Merging

I was driving east to church on 29th and I got to California Avenue. The traffic was backed up in the left lane. I know, from experience, that the right lane of 29th (going east) turns into a turn right only lane shortly after the California intersection. It seems that most people are either going to turn into Dillons or keep going east and that is why the left lane was more backed up.

Sure enough, of the 5 vehicles that were in the right lane, 3 of them merged into the left lane before the turn right only lane disappeared. I shook my head believing that the drivers were intentionally taking advantage of the situation. I tried to think about this in a new light.

I considered that maybe these 3 cars didn’t regularly drive that way and were not expecting to merge left. In other words, they weren’t trying to take advantage of the situation. I’ve experienced this myself where for whatever reason I honestly didn’t notice the need to merge until later than other people. That was a possibility.

I also considered merging situations in general.  Did you know that the recommended merging practice is called a zipper merge? In a zipper merge, both lanes are used until the ultimate merge point where cars take turns moving together like a zipper. This is harder because it is easy to get wrapped up in being in the merging into lane and being patient while looking down on the people who use the other lane and dart ahead.  I have to admit that there has been a time or two where I determined to not let a vehicle merge in front of me because I felt that I had the right to deny the other lane car from merging in. 

So, what is the answer?  Legally and from a recommended perspective, the zipper merging process is the course of action.  But from a perception perspective, drivers in the merge into lane are likely to interpret that as trying to take advantage of the situation.  I needed Biblical and good secular advice.

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “Lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” - 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 ESV

The Corinthians passage suggests caution if we do something because it is a right to the exclusion of how others might see it.

As for the good secular advice (which amazingly is similar). I went to Andy Griffin.  Andy had explained to Opie that if you make a promise that it is important to follow through on your word. Of course, shortly later, Opie meets another kid that ran away from home and who made Opie promise not to tell anybody about who he was.  Andy was trying to figure out who the boy’s parents were so he could tell them that their son was okay and was running into seemingly conflicting advice given to Opie.

He finally solved the dilemma by explaining it this way - let’s say you went to a fishing pond that had a sign declaring “no swimming.” Now let’s say there was a boy in the pond drowning.  Do you save the drowning boy and break the rule or follow the rule and let the boy drown. He summarized it as it was important to follow the rules as much as possible. But there may be situations where there is a greater good to follow that may require breaking the rules.

I concluded that what was most important to me is to stop worrying whether another driver may be doing something to take advantage of the situation.