What you need are drivers that do not zip past a whole line of cars in the right lane, but drivers that match the speed of the cars in the right lane. This reduces congestion in the right lane by cutting down on the number of cars in that lane, but appeals to the sense of fair play of those right lane drivers by not taking unfair advantage. I think a lot of people who’ve been stuck in a long line of cars will close up ranks to prevent a merge by someone who sailed past that line, but will allow zipper merges by people who didn’t take undue advantage. As people become aware that zipper merging at the end is possible, they tend to stay longer in the left lane, and both lanes will move faster.
I just split the difference and go in the unused lane at the most 25 mph, this gives people time to switch lanes if they really want to take advantage of the open space, and also prevents me from running smack into someone who is doing exactly that and me not seeing them.
When I lived in MO (about 4 years ago), I always thought that people should merge as soon as they could, once they learned that the lane was ending. (And I would get really hacked off at people who didn’t.)
Ever since moving to CA, though, I’ve become a firm proponent of waiting to merge until the lane ends. On the highways here, society falls apart into a blitzkrieg to be “in front”, when people try merging early.
Example: I am behind a few cars, all merging with the next lane over. The person in front of me decides to merge early. Meanwhile, cars behind me start passing around us to merge at the proper point. When those people get to the merge point, the other drivers take it personally, and forcefully prevent them from merging. All this leads to pandemonium, with cars merging all over the place. (It works itself out eventually.)
I much prefer the “zipper merge” approach.
[QUOTE=Siege]
Why is it only Pennsylvanians have replied so far? More experience with construction?QUOTE]
Pennsylvania’s state bird is the Orange Highway Cone. “Construction Ahead” signs are made in bronze.
And yet all of our highways are crap. You can tell when you’ve crossed the state line by how many mini-potholes you hit per minute.
The state bird may be the orange highway cone, but the state sport is PennDOT-related graft…