Effortlessly uniting from two lanes into one is something many Aussie drivers think no one knows how to do. Ironically, though, most think they themselves are great at it.
"Too many drivers just come to a stop at the end of merging lane," one commenter wrote.
"The golden rule of merging is never stop," asserted another.
"Everyone with a driving licence should know the answer to this," another wise reader pointed out.
I'll go one further and say: everyone with a driver's licence should take a dance class.
You heard me correctly. Dance students are all taught how to merge before they are old enough to even contemplate getting behind the wheel. I know this because I used to be one.
I know, I know, it sounds like yet another driver pontificating about being great at merging without any of the goods to back it up. But seriously – I was taught to 'merge' in my pre-school dance class with an age-old choreography device used in dance styles from ballet to hip hop.
It goes like this: two lines of dancers run, pirouette, tap dance – or even leap – one by one by one until they form a single line.
Sometimes they split off into a different formation, but the concept is the same: though all are travelling at the same speed, each must give way to the one in front to avoid a collision.
The name of this move is debated, but I asked more than 60 of my Facebook friends who danced as kids – some of whom are now professional dancers or dance teachers – what they would call it.
The most common answer was the "zipper run" or "zipper cross". Sound familiar?
Yes, the good old zipper merge. Most Aussies are not properly taught this while on their L-plates, as it's not officially a part of driving tests in every state. It's made even more complicated by most states having two different rules for merging, depending on the situation.
Drive consumer journalist Zane Dobie witnessed this first-hand when he got his licence in NSW less than 10 years ago.
If younger drivers are not being taught how to merge – especially given increasingly stringent testing and log-book requirements – those of us who have been driving for 20-plus years certainly were not. Sure, we may have figured it out during our years on the road, but I suspect for many, old habits die hard.
One Drive reader summed it up in the comments on Zane's article:
"Attitudes need to change, people are so selfish and ignorant they speed up to ensure you can't merge safely," they wrote.
The thing about dancers doing the 'zipper run' or 'zipper cross' – or just generally navigating each other on the stage – is that they are co-operating and being considerate of where the other person needs to go.
Even if it's not a stringently choreographed position change, and more of a 'quick – run as fast as you can to your next spot', everyone in the group is actively paying attention to where others are in the space.
It takes co-ordination, but it also takes awareness. It's understanding that allowing someone else to get past will in turn get you to your destination faster – not to mention in a much safer manner.
So, perhaps next time you need to merge, try to channel your inner Beyonce and her back-up dancers, prove you've got some co-ordination ... and get in formation.
Jemimah is Drive's Consumer Editor. She has more than a decade of editorial experience and has previously worked in property and lifestyle journalism for Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and REA Group, among many other publications.
