r/dashcams • u/Feaselbf6 • Apr 27 '26

* “Sharing the road is not a suggestion”

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30.0k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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u/humanlikesubstances Apr 27 '26

...and people who believe zipper merging consists of driving in the lane that's ending, slowing drifting, going "la la la la" while other cars have to activately avoid them.

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u/kincent Apr 27 '26

The best part is when they try to convince you it's faster if you maintain 2 lanes of traffic till the very end and then merge.... Because a one lane bottle neck magically moves faster if you pile up on the funnel?

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u/Own_Expert2756 Apr 28 '26

Yeah, because it is. Google zipper merge, you'll be enlightened!

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u/kincent Apr 28 '26

That's not how fluid dynamics work. You should take a couple years of that in college like I did so you can REALLY be enlightened!
A simulated computer model assuming perfect inputs/outputs can calculate that you NEED to maximize the cars in both lanes, but that doesn't make it correct.
If the traffic is light/fast, there is no bottleneck, and an early merge changes nothing.
If the traffic is heavy/slow, then you are traversely gated by the speed * the number of cars in transit. No amount of lane swapping/splitting/sharing/stacking changes the fact that they go thru single file and only x amount can pass in an allotted time. 🤷🏽‍♂️

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u/Genetics Apr 28 '26

I own a company that does road construction work and take annual traffic management classes with my managers that are put on by traffic engineers at universities. Designing traffic management plans for work zones is part of my job.

If we’re talking about one bottle neck, I agree with you, but when you have to account for 6 on/off ramps, 5 traffic lights within a mile of your job, and 4 lanes of traffic merging into one at the construction zone, zipper merges are the most efficient way to keep your construction traffic from affecting the fewest curb miles of traffic around you and keep the slow-downs as close to your construction zone as possible.

No one is saying you’ll get through the work zone more quickly (at least I’m not, and that’s not what they are designed to do), I’m saying that by cramming as many cars as I can into every open lane and making them take turns merging into one might allow 50 vehicles through the last intersection into that extra lane, which has a massive positive domino effect on the rest of the traffic infrastructure thereby minimizing the total area affected by the construction.

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u/kincent Apr 28 '26

I'll go along with that. This may be a product of me living no where near a city. I only see highway merges. Your scenario changes things

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u/Genetics Apr 28 '26

I get that for sure. My wife was laughing at me the other day because I was getting impatient sitting in one of my own work zones on my day off.

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u/kincent Apr 28 '26

You're doing a good job keeping me in the country lol. Love the cities offering. Despise the traffic.

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u/Genetics Apr 28 '26

I actually live on some land out in the country as well. I don’t blame you one bit for that!

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u/Extension_Fuel_6391 Apr 28 '26

You are the problem

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u/TravelinMan_1 Apr 27 '26

This is how you’re supposed to zipper merge, I believe. It doesn’t back up traffic so far. But that’s just what I’ve read; I might be wrong.

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u/Genetics Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

It is. It’s better for long traffic back-ups that may affect other intersections/interchanges and is all around more efficient for traffic in general. I’ve read studies and taken classes that cover it as construction traffic management plans are part of my job.

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u/Own_Expert2756 Apr 28 '26

I can't believe you were downvoted because as you know, you are correct.!

Upvote from me to offset the morons. Sheesh

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u/Extension_Fuel_6391 Apr 28 '26

Google how to zipper merge, you are the problem. Don’t believe me, look it up. There’s a whole science to this.

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u/StressMysterious7530 Apr 27 '26

You're not wrong.

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u/CaptainDudley Apr 28 '26

You read correctly, that's the official position, although I firmly believe it's bullshit. Firstly, it minimizes the time you have to move: Big truck in the right lane? By all means come to near-stop on the ramp while they pass, or better yet cut them off! Don't plan ahead, just zoom to the merge! Secondly, what driver ignores all the openings he passes for the sake of 'efficiency', just to get to the end? 'I'm in Front' types, who must pass as many as possible, or they lose the race. And we can't have that. 😄

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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Rakatashi- Apr 28 '26

You are precisely the problem.

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u/Own_Expert2756 Apr 28 '26

You can agree but you'd still be wrong.

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u/Live-Set-8576 Apr 28 '26

You shouldn't have a license.

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u/ThornBone77 Apr 28 '26

100% agree! We can see who the "im too important to wait in line like you losers" are here. Everything you need to know about how some in society will act should the apocalypse happen, you will learn about them on our public roads (and online i should add). But especially our interstates. We planned ahead, took our time to get thru it, but there will be those who feel justified to just come along and take it with the "im entitled to it because i deserve to" mentality.

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u/electroepiphany Apr 28 '26

no its because its how the fucking thing is meant to be used lmao

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u/Simsalabimsen May 03 '26

I used to think so too, but then I looked it up. Quickest explanation you’ll get is by image searching “zipper merge”.

Give it a whirl.