Shame, envy drive our road habits: study

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

This lane merging scenario is one that I used to see daily on my trip to work.

It is a simple question of mathematics, if the posted speed limit is 100 km/h, the road is 2 lanes and it drops down to 1 lane, it takes twice as long to get the same volume of traffic through the bottle neck. That means the average speed of traffic that can flow through that bottle neck is 50 km/h. If people used consideration for all other road users and merged early all cars would be in the correct lane early and traveling at 50 km/h through the bottle neck. Each selfish prat that thinks their life is so important and travels down the left lane at 60 km/h and then pushes into the right lane at the last moment, slows the right lane by 10 km/h. If there are 2 selfish prats, that is a 20 km/h slowing, 3 prats equals 30 km/h and so forth.

So why does it not work that both lanes can keep flowing at 100 km/h and then merge in the last 50m and flow through at 50 km/h? In theory it should but is it doesn't because it is more difficult to merge at a lower speed, the lower the speed the longer it takes. That and the fact that there is always some selfish prat that will pass a car on the left to get one car length ahead, forcing the right lane to stop and let them in.

If everyone used some common sense, courtesy and fore thought and merged to the continuing lane as early as possible, yes you will still go through the bottle neck at a reduced 50 km/h but all the traffic will go through at the same speed. That is better than what we have now where those selfish prats get through with an average speed of 60 km/h but they make everyone else that has done the right thing wait for them. Simple mathematics, the faster they go past in the left lane, the more advantage they get, the more they slow everyone else down.

For all you that consider it ok to drive past all that slow right lane traffic to the end of the lane and then merge in, 300 m after the merge right sign, consider it for what that act really is, overtaking on the left. A few of the same people that have said it is ok to do it, I have also seen them get upset about people overtaking in left lanes in other discussions. Passing on the left is considered poor driving all over the world (or right depending on what side of the road you drive on). What makes this situation any different?

Totally agree. Loved your post.