American Drivers Suck

[extrashaky]

His story keeps changing in some effort to avoid sounding childish.

It's not working.

"Waaaaah! He got in front of me! Where's my mommy?"

[mdm]

Originally Posted by justatroll

You must not be picturing what I am describing.
Two lanes merging, both lanes have merged already] and are moving along nicely (the proper zipper merge has already WORKED).

The proper zipper merge in slow traffic is done right before the merging lane ends.


Check out the respective German law:
Ist auf Straßen mit mehreren Fahrstreifen für eine Richtung das durchgehende Befahren eines Fahrstreifens nicht möglich oder endet ein Fahrstreifen, ist den am Weiterfahren gehinderten Fahrzeugen der Übergang auf den benachbarten Fahrstreifen in der Weise zu ermöglichen, dass sich diese Fahrzeuge unmittelbar vor Beginn der Verengung jeweils im Wechsel nach einem auf dem durchgehenden Fahrstreifen fahrenden Fahrzeug einordnen können (Reißverschlussverfahren).

Or the Minnesota DOT instructions that I linked above:



it is actually much safer for motorists to remain in their current lane until the point where traffic can orderly take turns merging which is generally after the "MERGE" sign.
[...]
Motorists understand the messages and quickly form two lanes of traffic and take turns merging near the lane closure area.


If traffic merged earlier, they did not do it properly.

[justatroll]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

His story keeps changing in some effort to avoid sounding childish.

It's not working.

"Waaaaah! He got in front of me! Where's my mommy?"

Your way says that is OK to SEE TWO LANES PERFORMING THE ZIPPER merge at 5 MPH but you don't think they waited long enough so you drive around them and start your OWN ZIPPER MERGE further up?


Then YOU ARE THE ASSHOLE. PERIOD.


This is a case of "My way is better! everyone else is stupid and they need to get out of my way!".


NOW who is the asshole that feels entitled?

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by justatroll

Your way says that is OK to SEE TWO LANES PERFORMING THE ZIPPER merge at 5 MPH but you don't think they waited long enough so you drive around them and start your OWN ZIPPER MERGE further up?

Why do you care?

[justatroll]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Why do you care?

Do you 'care' if you are waiting in line at the bank and someone walks right by the whole line and cuts behind the next person before the teller?
Wouldn't a normal human think "why, didn't he SEE all of us already IN LINE?"


Everyone I know would think "what a self-righteous asshole"

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by mdm

The proper zipper merge in slow traffic is done right before the merging lane ends.


Check out the respective German law:
Ist auf Straßen mit mehreren Fahrstreifen für eine Richtung das durchgehende Befahren eines Fahrstreifens nicht möglich oder endet ein Fahrstreifen, ist den am Weiterfahren gehinderten Fahrzeugen der Übergang auf den benachbarten Fahrstreifen in der Weise zu ermöglichen, dass sich diese Fahrzeuge unmittelbar vor Beginn der Verengung jeweils im Wechsel nach einem auf dem durchgehenden Fahrstreifen fahrenden Fahrzeug einordnen können (Reißverschlussverfahren).

Or the Minnesota DOT instructions that I linked above:



it is actually much safer for motorists to remain in their current lane until the point where traffic can orderly take turns merging which is generally after the "MERGE" sign.
[...]
Motorists understand the messages and quickly form two lanes of traffic and take turns merging near the lane closure area.


If traffic merged earlier, they did not do it properly.

I think he never realized that if not all of the road real estate is used up in the front on the merging lanes, the queue will get backed up more and possibly disrupt the traffic flow behind where other roads intersect. It's just simple logic, and really easy to figure out if you live in a metropolitan with high volume of cars on the road during rush hour.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by justatroll

Do you 'care' if you are waiting in line at the bank and someone walks right by the whole line and cuts behind the next person before the teller?
Wouldn't a normal human think "why, didn't he SEE all of us already IN LINE?"

If I went into the bank and saw a bunch of people inexplicably lined up 50 feet from the teller while the roped off lane was empty, then yes, I would walk right past all of them to the proper place already marked for lining up. The fact that they decided to line up in the wrong place doesn't mean I have to also.

You're making up your own rules based on what you think is "fair." You could go to the end of the lane the way you're supposed to, but you choose not to. So why does it bother you when someone else follows normal driving etiquette instead of following some imaginary rules you made up?

[justatroll]

Pretty self explanatory. There is zero difference in the flow rate between the early and late mergers. However early merge results in smoother flow. Third pic is what you get when you let assholes pass the people trying to zipper merge.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by justatroll

Third pic is what you get when you let assholes pass the people trying to zipper merge.

Nah. Third pic is what you get when children worried about other people getting in front of them attempt to block a proper zipper merge. Do you carry tissues in your car for when you lose traffic?

[justatroll]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If I went into the bank and saw a bunch of people inexplicably lined up 50 feet from the teller while the roped off lane was empty, then yes, I would walk right past all of them to the proper place already marked for lining up. The fact that they decided to line up in the wrong place doesn't mean I have to also.

You're making up your own rules based on what you think is "fair." You could go to the end of the lane the way you're supposed to, but you choose not to. So why does it bother you when someone else follows normal driving etiquette instead of following some imaginary rules you made up?

"If I went into the bank and saw a bunch of people inexplicably lined up 50 feet from the teller while the roped off lane was empty"


Bad example.
In both my bank analogy AND in the situations I describe above it is completely obvious that there are a lot of people lined up, and you can see that they are lined up for the same thing (in the case of this discussion, they are lined up to take a highway on-ramp).
For you to say "You 200 cars are all fucking stupid and I am right, so I will drive around your line and form my own" make you an "asshole".


"So why does it bother you when someone else follows normal driving etiquette instead of following some imaginary rules you made up?"


Because I am doing the same thing as the OTHER 150 CARS WAITING IN LINE. It is only the rare FEW that don't see it that way and thin it is OK to pass them all on the right and wedge themselves in up front.
Where I come from they call that "special ED".

[justatroll]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Nah. Third pic is what you get when children worried about other people getting in front of them attempt to block a proper zipper merge. Do you carry tissues in your car for when you lose traffic?

No third pic is called "Reality"


You should try it for a change.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by justatroll

In both my bank analogy AND in the situations I describe above it is completely obvious that there are a lot of people lined up, and you can see that they are lined up for the same thing (in the case of this discussion, they are lined up to take a highway on-ramp).

It doesn't really matter. If they lined up in the wrong place, it's their own fault if they're passed by someone who knows where to line up. They shouldn't get mad at the guy who did it correctly. If they do get mad, they should rethink the life choices that brought them to this point where they're blaming someone else for their own lack of proper driving etiquette.

[justatroll]

@extrashaky Like I said:

"You see 150 cars performing a zipper merge in a place YOU FEEL is inappropriate, all the while traffic is moving along happily at 5 MPH. YOU choose to drive around 'all those dumbasses' and move to the front of the line"

That makes YOU the asshole.

I don't care how you try to explain it, that is the FACT.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by justatroll

@extrashaky Like I said:

"You see 150 cars performing a zipper merge in a place YOU FEEL is inappropriate, all the while traffic is moving along happily at 5 MPH. YOU choose to drive around 'all those dumbasses' and move to the front of the line"

That makes YOU the asshole.

I don't care how you try to explain it, that is the FACT.

And yet that opinion doesn't change zipper merge etiquette, nor does it make me feel sorry for you when you're back there two or three cars behind me fuming, with a dangerously high blood pressure because you think you lost something. When that happens, please understand that I'm not laughing at you because you lost, but because you're behaving so childishly about an imaginary insult that simply doesn't matter.