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>> Zipper merging is the optimal solution. People early merge because they think it is the optimal/moral/better/'done my part' solution. It is optimal only whe

>> Zipper merging is the optimal solution. People early merge because they think it is the optimal/moral/better/'done my part' solution. It is optimal only when the local driving culture allows it to be. I live in an area where drivers are extremely selfish and the police don't seem to spend a lot of time ticketing bad drivers, so zipper merging typically doesn't work here.

peeters 12y ago
> It is optimal only when the local driving culture allows it to be. Yeah, which is why almost the entire article was about the campaigns to change the culture, not about justifying zipper merging as optimal.
- slantyyz 12y ago
  Fair point, but it's easier to successfully campaign a low density region (i.e, a state with around 7M people like Washington) than a high density metro area (the metro area where I live in has 6M people, so traffic is already a daily nightmare). Those campaigns in Washington and Minnesota just wouldn't fly here. When our metro population was around <=3M, people still zipper merged (in the mid 90s and earlier).
dionidium 12y ago
I live in an area where drivers are extremely selfish...so zipper merging typically doesn't work here. This is backwards. Zipper merging doesn't work when drivers attempt to be unselfish by merging early, which results in vigilante lane blockage of those who weren't as considerate. In other words, I'm not being selfish when I block late mergers; I'm enacting justice on other people who were being selfish. The system works when all parties recognize that the best thing for everyone is to merge late.
- slantyyz 12y ago
  People used to zipper merge where I live... in the 80s. But the metro region I live in is much more dense than it used to be, and combined with the fact that the police don't spend a lot of time enforcing traffic laws, and that the public transportation system has poor coverage, traffic problems have skyrocketed. One of the reasons why people early merge here is that many people don't let mergers in. And one of the reasons why people don't let mergers in is that they regularly get cut off by a second car after letting a merger in. It's a vicious circle. Back in "the day", zipper merging wasn't even an issue. A lot of people early merge here because they'd rather be the one letting people in than hoping to be let in.
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  You're overlooking the situation where people merge out of the lane in a line without letting people who are already in the lane go through.

peeters 12y ago

> It is optimal only when the local driving culture allows it to be. Yeah, which is why almost the entire article was about the campaigns to change the culture, not about justifying zipper merging as optimal.

slantyyz 12y ago
Fair point, but it's easier to successfully campaign a low density region (i.e, a state with around 7M people like Washington) than a high density metro area (the metro area where I live in has 6M people, so traffic is already a daily nightmare). Those campaigns in Washington and Minnesota just wouldn't fly here. When our metro population was around <=3M, people still zipper merged (in the mid 90s and earlier).

dionidium 12y ago

I live in an area where drivers are extremely selfish...so zipper merging typically doesn't work here. This is backwards. Zipper merging doesn't work when drivers attempt to be unselfish by merging early, which results in vigilante lane blockage of those who weren't as considerate. In other words, I'm not being selfish when I block late mergers; I'm enacting justice on other people who were being selfish. The system works when all parties recognize that the best thing for everyone is to merge late.

slantyyz 12y ago
People used to zipper merge where I live... in the 80s. But the metro region I live in is much more dense than it used to be, and combined with the fact that the police don't spend a lot of time enforcing traffic laws, and that the public transportation system has poor coverage, traffic problems have skyrocketed. One of the reasons why people early merge here is that many people don't let mergers in. And one of the reasons why people don't let mergers in is that they regularly get cut off by a second car after letting a merger in. It's a vicious circle. Back in "the day", zipper merging wasn't even an issue. A lot of people early merge here because they'd rather be the one letting people in than hoping to be let in.
anigbrowl 12y ago
You're overlooking the situation where people merge out of the lane in a line without letting people who are already in the lane go through.