The Small Rants Thread IX: Leaping into the Well of Darkness

[Nanshork]

if im the last car in line (a loose line) to a merge, and someone races passed to the head of the line instead of lining up like the rest of us (tamed sheep). that guy is not making traffic better once he gets to the cones and forces his way in.

Problem is... that's not true. It may appear true, and common sense will tell you it's true. But actual measurement and experimentation shows that it is not true. Worst case scenario - having a traffic pattern least favorable to zipper merging - and it makes no statistical difference in traffic times.

It's not a matter of politeness, it's objective truth. Testable, repeatable, provable. And proven.

So you're saying that it is true in any and all situations no matter what the traffic looks like?  I call bullshit. 

You linked articles that basically say not to cut people off when merging, that's the sum of it.  The situation that altpersona described shows that the other driver had many opportunities to merge without disrupting traffic or cutting anyone off.

[altpersona]

in a mass transit situation i could see it... but in a low traffic area, i cant.

[Frogman55]

I could spam studies, the results don't change.

In high traffic/congestion, zipper/late merging reduces congestion and gets people through faster. Its true that in low traffic/congestion that merge method doesn't make a difference - but that means that those guys who wait until the last minute don't slow down traffic either.

i.e. blocking people is just jerky - all you're doing is slowing people down, breaking traffic laws, and not gaining any time. Don't get me wrong, trolling can be fun, but don't pretend you're doing anything other than enforcing your own idea of politeness.

[altpersona]

I could spam studies, the results don't change.

In high traffic/congestion, zipper/late merging reduces congestion and gets people through faster. Its true that in low traffic/congestion that merge method doesn't make a difference - but that means that those guys who wait until the last minute don't slow down traffic either.

i.e. blocking people is just jerky - all you're doing is slowing people down, breaking traffic laws, and not gaining any time. Don't get me wrong, trolling can be fun, but don't pretend you're doing anything other than enforcing your own idea of politeness.

im not talking about high traffic, thats a thing we dont have much of. (the next time im stuck on the interstate in a jam ill rest easy knowing im helping traffic when i cut )

the difference it makes is not speed of traffic

[Frogman55]

I could spam studies, the results don't change.

In high traffic/congestion, zipper/late merging reduces congestion and gets people through faster. Its true that in low traffic/congestion that merge method doesn't make a difference - but that means that those guys who wait until the last minute don't slow down traffic either.

i.e. blocking people is just jerky - all you're doing is slowing people down, breaking traffic laws, and not gaining any time. Don't get me wrong, trolling can be fun, but don't pretend you're doing anything other than enforcing your own idea of politeness.

im not talking about high traffic, thats a thing we dont have much of. (the next time im stuck on the interstate in a jam ill rest easy knowing im helping traffic when i cut )

the difference it makes is not speed of traffic

So... if it's low traffic, how does blocking help? Look at it this way: If it's low traffic, then merging is easy, even if the merger waits until the last minute. If traffic is backing up because of the merge, then it's high enough traffic to benefit from zipper merging.

Also, you mentioned blocking lanes for a mile. If the slow lane is really backed up for a mile, then more people should be using the other lane.


Also, please keep in mind that I'm not advocating cutting off people in traffic. I'm advocating waiting until the last minute when a lane closure (or something else) forces a merge of several lanes into one.

[altpersona]

next time im at an amusement park i'll hand out links to those studies as i skip the line  and explain that im 'reducing congestion' 


the blocking helps by not letting line cutters cut.

i dont think i said anything about the slow lane being backed up. the stretch of road is about a mile, most people will have merged by the last intersection before the cones.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.515097,-82.683363,3a,75y,353.93h,99.24t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1suVsHXmRVqg7oZsUMzBVMrQ!2e0 here is a reasonably busy period. with luck the street view and all that will be right as it was when i copied the link, the street view is pointing toward the merge...

[awaken_D_M_golem]

That there "Strictly Tobacco" ain't one of them new places that has a Drive Thru.

Could cause the traffic jam all by itself, maybe intentionally.



back edit --- What a foe-we^rd thinker that guy.  He's so awesome he's causing that traffic jam.
 

[altpersona]

thats an upgraded building, its been there for a while. it has a drive thru, i think it always has.

that location is so terrible...

[brujon]

Reddit is full of morons and /r/relationships is a cesspool of ignorant fucks that give absolutely TERRIBLE relationship advice and downvote into oblivion any sort of post that tries to give ACTUAL relationship advice. It's inflammatory as fuck, and almost always the advice boils down to "Break up" or "move away from the toxic relationship". If i got both my hands and both my feet chopped off, i could still count with my fingers the times where /r/relationships gave concilliatory advice. Granted, in many instances that is indeed what is called for, but even when it isn't, that is the top post in that sub.

The kicker here? I think that nearly everyone that upvotes and makes these comments wouldn't actually follow through with the extreme measures they so often suggest.

I'm mad. People shouldn't hand out such terrible advice like candy and mess up other's peoples lives like that.

[Nanshork]

I miss my ex.

[bhu]

 

[Amechra]

I miss my ex.

I wish I had an ex (or, preferably, a healthy relationship with someone who loved me back).

[Nanshork]

I miss my ex.

I wish I had an ex (or, preferably, a healthy relationship with someone who loved me back).

I never had a healthy relationship with this ex.  If you're ever in central Texas let me know, we can drink and I can make it so that you don't envy me for my ex's.   

[Amechra]

I'm sadly nowhere near Texas, and ?sadly? don't drink.

But if I'm in that area, I'll take you up on the offer (maybe not the drinkin' bit.)

[wotmaniac]

I'm mad. People shouldn't hand out such terrible advice like candy and mess up other's peoples lives like that.

I think that a convincing argument could be made that someone who turns to reddit for meaningful answers to meaningful questions deserves what they get.
Just sayin'.

[Nanshork]

I'm sadly nowhere near Texas, and ?sadly? don't drink.

But if I'm in that area, I'll take you up on the offer (maybe not the drinkin' bit.)

No worries, I can rant (or not) without the drinking.

[Jackinthegreen]

It's amazing how many monster entries in various 3.5 splatbooks say "Expertise" instead of "Combat Expertise" like it should for 3.5.

[Kuroimaken]

I also don't drink, but I'm told I'm a good listener.

[brujon]

I drink, a lot, and i'm a good listener. And i can probably make you forget about anything with my drunken antics.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Nanshork uhh, you missing the silent "S" in there too ...