A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Keven Moore: Who knew that line-cutting was safe and acceptable? Just use the zipper merge!


Cutting in line, is such a huge social taboo with me, that I have been known to exchange a few unpleasant words, jesters and ever nearly lead to a couple of physical altercations because of it.

Cutting line is also known as line jumping, butting, barging, budding, budging, skipping, ditching, breaking, shorting, or pushing in, and is the act of entering a queue or line at any position other than the end. The act, which is taboo in most instances and stands in stark contrast to the normal policy of first come, first server that governor the social laws of our universe.

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The Great Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory once said “This line is first come first serve. Not show up tardy and nevertheless be first served.”

Objecting to line-cutting behavior is a natural reaction rooted back to our childhood school cafeteria lunch-lines, which today stirs prompt and to the point response to socially shame people afflicted with this entitled behavior trait. As a parent I have even gone as far to give my blessing to all my kids to always stand up to a line-jumpers at all cost, regardless of the consequences.

With that said one of my greatest pet-peeves is line-cutting on highway construction projects where two lanes are required to merge into one lane.

You know what I am talking about — where as a conformist you have politely merged over early and some impatient jerk refuses to merge until the last possible second.

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Bypassing everyone who followed the proper roadside etiquette, we all perceive them to be rude as they pilfer away our valuable time.

Most of you will shoot dirty looks their way in an effort to socially shame them as they go rolling by, while others may introduce them to their horn, sign language or refuse to later let them merge over if he/she is at the point of the merger.

Then there are some of you like me who will make a very bold statement by swerving over into the lane being closed ahead to obstruct their access to pass. You receive thumbs up from all the other drivers wishing that they were so bold.

Sometimes if you are lucky a semi-truck driver will even join in and will help you form a moving blockage.

But imagine to my horror and surprise when I learned that these line-cutters in these construction projects could be in the right?

The shock was equivalent to first learning that Captain Crunch cereal wasn’t healthy for me.

According to transportation officials, those who wait to merge until the lane closes are correct. The rest of us — usually honking and cursing — are actually increasing traffic congestion.

zipper-merge

It’s called the “zipper merge,” and many states have been urging people to adopt it in heavy traffic situation. The state of Kansas even went so far to create a zipper merge PSA with some talking traffic cones that explain the process.

The zipper merge concept guides motorists to use BOTH traffic lanes until reaching the defined merge area, and then to alternately merge in zipper fashion into the open lane.

State highway officials say that when used correctly the zipper merging actually improves traffic flow, prevents confusion, alleviates frustration and reduces congestion.

In the state of Kentucky the first zipper merger I ran across was in Northern Kentucky at the 275 Carroll Cropper bridge restoration project where signage directed motorists to merge in a zipper like fashion.

The first sign notified drivers to “Use Both Lanes during Backup.” At the merge point, a sign indicated “merge here” by showing two traffic lanes converging into a single lane. Additionally, the signage also instructs drivers to “Take Turns” which was critical to fully employ the zipper merge concept.

The objective is for drivers to fill in both lanes, with those in the lane that’s about to close alternating at the merge with the open lane traffic. When everyone is on the same page, both lanes never cease moving which I call “road construction utopia!”

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According to officials, zipper merging can reduce congestion by as much as 40 percent during high traffic volumes, while also making the merging process significantly safer and reduces incidents of road rage.

Progressive traffic engineers now look down on “Early Merging,” while effective in low congestion it actually increases traffic gridlock because a lane goes unused. Who knew, right?

Efforts to spread the word nationwide are increasing, but motorists are still cautious to “cut the line” or give space to someone perceived as attempting to do the same.

In order for the zipper merging to work, it is reliant on one big component: driver participation. The construction zone has to be identified as a” Zipper Merger” with all the proper signage to educate and walk these drivers into the zipper merger to behave accordingly.

For progressive-minded drivers I can see this taking hold very quickly, but for us old-dog drivers like me, it will take some time to learn this new trick and to adjust — but only for those areas identified as a zipper merger, because otherwise I see this as another excuse for line-jumpers to exploit my gentlemanly driving behavior.

I love the concept and am willing to adopt it immediately, but it needs to be introduced for every road construction project and until it does Sheldon Cooper and I will be calling you out!

Be Safe My Friends

Keven Moore works in risk management services. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Kentucky, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and 25-plus years of experience in the safety and insurance profession. He lives in Lexington with his family and works out of both Lexington and Northern Kentucky. Keven can be reached at kmoore@roeding.com.


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