What kind of driver are you?

[J-Mann]

Inspired by a Facebook post by StatesRights.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

You left off the option of

... don't make opportunities for drivers who passed you in the ending lane to merge back into the continuing lane(s).

I mean really.  If you're going to be more concerned about passing people than getting into a continuing lane, then you deserve to be stuck with no place to go as far as I'm concerned.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Option 2, which traffic engineers recognize as the safer and more efficient practice. See for example this video from the MN department of transportation.

Early merging to be "courteous" makes no sense; effectively, you're just moving the point at which one lane is out of commission back to the point where drivers choose to merge, so the reduced-lane stretch is longer, which creates a longer traffic jam. It's worse for everyone.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Can't drive, don't want or need to (city slicker)

[J-Mann]

You left off the option of

... don't make opportunities for drivers who passed you in the ending lane to merge back into the continuing lane(s).

I mean really.  If you're going to be more concerned about passing people than getting into a continuing lane, then you deserve to be stuck with no place to go as far as I'm concerned.

I did! I can't edit the poll, but that's an equally valid option (with which I disagree entirely).

I chose options 2, 4 and 5 (normal).

So many drivers think they're being "polite" by merging early (especially in the Midwest) and then get irritated at drivers who pass by in the ending lane. But that lane is there to be utilized. If the traffic engineers who closed it wanted drivers to merge two miles sooner, they would have closed it two miles sooner. And if used correctly, it's more efficient -- flow dynamics and physics dictate that water poured into a funnel doesn't jump to the center and avoid the sides; it uses all of the available space until there is no more space. The Texas Transportation Institute and Federal Highway Administration have done studies similar to the one Linus linked to.

If people left a little more space between their vehicles and used the zippering merging technique, traffic flows would be significantly more efficient. And TF -- the data shows that those people who try to block other cars from merging are causing the greatest delays.

That being said -- I'm an exceptionally impatient and aggressive driver. It infuriates me when traffic slows to a complete stop and there is a totally open lane for a mile. I use ending / open lanes or move to use them whenever possible.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

State drives a truck for a living anyway so he's always going to be bitchy.

[Vega]

Option 5, most of the time.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1 and 4.

[Indy Texas]

Option 2, which traffic engineers recognize as the safer and more efficient practice. See for example this video from the MN department of transportation.

Early merging to be "courteous" makes no sense; effectively, you're just moving the point at which one lane is out of commission back to the point where drivers choose to merge, so the reduced-lane stretch is longer, which creates a longer traffic jam. It's worse for everyone.

Yes, but people in the continuing lane will have this mentality of "I'm not going to just let him cut in front! HE SHOULD HAVE TO WAIT!" and you're stuck at the end of the lane forever as other people blithely disregard you.

[ilikeverin]

Option 1, due to peer pressure, as I'm aware of the zipper merge thing.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Option one and three.  Alles in Ordnung on the road makes everyone happier.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

It depends.  If traffic is fine, I'll merge over as soon as I have a big clearing to do so.  If traffic is crappy, that usually means you can use the ending lane to pass a ton of people and then force your way into the continuing lane at the end. 

Believe me, bad traffic on the highway in NJ/PA/NY is war.  Best to not be considerate and do what you can to get where you are going ASAP, because I guarantee you that nobody on the road cares about you, either.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Option one and three.  Alles in Ordnung on the road makes everyone happier.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Options 1 and 4, though I don't have very much experience in scenarios like this.

[memphis]

People in Memphis are very courteous about merging and about traffic in general. I wouldn't want to live in a place where people are all pissy in their cars.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

A drunk driver

[Mr. Smith]

1,3, and 4...too many bad experiences with staying in the end lane for too long by those who won't let me in.

I still prefer a bicycle to a car any day, let BART take over the longer distances most of the time.

[dead0man]

Can't drive, don't want or need to (city slicker)

why come into a thread titled "what kind of diver are you?" then?  ugggg!

Anyway, I'm apt to do any of them depending on mood, vehicle I'm in, weather, time, traffic.  If it's a surprise thing, probably 2 unless traffic is heavy.  I actually have to do this every morning on my way home from work.  The exit on the highway (75)I take up out of Sarpy county does this when it meets I-80.  The exit has two lanes, but only for a hundred feet or so.  Some mornings the right lane of the exit is backed up a half mile or so.  People will naturally try to use the left exit lane, except when it backs up it screws the people staying on the highway going up into downtown Omaha.  The people in the right lane who have been patiently waiting (or not) for 10 minutes to get to the exit aren't keen to let these late mergers in.  The drivers going into Omaha get pissed because they were just going 60mph and now have had to come to a complete stop because of it.  It gets quite ugly.  I try to read the traffic so I don't have to wait in the line or screw anybody over.  Sometimes I fail.  But when I do fail I don't screw over everybody not taking the exit, I just continue on, missing my exit and find a new way home.

And they've recently (like in the lat 2 weeks) opened a new bridge in the south connecting I-29 in Iowa to highway 75.  Which (in theory) saves people (inclduing a lot of truckers) coming up 29 and wanting to go west on 80 a lot of time, but it's increased traffic on the already busy (at least at 7am when I'm on it) H75.  It could really use a third lane, but I doubt we'll be getting it anytime soon.

[Tender Branson]

That really depends.

On highways with ending lanes and high traffic, I usually change to the continuing lane as soon as possible because of the high risk of crashes when applying the zip-system too late. It's also really annoying if drivers switch to the continuing lane at the very last moment, because it slows down the traffic and sometimes creates a traffic jam.

On main roads with 2 lanes, I often drive between the 2 lanes back and forth, especially when there's almost no traffic, or when I'm driving up a mountain pass (which has lots of curves) to conserve the tires by driving more of a straight line rather than curvy.

For example, I often drive like this:

[dead0man]

I do the exact same thing.  My kids think I'm crazy.  My wife knows I am.

It gets you there faster, it's easier on the tires, it's easier on your fuel economy.

[DC Al Fine]

Believe me, bad traffic on the highway in NJ/PA/NY is war.  Best to not be considerate and do what you can to get where you are going ASAP, because I guarantee you that nobody on the road cares about you, either.

This is precisely why I can't stand large cities. People visit my area and comment on how nice everyone is, when in reality other people are jerks. Seriously f[inks] Toronto.

[politicus]

This is a very depressing thread.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Believe me, bad traffic on the highway in NJ/PA/NY is war.  Best to not be considerate and do what you can to get where you are going ASAP, because I guarantee you that nobody on the road cares about you, either.

This is precisely why I can't stand large cities. People visit my area and comment on how nice everyone is, when in reality other people are jerks. Seriously f[inks] Toronto.
[/quote

It's the congestion that causes the meanness.  People aren't inherently mean and then traffic patterns work them out accordingly.  Take public transit, and people are very pleasant. (of course, this doesn't really apply to the NYC subway)

[Torie]

Been driving 48 years, and I am still here, and in an un-maimed state.

[Mr. Illini]

I am very much a Chicago driver. I let people go and expect to be allowed to go when it is my turn so that everything moves efficiently. When we get aggressive is when you allow people to go and they hang back or hesitate or something. Indecision is the chief cause of my being a douche on the roads.

I also drive pretty fast on the expressways, but it's nothing for this city. I probably average 75 on our 55mph expressways and I'm still center lanes speed-wise. I love driving alongside people who also want to get where they are going.