"fred" wrote in message
...
Two lanes merging into one. Arrows clearly define which lane merges into
which. At the merge point who has the right of way ?
I only ask because in certain parts of the country if a lane is closing
and prior warning is being given all the sheep immediately abandon the
about to be closed lane. Same sheep take great umbrage if one tries to
merge at the head of the queue as recommended. (i..e) Zip merge as opposed
to a comb merge)
To me the obvious choice should be a one to one merge at the merge point
but lots of pillocks take offence.

It may sound perverse, but I'd have thought that zip merging works best if
it can be done at almost the normal running speed of the road - ie in
advance of the lane drop. If you wait until the last few yards, as the HC
says you should, both streams of traffic have to come to an almost complete
halt to allow in-turn merging, because a car in the stream that is
*expecting* to go next (eg alternately) has to have room to stop if the
other car doesn't give way.

The best solution is not to design roads with a lane drop, wherever
possible, except at a place where traffic has to stop anyway (eg at a
junction). That way you are not bringing all the traffic to a halt simply so
two lanes can merge into one.