Trucking's Second Season, is Here - Traffic Vigilante

New in Work Zones This Year - A Crackdown on Zippers

Snides Remarks; I can understand the need for an orderly merge... BUT those (too)nice people in the South and Midwest are so considerate that they create a worse traffic jam miles and miles from the actual merge, while the to-be-closed lane remains empty or worse prematurely blocked by some vigilante traffic cop/trucker(which has recently reached epidemic proportions).

This does not usually happen in the Northeast or West where apparantly the drivers know how and where to merge. Hey road engineers, why not adjust where you place those Lane Closed Ahead signs by driving habit and conditions....here at TACH we are all for safety but sitting in a traffic jam that could be avoided is both stupid and dangerous. Let me know what you think; msnide@theautochannel.com

CLICK4 Merge Solution Annimation - Its Simple!

Amazing Traffic Simulation(Java Applet-worth the wait)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 8 -- Back again on our roadways are those annual harbingers of highway construction season: long lines of orange barrels, rows of constructing concrete walls, and dreaded "Road Work Ahead" signs. With their arrival comes increased traffic congestion compounded by the temptation of far too many drivers to take unsafe chances behind the wheels.

New this year, however, are efforts by some states to improve work zone safety by cutting down on particularly dangerous drivers, known as "zippers" to professional truck drivers. They're the ones who, where traffic is to merge into a single lane, race to get ahead of slowing vehicles and then suddenly and dangerously cut in line.

Three states: Tennessee, Arkansas and Washington, are now issuing tickets to drivers who do not merge into the proper work zone lane quickly enough. The new enforcement effort is welcomed by the trucking industry.

Tennessee is the latest to implement the new safety program. There, drivers entering new work zones are to begin merging when they see "Merge Left" or "Merge Right" signs. They will have two miles to completely merge, after which they will see either "Do Not Pass in Right Lane" or "Do Not Pass in Left Lane" signs. Late mergers can be ticketed after the do-not-pass signs under the state's no-passing-zone laws.

Professional truck drivers say "zippers" likely never think of how they are endangering themselves, their families and other motorists when they cut quickly in front of a large truck at a work zone merge site and then suddenly have to slow down. While truckers are already trying to navigate their large vehicles through cramped construction sites, "zippers" further endanger them, other motorists and highway workers.

Along with its support of longer merge areas, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the nation's largest trucking industry and safety advocacy group, offers its common sense advice on how to safely navigate work zones.

   * Double your usual following distance. Otherwise, you won't have time to
     safely react to warnings or hazards, like debris or potholes that
     suddenly pop out from under the vehicle ahead.

   * Get into the correct lane well in advance and observe work zone speed
     limits.

   * Where traffic is merging into a single lane, be extremely cautious of
     cars racing dangerously to get ahead of slowing traffic.  Truck drivers
     call these unsafe motorists "zippers," after the way they zip in and
     out of slowing traffic, endangering other motorists who choose to obey
     work zone signs.

   * Pay close attention to operating construction equipment while in a work
     zone. You never know their next move.  Be ready to stop.

   * Remember that most work zone traffic lanes are narrow and don't have
     shoulders or emergency lanes.

   * In temporary median crossovers uneven or sloped road surfaces can
     dramatically affect handling and stability.

   * Report an absence of signs, or poor signage, to the appropriate highway
     department.