Two lanes are reducing to one and traffic is heavily congested. What does the manual advise drivers to do?
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A.
Stop on the shoulder until the backup has cleared
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B.
Use both lanes to the merge point and alternate turns Correct
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C.
Follow the vehicle ahead closely to keep moving
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D.
Move into the open lane as far ahead as possible
The answer is "Use both lanes to the merge point and alternate turns"
In congested traffic where lanes are reducing, the manual advises using both lanes up to the merge point and alternating turns, the 'zipper merge.' Answer D, 'move into the open lane as far ahead as possible,' is the trap: that is the manual's advice for uncongested traffic, and drivers who learned only the light-traffic half of the rule carry it into stop-and-go conditions where the zipper method moves cars through faster.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Stop on the shoulder until the backup has cleared
Stopping on the shoulder is not a merge strategy and blocks emergency access. This answer reads any traffic jam as a reason to pull off, a reflex borrowed from breakdown protocol rather than merge rules.
C. Follow the vehicle ahead closely to keep moving
Following too closely is unsafe and is not the manual's zipper-merge instruction. This answer confuses keeping traffic moving with keeping cars tight together, a habit some drivers rely on in stop-and-go traffic.
D. Move into the open lane as far ahead as possible
Moving over early is the manual's advice for uncongested traffic, not for heavy congestion. This answer carries the light-traffic merge habit into congestion, applying the wrong half of a two-part rule.
This question tests your knowledge of Warning Signs in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Warning Signs," p.71..
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