Late Merging on the highway

Below is a video of late merging at the junction of Hwy 35 and 62. If you watch, you can see cars zipping to the front of the line and cutting in at the last minute.



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I think late merging is rude, but I think people just don't think about it that way- at least the people who are late merging don't. It happens to me on the way home from work every weekday on Hwy 62. The construction creates a perfect opportunity for people to late merge.

All of us in the left lane are waiting our turn, when people zoom up to the front of the line and late merge. This causes people in the left lane to break and slow down. It happens at the junction of 35W north and Hwy 62, and it happens to me where Hwy 62 loses a left lane back just past Hwy 169 near Gleason Road.

People get really mad at the late mergers. I've seen people swerve into the left lane to block late mergers- almost on a daily basis. Often, frustrated drivers will move into the left lane and block cars from going past. I've seen fender benders. I have personally been rear ended by a guy who was trying to keep a late merger from getting into the lane.

The late merging is making tempers flare and it is causing very unsafe driving conditions. Why isn't MNDOT doing more to address this problem? If nothing else, some public education would help. I think a lot of people just see it as the fastest way to get where they are going. It never crosses their mind that people get really angry when they feel others are not waiting their turn.