Say that you’re driving on the interstate, with two lanes of traffic heading in the same direction, and you approach a construction zone. This closes the highway down to just one lane, meaning that traffic has to merge to the right.
What often happens is that people start merging at the back of the line. As soon as they see the backup coming, they switch over into the right lane and wait their turn.
But this is inefficient and incorrect. It’s better and safer to use the zipper merge, which means that cars should stay in both lanes until the actual point where they have to switch into the right lane. At that juncture, drivers should take turns. First, a car from the right lane proceeds forward, and then the next car waits while someone from the left lane proceeds. This process repeats itself until everyone passes through.
Why would this lead to an accident?
The biggest reason that this leads to motor vehicle accidents is that drivers don’t understand how to merge. Many drivers think that you have to wait at the back of the line.
Therefore, if they see people driving in the left lane and zipper merging correctly, they may become frustrated or even angry. There are sometimes accidents when drivers try to cut off vehicles that are merging into the lane correctly. There are also accidents when drivers try to block the left lane or even swerve in front of other drivers who are still using that lane – legally and correctly – to prevent them from getting to the front.
Unfortunately, there will always be drivers who don’t understand how to merge, and they may cause car accidents. If you get injured due to their negligent decisions, be sure you know how to seek financial compensation.