# An Idiot's Guide to Merging **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406 "2013-05-15T14:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/61 "2013-05-20T13:44:35Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > I don’t mind a zipper merge if two lanes are truly narrowing down to one (or 3 to 2, etc.). But what galls me is when people use the “exit only” lane to race ahead and then cut in at the last moment. Ooo…there’s a special place in hell for those people. Also, I hate people who, when the exit lane is backed up for a 1/2 mile or so, just cruise down the right (non-exit) lane and merge back in at the turn-off. Grrr… But early mergers also kind of tick me off. When it’s pretty congested, one merge point is _usually_ most efficient, and the easiest way to decide on that merge point is at the end. That way, you don’t have hurt feelings and anger from people who think you are jumping the queue, as everyone remains in the same order in that lane to the end. I mean, the way it is now, it’s stupid. Some merge in as soon as they smell a merge, others wait a mile out, others 3/4 mile, others 1/2 mile, others 1/4 mile, some right at the end. At what point is it considered assholish? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/62 "2013-05-20T14:03:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > It is annoying for drivers to get in front of everyone else instead of merging into the line. But it shouldn’t be. We should be dividing into two lanes. This is faster for everyone overall. Someone made a good point above that if the lane is stopped, there’s no way to coordinate it so that just half the cars move over to the left hand lane. Fair point–but everyone’s in that situation because they acted unthinkingly a few minutes before so I at least can crow about my intellectual superiority. 😛 Anyway I’m not sure it’s impossible for people to pull off dividing into two lanes–get over to the left if the guy in front of you isn’t signalling he’s going to do so. There will be false starts in some places in the line, but traffic is stopped per hypothesis so the false starts aren’t super dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/63 "2013-05-20T14:08:31Z")
You know I haven’t thought about the difference made by traffic being stopped. In such a case, maybe it doesn’t speed anything up for people to be using two lanes instead of one. I’m having a hard time picturing the difference anyway. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/64 "2013-05-20T14:58:42Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > You know I haven’t thought about the difference made by traffic being stopped. In such a case, maybe it doesn’t speed anything up for people to be using two lanes instead of one. I’m having a hard time picturing the difference anyway. It helps turn a 2 mile backup to a 1.5 mile backup. It also helps people getting on on-ramps. The exit from local roads onto highways get congested, having intersections blocked, etc. all because of the propagation of brake lights caused by person 1 heading down the on-ramp at 35mph then slamming on the brakes to a stop because they want to merge early instead of going all the way down to the end. That driver may be courteous to those waiting in the highway traffic but they’re not doing anyone behind them any favors. I guess I also don’t understand this particular need of universal justice when it comes to waiting. People get upset in checkout lines if one cashier is faster than the other. If one bank teller is faster than another. If one lane is faster than another. That’s the entropy of the universe, and it’s a difference that’s measurable in minutes, not years. If you really want to be nice and do the right thing, then turn the other cheek. Either that or join the speedsters in their assholery. Don’t internalize it and pout. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/65 "2013-05-20T17:26:05Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > It helps turn a 2 mile backup to a 1.5 mile backup. But isn’t it now a shorter backup that moves more slowly? Evening out the benefit vs the cost in the end? > [@](#): > > It also helps people getting on on-ramps. The exit from local roads onto highways get congested, having intersections blocked, etc. all because of the propagation of brake lights caused by person 1 heading down the on-ramp at 35mph then slamming on the brakes to a stop because they want to merge early instead of going all the way down to the end. That driver may be courteous to those waiting in the highway traffic but they’re not doing anyone behind them any favors. That’s a good point. Maybe I’ll continue “racing to the front” after all… ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/66 "2013-05-20T18:03:28Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > But isn’t it now a shorter backup that moves more slowly? Evening out the benefit vs the cost in the end? Driving is not about cosmic equity or social justice. It’s about efficiently moving people form one place to another. To that end, traffic laws are designed to be more efficient for the group, although some times it makes it less pleasant for one person or another in a specific instance. To the more specific point, it makes it a shorter backup that likely moves more quickly. It’s easier to merge two relatively evenly-populated lanes briefly than to force them together for longer periods. > [@](#): > > That’s a good point. Maybe I’ll continue “racing to the front” after all… Usually, traffic engineers assume and want people to do this. Use any available lane as much as possible (within the limits of reason). People want to force-merge early because of fairness and preparation, but it’s not _efficient_. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/67 "2013-05-20T18:42:51Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Driving is not about cosmic equity or social justice. It’s about efficiently moving people form one place to another. I have no clue why you think you need to tell me this. By “befefits” and “cost” I didn’t mean anything about cosmic equity or social justice, I meant benefit and cost in terms of efficiency of movement of traffic as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/68 "2013-05-20T19:52:49Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Including dying in a fiery crash? Its just nature’s way of melting black ice at night. **Olive** pretty much nailed it re: the assertive merge. Except, perhaps where 280 splits at Newark, where pulling the “drive around last minute merge” just isn’t going to cut it. People, as a group, just keep their cars in low gear and hang tight wagon-train style as they pass the Newark exit. Basically, you’d have better luck trying to cut ride lines at 6-Flags on “Biker Day”. The local cops know this too and a few times a year will park on the triangular median with lights flashing to get their point across to people stopping highway traffic on the Newark exit side trying to force-cut in. Gee, I sure hope those tickets aren’t Too expensive. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/69 "2013-05-20T20:06:26Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Its just nature’s way of melting black ice at night. > > **Olive** pretty much nailed it re: the assertive merge. Except, perhaps where 280 splits at Newark, where pulling the “drive around last minute merge” just isn’t going to cut it. People, as a group, just keep their cars in low gear and hang tight wagon-train style as they pass the Newark exit. > Basically, you’d have better luck trying to cut ride lines at 6-Flags on “Biker Day”. The local cops know this too and a few times a year will park on the triangular median with lights flashing to get their point across to people stopping highway traffic on the Newark exit side trying to force-cut in. I wish the drivers out here were as clever. There is one place where some idiots drive in the exit only lane to the very end and cut over, and they can usually do it since so many of our drivers are pussies who leave 6 car lengths at 10 mph. If everyone was close to the car ahead the strategy wouldn’t work. The middle lane, where I drive, is much faster than the right because people in the rightmost lane have to brake when these clowns push in. When lots of people leave excessive space, you encourage stuff like what we call dive-bombing - when someone from the far left heads for the exit lane in 500 feet. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/70 "2013-05-20T20:37:20Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I have no clue why you think you need to tell me this. I wasn’t disagreeing with you. A great many more people than we two will presumably read the post. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/71 "2013-05-20T21:28:01Z")
> [@scratch\_llll](#): > > And if you had merged a 1/4th of a mile ago when everyone else did you wouldn’t have the problem of finding a way into already zipped up traffic. When you see everyone else merging that is not the time to try to leapfrog ahead of everyone else. Screw those who try that. THAT is what slows down the lane. I have no problem letting someone over when everyone is merging. If you want in you are going to have to get ahead of me but behind the person in front. Beside doesn’t work. If you are a leapfrogger then you may just have to wait till all those you lept ahead of go past again. The world’s smartest human [disagrees](http://www.parade.com/askmarilyn/2010/06/Sundays-Column-06-20-10.html) with you. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406/72 "2013-05-20T22:24:49Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > The world’s smartest human [disagrees](http://www.parade.com/askmarilyn/2010/06/Sundays-Column-06-20-10.html) with you. Cecil writes for _Parade_? Is nothing sacred? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idiots-guide-to-merging/658406.md?page=3)