Zip Merging

Ever sat in a queue of traffic, patiently waiting your turn, only to see a car speeding down the outside lane and then pushing in ahead of you?
 
It may be frustrating, and appear more than a little rude, but according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), that opportunistic driver sailing past you is in fact just making good use of an otherwise empty lane. And by being over-polite and joining the queue you are simply adding to the length of the congestion.
 
It’s a contentious point isn’t it? When you see two lines of traffic merging together a short distance ahead, it’s natural to want to get into that line as soon as possible, so to have someone overtake a long line and pull in at the last moment is a bit bloody annoying to say the least. But what the IAM is saying is that we should make use of all the available space before filtering into a single lane.

The Institute acknowledges that driver etiquette means that ‘zip merging’ can be frowned upon by drivers in long queues of traffic, but if all available lanes are used, right up to the bottleneck, it is perfectly acceptable for vehicles from each lane to take it in turns to merge into the single lane. According to the IAM, this reduces the length of road the queue stretches along and prevents blocked junctions.
 
‘Pinch points’, it adds, are all too common on our roads, but the advice in the Highway Code is vague. In fact Rule 288 of the code simply states: where lanes are restricted due to roadworks, merge in turn.
 
The IAM is offering this more detailed advice: “If you are approaching a long queue of traffic in only one lane, you should stay in the lane you’re in, even if it’s empty, as long as you reduce your speed. Even if you have to merge further down, it is worth using all the space available to avoid unnecessarily long tailbacks. When travelling alongside a queue of traffic, keep your speed right down and be extra vigilant, as other drivers may be considering pulling out into the empty lane.”

So the next time you feel like having a go at one of the people apparently queue jumping, bear in mind that they might well be a far better driver than you. The Institute of Advanced Motorists, which was established in 1956, has over 100,000 full members in the UK and Ireland and is best known for its advanced driving courses and tests available to drivers. It’s also the UK’s largest independent road safety charity.

Perhaps instead of complaining we ought to all sign up for a course and improve not only our ‘zip merging’ techniques, but our overall driving standards as well. Just a thought.