Short Stuff: The Zipper Merge | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here. too get ready for a contentious short. stuff episode I don't think it's going. to be contentious because I think it's. just right and I think that once you. learned this you actually feel like if. it was contentious to you before you. might feel like a bit of Jackass I know. I did well I'm going to have some things. to say let's get into it okay you know. Chuck when you see.

a sign you're cruising down the highway. yeah baby you got the. wind got windows down in your teeth H. yeah the whole shebang right and then. all of a sudden there's a sign up ahead. that says the lane you're in right now. buddy is going to be closing in about a. thousand or so feet that's verbatim by. the way yeah you jam on the brakes and. you get over yeah as fast as you can. probably knock another car out of the. lane next to you as you get into it but.

uh right after you do that you come to. almost a complete stop because everyone. in the lane you were just in did the. same thing and by merging suddenly with. another Lane it basically brings traffic. to a halt and it actually is a fairly. dangerous thing to do especially at. higher speeds yeah there's another way. well as as you you put this one together. and you said there are two ways uh that. first way which you just mentioned just. getting right over MH the second way. which is to wait until that lane. basically runs out and then hop over mhm.

uh now there's a third way which is just. drive until you see someone sitting on. their phone leaving a seven car gap. between them and then you just pop over. there yes and it's a joke but it's. really not no because the the people who. stay in that lane that's being shut down. and are able to get way far ahead of. everybody else in the lane that's the. through Lane that's not being shut down. that everybody had to get over into mhm.

they're not actually jerks they okay. they may be jerks because they might not. actually know this is the thing you're. supposed to do but they're actually know. it or not doing the thing you're. supposed to do it's called zipper. merging and you're supposed to. essentially stay in that lane that's. getting shut down until the last. possible moment you're not supposed to. get over before then because when you do. all sorts of bad things happen you just. stay in that lane and somebody in the. next Lane lets you in and you just zoom. on through all right so here's my first.

problem with that okay is what happens. is you get to the end of that thing and. it's called an alternate merge which. means you alternate and everyone goes. you go I go you go I go that's not what. happens in today's America though people. are jerks and they they hug the bumper. in front of them and say you're not. getting in front of me right and that's. what gums up the works is people wait. till the last minute and then get into a. battle of wills because people don't.

take turns if people took turns this. would be as beautiful as the Germans. call it uh rice Vish which means zipper. uh the rice verloo system the zipper. merge it is beautiful and elegant except. for the fact that Americans are jerks in. their cars and don't let people in and. don't take turns uh you know what I. mean kind of I mean I know what you mean. but I I don't fully agree with it I. guess is what I was trying to say that. people do that no no no I think they.

definitely do do that but that's not the. thing that holds everything up let's. let's take a break and we'll come back. and I will explain my position okay all. right well now when you're on the road. driving in your truck why not learn a. thing or two from Josh and Chuck it's. stuff you should knowu you should know. all. [Music]. right.

[Music]. all right explain away buddy okay I'm. explaining get this MH yes that causes a. Slowdown for the people in the right. lane the lane that's being shut down but. that is generally insignificant for that. person because that one jerk who's hug. hugging the bumper the person in front.

of him won't let them in purposely won't. let them in there's maybe three or four. of those people in a row before somebody. like you said is either not paying. attention or is kind-hearted enough to. be like all right go ahead get in right. so yes it's a bit of a Slowdown for the. people in the shutdown Lane but not like. it would be if everyone just tried to. jump over yes is that what you're saying. yeah that's the problem that's the. Slowdown the people who are getting over. from the lane that's being shut down. prematurely when you get over any at any.

point before the last possible point to. get over if you get over at any point. before then you are shooting yourself in. the foot and everybody else because you. you are causing the Slowdown you are the. reason that this Lane is suddenly Bumper. to Bumper because you shouldn't have. gotten no the the through Lane that. everybody in the closed down had to get. into you're the reason that that's. slowed down and that that's Bumper to. Bumper and that people are ti off.

because an unfair um Advantage has just. been created for the people who are. doing what you're supposed to do and. staying in the the closing Lane until. the last possible minute in zipper. merging all right let me ask you this is. there any data on um because there is. some data that you found that says uh if. you zipper merge effectively which never. happens but let's just say it does right. it cuts congestion by 40% yeah to.

it's huge uh it is going to reduce. crashes because uh people are get I have. a issue with this one people are getting. over at the same rate of speed as the. people in the through Lane but I I. generally think this happens when. traffic is pretty slow so it's not like. you usually don't see a zipper merge. happening when people are going like 70. miles an hour no some people really haul. and then zip into like a spot all of a. sudden and they have to basically slam. on their brakes because they just made. it.

movement over that's forced by the fact. that people in the through Lane aren't. zipper merging they got over too early. well my question though is if you're in. the and you may not know this but if. you're in the through Lane I probably do. and people are are are you see them. zippering over and non zippering over. like should you get over one lane to the. left or does that come up the works or. should you hold the lane. uh I don't understand fully say say it. again and slightly you're in the through.

Lane you're driving along so the lane. that's not being shut down yeah yeah and. people to your right are either jumping. over right in front of you or zipper. merging correctly like should you jump. over a lane just to sort of decongest. yes that's one thing that you can do but. in a I try to do that because I just. don't want to be I don't want to be a. part of that whole scene yeah well not. only that by getting over as far as you. can away from this terrible Mist zipped. merge um you're you're actually saving. yourself a lot of time in heartache. you're just getting away from the whole. M right yes that's one thing you can do.

you can either slow your roll a little. bit to let somebody zipper merge in. front of you or you can move over to. create space for them to get into at. that zipper merge Point either one is. totally acceptable and a nice good thing. to do so yeah I did I did know the. answer to your question okay good to. know um here's my deal is I used to get. over early but I wouldn't like stop the. traffic in that merging Lane to do it I. would would just see an opening and do.

it and if it was early it's early uh now. I kind of like there's so many people on. their phones now now I tend to wait to. the end cuz you can generally get over. yeah for sure uh without causing any. issue um my big problem is not when it's. like a a legitimate sort of alternate. merge and a lane merging my problem and. it's it's when the person is. like uh Hey the you know the highway. splits if you want to go on this highway. you're going that way. and you've got a bunch of people waiting.

cuz traffic's backed up and someone just. rides to there's basically no Road and. tries to jump over which is not the same. thing so if you have a lane that runs. out right a lane I'm not talking about a. lane running out then yeah you're. talking about a jerk for sure okay for. sure they're being pushy and we should. explain to some of our listeners who. aren't in the United States because I. don't know that this fully applies uh I. know in Germany it sounds like people. are zipper merging like there's no. tomorrow and they're doing it really.

right but the reason people get over. prematurely rather than zipper merge on. American highways is because that seems. like the fairest thing to do and so if. you're doing that if you're not taking. your rightful place in the back of the. line of this long. unnecessarily Slow line of traffic what. you're doing is jumping in line and. there are very few things that drive. Americans crazier especially ones who. have a finally tuned sense of day-to-day.

Justice than somebody jumping ahead in. line cutting in line so even though. you're zipper merging correctly you're. going into the last minute and getting. over you're not trying to jump jump in. line it's just no one else knows what. you know yeah there's a there's a real. danger that somebody might try to shoot. you in the United States it's very very. slim the the incidents of road rage that. result in like Gunplay are really hyped.

and talked about in the United States. but statistically speaking it's really. rare but there is a real chance that you. might anger Somebody by being so unfair. by cutting in line that they might chase. you in their car and shoot at you while. you're driving your car this is another. reason why people don't do this yeah I. mean beyond that Rarity it is uh just. out of hand in the United States where. like if you accidentally cut someone off. on the highway like people in the United. States will get out of that lane speed.

up get in front of you and slam on the. brakes to pay you back and potentially. wreck themselves it's nuts how people. act in their cars it's so out of hand. and like God everybody just needs to get. it together Australia is at my. experience driving there they drove the. speed limit if you came up behind. someone on the highway they're like H. let's get over out of your way then it. was everyone that's more New Zealand but.

everybody was just so uh civil on the. roads and you know we might have Aussies. right in and say like uh that's that's. not the deal mate in the cities or. whatever but when I was driving around. the highways over there I just found. everything uh from moving about in the. airport on foot to driving around people. were generally just like no go ahead. it's fine Canada is very similar to that. nice nicer people so yeah it's almost. like Americans are like deeply angry and. divided for some reason it's.

weird uh a lot of States though as you. found have put a lot of money into. educational campaigns uh signage uh for. instance um use both lanes uh to merge. Point like until you get to the merge. Point stuff like that like they're. trying to get the word out by spending. money and saying hey the zipper merge is. where it's at uh if you're doing it. right but it's just there's so much like. you point out there's so much sort of. um habit and muscle memory and how.

people drive and not wanting to risk. getting flicked off or whatever and and. by the way don't shoot birds in your car. either that's that's two 80s like don't. do that yeah and if someone tries to. pass you at like a normal rate because. you're going slower than they are in the. lane that you shouldn't be in don't. speed up so they can't pass you that. makes you literally the worst person on. the road in your your um area like. you're a terrible person right then you. might not be in general the car brings. terrible things out in people I get that.

but in that moment you're a terrible. person a jerk and get out of the left. lane for goodness sakes for sure so some. states actually have instituted zipper. merging as a a rule in in Illinois if. you keep somebody from merging over into. a through lane from a lane that's shut. down or that's ending you could be fined. you could they you could be pulled over. and they could smack the back of your. calves with their night sticks just for. doing that in Illinois cuz there's. always a a police cruiser there when you.

need them in traffic right EXA exactly. like when you're going 75 M an hour down. the highway and you look over and you. pass someone that is literally staring. in their lap at a cell on a cell phone. going like 47 miles hour I know and I'm. sure we sound old but listen up. everybody who drives looking at their. phone like watching video on their phone. stop doing that please stop doing that. immediately you're going to kill. somebody yep um there is one other thing. about this though States have that if. you put up an extra sign or two that.

says literally use both lanes to merge. Point M most people will figure out what. you're saying and they actually do it. huh they actually do the zipper. merging yeah I hey I I'm down uh I mean. luckily I don't have to drive on the. highway very much because my uh you know. even when we were commuting to the. studio a lot it was just back road so uh. since we moved out a Buckhead I don't. have to get in Atlanta Highway Traffic.

much uh but you know I'm I'm going to. I'm going to zipper merge from here on. out me too buddy um and we should also. say I don't know if we said the reason. why they call it zipper merge is if you. look overhead at that merge point it. looks like the cars are zipping up and. one of the orange construction cones. looks like the tip of a penis caught in. the. zipper is that short stuff out. yeah stuff you should know is a. production of iHeart Radio for more. podcasts my heart radio visit the iHeart.

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