DENVER — When you hear someone say, “Zip It,” it is usually the end of a conversation.
When Next with Kyle Clark first said the words “Zip It, Colorado,” it was the start of something that resonated with so many of you.
That crusade to get Coloradans to learn how to zipper merge hit a milestone today.
“I think you raising awareness, in addition to [Colorado Department of Transportation] also raising awareness related to zipper merge, definitely had a positive influence in our looking at how can we also engage, and the way we can engage is through the driver’s handbook,” Electra Bustle, Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) Senior Director, said.
The Colorado DMV will add a paragraph about zipper merging in the next Colorado Driver Handbook, the guide used by students before a driver’s exam.
“You were instrumental in getting education and awareness around the zipper merge,” Bustle said.
Not just the colloquial “you,” but you as well.
In May, about six dozen Colorado drivers emailed the Colorado DMV once Next with Kyle Clark gave out the email address, to get the agency to add zipper merging to the handbook.
Julie wrote, “Anyone who has ever skied in Colorado knows how to zipper merge.”
Thaddeus wrote, “It needs to be written and taught.”
And Lisa wrote, “We can reduce the percentage of drivers who are being jerks.”
The paragraph will be added in the “Safe Driving Tips” section of the handbook:
“Zipper Merge: Vehicles merge from two lanes into one lane in a zipper fashion at designated merge points. This technique keeps traffic flowing. Each car should alternate zipper fashion into the remaining open lane just before the point of closure. When there is a lane closure ahead, drivers should continue to drive in both lanes equally. Just before the lane ends, cars should take turns filling the open lane carefully and resume full speed. In a Zipper Merge, please respect of those who wait to merge until just before the lane ends; they are doing it correctly.”
“Other things that we talk about in the safety tips are things related to distracted driving,” Bustle said. “While there’s not a law that says, ‘gee, you should look all around you and you should be focused on that,’ we can put that in ‘safety tips.’”
“When I first heard you talk about this, I thought you were crazy,” Michelle Freas, a driver from Centennial, said.
Freas was skeptical of the zipper merge technique and then learned more about it when she was trying to save money.
“When my husband and I were taking the AARP driver’s course for seniors to get a discount on our car insurance, they were talking about zippering,” Freas said. “I think it’s a good idea and I think they should teach it in driver’s ed.”
“Because of you, we are reinforcing with the driving schools that when they’re testing or when they’re speaking to students that they should also bring it up as a safety tip,” Bustle said. “It’s one thing to be in the handbook, another to actually instigate the conversation and I think that’s what’s critical here.”