Looking at you downtown expressway to 64W mergers….Drict t1_ivfj2t0 wrote
Reply to comment by ChiliTrees in Looking at you downtown expressway to 64W mergers…. by ITMORON
The real problem is that people leave the space, then there is that random asshole drives 80 up until the merge point, then cuts someone off causing them and and everyone else to break and closes the space behind.
ttd_76 t1_ivfrapz wrote
That's not how the zipper merge works though. Even though it is extremely annoying sometimes to let someone in, you have to do it. Otherwise they are blocking a lane.
If someone can drive right past a mile long lane of cars right to the merge point, the zipper merge is already fucked. That shouldn't happen, and the problem is actually with too many early mergers.
What holds up traffic the most is everyone jumping to one lane early and then not letting anyone else in. The only fix is to let anyone who wants to merge in, as quickly and as easily as possible even if they are dickheads who are trying to cut in line.
Drict t1_ivfxj3i wrote
Actually no, it is a zipper merge. If people merge over 200 yards early because it is safe to do so, and then some jackass sees that the lane is open and guns it, then cuts into a space that is the safe following distance and makes it so that driver is now no longer safe and is cut off (2-3 car lengths on the SHORTEST; seen it done in less) and they gunned it to 80 to pass the 'line' of people going 50. They just fucked the line and crunched up ALL of the merging space for EVERY car behind them, since the 1 person had to brake. It actually has been proven that it takes almost a whole mile of clear driving for that 1 fuckers impatience to be resolved.
EDIT: Break is wrong... lol brake
ttd_76 t1_ivgd32s wrote
You have to look at the total traffic flow, not just the impact on one lane.
The more cars that can flow through a given chokepoint as quickly as possible, the better.
If we drew a merge as a Y with two separate one lane roads merging into one and asked people how to handle it, they would instinctively say "Stagger it. One car from one of the roads, the next car from the other road."
The problem with most merges is one of the two lanes is perceived to have priority. Therefore everyone needs to get into the "correct" lane and line up. But from a traffic flow viewpoint, neither lane has priority. All that matters is getting as any cars through that chokepoint as quickly as possible.
Drict t1_ivgzbe2 wrote
You quite literally are proving my point. The line that has 'priority' is the lane that isn't being closed. People are merging over when it is SAFE to do so and they are traveling at speed that is safe and keeps traffic moving. The problem is the person that guns it, (not finding a safe spot to move over at close to the same speed as the rest of traffic) and cuts someone off (disrupts the speed in which the rest of traffic is moving; specifically by making the other person hit their brakes to avoid an accident due to the person that gunned it and cut them off)
You think in the ideal world, not the real world. If I am in the right lane, I have a safe space to merge to the left and I move with traffic and merge over at the time that is the merge point, I AM DOING WHAT YOU ARE ASKING, and by 'blocking' the right lane I am allowing for the merge point to 'loosen' as they no longer have to worry about merging people. The only way this method DOESN'T WORK is if once people have merged they don't accelerate (due to an obstruction/choke up ahead) OR they don't know how to get back up to speed effectively, once that occurs, then finding your spot and merging as you desire is the correct play since traffic is flowing.
When it isn't flowing is due to that jerk-off cutting off people. It is why the whole issue arises, period. People then have figured out if you block the other lane, traffic actually starts moving again, because people aren't freaking out about the merging person and the flow (basically movement before the merge) can pick up again...
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