Trapped in traffic on Interstate 694 last Monday, Terry Green had time to think about the important things in life.

Like the idiots trying to cut in front of her.

She was stuck in a single lane of cars nearing a construction zone. But in the open lane next to her, drivers occasionally zipped past, assuming someone would let them in at the end.

She’d never do that.

“People would think I’m a jerk,” said Green, who lives in Woodbury.

But it turns out that the idiots are doing the right thing — according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Traffic engineers believe Minnesota Nice becomes Minnesota Nincompoop when two lanes are marked to merge into one and that “good manners” cause gridlock.

“It drives me crazy when I see that,” said Kent Barnard, spokesman for MnDOT’s metro district. “Simple physics will tell you it’s better to use both lanes up to the merge point.”

MnDOT is working on a campaign to teach drivers to forget about perceived politeness — and fill lanes whenever they are open.

“We are brainstorming about it,” Barnard said. “We are trying to come up with a catchy slogan.”

So far, they’ve only been able to describe the correct way of driving as “Late Merge,” which isn’t exactly poetic.

Minnesota drivers tend to line up in a single lane far before a construction zone — which greatly slows traffic. Barnard calls the preferred method the “zipper,” in which cars fill both lanes and then alternate at the point of merger like the teeth of a zipper to form one line.

Various studies have shown the method speeds traffic by 20 percent and slashes the length of traffic back-ups by 35 percent.

The idea of forming a single-file line when there are two lanes open may be well-intentioned, Barnard said. “But it defies logic. There are two lanes for a reason.”

But to drivers, it’s not just a traffic jam — it’s social interaction.

When one driver passes another, it triggers a cascade of emotions slathered in psychology, self-worth, social expectations and ideas of what it means to be Minnesotan.

Passive-aggressive drivers waiting in line see themselves as virtuous and polite. When they are passed, they feel inferior or stupid.

That’s when Minnesota Nice becomes Minnesota Knife-in-Your-Back.

Barnard said fights often break out at merger points. Accidents and even fatalities are common at construction sites, many attributable to angry drivers.

Insulted drivers often retaliate. In a MnDOT poll, 15 percent of drivers admitted to swerving out of their lane to block what they see as “rude drivers” passing them.

Near construction on Interstate 694 in Oakdale, trucks have swerved out of the stagnant right lane into the empty left lane — to block the passers. Two of what Barnard calls “rolling roadblocks” were performed during one rush hour.

Minnesotans consider the late mergers akin to someone cutting in line in a supermarket — rude and unfair.

It’s a lousy analogy, Barnard explained.

At a supermarket, when someone cuts in line, everyone else has to wait longer. But when a driver in a stagnant line of cars swerves into a passing lane, everyone behind moves up one car-length — and the line gets shorter.

Then, when it’s time for the two lanes to merge, the rhythmic back-and-forth of alternating cars gets traffic in the single lane more quickly. Without rules, drivers have to negotiate each merge with hand waves, honking horns or obscene gestures — which is a halting, stop-and-start way to merge.

Jason Douglas is one driver who gets it.

He commutes from Hopkins 20 minutes to his job in Minneapolis. He always uses open lanes, passes long lines of cars, and then takes his turn at the merger point.

It doesn’t make him popular. He sees plenty of signs of anger, including hand waving, horn honking and middle-finger salutes.

“But I am not bothered by it,” he shrugged. “It’s faster.”

In a traffic jam May 10, in the pouring rain, Green, of Woodbury, patiently waited in a single-file line on southbound I-694 in Oakdale. The mile-long line blocked an exit and entrance ramp and delayed traffic by about 25 minutes.

Almost all the cars were in the right lane with Green, leaving the left lane largely unused.

Green knew that was inefficient. “We should be filling up the left lane, too,” she mused, over the beating of her windshield wipers.

“But it’s a psychological problem. We are afraid we won’t get in. And we are afraid of people thinking we are jerks.

“Is this Minnesota Nice?”

Bob Shaw can be reached at 651-228-5433.

Four-way stops should be simple, too. But …



The meekness of Minnesota drivers also causes problems at four-way stops.

In busy times, with cars waiting at four stop signs, traffic can be maddeningly slow. The culprit is ignorance about basic rules of driving, said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kent Barnard.

Drivers are unsure whether an oncoming car turning in front of them has the right-of-way, or in what order cars should proceed. So drivers often wave or flash lights to yield to another car, leading to the herky-jerky start-stop of uncertain drivers.

Barnard said the rule is simple — the last to the intersection is the last to leave.

When you pull up at a four-way stop, look at the other three drivers. Each of them should proceed — then you.

In the unlikely event that two drivers arrive next to each other at exactly the same moment, the one on the right has right-of-way.

“But people don’t remember that,” Barnard said. “Just wait until all three go, then it’s your turn.”

— Bob Shaw