Cairns: Bad driver claims as zip lane rules confuse city

If you ever need proof that Cairns drivers are a special bunch, just head down to zip lane and watch the merging mess unfold.

DRIVER education campaigns are likely to be rolled out again after Cairns Regional Council came to the stark realisation that zip lanes have bamboozled the city.

The new style of merging lane was introduced across the city in July last year with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) labelling them a “safer and more efficient” method of merging during medium to heavy traffic.

In theory, that is true.

In Cairns, it is anything but.

Division 6 councillor Kristy Vallely has queried council officers about whether driver training efforts had worked.

“I’m wondering how that went – do we feel there was a change in the way people merged?” she asked.

Zip lanes are causing headaches for Cairns drivers. PHOTO: Andreas Nicola

“Because I feel like there are still a lot of people … that feel like they’re doing the patient thing of lining up in one row instead of merging properly.

“I was just wondering if there was some room for more communication and more training around that.”

Infrastructure services acting general manager Gary Everson agreed more driver education might be required.

“One of the issues that any regional city has is that you get new traffic control measures that people just haven’t traditionally been used to,” he said.

“There is a period of time to come to terms.

“I often have people that come here from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane that have to do high-speed merging with regularity, and they become really good at it.

“They come to Cairns and they go, ‘Wow’.

FILE PHOTO: Motorists merge into one lane.

“We are, as a community, learning to use those types of transitions better but it will take some time.”

The rules are fairly straightforward,

“Drivers simply follow a lane until it ends and then merge to the other lane in turns, like a zip, giving way to any vehicles in front of them,” TMR North Queensland regional director Sanjay Ram explained when the new lanes were launched.

“Zip merging can create shorter traffic queues, prevent lane blocking and provide a more consistent speed and safer road environment.”

Drivers should not be coming to a dead stop to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.

“I do have a few on my route home, which I notice some people are getting better at, some people are still struggling and wanting to do the polite thing and hold back,” Mr Everson said.

“It sort of negates the benefit.”

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Originally published as Cairns: Bad driver claims as zip lane rules confuse city