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Letter: Sign says ‘use both lanes to merge points,’ so lighten up

Another construction season on Interstate 70 is coming to a close, and once again, I find myself perplexed.

Off and on this summer, it was necessary to go from two lanes to one lane past construction projects. Clearly marked on orange signs by the side of the road reads, “Use both lanes to merge points.” Another sign further along reads, “Merge here — take turns.” Yet I have been given the finger, honked at, swerved at and even blocked by people who move part way into my lane because they are mad at me for following directions and using both lanes to merge points!

This practice is known as zipper merging, and according to Wikipedia, “In traffic engineering, the late merge or zipper method is a convention for merging traffic into a reduced number of lanes. Drivers in merging lanes are expected to use both lanes to advance to the lane reduction point and merge at that location, alternating turns.” So lighten up, people! If you like merging early, go ahead! But don’t get aggressive toward those of us who are just trying to follow the rules and keep traffic flowing better.



Ann Olin

Eagle


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