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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2019
- Southbound US 101 near Steamboat Island outside Olympia during the morning commute has regular congestion. Two lanes reduce to one lane where the highway passes under State Route 8. Enter the zipper merge. The zipper merge is all about making the most of the existing roadway by having drivers rethink what it means to “drive nice.” Instead of merging while up the hill near Steamboat Island, WSDOT wants drivers to merge closer to the area where the lane ends.
They need to create a zipper merge sign. Something that says do Not stop unless traffic is stopped but also take turns getting into the through lane.
Oregon placed a sign like that on the on-ramp from Airport Way to NB I-205 in Portland, and it has definitely improved the cooperation. People had been doing it before that but only folks wanting to be courteous; everybody else was still trying to muscle their way into the left lane with no space, including between them and the car ahead of them. Now that the sign is up it's gotten a lot more reasonable.
Now if they could just get people to stop people westbound on Airport Way to the ramp from _cheating_ by going under the bridge to use the on-ramp intended for EASTbound traffic getting on the bridge. It's illegal but the blatant cheating backs up traffic everyday almost to the PDX terminal. I've only seen cops stationed there a couple times writing tickets; anytime they're not there drivers just keep cheating and causing traffic backups for the rest of us.
PLEASE put more PSAs out about this!!! Signs, commercials, radio adds, billboards.
I love how the animated cars in the top down views all look like Lamborghinis - WA highways are wild :-D
Good luck getting drivers to actually do that.
I have been driving semi truck from 18 years and I have never seen anyone do this. They just jam up in front of me by the dozens.
I guess it depends on where you live. I live in Dallas and we have a whole bunch of highway interchanges and we have a whole bunch of Lane reductions and plenty of construction. Almost everybody does it this way every time-- it's just standard practice.
After they installed the signage it got a lot better.
There are a-holes on the road that will shoot drivers who let others merge. I avoid interstates and freeways altogether because of these stupid merges.
DON'T FORGET TO INDICATE! It's the law.
Just because your lane is ending, doesn't mean you shouldn't indicate to other drivers your intent to CHANGE LANES.
Please! I hate it when people don't signal.
Are you talking about turn signal indications?
If only we have Highway Patrol ticketing drivers who are lane splitting thinking that they are trying to cut. It's gets pretty annoying.
samuel mercedes you could say that again!
Does indeed work, but getting them to do it seems to be not in the DNA.
For those of you who disagree with the zipper merge, it's supposed to reduce the amount of exits/intersections blocked by congestion before the lane reduction in times of CONGESTION. If you have 20 cars in line in the left lane before the zipper, a driveway/intersection/ramp 12 cars away get blocked and congested. If they were to split in half into 2 lines of 10 using both lanes there would only be 10 cars of congestion and that driveway/intersection/ramp would be free of blockage. In times of NO CONGESTION, RCW 46.61.100 requires, KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS to reduce any traffic build-up from before the merge.
I got cursed at and given the finger yesterday, simply for doing this. I wish there was an easy way to explain this. Telling "zipper merge" back at him probably wouldn't help.
There always seems to be some guy in a big truck that blocks the right lane screwing this all up.
because they see this as you being a cutting in line. They don't understand the works of this zipper lane.
@@twcz3 seriously, I had a guy follow me off the freeway and wanted to beat me up after this merge.
@@mfryer100 That's exactly why I think this kind of merge is stupid and dangerous.
Its not though, did you even watch the video?!?! It helps traffic get better!!!@bobby1970
@@bobby1970 what do you suggest as an alternative?
How does the zipper merge work if there is back to back traffic in BOTH lanes and everyone is going 80 miles an hour. ???
The first problem is back to back traffic at 80 miles per hour. Keep a 2 second distance minimum (3s average, 2 good day, at least 4 during rain or other precipitation).
this is great in theory until I try to merge and they honk at me like I'm cutting them off. merging is a nightmare in Washington State
Sick zipper bro
Thank you.
@wsdot Can we get some signage reminding people of this on the southbound lanes leading up to the blue bridge from Pasco to Kennewick? With the construction there everybody gets over miles before they need to...
Create sign "Merge Late, Cooperate" and then put it at the merge points. People treat you like a psychopath if you try to merge late. Often times since other exit signs are terrible, I find myself having to merge late because I didn't realize I was in an Exit Only lane and then everyone gets furious as if I'm cutting the line. We all need something to gesture at when this happens because the current gesture I use doesn't help the situation. A sign would be preferable.
Maybe we could get bumper stickers for awareness? Hmm 🤔
Yeah right, do you think drivers are actually going to do this? Most drivers won't let you merge at all. Way too many a-holes on the road. This is exactly why I avoid the interstates/freeways at all cost. I've never even heard of a zipper merge. When in the hell did they come out with that stupid ideal, and what states have it? I've always been taught that anyone in the merge lane has to yield to traffic, no matter what.
It only works if people let you in. What happens when your towing and leaving room so you can stop if needed? Your basically saying it's ok for someone to cut me off so I have to hit the breaks and slam my horse into the front of the trailer.
That's true of everything, though, right? Traffic lights only work if people stop at them. Crosswalks only work if drivers yield to pedestrians. Etc. Everything only works if people do what they're supposed to do and work together to keep everyone safe and moving.
So, I can bypass all the cars in the one lane, get to the front and cut off the next car, zippered, and be in front all the other cars that knew the lane was going to end and moved over earlier? I think not
There's no value in leaving an entire lane wide open while creating a huge backup in the other lane.
@@wsdot That's what I don't get. The fact that the lane exists should be a hint that people should use it. It's not there just to look pretty. :D
The traffic in the lane that remains open is going too slowly. Have you ever wondered why?
Because people refuse to leave any space between them and the car in front of them, so they have to slow down to let a merger in? If people left that car sized hole from the get-go, they wouldn't lose any speed.
As long as theres a turn sig. If not they can go into the corn field with a sore head
The problem with the zipper merge is that Right Turn Only and Exit Only are being used everywhere to force a zipper merge, which does not help traffic. So when there is an actual zipper merge drivers are already in the you're cutting in front of me while I am waiting my turn frame of mind. A perfect example is on HWY 167 Southbound at the Jovita exit. What a mess!
This is exactly why I avoid all interstates and freeways. I stay on the normal streets and roads. So much less complicated.
My understanding is that state law does not require drivers to allow zipper merging, so this seems like a mixed message.
The message is that working together to utilize the entire available roadway helps traffic move more efficiently.
@@wsdot doesn't work when the drivers in the right lane refuse to allow anyone in the left lane in. Makes it law already!
@@sajungzak7311 You have that backwards, don't you? Didn't you mean to say that drivers in the left lane won't let drivers in the right lane merge into the left lane?
So many people do not understand this technique, every time i attempt a zipper merge i get cut off or pushed to the side! People are ignorant, this needs to have a sign in all areas that require a “zipper merge”. I dont want to be liable if someone purposefully speeds up to not let me in and causes an accident.
If youre a safe following distance ahead of car your merging in front of, theres room for you merge without them halving their speed and you signalled more that 1 or 2 seconds before drifting over then its fine. If not then they really shouldnt let you in🤷♂️
@@mattball420 the problem is nobody wants to let you in especially during rush hour… wtf am i supposed to do? Stop and wait until i get let in? Get real
What the simulation does not account for in your video is the white car after the green car will tap their brakes to restore their buffer, which will cause rippling.
What you need to get across is not that it lessens congestion, but compacts it. The bottle neck is going to be a bottle neck. You will not get out of it any sooner or later. Ideally if everyone merged early and maintained speed you would have a single line moving at speed, in reality that calls for people to execute a high speed merge and for people to be receptive to that maneuver. So the zipper merge is "better" in that it forces slow merges. The nature of this statement of removing a technical high speed merge for a simpler low speed merge is inherently why this is not a more efficient method, it is a safe method. The Virginia paper most places quotes even states that while in simulations (which as mentioned don't account for rippling) was shown to improve throughput, in real world testing it does not, short of every 1 in 5 cars being a semi.
Bottom line, don't pitch this the way you guys have been pitching it. Pitch it to show it compacts traffic, and reduces accidents.
Now that we've had three years to evaluate the mental state of drivers post-COVID, it's quite clear that any suggestion that drivers cooperate with each other in any situation, let alone a merge, is falling on deaf ears. The prevailing attitude seems to be "Those jerks speeding past us in the right lane are trying to get away with one and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let them sneak up and cut in line."
I don't care what you do to try to make interchanges and intersections safer; you can't fix stupid and you can't fix arrogant. "It's all about me and what I want" that results in road rage incidents and collisions where people get killed.
Getting your way on the highway at the expense of others ain't gonna mean much if you're dead -- or in jail or facing a lawsuit for killing someone else. I'll zipper-merge wherever it's appropriate; firstly, I'd rather treat other drivers with the deference I hope to get when faced with similar circumstances, and secondly, whenever I've initiated a zipper-merge, I see other people behind me suddenly following suit -- and presumably feeling a lot better about it afterward because cars move a lot faster onto the freeway as a result.
Omg, I have been driving in WA for 35 years now and I have NEVER seen this work. The construction from Olympia to Aberdeen has been going on and off for the last 5 years and there has never been one sign saying do this. Here is the reality: get in the correct lane early otherwise you are line cutting. Which means you are pissing everyone off, when you cut into the front you force everyone who has been in line to slam on their brakes. Since the WADOT sucks with communication and signage and construction in general, my suggestion is to hire actual proffesionals who will listen to drivers who use the roads and provide caring construction zones that are safe and speedy at the same time. You will see my finger if you cut the line!
it's called merging, not cutting. learn to drive or get off the road
This video should come with the proviso that those in the right lane still have to yield to those in the left. There is no legal requirement to let anyone in from a lane that is ending.
So you think the word "Merge" only applies to the people in one lane?
Go ahead and try to stop me from merging, you want to be a jerk and use your car as a weapon to enforce some pointless ordinance, I'll take us both out :)
@@robajohnson What I know is that a MERGE sign is yellow. Advisory only, not regulatory, and it doesn't relieve anyone of their duty to yield.
@@thefrub Simmer down please.
@@df446 so Dean, what I hear you telling me is, screw everyone else. I don't need to cooperate or be a team player. It's All About Me. As long as I can legally get away with it I'm going to be as big a pain in the butt as I can be! I'm sure your parents are proud.
Not a accurate diagram of zipper merge, lane narrows for 100 ft not 15 feet, you should merge before it narrows not after
If you merge early, you don’t have to stop. Merging in early allows you to merge AT the speed of traffic. It amazes me that the DOT doesn’t think it’s unsafe to move into moving traffic from a dead stop.
'If you merge early, you don’t have to stop'
You don't stop when doing a zipper merge. You should watch the video animation again. Both lanes are at the same speed and the right laned car enters the left lane in front of the left laned car.
@@carlmenger9145traffic lights exist and if its going slow at all the spacing is much smaller, taking twice as long to clear the blockage behind a traffic light when they all could have smoothly went in single file and had the same amount of space taken in the end with no stopping and starting or slowing down to let ppl in who wanna drive to the end and slow down first
@@mattball420single line is slower ,you are soooo wrong😊😂
@@ryanbell4390 real life experience says otherwise, i did delivery for 7 years, ive seen it very thoroughly first hand
This is dumb. It is not like a zipper. It is like a garden hose that is running ... when you put a thumb on the end of the hose the higher volume going through a smaller available area needs to increase in speed to deal with volumetric flow increase.
For this to work WSOT would need to increase the speed limits at merge points .
Yes! If they're using that lane as a passing lane I'll block it.
permanent 8track Zipper!!
It would help actually, because you'd get a slowdown in either case, but with the zipper, the slowdown is more efficient and even.
Its like if the water stuck to one side of the hose and not the other vs evenly spreading. In the former case, your restriction/bottleneck is longer, in the latter restricts at one point and at a given pressure, the backup will be consistent in length
And to make sure every person has the room ahead of them to do so
@@0hn0haha im not taking other peoples lack of time on my shoulders, if if theyre doing it poorly and its going to slow me down, theyre gonna have to get behind me
honestly it really doesn't help the flow of traffic, because there is always going to be someone like "me" who is not going to just let people in, you are not that important as a person! sorry! I don't care about certain driving laws they are more of guidelines to me anyways
Tell me you have entitlement complex without telling me you have entitlement complex
Zipper merging is just bad in 90% of situations. Having said that, you are just as legally obligated to let any car in thats ahead of you a reasonable distance and is signalling. Whether you like it or not, that signal light holds just as much weight as any traffic light or sign on the road🤷♂️ i dashcam/report everyone who unreasonably disobeys that like a prick and what do you think they get in the end? 🎟🎫🎟🎫🎟
AH!