Due to the increase in construction this year, I hear from many frustrated drivers stuck in traffic.

However, the solution to the lane closure is controversial: the zipper merger.

In a zipper system, drivers use both lanes until they reach the merging area and then take turns moving into the open lane.

If done correctly, it looks like a zipper. However, not everyone is convinced.

Some drivers believe that etiquette dictates that they change lanes as quickly as possible. Or worse, there are drivers who block both lanes to make sure no one overtakes them.

“We were getting more and more calls about road rage incidents that were caused by people either blocking the empty lane when others wanted to pass or getting angry because we were passing people who thought they were at a NASCAR race or something like that,” said Michael Shaw, First Lt. of the Michigan State Police.

Earlier this week I reposted MSP on X and said “help me help you” because it’s so frustrating that people don’t use the zipper merge method.

Shaw asked me if we could talk further, and I jumped at the opportunity to find out if there was anything the cops could do to improve traffic flow, like issuing tickets to those who try to block both lanes.

“Our pickup truck drivers are usually the ones who get called out the most. They’re trying to block lanes and prevent people from moving,” Shaw said. “It ranges from careless driving to reckless driving, depending on how hard they’re trying to block traffic.”

Shaw told me that patrol officers are assigned to these construction zones to make sure everyone is obeying the law, and MDOT has also put up signs in certain construction zones across the state to remind drivers to use both lanes.