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I wouldn't call a zipper merge "aggressive;" maybe it's a matter of where you learned to drive.
Zipper merge certainly isn't the norm On 11 heading up out of Keaau. 90% of the cars line up in the right lane--leaving the left lane empty for half a mile--then give stinkeye to anybody who dares use that empty lane.
I feel like a fool sitting in the right lane and watching those jerks pass in the left lane; I feel like a jerk using the left lane and passing all those patient fools in the right lane. I would be much happier with both lanes full and merging politely. I guess I'm one of the 8%.
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Granny here tells the truth -
https://youtu.be/8bHhxVECl8Y
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Back to BillyB's original point: Drivers are not obeying the posted hours for the shoulder lane. Folks driving at 20 MPH in the backed-up legal lane are being passed by folks illegally doing 50+ MPH in the shoulder lane. And then, occasionally, someone in the legal lane says "The heck with this..." and turns off into the shoulder lane to get ahead. It's only a matter of time before there is a serious accident that will shut down the road for hours and probably kill someone.
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Just a few weeks ago I was driving back home on 130 at about 6:30-7:00 pm and had just gone through the process of crawling along and merging at the old bottleneck after the shoulder lane was closed. During the crawl, I had slowly passed a cop car with its light turned off, so assumed the officer was off-duty, and after merging he was a few cars behind me.
The drive on 130 was relatively slow, about 30-40 mph due to the amount of traffic, but about a mile after the merge, I noticed headlights in the closed shoulder lane getting closer via the passenger door mirror. I wondered what might happen.
Sure enough, blue lights got turned on and the officer switched into the shoulder lane to pull over the driver. I kept glancing in the wing mirror and saw the driver had now turned on their hazard lights, as if to say "hey, my car is broken, that's why I'm driving in the shoulder lane", but wasn't stopping.
Then the siren went on yet despite that he only slowed down and didn't stop. Finally, he pulled over at the little layover spot about a half mile before Shower.
I hope the officer ticketed him for everything, including failing to stop, but at least it was very satisfying to watch!
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Duh, if there is still too much traffic at 6pm, why don't they leave the lane open later.
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"Duh, if there is still too much traffic at 6pm, why don't they leave the lane open later."
They should, but until it's done, people driving on the shoulder lane when it's closed create a particularly bad hazard, especially if they're using it to pass traffic.
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The only hazard I run into when I use the new lane outside of the approved hours is the militant types who will suddenly edge out into my lane as if to block my progress. These clowns should apply to the police academy if they really want to enforce traffic laws!
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I think this is less about safety and more about basic human decency. The cars in the backed up left lane are essentially waiting in line, and you are cutting in front of them.
ETA: I realize the "Zipper Lane" article refutes this, but disagree. Zipper lane behavior only works (as the article notes) in low traffic density and with skilled, aggressive drivers. Both are lacking in rush-hour Puna traffic. To insist that two full lanes of traffic can fit seamlessly into one lane is not realistic, unless all parties involved are NASCAR drivers and nothing unexpected ever happens.
To justify zooming down the right lane as "I'm doing it right and everyone else is doing it wrong" is just rationalizing your bad behavior. Nobody in the cars you are passing is watching your act and saying "GENIUS! Why didn't I think of that???"
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quote:
Originally posted by Kapoho Joe
The only hazard I run into when I use the new lane outside of the approved hours is the militant types who will suddenly edge out into my lane as if to block my progress. These clowns should apply to the police academy if they really want to enforce traffic laws!
The only hazard I run into is when I'm driving in the proper lane and some "Laws don't apply to me" types suddenly comes cruising up on the shoulder. These clowns should have their license taken away from them if they don't want to obey traffic laws.
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Maybe what should happen is EVERYONE start to use the shoulder lane outside of hours. Then maybe they will change the laws.
It happened here in PA. Everyone drove well over 65MPH in the 55MPH zones. So instead of enforcing the 55MPH, they changed the speed limit to 70MPH (on some limited access highways).
So far, it looks like it's working. The accident rate has not increased in these areas.
