Cutting (in Line) - Other Forms of Cutting

Other Forms of Cutting

Some consider leaving a line and returning to the same point later a form of cutting. An example might be a person waiting in line for an amusement park ride who realizes that he or she would like to leave behind an item (such as a coat or beverage) with someone else. Should the person leave the line, relieve himself of such an item, and return to his place, some might consider the act cutting (even if it were known that the person was in the line previously).

Another action typically considered "cutting" is very common in areas with formally established queueing areas (such as amusement parks): when the line area is nearly empty, some guests will still walk through the series of steel railings to proceed to the end of the line, while others will slip under or step over the railings rather than walk through the entire network. If a person is not bypassing the rails, but rather is walking through the path to the line, and another person does bypass them (and, in doing so, reach the line before the other), it is sometimes considered cutting even though it did not actually take place in the line itself.

Cutting is also present on roadways, especially restricted access highways, where traffic queues build up at merge locations. Drivers who bypass traffic by waiting until the last possible moment before merging are sometimes considered to be "cutters," and are frequent instigators of road rage. This behavior is not usually illegal in the US, unless the driver crosses a solid white line or uses dangerous merging techniques. In Germany, using the merging lane until the last moment is required by law.