COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- No one ever wants to stay in traffic. But when there's a lane closure and you must merge, are you staying or moving?
A concept called Dynamic Lane Merge might be able to help the flow of traffic. This is where instead of merging into the upcoming lane closure early, the driver instead stays in their current lane and merge one car after another at the end of the merge point.
"Once you reach the merge point take your turn with the open and close lane to merge into the single open lane and proceed through the work zone,” Jerry Ullman said, the senior researcher engineer at Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
Jerry and his team at Texas A&M Transportation Institute, or TTI, have been researching this concept. He says this method is the best way to handle traffic since it's using all the available road space. More importantly, it helps reduce road rage.
"It eliminates what we call road rage at that point,” Ullman said. “The intent is to improve the safety and operations of the lane closures.”
TTI will soon be working with Texas Department of Transportation out of Waco to see if this concept will help mitigate traffic while reducing the chances of road rage.
Jerry says the biggest hurdle is instructing the driver to continue their lane and not merge early. But future technology in the road could instruct us to stay in the lane so that the length of traffic and road rage will be reduced.
The next time you’re in traffic caused by a lane closure, it’s best to stay in your lane if possible.