Road rant inspired by the funny picture thread.

[jamil]

Traffic still moves at the speed of the slowest driver in the contruction zone. The backed up line of traffic will be shorter but you'll still only go through the zone as dictated by the speed of the drivers in front of you. At the zip point, you'll still have to slow down and allow traffic to merge and the traffic will back up depending on the volume of traffic at the time.

What we really ought to be complaining about is why do they create construction zones for such lengths that causes us to poke along at 45mph for miles while no work is occurring and the road is serviceable for many of those miles.

So then why should everyone get mad? Not saying you do, but so many people are saying people like me are immoral for doing this. Hey, I get it. I used to get mad at those people too.

But I realized back when the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed for several months and EVERY DAY was a two hour trip one way, maybe the lane zippers aren't actually evil. Maybe I'm wrong. One day I looked at the emptier "closed ahead" lane and then looked at the long line of bumper to bumper traffic in the open lane and decided this was insanity. That's a whole lot of lane space being wasted for miles and miles.

Yes, after you get to the closed lane, traffic in the remaining lane can only go as fast as the slowest car. But if you're merging miles before the lane closure, aren't you creating miles more of that situation? Why do that when there are miles of 2nd lane that could be put to use?

Don't get mad at me for thinking of this as a more efficient way. And, maybe it's not a lot more efficient than early merging. But I don't get high blood pressure much anymore from getting pissed at the lane zippers.

I still get pissed at the spot hoppers though.

 

[actaeon277]

Oh, I let people in all the time.
Till I see them jump the "zipper" up 5 or 10 cars and try to swing in at the very end.

 

[jbombelli]

How about get in line like everybody else?

 

[jamil]

How about get in line like everybody else?

I'm not impacting you. How about not projecting your road ethos on me?

 

[jamil]

Oh, I let people in all the time.
Till I see them jump the "zipper" up 5 or 10 cars and try to swing in at the very end.

The people who do that? **** 'em.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

So then why should everyone get mad? Not saying you do, but so many people are saying people like me are immoral for doing this. Hey, I get it. I used to get mad at those people too.

But I realized back when the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed for several months and EVERY DAY was a two hour trip one way, maybe the lane zippers aren't actually evil. Maybe I'm wrong. One day I looked at the emptier "closed ahead" lane and then looked at the long line of bumper to bumper traffic in the open lane and decided this was insanity. That's a whole lot of lane space being wasted for miles and miles.

Yes, after you get to the closed lane, traffic in the remaining lane can only go as fast as the slowest car. But if you're merging miles before the lane closure, aren't you creating miles more of that situation? Why do that when there are miles of 2nd lane that could be put to use?

Don't get mad at me for thinking of this as a more efficient way. And, maybe it's not a lot more efficient than early merging. But I don't get high blood pressure much anymore from getting pissed at the lane zippers.

I still get pissed at the spot hoppers though.

Do the construction zone signs instruct the drivers to use both lanes as shown in that video?

 

[OutdoorDad]

I've seen the merge left and the merge right and the left/right lane closed signs.

Never seen the "zipper" sign.

 

[Bill of Rights]

I'm not sure who the *******s are out there, the ones who try to jump ahead and cut in line or the ones who refuse to let them.

HOWEVER...

I know that when there is a long line in the right lane and in the left lane is a semi, intentionally going slowly and keeping pace with another in the right lane, creating a rolling roadblock, the traffic moves smoothly, with everyone coming up behind the semis merging in slowly, over time. This works until the right lane semi slows to let the left lane guy merge in and suddenly, the left lane a half-mile back behind him who now see a clear lane decide to start jumping ahead again.

Take from that anecdotal evidence whatever you wish, but I see that pattern repeated regularly.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Here's what the Indiana Driver's Manual instructs new drivers on how to do it:

 

[jbombelli]

I'm not impacting you. How about not projecting your road ethos on me?

If you're barreling up on the right and then cutting in you are. You see, the more cars that do that the longer it takes ME to get to and past whatever is impeding the traffic. The more cars squeezing in the longer it takes. Simple as that.

I don't care what kind of lame math anybody pulls out. More cars squeezing in does not equal less time per car behind them.

 

[Brandon]

These "mergers" only do this crap to me while I am driving my bus or my BMW... Never my truck with the push bar. Wonder why that is!

 

[Brandon]

If you're barreling up on the right and then cutting in you are. You see, the more cars that do that the longer it takes ME to get to and past whatever is impeding the traffic. The more cars squeezing in the longer it takes. Simple as that.

I don't care what kind of lame math anybody pulls out. More cars squeezing in does not equal less time per car behind them.

/Thread


Or when you take my braking space away from me and the person behind me on their cell phone rear ends me because I stopped shorter than we all expected.

 

[jamil]

Do the construction zone signs instruct the drivers to use both lanes as shown in that video?

I've seen them in other states. I'm not sure I've seen any since I've lived in Indiana. Not sure I ever will. I think the ethos in Indiana is incompatible with zipper merging. I don't mean that as an insult. It's just that you guys don't seem too open to the possibility that people who use the closing lane aren't necessarily *******s.

And it does take some courtesy to make it work. And having been a zipper hater myself, I understand that it's hard to be courteous to people you think are *******s.

I developed a system I use for handling lane closures so that I can feel like I'm impacting traffic as little as possible. I've spent so much time sitting in stop and go traffic, observing things that make traffic worse, and I try not to do those things. It's important to me not to negatively impact or hinder others on the road.

If I merge early, I'm impacting traffic more than if I do what I've learned to do. Merging early I'm yet another participant in the accordion. If I use the open lane that's closing, it's usually moving and I have little impact on that. And the way I merge into the lane that's staying open, I have no real impact on the cars behind me. There is always an accordion. There is always a snoozer or a dawdler in the accordion. Always. I never have to stop, which is the mistake that the ******* "zippers" make. If you stop, it's very hard to get back in without impacting others. Taking advantage of people that can't get out of their own way, they're going to impact you no matter what I do. So I find them and merge in front of them.

 

[actaeon277]

These "mergers" only do this crap to me while I am driving my bus or my BMW... Never my truck with the push bar. Wonder why that is!

I had a van pull into my 13 year old 200,000 Grand Am. Driver telling me "Look what you did". I told her all I did was drive in my lane. She came into my lane.


Another driver tried to pass me IN THE BREAKDOWN LANE.
I-65 crossing 80-94.
Problem was, no breakdown lane on the overpass.
He started coming at me in a big truck. Still had the NEW TRUCK STICKER.
Ha ha ha. Guys with $40,000 trucks don't move $100 cars.
He had to liberally use the brakes.

 

[churchmouse]

I'm not sure who the *******s are out there, the ones who try to jump ahead and cut in line or the ones who refuse to let them.

HOWEVER...

I know that when there is a long line in the right lane and in the left lane is a semi, intentionally going slowly and keeping pace with another in the right lane, creating a rolling roadblock, the traffic moves smoothly, with everyone coming up behind the semis merging in slowly, over time. This works until the right lane semi slows to let the left lane guy merge in and suddenly, the left lane a half-mile back behind him who now see a clear lane decide to start jumping ahead again.

Take from that anecdotal evidence whatever you wish, but I see that pattern repeated regularly.

Blessings,
Bill

This. It is all to important to get 10 cars ahead and sit in line.

Jack-wagons.

 

[jamil]

If you're barreling up on the right and then cutting in you are. You see, the more cars that do that the longer it takes ME to get to and past whatever is impeding the traffic. The more cars squeezing in the longer it takes. Simple as that.

I don't care what kind of lame math anybody pulls out. More cars squeezing in does not equal less time per car behind them.

The bottle neck is what it is. It's going to be there whether everyone merges early or not. The merging part is a wash. Zipper merging gets you to the bottle neck faster. The traffic starts to back up closer to the bottle neck rather than further away. Think of it this way. How many single file cars can you fit in two miles? How many miles is that when you fit the same number of cars in two lanes?

I'd much rather run the speed I'm running a mile longer, and reach the slowed traffic a mile from the bottle neck than sitting in it two miles before the bottleneck. Using the capacity of the 2nd lane allows traffic to condense to a shorter distance before the bottleneck.

I've described how I do it. I know we don't use zipper merging in Indiana. But I believe that it impacts fewer people overall to do it. I don't want to hold you up. I'm sure you don't want to be sitting in that traffic jam any longer than me. So I'm not using that lane to be an *******. I'm using it because I think I'm impacting traffic less.

 

[bwframe]

Don't lose track of the fact that you don't know who you are dealing with. Tuff guys sometimes get met by tougher ones. You just might be saying to some loon who just left bodies on the floor.

 

[jamil]

I don't know. I'm reading your accounts of drivers, and, I thought traffic was horrible in Louisville. Sheesh. Indianapolis must be the ******* driver capital of the Midwest.

 

[OutdoorDad]

I've described how I do it. I know we don't use zipper merging in Indiana. But I believe that it impacts fewer people overall to do it. I don't want to hold you up. I'm sure you don't want to be sitting in that traffic jam any longer than me. So I'm not using that lane to be an *******. I'm using it because I think I'm impacting traffic less.

then pull in behind me. If you are in front, you're holding me up.

 

[Brandon]

Don't lose track of the fact that you don't know who you are dealing with. Tuff guys sometimes get met by tougher ones.

Or by someone in a POS that is willing to hit ya and make you late.