My Pet Peeve is Wrong - Use Both Lanes

How many times have you dutifully obeyed the sign to "merge right" when the upcoming left lane was closed? And how many times have you cursed at the drivers who continue in the left lane and then finagle their way into the right lane much further up the road than you? It has been a pet peeve on mine for years, and law abider that I am, I still merge early to I don't have to be one of those "entitled" people who zoom up on the left and then with puppy dog eyes, beg to be let in. Or worse, just keep moving right until your choice is to let them in or bash your left fender.

Come to find out that we are doing this all wrong. Marilyn vos Savant, the high-IQ genius in the weekly Parade magazine, has determined that merging right only slows traffic. By using both lanes right up to the point of merge actually makes the traffic move much faster.

But how do we convey that message so that road rage does not escalate to fist fights between families on the median?

Signage! Instead of the stupid "merge right" signs, motorists can be warned of a lane closure ahead, but then be encouraged to "Use Both Lanes". "Aha," you say, but at the merge choke point, won't the fists still fly?

Signage again! How about a large sign at the bottleneck that says simply, "Alternate with Your Neighbor." Calling them a neighbor lowers the temperature right away and even most aggressive Americans can live with "Take Your Turn" that they should remember from Kindergarten. Then traffic will flow more smoothly, the left lane will not be wasted and empty (save for those miscreants trying to cut in), and all can move along feeling good that they waved their neighbor through before they took their turn. Don't you feel better already?