Alison MacG Apr 24, 2018:

(cont) Zipper merging
All merging of traffic movements in Norway is done as zipper merging
Lane drop from 2 to 1 lane
Entry to a main road with acceleration lane
Other merging situations
The lanes have equal rights; 50/50 priority
The merging should be made within a certain area
https://www.vegvesen.no/_attachment/2047131/binary/1214449?f...

There is much more rigid sticking to the rules here (the extreme adherence to the merging in-turn "zipper" approach so much so that sometimes several KMs of lanespace is wasted as everyone gets in line)
https://www.thelocal.se/discuss/index.php?s=233fad5b6f739b19...

Blixtlåsprincipen
Blixtlåsprincipen, även kallad kugghjulsprincipen, ska tillämpas när det är tät trafik och två körfält eller två körbanor går samman till en körbana eller ett körfält. Blixtlåsprincipen innebär att varannan bil kör och det är ett ömsesidigt samspel som gäller.
http://www.korkortskolan.se/korkortsteori/ordlista/blixtlasp...

Related German to English question
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/other/179867-re...

Alison MacG Apr 24, 2018:

Agree with Chris S's comments Here is what the Highway Code has to say.
Lane discipline - Rule 134
… Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when vehicles are travelling at a very low speed, e.g. when approaching road works or a road traffic incident. It is not recommended at high speed.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/general-rules-t...

Other options might be alternating merge or one-for-one approach. Zip merge is used in the US and Australia, but is probably not widely understood in the UK.

Merging has long been considered an issue for many road users. Motorists exercising their right of way and not allowing vehicles to merge across in a traditional ‘give- way’ merge has influenced road authorities to adapt. This has lead to the development of the zip merge system. A zip merge does not contain linemarking to separate vehicles throughout the merge and gives no priority to either vehicle. Instead, a ‘one-for-one’ approach is adopted, where motorists are encouraged to allow one vehicle in the adjacent lane to merge in front of them.
https://eprints.usq.edu.au/27307/1/Franks_2014.pdf

Christopher Schröder Apr 23, 2018:

In the U.K. traffic already on the main road has right of way over joining traffic from the slip road but the expectation is that both will use common sense and flow together. I don’t think we have a term for this, but when lanes are closed on a motorway we say “merge in turn” which maybe you could use here.