A New Utah Bill Could Change The Way You Merge Lanes

If you don't know how to merge when a lane ends, a new bill can help.

Utah's current merging law is vague, confusing and can lead to road rage, bill sponsor Representative Brady Brammer told the House Transportation Committee earlier this week, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The new bill, HB76, emphasizes the "zipper method" when it comes to merging.

Here's how the zipper method works: When the lane ends, drivers take turns moving into the new lane while alternating between cars in the left and right lanes. The zipper method is endorsed by the American Automobile Association and increases traffic speed by up to 40%. The Utah Department of Transportation has backed the zipper method, but it's not engraved in Utah policy, Brammer said.

Brammer said the current official merging rule is that drivers in the lane that's ending must yield to those in the lane that continues. But it's not practical.

“You’ve got the early merger, who moves over immediately. And then there’s someone who speeds to the end of the lane as fast as they can, and then there’s usually some guy in a big pickup truck that decides to defend the vehicular virtue of all other drivers by going in between both lanes and sitting there to make sure that nobody else speeds up to the end," he said.

While the committee passed the bill with a favorable recommendation (10 affirming votes, two representatives absent), there were some concerns from committee members, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The main one was how to enforce the zipper method on the road. Representative Jeffrey Stenquist raised the question of who would get a ticket if there was an effort to enforce it. Brammer said enforcement would be difficult and any violations should be reserved for crashes.

Next, HB76 goes to the House for acceptance of the committee's report.