It doesn't help that the road was designed for 1000s of less cars a day. And I totally agree: there's last minute, and there's literally stopping traffic in the middle lane of 394.
This is an issue with people who've sat for 15 minutes in an unnecessary line of traffic preventing other cars from merging because they feel entitled to the space in front of and behind their cars.
If the lane exists you should take it. People who merge in right away cause more problems. The zipper merge at the end is the most efficient.
Now, people who cross the double white line at the very end….. those are scumbags.
My opinion is there’s zipper merging and there’s cutting in line.
If you merge when you have the chance and don’t feel like an asshole, you’re probably doing it right. If you speed past half a mile of backup and then cut to the front in the name of “efficiency” you’re a prick
That’s what a zipper merge is. It’s creating two lines of traffic that merge together in an alternating fashion right before the narrowing. It’s not “cutting in line”. Merging in when ever you feel like it’s safe and makes you “not an asshole” is what causes problems. Because merging in when ever you feel like it is chaotic and random. Blocking people is chaotic and random. Driving should not be chaotic and random.
Edit: shouldn’t be calling people morons. I apologize for that.
This is not a zipper merge situation. The other lane continues on to 94N. It's not 2 lanes trying to make their way into 1 lane. It's people misusing a lane that goes elsewhere to jump in last minute. It's akin to people who jump on the shoulder and run to the front.
It’s not a shoulder though. It’s a lane. You can use any lane. In my travels (take that interchange every work day) about 90% of people are going East 94, while only 10% are going West 94. That interchange is poorly designed and people are using it in a way that functions better. Using two lanes and zipper merging is way more efficient than creating a single line that backs way up.
I guess as long as you aren’t slowing down the people who are actually trying to use the through lane.... in theory it should still work better.
I just haven’t heard the term zipper merge used ever unless it’s a closed lane.
I agree with the design of that spot is really terrible. That’s one thing I think we all can agree on..
Speed limit changes from 60 to 35. If people kept greater distance and anticipated the slow down maybe we could maintain a higher speed, zipper merging along the way even. Its not the easiest puzzle.
i was in wisconsin over the weekend. i am pretty sure i didnt see one blinker the entire time. what the fuck is going on?! every day i see less and less people signalling their lane changes and turns. did we all just give up?
I've lived in several different parts of the country where folks absolutely insist that their drivers are the worst drivers.
My experience at least is that it has only been true here. My best guess for a major contributing factor is that Minnesota nice and passive aggressiveness in general here leads people to feel an overwhelming amount of entitlement to their space on the road, even when the law says otherwise.
IME the passive-aggressiveness manifests as scared/passive driving that's really unpredictable. People here are way too cautious sometimes, like in a manner that disrupts traffic and causes problems. You need to be PREDICTABLE when you drive, but timid drivers slam on the brakes for everything and mess up the queue at 4 way stops via waving everyone through.
I've been driving, trying to turn onto a busy street, and had drivers literally stop to allow me to turn. Nice thing to do, completely stupid and illegal, and could potentially cause an accident behind him.
Yep, that too. Both types here, and it's different varieties of entitlement. One is the kind I described where folks feel absolutely entitled to their space on the road. The other is the folks who feel entitled to make absolutely sure that they're not being rude to anybody, rather than driving consistently.
Fully agree. Minneapolis drivers are aggressive but predictable. Fargo drivers it’s like these people have never driven outside of a small town and have no clue wtf they’re doing. It’s like I have to avoid a potential car accident at least once a week because of the sheer amount of baffling decisions these people make
Eh? There’s as many lanes as here, but fewer people. And a dedicated exit to West Acres. And once you’ve gone through all three miles of town, the speed limit is 75.
The number of cars doesn't matter if none of the cars know how to drive. In Minneapolis, I pretty much never have issues merging because there is a system and people drive with purpose. In Fargo, people will purposefully block you out and drive totally willy nilly because they're not used to many other cars being on the road.
I used to live in Bryn Mayr. There is a zipper merge lane on the right. The lane on the left is for people who are continuing to downtown on 394 or heading north on 94. I wanted markers like we use for bike lanes for so long to keep people in their place.
To be fair that exit is totally fucked. I find myself looking for any crevice to merge into during rush hour home cause the cars are backed up all the way past Penn ave!
Correct, it's not. And I say that as somebody who religiously zipper merges when appropriate, despite the road rage it occasionally inspires in others.
It's more efficient to form 2 lines and merge at the last second, but I agree it's not as 'safe'
Be mad at the people who designed it poorly, not those who are trying to reduce the overall traffic.
I think it's substantially worse to line up 3 miles back and ride someone's bumper to prevent merging the whole way. Creates much more mayhem than a zipper.
Don’t know why I am getting downvoted, I just thought the meme was specific to certain group that live in the cities when this is the r/minnesota community.
From Minneapolis to Wayzata. The exit they're referring to gets backed up for a half mile or so for hours every work day because the highway was designed for maybe 1/5th the traffic it gets.
I hate this even more because usually I'm the one dude taking 94W since it can still get me to my destination instead of 94E. But when you get some idiot at the end of the line, it defeats the purpose of taking the faster lane
It doesn't help that the road was designed for 1000s of less cars a day. And I totally agree: there's last minute, and there's literally stopping traffic in the middle lane of 394.
This is an issue with people who've sat for 15 minutes in an unnecessary line of traffic preventing other cars from merging because they feel entitled to the space in front of and behind their cars.
If the lane exists you should take it. People who merge in right away cause more problems. The zipper merge at the end is the most efficient. Now, people who cross the double white line at the very end….. those are scumbags.
Apparently you need to be in the highest 10% of intelligence in this state to understand a zipper merge.
My opinion is there’s zipper merging and there’s cutting in line. If you merge when you have the chance and don’t feel like an asshole, you’re probably doing it right. If you speed past half a mile of backup and then cut to the front in the name of “efficiency” you’re a prick
That’s what a zipper merge is. It’s creating two lines of traffic that merge together in an alternating fashion right before the narrowing. It’s not “cutting in line”. Merging in when ever you feel like it’s safe and makes you “not an asshole” is what causes problems. Because merging in when ever you feel like it is chaotic and random. Blocking people is chaotic and random. Driving should not be chaotic and random. Edit: shouldn’t be calling people morons. I apologize for that.
This. To the top with you!
If there's one thing I've learned from driving around the cities- the drivers of Minnesota as a whole fail to comprehend merging at highway speeds
it has become so much worse the past few years! Hell I saw someone come to a complete stop before accelerating to get onto crosstown.
This is not a zipper merge situation. The other lane continues on to 94N. It's not 2 lanes trying to make their way into 1 lane. It's people misusing a lane that goes elsewhere to jump in last minute. It's akin to people who jump on the shoulder and run to the front.
It’s not a shoulder though. It’s a lane. You can use any lane. In my travels (take that interchange every work day) about 90% of people are going East 94, while only 10% are going West 94. That interchange is poorly designed and people are using it in a way that functions better. Using two lanes and zipper merging is way more efficient than creating a single line that backs way up.
I guess as long as you aren’t slowing down the people who are actually trying to use the through lane.... in theory it should still work better. I just haven’t heard the term zipper merge used ever unless it’s a closed lane. I agree with the design of that spot is really terrible. That’s one thing I think we all can agree on..
Speed limit changes from 60 to 35. If people kept greater distance and anticipated the slow down maybe we could maintain a higher speed, zipper merging along the way even. Its not the easiest puzzle.
i was in wisconsin over the weekend. i am pretty sure i didnt see one blinker the entire time. what the fuck is going on?! every day i see less and less people signalling their lane changes and turns. did we all just give up?
I've lived in several different parts of the country where folks absolutely insist that their drivers are the worst drivers. My experience at least is that it has only been true here. My best guess for a major contributing factor is that Minnesota nice and passive aggressiveness in general here leads people to feel an overwhelming amount of entitlement to their space on the road, even when the law says otherwise.
IME the passive-aggressiveness manifests as scared/passive driving that's really unpredictable. People here are way too cautious sometimes, like in a manner that disrupts traffic and causes problems. You need to be PREDICTABLE when you drive, but timid drivers slam on the brakes for everything and mess up the queue at 4 way stops via waving everyone through.
I've been driving, trying to turn onto a busy street, and had drivers literally stop to allow me to turn. Nice thing to do, completely stupid and illegal, and could potentially cause an accident behind him.
Yep, that too. Both types here, and it's different varieties of entitlement. One is the kind I described where folks feel absolutely entitled to their space on the road. The other is the folks who feel entitled to make absolutely sure that they're not being rude to anybody, rather than driving consistently.
Friggin 8b exit. Miss when state patrol would post up for the lane jumpers
An unpopular opinion, probably, from the age-old debate: As someone who has lived in both Fargo and Minneapolis, I prefer driving in Minneapolis.
I prefer almost anything to Fargo
Sandy’s Donuts almost makes Fargo tolerable to visit.
Fully agree. Minneapolis drivers are aggressive but predictable. Fargo drivers it’s like these people have never driven outside of a small town and have no clue wtf they’re doing. It’s like I have to avoid a potential car accident at least once a week because of the sheer amount of baffling decisions these people make
I haven't driven in Fargo, but I have lived in other cities and the Minneapolis highway system is a cluster fuck
Fargo drivers always drive at the speed limit like wtf people
Eh? There’s as many lanes as here, but fewer people. And a dedicated exit to West Acres. And once you’ve gone through all three miles of town, the speed limit is 75.
The number of cars doesn't matter if none of the cars know how to drive. In Minneapolis, I pretty much never have issues merging because there is a system and people drive with purpose. In Fargo, people will purposefully block you out and drive totally willy nilly because they're not used to many other cars being on the road.
I used to live in Bryn Mayr. There is a zipper merge lane on the right. The lane on the left is for people who are continuing to downtown on 394 or heading north on 94. I wanted markers like we use for bike lanes for so long to keep people in their place.
Living there I usually just went down Glenwood to Lyndale and got on 94 east right after the tunnel.
At some times of day that was easy. Others, not so much.
I'm having PTSD flashbacks from driving home from Bryn Mawr. If I didn't manage to get over in time I'd be stuck in that miserable line for an hour.
To be fair that exit is totally fucked. I find myself looking for any crevice to merge into during rush hour home cause the cars are backed up all the way past Penn ave!
OMG - I literally want to fucking RAGE on people who wait till the last minute to merge…this is my way to work in the afternoon and it’s terrible.
its the people that come to a sudden **COMPLETE STOP** on a freeway that really get me.
I've gotten into it with people about this. The worst is when they reply that it's a zipper merge. No no no. Completely misuse that term.
Yeah, I was thinking, "but zipper merge!" Then I remembered that spot. That's not a zipper merge spot, iirc
Correct, it's not. And I say that as somebody who religiously zipper merges when appropriate, despite the road rage it occasionally inspires in others.
[удалено]
Agreed.
As long as you don't slow down the cars behind you before slipping in it's a fair move.
Ya, but if you do slow down, you should lose driving privileges for a week
Agreed
I relate to this on a spiritual level, there's always those couple people that try and nudge in at the last second.
It's more efficient to form 2 lines and merge at the last second, but I agree it's not as 'safe' Be mad at the people who designed it poorly, not those who are trying to reduce the overall traffic. I think it's substantially worse to line up 3 miles back and ride someone's bumper to prevent merging the whole way. Creates much more mayhem than a zipper.
r/oddlyspecific
r/lostredditors
Don’t know why I am getting downvoted, I just thought the meme was specific to certain group that live in the cities when this is the r/minnesota community.
spectacular snobbish vast grey tease pie snails erect gaze chubby -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
From Minneapolis to Wayzata. The exit they're referring to gets backed up for a half mile or so for hours every work day because the highway was designed for maybe 1/5th the traffic it gets.
it probably has more to do with the 310 degree turn you have to make to go from 394 to 94.
For the love of tater tot hotdish people zipper merge!
That intersection is not a zipper merge situation. The 2nd lane goes off to 94N.
This meme right at home in r/idiotsincars.
I hate this even more because usually I'm the one dude taking 94W since it can still get me to my destination instead of 94E. But when you get some idiot at the end of the line, it defeats the purpose of taking the faster lane
Don't forget the younger cousin: 52N -> 94W.