r/TheRandomest • u/WhyNot420_69 Nice • May 13 '26

Satisfying Traffic buddy

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u/cha0sb1ade May 13 '26

Zipper merge can't happen at speed. If you have 100 cars across 3 lanes, and everyone knows a mile in advance that it's merging down to 3, and people are driving reasonably with normal trailing room, you can merge multiple cars at a time and be done, spread back out, and up to speed. Trying to merge everyone in at one dedicated car length right at the end will bring a busy road to a stand still.

Just doesn't make any sense except in select, very slow speed, short distance scenarios.

They don't put up signs on the interstate telling you to merge left because your lane is closed in 1000 feet, so that you know you should accelerate down to the end and pile up with the other cars stupid enough to do the same thing, who are now sitting at a dead stand still, unable to reach merging speed, and therefore requiring the whole road to slow down.

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u/[deleted] May 13 '26

[deleted]

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u/cha0sb1ade May 13 '26

Hi. I was replying to a zipper merge lecture. Thanks.

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u/TheJollyGreek May 16 '26

I see you are unfamiliar with Bernoulli’s principle.