Is this a uniquely Midwestern phenomenon?

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
08/07/2015 at 23:15 • Filed to: None

People in the center of the country tend to be more courteous, patient drivers that those on the coasts. Usually that’s a wonderful thing, but every once and a while it produces some ridiculous results. Here we see a clusterfuck of drivers, who upon seeing a sign reading “RIGHT LANES CLOSED X MILES AHEAD”, all decide to move into the left lane and come to a screeching halt, because by God there’s a line, and cutting in line would be rude. Beside, the sign says the lane is closed.

But here’s the thing: it says the lane is closed ahead. That means that up there, there isn’t a right lane, and back here, there is. You don’t have to run right up to the cones and then shove your wa over, but for Pete sake people, at least try alternate feeding. Actually, don’t because for one glorious mile, I got my own private express lane on the busy highway. I know it’s late, so I may retire this in the morning.

Also, I have never seen so many RVs before as I have here in Yankton, SD. There are no such things as locals, only tourists and campers.

DISCUSSION (22)

Arben72 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/07/2015 at 23:21

Yep, I notice this often. Sometimes they try to block the other lane too or cut you off. I just swerve around them and keep on going, but then again I'm an asshole Chicago driver.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Arben72
08/07/2015 at 23:30

I once had some dick in a lifted truck try to block me in a situation like this (you’d think it would be the other way round). I just passed him on the shoulder.

TheOnelectronic > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/07/2015 at 23:37

“How dare you get ahead of me! Wait in line so we can unnecessarily delay traffic!” is pretty much the reason. People assume it’s “wrong” and “unfair” that some cars get ahead of others, or somehow think that late merging is what causes traffic jams. It’s actually early merging that causes the jams to stretch on so long before the actual choke point. But any time I’ve mentioned this (even here), you invariably get someone whose argument amounts to “But I’m waiting and you’re not and THAT’S NOT FAIR”

It’s basically the same thing you see any time lane splitting is mentioned.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > TheOnelectronic
08/07/2015 at 23:40

Reminds me of getting lunch in like 5th grade.

desertdog5051 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 00:33

Holy crap. Those folks in SD are really different from anywhere I have driven. They move over early and leave space between each other. The construction going on (I-40) WB where I live has signs that tell you, in effect, to be nice and let other people move over too.

JGrabowMSt > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 00:40

Part of this is because in the midwest, hospitals and towns are decently far apart that the extra lane is viewed as important for emergency vehicles. I mean, good luck getting to the hospital in NYC or off any major highway on either coast, but you know, I had somewhere more important to be than them.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 01:11

I do this when at work. When youre on a delivery, youre in no rush. As long as the parts get there in time. Sometimes I encounter someone as courteous as me, then I have a fight with kindness. Those fights are so annoying

Destructive Tester > TheOnelectronic
08/08/2015 at 01:59

I’m seriously considering creating more accounts so I can star that comment more than once...

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 08:28

Y U No Zipper Merge?

I had this phenomena occur on I65 south of Nashville. 4 into 2 and I’m towing a trailer. Kind of annoying...

Confused Miata > TheOnelectronic
08/08/2015 at 09:31

I usually encounter this on road trips and take every chance I get to pass as many semis as possible before merging.

I really wish lane splitting was legal here. It would make my commute 10 min at any time of day.

Frenchlicker > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 14:12

I think what happens is that people don’t want to be that jackass that tries to get over at the last second and the line just grows.

AthomSfere > TheOnelectronic
08/08/2015 at 14:19

When it’s wide open like that, I go for it!

But when the choke has already happened and traffic is literally not moving I say get in line.

E92M3 > TheOnelectronic
08/08/2015 at 14:27

Late merging is better than merging when you first see the sign 1 mile before the lane ends? I’ve always thought the late mergers just make it worse, because then everyone in the lane that continues, stops to let 1 car in. Seems to me if they merged ahead of time it might not even be necessary for anyone to use their brakes, and traffic would flow more efficiently.

TheOnelectronic > E92M3
08/08/2015 at 14:29

The same is true if people in the open lbane let mergers in at any point. It’s the stubbornness that slows thing down. By uusing less available road, early merging compounds the traffic flow limitation.

Mercedes Streeter > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 14:40

I see this daily in Chicagoland. Either that, or EVERYONE gets the same “haha, I’ll take the right lane that’s about to end as all the idiots merge early” idea and end up creating a massive clusterfxxk.

citizennick > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 15:17

I can't decide which is worse: the traffic while living in Houston or dealing with the idiot drivers while living in Nebraska.

E92M3 > TheOnelectronic
08/08/2015 at 15:28

This illustration shows how responsible merging (zipper merging) drastically improves flow. Sure you can fit more cars in more real estate, but we aren’t talking about parking.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Frenchlicker
08/08/2015 at 16:19

I won’t shove over right at the obstruction, but to a certain extent I’m okay with being that jackass passing everyone.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > citizennick
08/08/2015 at 16:20

Actually, people in Omaha drive better than almost every big city I’ve been to.

TheOnelectronic > E92M3
08/08/2015 at 16:22

“The “zipper flow” is counterintuitive. It’s created by proper late-merging at the last minute. It’s destroyed by early merging.” from that very link.

Frenchlicker > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/08/2015 at 16:38

Well to an extent it's okay.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > JGrabowMSt
08/10/2015 at 17:21

If it’s that big of an emergency, there’s a hard shoulder. I promise you all these people aren’t clearing that lane because they are concerned about emergency vehicles.