| > As a side note, I firmly believe that cutting in line (or late merging into a turn lane) is the worst, most selfish thing that people do all the time. Skipping this quip's obliviousness of imagination to what constitutes the worst selfishness, cutting in line amidst a standing queue is only marginally comparable to late merging in vehicular traffic. The situational awareness, shared state, temporality, and protocol dynamics are distinct. A standing queue is a holding pattern for a next available resource. It is centrally mediated via a global awareness of position for access to a singular threshold. Merging traffic is autonomously mediated flow across and between variously overlapping thresholds. The late merge is a rational and fair approach to not joining a queue unless you have to, and joining it as reluctantly as possible. Late merging is a fair approach for everyone in zones of contention-- assuming all other strictures (rules) are being obeyed (and accepting the hazard of human volition, because people should not be expected to behave like sheep). To comprehend the truth of this observation, step back from the pet peeve about what superficially seems like greed to examine what makes for effective driving: it's the efficient use of space on the road. Efficiency from an individual driver's perspective is taking only space that's needed as soon as it becomes available and freeing that space as opportunistically as possible. The inverse observation is: do not take space you don't need, keep space only for as long as you need it, and occupy space fluidly. You accomplish this first by avoiding zones of contention, and second by minimizing disruption within zones of contention. The best way to deal with contention is to not be there. Formal politeness is as hindering to flow as oafishness. Malingering in flow is harmful to everyone behind you. The opportunities for formal politeness in flow are naturally limited to conditions where you are stopped, because it's absurd to conduct an exchange of etiquette in moving automobile traffic. The best approximation of polite deferral is smooth egress from zones of congestion and observing a proper round-robin in situations of full contention. It may seem paradoxical, but heading into zones of contention and alternating is effective both for you and for the group, and should be preferred to queueing early because it maximizes your egress potential at no cost in fairness to those around you; your can't avoid occupying your share of turf in the flow, but you can minimize the time and disruption of occupation. The early merge to a zone of contention is at best self-sacrificial and at worst a collective hindrance. Regarding opportunistic changing of position within a flow, you have to feel your way through. With experience, you learn to trade off minimizing disruption and maximizing opportunity according to the design parameters of the thoroughfare. As to peeves about greediness, if you prize generosity above your own progress, pull over, get out of the way and let others move on. Do not assume others have the same situational awareness. Polite deferral is only meaningful among those who share an encounter, with the recognition that every encounter is shared with yourself and you must reckon your own standards of propriety. When traffic becomes gridlocked, self responsibility dictates escaping the blockage. In severe circumstances of gridlock, formal rules of the road are rendered meaningless. This is a matter of design failure and in the worst cases death may be consequent. You can't begrudge a fellow traveler from trying to survive, even though you may disdain his lack of honor in his thrashing. This is a personal matter between a man and God. |