backup and to the merge.
It's funny because the "assholes" (notice the sarcastic quotes) who cut in at the merge rather than 3 miles early on, are really the people doing the correct thing. The REAL assholes are the morons who merge monumentally early, and then sit in traffic for 15 more mins than they needed to, then get mad when people are taking turns at the merge, and decide to block a merger from entering the open lane because of their own ignorance. This incompetence is far too common on the road, and drivers ed really need to better educate people on how to merge CORRECTLY. This is why zipper merges aren't working good; drivers don't cooperate with each other, or they are ignorant, or both.
People want to believe it's faster because it lets them go "I'm helping!" when they jump in front, but it isn't really. It _does_ put more road space to use, so doesn't block intersections as often, but you still have to merge. All those cars will be single-file sooner or later, and the bottleneck is the bottleneck. If you have room to get over, then it doesn't matter whether you do it now vs. later.
Show an analysis when everyone uses one lane and stays a safe distance from the vehicle in front. In theory this method does not mean anyone needs to slow down and will pass the maximum number of vehicles per unit time.
Contrast that with a zipper system where every vehicle approaches at a constant speed but then needs to slow down to allow the merging vehicle to enter……the vehicle letting the other car in needs to pull back to allow additional space.
The zipper system is not faster but it does minimise the tailback distance but does nothing for throughout.
There's no methodology to this. It's common sense that if everyone simply let one car over when merging, construction or not, traffic will flow better. However, it's not human nature. Especially in areas with heavy traffic. People are not going to let the other car over and both lanes always end up backed up. With technology today, they know where there will be congestion and roadwork before leaving home. Plan accordingly, get over EARLY when possible and everyone knows that a straight line is the fastest way to get from point A to point B. Unless millennials want to change that too.
When will they admit that this doesn't follow the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (or most provinces for that matter)? This MIGHT be a better technique but we have to follow the law. In Ontario the through lane has right of way. We don't just get to make up laws because we like it. How about we have the 4 way zipper stop where you slow down then zip through when it's your turn.
Just dont forget where you liability and responsibility lie. If your lane ends then you alone bear the full responsibility to merge safely and properly. Not the drivers in the thru lane....They dont merge, only you do. Unless it is clearly posted that BOTH lanes must merge together into one lane. Then it becomes a shared responsibility
For zipper merge to work, multiple cars must leave room for other cars to merg..which NEVER happens. Duh
It does happen in Germany 🇩🇪
At 1 minute 10 seconds you say “stay right the hell in your own lane”, but I bring forth a question, is it not the law to be in the right hand lane unless passing? No one should be in the left lane like you so have your toy cars layed out except for the couple of people in the process of passing. You have your mock up set up for a scenario that doesn’t exist. If you want to do it right, place every toy car in the right hand lane and explain how to properly zipper to the left hand lane. I’ll wait
_Should_ be. But does _everyone_ stay in the right lane at all times? Unfortunately hell no
No one let's anyone zipper merge here they swerve at u or drive in 2 lanes to block u. I once physically drove on the grass the get around a van that was blocking 30 cars from zipper merging in Windsor
Must have been in one hell of a hurry to go get them mcnuggets eh?
Windsor california? There are some real winners here on the road that's for sure. Just had someone swerve out like that to block all of the cars. Caused a backup and almost an accident.
A line of traffic isn't inherently slow. Grains of sand in an hour glass would take less than an hour it all lined up and then dropped through the hole. Your graphic showing zippering working awesome would work if everyone merged early as well as they flow is still the same. Zippering is endorsed by governments because when traffic is backed up (By gawker traffic or reduced speed in construction zones) The line formed to get through would he half as long if people used the two lanes and this helps avoid backups through intersections etc.
This might work well in Europe, where just to get a driver's license, you have to spend thousands, and Driving School is months long.
Their drivers are better at many things, than American drivers. Especially merges. In AZ, you can get a license after a 6 minute road test, consisting of only right turns at stop signs in a neighborhood.
And it doesn't expire for 50 years!
No left turns, no lane changes, no freeway, no parallel parking, on most AZ road tests. American drivers are dangerously underqualified compared to German or English drivers.
This video is attributing way too much faith in the competency of others and ignoring the reality, that a LOT of people here are just playing on Facebook while driving, and don't even notice there was a merge until they are leaving skidmarks up the wall. Zipper merges on the i17 (4th deadliest highway in America) cause tons of wrecks and traffic jams, that otherwise wouldn't have happened if everyone wasn't looking at their phones.
When you're driving in the US, not everything works the same way it does in Germany. In a perfect driving world, sure. But some people are unrealistic in their expectations of others.
@CommandoDude some times, in some countries, yes. Some places don't honor those though...
what a croc.
Love this would rather have less accidents and for traffic to flow better.
The cause of the congestion comes after the merge point. There is still only so many cars that can pass thru the obstruction....Regardless of what they have done at the merge point.
Having two shorter lanes of cars may stop them from blocking other traffic. But that is the only benefit that comes from the zipper merge. It is definitely not faster.
I have to disagree, this will not work because people don't know what they are doing on the road. The average sedan is around 15 feet so if you have 24 cars trying to cut in your line using the zipper method or not it will slow everything down because 24 sedans equals to 1 football field. Somebody is losing space and/or distance when you have a football field cutting into your line.
Merge early and let the open lane maintain more speed .Your using logic here ..I don t think this uploading muppet understands logic
Ah and there is the problem "your line" stop thinking as if you own it and someone is taking it from you.
Zipper merge doesn't work. The lane ending is always faster because they cut off the next lane. That's why is constantly jammed up because everyone haul ass in the lane ending.
Doesn't matter if you merge early or late, it will still be jammed up. I drive in traffic everyday. I never seen it work
This principle works great in theory but not in practice. That animation just looks so clever with everyone maintaining the exact same distance and speed - it should be called precision driving just like acrobatic flying displays (even some of those end disastrously). In reality, many (I'm tempted to say most) people change into the desired lane upon entering a road either immediately (so they don't have to think about it anymore and they can get back to listening to their music or playing with their phone) or at the last possible moment because they weren't paying attention (because they were listening to their music or playing with their phone) and not normally when it is the safest time to change lanes which could be somewhere in between. When you ask a group of drivers to maintain the same speed, they will slow down to do so, not maintain speed or speed up. They will go only as fast as the slowest car and the slowest car will invariably stop (because many (most) drivers don't know the difference between "merge" and "yield" (or stop) and, in any case, the Domino Effect* will eventually cause everyone to stop. Different vehicle types also accelerate differently with some large vehicles taking forever to match speeds. The best approach is to always merge well before you are actually forced to by a blockade which results in a quick aggressive change or a complete stop. In any merge once a stop is achieved there isn't any going back without extreme precision (there's that word again) getting to columns crawling again or until traffic lightens enough for the queues to disappear. It requires EVERYONE to do this and you always get some clown who thinks that he (or she) is somehow more important than the other courteous drivers on the road and must pass as many vehicles as humanly possible before merging. These queue jumpers exist everywhere, not just on the roadways. They have the prevalent attitude that says "I'll just take advantage of someone else, we are not created equal and we don't have to get through this situation together".
The Alberta Motor Association is partly to blame for this (as is any organization that can issue a drivers license). You have to try really hard (in many countries) to fail a drivers exam. The Zipper Merge is never on the road test because you can never find a good merge situation when you need to. Just ask the little old lady I got stuck behind this morning trying to MERGE (the sign says quite clearly MERGE) onto Groat Road from 107 Avenue. I watched her cautiously slow down and come to a dead stop right at the end of the merge lane and sits there with her indicator on (lonely sentinel against a world gone mad). Horns from multiple drivers (I know right, so rare) would not budge her. Now instead of some kind of orderly attempt at a zip merge the local traffic scheme quickly became a full on free-for-all. They really need a taser equipped police cruiser to just sit there and zap each offending driver every morning. I have stopped counting the number of rear end collisions at that exact same spot because drivers were expecting the timid soul ahead of them to actually accelerate and match the speed of the mergee(?) lane.
* If you are 10 cars back at a red light and that light goes green, you cannot immediately accelerate can you? You have to wait (unless you are part of a precision driving troupe). The Domino Effect is the same principle in reverse.
You have been a wonderful audience, thank you.
Dude, i stopped reading after your second sentence. Conclusion: you're wrong. Have a nice day.
The zipper is nice in theory but doesn't work in reality because :40 is 90% of people who ride the merge lane until it ends.
I'm not convinced. Douchebags are looking for validation. The alternate of waiting until the last second isn't "merging immediately and as fast as possible." It's casually merging when the safe and convenient opportunity presents itself. If everyone did that, there would be no reason for everyone to slow down.
Germany has the best drivers. They actually always stay on the right if not passing, even if they are going over 250 kmh.
Because they're required to do so
How is having one queue any more dangerous than having two queues??
One issue is the length of the stoppage. Not usually a major problem on interstates, but if there are intersections it means you could have traffic build up into intersections behind the merge.
2 queues makes for (roughly) half the length
Everyone can merge early. That just means a wide open lane for me!
Exactly.
Austin A
Ha... that’s my kinda thinking. Let everybody else stand in line and wait while the other lane is wide open. Smh...
Austin A an open lane, that you know is ending, meaning you’ll have to cut someone off once you hit the end of it since I’m sure you’ll be zooming to get nowhere
@@extremeencounter7458 the lane ends so either people will slow down, speed up or change lanes to let you in. Been doing it my whole life. I waste id say about 20 minutes of driving everyday because people merge early. Slows everyone down.
Jackass.
If I stay in the closed lane until the last minute, I then have to depend on someone not being a douche-bag and letting me in.
The open lane is the best place for a responsible driver so they can leave a space in front for all the last-minute douche-bags to cut in.
I prefer to maintain control of my surroundings by merging at a time and place of my choosing rather than letting the flow of traffic tell me where and when to go.
The only way to properly enforce this is a stoplight like a metered on-ramp.
Lane ends in 1000 feet. Adjust accordingly. The problem isn't those recognizing their lane is ending and adjusting within the flow of traffic, it's the dimwits that DON'T recognize their lane is ending, or speed up to try and jump ahead of the traffic.
One argument is that there would be no where for them to speed through if both lanes were being equally used.
Heat Lifer So if a lane is ending in 1000 feet, why merge over 800 feet early? If a lane is open, then I’m using it until it isn’t open anymore!
Lol I didn't say merge over 800 feet early (unless you want to), I said adjust within the flow of traffic, 800 feet up, 750, 400 take your pick just try to do it smoothly without being a jerk lol
Heat Lifer But that's the whole point, people see that a lane is ending and want to get over right away when they should stay where they are so both lanes are being utilized to the fullest. If everybody did this then they wouldn't be able to speed up and jump ahead of traffic because both lanes would be moving about the same.
Correct and when traffic is basically at a stand still most people aren't on the ball enough to maintain bumper to bumper so even if there are some angry drivers not wanting to let you merge, a late merger can easily squeeze in before long at all. Late mergers may not be rude but are more educated and understand that there will be gaps (due to human drivers not being so efficient as to maintain zero space between cars) for the 2nd lane to fit to easily merge in making flow through the bottleneck faster.
Is nobody going to comment on this guy’s terrible outfit? The suspenders, ill-fitting button-down, black on black with a visible WHITE undershirt. I can’t trust this man.
Bumper to bumper traffic, who will let closing lane cars in? Not many. Put in turn signal and accept any chance to get in line. Or go to end and sit while bumper to bumper cars pass you by.
Add in the cell phone user who won't let the zipper move,the old guy trying to merge early holding everyone up in both lanes,and the occasional old lady who can't see over the steering wheel taking up way to much buffer zones and not doing the speed limit, yeah that's what I observe at the zipper merge!! But we can get through this together!!
This might work in the lab but it won't work on the road. Not in America.
It does work in America and on real roads. Colorado have been successful in fostering this behavior and with positive results.
www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-mergers-are-good-for-traffic.html
"Won't work for us" is a poor excuse for not changing ingrained habits. You aren't that special or different.
People who talk about zipper merges clearly don’t understand basic physics. A zipper only works when there’s space to merge; otherwise, it jams. If the lanes are already gaped, you can close into one lane and maintain speed. But without extra room, merging two lanes into one can't happen at anything more than half the speed. So when drivers push ahead and justify their selfish behaviour with 'zipper merging,' they’re not just inconsiderate, they're showing they don’t understand how traffic flow really works.
Drivers that get close to the vehicle in front at a stop are also demonstrating their lack of driving ability. They delay traffic and are to blame for that annoying “wave” at lights as people move forward, nothing more fun than the light turning red just as you start to move. If people left room when they stopped instead of waiting for it as the person in front moves, then everyone can go when the light turns, the “NASCAR” start. The slower number of vehicles moving through the intersection is often the cause of the traffic buildup to begin with. Even if it feels like you are further from the light or turning lanes fill up, traffic would flow better.
Looks good on paper.
Does not work in practice.
Yes it does.
@@JeanPierreWhite nope. Its a mess everytime.
I understand how its _supposed_ to work, but thats not what happens in the real world.
@@ogChaaka I've seen it work just fine and studies reflect my experience.
@tomyourmom connect.ncdot.gov/projects/research/RNAProjDocs/2015-08%20Final%20Report.pdf
www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/05-r6.pdf
There's this thing called Google.
Nova Scotia used to use the Zipper but now there are so many non NOVA SCOTIANS here now that cant drive and mess things up like they did where the use to live.
In Germany the Reißverschlussverfahren is more reliable than the internet.
no one lets you zipper. everyone rides the persons bumper in front of them and won't let you zipper
You call the guy a douchebag then say you need to cooperate with him. So which is it?
Take turns merging...
It's apparent that the person who made this video has never driven before.
Good luck with that.
faster at causing accidents... move over early to prevent impeding traffic and prevent accidents because you wanna cut everyone off.... your lane ended lmfao mine keeps going that's on you sit back and wait for room
Goodluck with people letting you in, forcing you to stop at the merge and wait
Most people do let you in. There are occasional people who do not, its more the exception than you realize.
Ok, but if we had a fully-autonomous, self-driving car system, controlled by some centralized computer, can you really imagine it coordinating all cars to use this method of merging at the last second in a 20-50' length of road? I still think that a system where cars merged earlier (or at least in a way to minimize any decrease in speed) would be more efficient. I can't imagine cars merging in that short of a distance at higher speeds (at least not safely)
you failed to consider one thing if the zipper merge is coming from the right how would you know the driver on the left will give in? I would suggest to slow turn to the left before the end of the lend that way there is still time to let some douche bags from the left to go forward.. better yet the local government should assign one controller in that area to prevent any chaos and accident, or if they are lazy just put up a traffic sign there
Yeah in oklahoma its like driving in a video game. So this would never work. People are fucking crazy
If you want to fix the whole problem you need to have the early merge system WITH flashing signs that tell cars not to pass, only merge and to do so early, thus preventing the 'douche-bag' divers mentioned. If they decide to zip ahead to add in the zipper merge they get pulled over by the police and ticketed. That way you don't get Early Merge + Zipper Merge where people are trying to keep the 'Douche-bag' from zippering in last minute. Early merge is much faster when you don't have the zipper idiots trying to cut in last minute as the early merge system allows more flexibility in spacing and speed adjustment.
Totally false. Do your research instead of showing your ignorance and start the name calling.
Cobaltclass exactly how they teach you to do this in drivers ed and on your DMV driving exam. Merge early!
Hmm yes well you can do that I am going to make sure I am in the right lane so people cant cut me off at the last min and stop me getting past the construction works.
Never going to work.