Are You Merging the Right Way?

We have seen all of the different ways people merge into traffic and we have probably tested out each method ourselves.

Which way is the best way?

The answer might surprise you.

If I am getting on to a road that has slow traffic and I am in deceleration or acceleration lane I go all of the way to the end of said lane before I move over. I've been doing this before I found out it was actually the right way to merge.

I know people on the road were cursing me for doing this, but here is my chance to prove I was right.

Picture a road that you merge onto.

Now imagine a ton of cars on that road and coming from the road/ramp you came from.

That acceleration/deceleration lane is great to alleviate traffic on the road you came from and the road you are going on.

Let's say a bunch of cars try to get over as soon as possible. This backs up traffic on the ramp/road because everyone has to stop further back.

The proper way to merge is to drive to the end of the merging lane and do the "zipper method" as shown below.

Once car 1 merges, car 2 pulls forward. Car 3 will then pull up to where car 1 was, then car 4 goes, and so on.

Pulling all of the way to the end of the merge lane and merging every other car allows traffic to flow smoothly for everyone involved.

Next time you see someone wait until the end of a merging lane rather than curse them, smile and know they are right and you are wrong.

(Yes, that graphic was made in Paint. It looks official right?)