I'm simultaneously appalled that a post like this is even necessary, baffled that they consider the proposed solution so novel, and skeptical that they've framed the problem as simply as it ought to be framed.
Consider the case where two lanes simply turn into one lane. In lighter traffic, everyone hits the merge point at whatever time they hit it; no matter which lane they were in before, now they're in the unified lane. In heavier traffic that doesn't quite work because some cars will hit the merge simultaneously -- but if there's nothing to distinguish the lanes, the natural equilibrium is that the incoming lanes take turns: a car from the left, a car from the right, etc.
So naturally when you're coming up on that kind of merge in heavy traffic, it behooves you to notice where your "slot" should be and drive accordingly (with respect to the person who's about to be behind you and the person who's about to be in front of you).
OK, now suppose traffic is enough that you have to think about how to merge but not so dense that everybody's going one at a time out of necessity. You still have to gauge the natural speed of your lane and the natural speed of the other lane and be aware of what your slot will be.
So how on Earth is this situation materially different from the situation where it's a specific lane that gets blocked and a specific other lane that gets merged into (rather than actively merging elsewhere)?
Well, apparently there are drivers who think they have a god-given right to continue in their lane unimpeded: If it isn't happening directly in front of them then they think they have a god-given right not to care about it. This is a terrible, terrible way to drive, as the odds approach 1 that at some point a soccer ball will roll in front of you or a cross street driver will run a red.
If you have any situational awareness, you'll notice when a lane is about to merge into yours and correctly perceive the situation as one where neither lane has a special privilege.
Or better yet, you'll figure best load-balancing practices on the fly. (For example, if there are 5 lanes about to become 4, then ideally the new rightmost lane would have all the previously rightmost drivers and 25% of the drivers from lane 4-of-5; you see why, right?)
Posted by Matt Bruce at August 12, 2008 07:08 PM