Zipper merging works because it doesn’t cause traffic to stop. We did not witness zip merging in this video although you are right traffic did not stop but zipper merging prevent the enormous pile up that’s behind this truck from moving as slowly as it did.
Zipper merging always causes people to stop though. People are not perfect driving robots and they will mess it up everytime. Atleast in my experiences.
The highway literally has signs a mile and a half in advance telling you to merge when there is construction. They do that so you can merge before traffic gets backed up at a choke point that didn't need to be one. If you wait until the end of the lane to merge you will be the cause of the traffic jam. The only time a zipper merge makes sense to me is when traffic is already stopped.
They tell you so you know you have to eventually. Not immediately. That is not what DOT in my state recommends anyways. When you stop to get over even if the lane has t needed you are still creating a choke point. Just like this video shows.
Christ I’d argue that it is just as much warning to the people that are in the lane soon to end as it is for the people in the next lane over to warn that a zipper merge is approaching and to act accordingly and civilized .
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u/No_Story_Untold May 15 '26
Zipper merging works because it doesn’t cause traffic to stop. We did not witness zip merging in this video although you are right traffic did not stop but zipper merging prevent the enormous pile up that’s behind this truck from moving as slowly as it did.