Question of the Day #263

"Zipper merge will upset other drivers. Why you should do it anyway."
From the headline of this article at USA Today.

上記の文で、zipper merge の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "zipper merge" mean?

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

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解答

意味：
英辞郎にこの用語は掲載されていません。しかし、ググるとNaverまとめに下記の説明があります。

ジッパー法(zipper merge)
合流車線の先頭で交互に合流する方法。

すなわち、「交互合流」の方法です。「ジッパー法」という用語がまだ一般的ではないので、「ジッパー法による交互合流」の訳では不十分だと思いますので、説明をつけるかただの「交互合流」で済ませてもいいような気がします。

Answer

According to this Minnesota Department of Transportation page:

When a lane is closed in a construction zone, a zipper merge occurs when motorists use both lanes of traffic until reaching the defined merge area, and then alternate in "zipper" fashion into the open lane.

Examples

• The beauty of zipper merging, or why you should drive ruder
• There's a name for it: late merging, though advocates prefer the term "zipper merging" because it doesn't have a negative connotation.
• Use the zipper merge
• What we all should be doing is called the "zipper merge," or Reißverschlusssystem, as the Germans call it.