Zipper merging reduces speed in all lanes approaching the choke point and lessens collision potential from unexpected or aggressive lane changes
I was meeting a friend in View Royal last week and thought I’d get a jump on the West Shore traffic, formerly known as the Colwood crawl, by going out early. I set out from town about 1:45 naively believing that I‘d be well in front of the CRD’s infamous afternoon commute. Wrong.
The upside, if there is such a thing in a traffic jam, was that there was a sort of real world demo of “zipper merging” from cars coming onto the highway, and I now had plenty of crawling along time to think about it.Some drivers merged into the northbound lanes as soon as possible, even crossing a solid white line to squeeze in.
But according to several North American road studies, I was wrong. Moving to the end of a merge lane and “zippering” into traffic flow is viewed as the best and safest way to go.Done properly, zipper merging reduces speed in all lanes approaching the choke point and lessens collision potential from unexpected or aggressive lane changes. It also creates a sense for drivers that all lanes are moving equally — taking frustration down as it does so.
If saving the environment is also your priority, then zippering is for you. That same CAA study showed that bottle necks created by just four major choke points in B.C.’s lower mainland resulted in vehicles spewing an additional 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of their tailpipes during the 56 day study period.
There are several videos out there, many from the UK for some reason, showing drivers in the through lane working extra hard at blocking out merging vehicles — sometimes driving alongside them for kilometres to deny the “merger” access.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Parking levy among new taxes city staff asked to consider to shore up financesCouncil motion by Mayor John Tory asks city staff to report on options to help raise revenue.
Read more »
New South Shore nursery to specialize in exotic fruit | SaltWireAnnette Clarke is looking forward to opening the door in the breezeway between her off-grid tiny home and her passive solar greenhouse. She plans to fill ...
Read more »
Three accused murderers arraigned in St. John's court | SaltWireJudge orders psychiatric evaluation for Dwayne Ginn at defence's request, after Ginn delivers profanity-laced tirade and demands to be tried by King ...
Read more »
John Herdman says while he has got job offers, he is staying on as Canada coachAfter a morning of speculation fuelled by a New Zealand report that the Canada men's soccer coach had agreed to take over the 105th-ranked All Whites, Herdman and Canada Soccer put out the fire with a statement Wednesday.
Read more »
BMO closes US$16.3B Bank of the West deal - BNN BloombergBMO Financial Group says it has closed its US$16.3 billion acquisition of Bank of the West more than 13 months after initially announcing the deal.
Read more »
John Herdman says while he has got job offers, he is staying on as Canada coachJohn Herdman is staying put. After a morning of speculation fuelled by a New Zealand report that the Canada men's soccer coach had agreed to take over the 105th-ranked All Whites, Herdman and Canada Soccer put out the fire with a statement Wednesday.
Read more »