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I always wondered why they didn't use drones to warn drivers about upcoming construction. If people had miles to merge into one lane instead of hitting a wall,

by uw_rob 10y ago

I always wondered why they didn't use drones to warn drivers about upcoming construction. If people had miles to merge into one lane instead of hitting a wall, I suspect people may not have to come to a stop to merge, and thus everyone can keep on moving.

FireBeyond 10y ago
You underestimate the selfishness of people. Knowledge of upcoming situations is not the issue. Rather it's the "it's more important for me to get where I'm going than it is you" that keeps people from merging until the very last second. Source: US roads. All day, every day.
- Pfhreak 10y ago
  Merging late, and using both lanes to their fullest actually improves overall congestion (per Washington state, Minnesota, and others.) Merging early can lead to differential speeds between lanes, which encourages lane changing, which causes a general slowdown for everyone. Use those lanes and zipper at the end!
  - s5fs 10y ago
    It's the 'zipper at the end' that most people mess up. I call them 'button people'.
  - c22 10y ago
    One big problem I witness often is people exiting the open lane just to zoom to the front and re-merge back into it. Now they've changed lanes twice!
- ChoHag 10y ago
  It doesn't matter when you merge, it matters how.
- zo1 10y ago
  I think the problem is that you have two sets of people when it comes to this topic. Those that know that the best time to merge is at the end, evenly dividing traffic in a 1:1 ratio. And the other group, which thinks it's best to "merge" early. So, half the people merge early, creating a vaccum in the soon to be merged lane. And then the other half, fills it, which promptly causes the first half to think that they're taking advantage.
  - mamon 10y ago
    Worse still, there are some "road sherrifs" (in big trucks) that not only merge early, but also try to block the other lane when they see people trying drive that lane and merge at the end. At least in my country it is quite common and police does not seem to handle this properly.
mfarris 10y ago
Counterintuitive counterpoint from just a couple days ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-mergers-are-good-for-traffic.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-me... Summary: last-second zipper merging is actually better in many circumstances.
rasz_pl 10y ago
because 15-20 min max battery life. Great for carefully arranged publicity stunt, but nothing much else.

by uw_rob 10y ago

FireBeyond 10y ago

You underestimate the selfishness of people. Knowledge of upcoming situations is not the issue. Rather it's the "it's more important for me to get where I'm going than it is you" that keeps people from merging until the very last second. Source: US roads. All day, every day.

Pfhreak 10y ago
Merging late, and using both lanes to their fullest actually improves overall congestion (per Washington state, Minnesota, and others.) Merging early can lead to differential speeds between lanes, which encourages lane changing, which causes a general slowdown for everyone. Use those lanes and zipper at the end!
- s5fs 10y ago
  It's the 'zipper at the end' that most people mess up. I call them 'button people'.
- c22 10y ago
  One big problem I witness often is people exiting the open lane just to zoom to the front and re-merge back into it. Now they've changed lanes twice!
ChoHag 10y ago
It doesn't matter when you merge, it matters how.
zo1 10y ago
I think the problem is that you have two sets of people when it comes to this topic. Those that know that the best time to merge is at the end, evenly dividing traffic in a 1:1 ratio. And the other group, which thinks it's best to "merge" early. So, half the people merge early, creating a vaccum in the soon to be merged lane. And then the other half, fills it, which promptly causes the first half to think that they're taking advantage.
- mamon 10y ago
  Worse still, there are some "road sherrifs" (in big trucks) that not only merge early, but also try to block the other lane when they see people trying drive that lane and merge at the end. At least in my country it is quite common and police does not seem to handle this properly.

mfarris 10y ago

Counterintuitive counterpoint from just a couple days ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-mergers-are-good-for-traffic.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/why-last-second-lane-me... Summary: last-second zipper merging is actually better in many circumstances.

rasz_pl 10y ago

because 15-20 min max battery life. Great for carefully arranged publicity stunt, but nothing much else.