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Minnesota drivers versus the zipper merge
The zipper merge: Some Minnesota drivers just can't figure it out. A crash video posted this week served as another example of the eternal struggle with a basic traffic control strategy.
(FOX 9) - In a video generating a lot of chatter on Wednesday, a truck collided with a passing sedan between Round Lake Boulevard and 7th Avenue, as two lanes of traffic narrowed to just one in Coon Rapids.
The crash generated a lot of responses online:
One day later, around the metro drivers told FOX 9 they see similar driving on a daily basis.
"If they had respect for everyone else… it’s real simple, it’s not hard," driver Theodore Komarnitzky said.
"It's very frustrating," driver Robin added. "It seems like people have the need to be number one all the time, to always be in the front."
As spokeswoman Anne Meyer explains, MnDOT wants drivers to use both lanes in a zipper merge.
"Cutting over too early may seem courteous, but it may be slowing down everyone in that situation, so if you’re doing your part, you’re utilizing both lanes of traffic until that merge point," Meyer explained. MnDOT also advises against speeding up to cut in front of a slower lane of traffic, saying this only adds to dangers on the road.