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A Hack To Prevent Traffic Jams!
amasci.com — This amateur scientist has devised a way to singlehandely reduce traffic jams during your commute. It is golden advice for dealing with holiday traffic.
phogasmic- 3023 diggs
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- niner9, on 10/12/2007, -2/+121I've done this technique many times. Seems to work, but usually get the one finger salute as the guy behind me rips into the other lane and flys by me.
- ihsubandos, on 10/12/2007, -5/+59Also being doing this for a while, and as niner9 says, there's always someone who cuts into the gap
- curios, on 10/12/2007, -4/+70yeh, in my experience people overtake and fill in the gap, often with beeping and hostility.
They're obviously too stupid to understand what you are doing. - djlosch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+38agreed - drive like this in miami and you will be cut off so many times, you'll be putting yourself in conditions for accidents
- Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -12/+96Wait.. so the author is implying that by not competing, and sharing road resources, that everyone benefits?
Didn't we see this fail in Russia? =D - ratbastid, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Part of his strategy is to ENCOURAGE other cars to merge in front of you. Closed-up traffic that prevents smooth merging is one major cause of traffic jams. He asserts that keeping a several-car-length space in front of you and encouraging drivers to freely merge into that space speeds up average speed for all drivers. AND it doesn't take everybody doing it for it to work--even one or a few cars can make a serious dent in traffic slowdowns.
- catmistake, on 10/12/2007, -3/+32I've tried this all over, DC Beltway, Austin MOPAC, LA 101, and even though it really would pretty much eliminate traffic if everyone attempted to do this, the DMV must teach people to ride bumpers in traffic, and abhore the space between vehicles and eliminate it by speeding up to a parked bumber, because that's the way everyone else drives.
Try this experiment... one morning, when you go to work, take your time on every driving decision, slow accelleration to save gas, stick to but don't go over the speed limit... take your time and don't rush, but time how long it takes from your driveway to your parking spot. Then the next day, burn all the stops to work, timing yourself. You'll see that the times are so close that you may never want to rush again. To guess, an average 20 min commute you can shave off just a min or 2 by rushing, and only lose a couple minutes by taking your time. The shorter the commute, the closer the times. I guess if you've got a 2 hour commute, you just have to speed though. - Turbo3G, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9What's funny about the guy behind you getting ***** and jerking aroumnd you is he runs right into the back of the wave in front of you and just looks like a moron playing the stop and go game again. I do use this this technique to keep a lane moving continuously, albeit slowly at times.
- MacsBaine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27As long as you're doing this in the right lane you shouldn't be getting the finger.
- zapfastnet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7i agree with niner9
this theory seems to be applicable only to roads with a single lane of traffic.
I agree with the theory and try to practice it myself
but the large amount of people zipping around me
and then braking seems to frustrate the effort.
I believe if a critical mass of drivers would adopt this behavior
then this may begin to work on multi lane roads.
I conjecture that this number might be as low as 5 to 10% of drivers.
Of course traffic flow on multilane roads would improve dramatically
if drivers would follow the road's design concept of
"slower traffic keep right" & "pass on the left"
(~):-} - 574lk3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18ive been doing this for years in the uk too,
i thought we were supposed to.
plus it makes a fun, if a little sad, game. - bobbknight, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4Or all the ***** behind you will blow their horns and zoom past you with the ***** you finger in the up right position.
LOL
Lame for the total lack of understanding of the man in traffic. - panique, on 10/12/2007, -20/+9You guys are getting the finger, etc. because people like me realize that you are deliberately decreasing the number of cars per minute that the road can handle, which, by the way, is the ONLY way to mitigate a traffic jam. While it may reduce your frustration and wear-and-tear on your brakes, people who create the gaps are actually attempting to cause EVERYONE to waste more of their time on the freeway.
PS please keep it up though. I enjoy the time I save by surfing the gaps, oh, and you won't be getting the finger from me. I gain about 10-20 seconds per gap, so it only takes a few to save a couple of minutes per trip. - blflm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19HINT: make sure you do this right by a semi, they normally use this technique and you can force another lane to do it as well :)
- afx1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6We'll see how well this works on the 405N tomorrow at 7:30AM with the never ending construction going on.
- WhiteTeeRash, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9Please, more people start doing this.
I love those gaps that allow me to pass that self-appointed cop driving 60 or less in the fast lane. - VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Unfortunately, in L.A. if the gap is a mere single-car-length, you can be assured that someone is going to take it. I hate it... every time I try to drive with a safe distance between me and the car in front of me, some asshole takes that as an invitation to squeeze in.
- osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@Mootabolife - I'm as big a capitalist as the next guy, but communism is needed on the road. I have actually always said this to people in conversation, communism is great for traffic!
- rholloway, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0ha, try doing this on the highways around NYC. You make a car length gap, it's going to be taken--instantly. You try this in New York and the only lane that gets traffic alleviation is the one immediately next to you. Your lane will fall a dozen cars behind every 60 seconds, ergo, doubling your commute time.
If everyone cooperates, it theoretically works. However, because no one cooperates, you're only creating a bigger traffic problem. - rbanffy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's a fact of life that just about half the people are dumber than the population average. You shouldn't be too disappointed.
- splatnik, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4article should be: "How to convert traffic waves into a single focused hatred of you"
I agree that it's a good idea in principle but nobody likes the asshole in front of them who leaves a huge space that's continuously being filled by other cars. - borderinsanity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Traffic jams happen not because there are too many cars; but because there aren't enough holes.
- Aeiri, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I always drive like this, and indeed, everyone always passes me then slams on their brakes in front of me... it's quite annoying.
But even more annoying was this time on the highway. I was driving with my dad stuck in construction lines for miles. A semi pushed himself in the middle of the road, and didn't finish the lane change. We were thinking "what an idiot", until we saw a sign saying the traffic was merging to one lane up ahead.
About 5 cars out of 30 seemed to see the sign, despite the incredibly low speed (mostly stopped) of the traffic. The first 5 cars were attempting to stagger their cars in one lane to prevent people from passing. The traffic was going a steady speed, never stopping in this one lane.
But what happened? A truck moved by half in the shoulder, half in the grass, to get by us. After that, everyone wanted to get into this new lane, and then the traffic was in disarray for even longer than it should have been. - BassJunkie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I used to have to travel around in London alot so I'm quite used to sitting in traffic jams! I found at least one way to cut down on the traffic I experienced and that was to change what time I leave my house! One one regular journey I could leave at 8:00 and get to my destination around 9:00 but if I left 1/2 hour later I'd only arrive around 15-20 minutes earlier just because I missed the bulk of the traffic, and I also got better fuel economy as I wasn't stop-start all the time!
The other way I found to pretty much avoid traffic regardless of when I leave is to use my bicycle! The hour long journey in the morning would be easily reduced to 30 minutes on my bike! Unfortunately due to an accident 2 1/2 months ago I've been forced to use public transport now (a hand injury that stopped me using my bike and my car!!!)
Whilst I understand what this guy is trying to do it won't really work unless everyone does keep a safe gap, I've been on the motorways and seen people cutting in and out of lanes, or jumping into small gaps and u'll always find that they never really travel much faster then you if you just stay in your lane and drive sensibly!
- gdelia928, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19yea ive done this myself its alot less stressful than the stop and go, but you do tend to get alot of flack from the people behind you and thosein other lanes jump into yours.
- MicroBerto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11The thing is that you can only control traffic that is BEHIND you... and that's why nobody cares to do it.
However, your comment is the reason why you still should -- it's a lot less stressful. I play games with myself to see how long I can go without braking. But I don't get so extreme that there's loads of space ahead of me. - garreh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I see it as every second I'm on the brake pedal, I lose £1. It's probably true to some extent, you do lose money every time you hit that pedal. It's better to slow down by this mysterious phenomenon known as friction. And as far as I know, that's free.
And I'd also like to comment on those dickheads that say "omg I left a two car gap in front of me, and some jerk invited himself into it" - well I think YOUR the jerk. I hate those dickheads who think they own the road, and don't give way to anyone. I especially hate it when merging onto the dual carriageway, and it's stressful enough without having "I'm not letting him get one car ahead of me" arrogant attitude.
I always flash people and let them know "I see you and I'm letting you out" - Especially in heavy traffic where I just know that the tailgater touching my back bumper wouldn't let the thought pass them for a split second.
peace out :)
- MicroBerto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11The thing is that you can only control traffic that is BEHIND you... and that's why nobody cares to do it.
- GerryDaman, on 10/12/2007, -5/+150The best feeling is pulling up to a red light next to the idiot who just sped by you 5 minutes ago.
- arizonagroove, on 10/12/2007, -3/+48Even better is when you cruise past the idiot as they are waiting for the stationary queue they joined to move off whilst you arrived at the lights just as they've turned green so unlike them, you didn't stop.
- lazyplayboy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20Conversely: "Even better is when you overtake someone who is going unnecessarily slowly, you go through the lights just before they go red and the guy you overtook has to stop...".
Swings and roundabouts. Sometimes overtaking doesn't get you there quicker, sometimes it does. On average thought, you get to your destination quicker. So long as you're safe. - geeksgirl, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Yes. I always enjoy watching the guy in the expensive/"cool"/modified/status symbol car weaving in & out of gaps, cutting people off, just to get a couple of seconds ahead of me-at the same red light. Congratulations, you beat us all to the -RED LIGHT. I watch those cars to see what happens and they never really get that much ahead.
P.S. I actually have a little roadster that handles great and is fun to drive. But, I don't have to drive like an idiot to enjoy it. - w0mbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"as long as you're safe"
Good point. Hearses are SLOW. - RomeyRome, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"The best feeling is pulling up to a red light next to the idiot who just sped by you 5 minutes ago."
It's not always about getting there faster. Sometimes you just gotta let a bitch know that he's driving like a lil bitch. - DarthFredd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you drive like me, you are that idiot that passes people and ends up next to them at red lights. However, I continue to pass in this idiotic manner, because 50% of the time I'll hit a light as it turns orange, meaning I won't have to wait for that particular light.
But where I drive it's a light every mile or so, and not heavy city traffic.
- dattaway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+57My grandmother was a seasoned expert at this. You could often see her vehicle on the live footage from the local television helicopters covering the mass traffic jams on I-5.
- MasterDirk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+54Do what I do - wear a hat when driving.
For some reason, people assume that you're somehow strange when you're driving with a hat, and excuse this kind of driving. So they benefit, and they don't flip me off (as much).- Easty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33What kind of hat?
I think a rather fetching bowler hat would do nicely. - kokorhekkus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@ Easty
I think a really rumpled Panama hat should get the message across. - comradeTJH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29most probably a police hat.
- enhF94, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"The minute you get behind a Hat," Uncle Parker would say, "you know you're finished. Doesn't matter whether it's a man or a woman. And a Flat Cap -- you get behind a Flat Cap and you might as well reverse back to where you started and try an alternate route."
- ChillyWilly5280, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The old man winter hat, with the ear flaps up.
- Easty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33What kind of hat?
- SIDSI, on 10/12/2007, -6/+51This isn't a hack you're supposed to drive at a even pace.
- Rigbymatt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23yes but this is digg
any article relating to the changing of an object or system from the norm, including anything outside of the computer realm, is referred to as a Hack or Mod
- Rigbymatt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23yes but this is digg
- nogami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Likewise, I've known about this for technique for years and have tried to do it myself on-occasion, but it's a fine line between doing some good and getting the people behind you angry. Whenever a large gap opens up, someone inevitably merges to fill it.
- xidica, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8If only they could teach this to all the drivers in Dallas...
- drgruney, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah... the author didn't account for the ridiculous amount of construction in D/FW. It's fine and dandy to use his high speed merging method, but several lane mergers destroy the space between cars.
- ronintetsuro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hear hear!
I'm in Ft Worth and no where else are the fast lanes both the left AND right most lanes. You gotta get in the middle if you want to drive sane. What crap.
- Hugh-Jass, on 10/12/2007, -4/+40I live in Seattle - you could get shot for this.
- Barryke, on 10/12/2007, -7/+17only in the usa.
- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I doubt it. Everyone in Seattle is against gun ownership.
- CamperBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4WTF? Seattle's the only city in the US where it actually doesn't get you flipped off. Drivers here have maple syrup in their veins.
- kevin.gc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The only flaw that I see with this technique is when you allow a long line of people to merge in front of you, which makes you stop and initiates a huge traffic wave starting with you.
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5As it often is, most nice things are negated by the jerks around you.
- jediboytj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19this is something they really need to teach in drivers ed.
I use this technique a lot in rush hour traffic, but not so much for 'eliminating' traffic waves behind me, but because i hate constantly hitting my brakes, so i just move at a pace where i can just pretty much drift my way forward without ever touching my brakes.
you see semi's do this all the time too.- Rigbymatt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7regular licenses dont really require much effort to get. I read the handbook once, slept through drivers ed, perfect score on my test.
My dad took the CDL this year, spent hours studying, hes a great driver, failed it 3 times.
Semis doing this makes sense, they know the road. - Nathan07, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I do it because I hate holding my clutch in... AND hitting my brakes.
- Rigbymatt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7regular licenses dont really require much effort to get. I read the handbook once, slept through drivers ed, perfect score on my test.
- marcool, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Sh*t... I thought that guy was about to tell the world how to make sure nobody's going to try and overtake you when doing this... Of course the average driver knows about that !! The problem is the below-average drivers...
- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6"The problem is the below-average drivers..."
by definition, thats half the cars on the road - aposter, on 10/12/2007, -2/+199+99+99+1=298/4=74
So, exactly half are below average says you. I must have missed that day in math class.
- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6"The problem is the below-average drivers..."
- JavertHolmes, on 10/12/2007, -15/+7How to eliminate bad drivers from the road:
1) Have posts that can pop out of the ground without notice on the highway that pop up at random behind your car whenever someone is tailgating you. If their reaction time is as good as they think it is, they'll brake in time, survive, and continue driving.
2) Equip all four-way lighted intersections with rocket launchers to fire at cars that run red lights.
3) Equip the shoulder with spikes that pop up on all highways experiencing a traffic jam.
4) Employ overhead sensors in highway lighting to detect people weaving through traffic. Install pop-up railing system to slowly merge the driver with the right edge of the highway and eventually off of it/into the guard rail.
5) Install EMP grenade launching systems that detect moving cars with cell phone users.
I think that about covers it.- forcedfx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6I was right there with you until #5. That could hurt someone else when thier car stalls.
- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8How about this.
Everybody gets a dart gun. It fires darts that have little flags with the word 'stupid' on them.
If you get too many stupid flags, the cops give you a 'stupid' ticket.
- lemonsensation, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4Everybody missed the main point. This does not necessarily work if you are one car and there's multiple lanes as people would just cut in front of you.
He proposes that multiple cars all line up to block all lanes of the road and force all traffic to slow down called the rolling barrier. He suggests somebody like the State Troopers to do it. - forcedfx, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13I've tried doing this and have had limited success. A gap larger than 1 car length gets filled rather quickly in NJ by some guido coming down from NY to pollute our beaches..
- digitalsin, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1I find its the snobs from westchester that cause all the problems on the roads AND at the beaches
- monticello, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10People from Westchester don't go to Jersey
- AlfaWolph, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11This really isn't anything new. Traffic researchers have written about the wave effect phenomenom since the eighties.
As for myself, I try to smooth out the wave when it's effective: during light traffic or on a single lane street. I don't like to stop and brake and prefer to cruise on through.. But more often than not, however, it's a busy street with multiple lanes where people race around you to get to see who can get to the red light first. Which, of course, this clogs the whole system up all over again. Sometimes I wanna say to these people, "Congratulations, you win!! ..a trip to the brake shop sooner!"
Also, in some municipalities here, traffic engineers have timed the street lights on the main arteries to never go red if you drive the speed limit. The same amateur racers screw up those well engineered attempts for everyone, too.
This is a good article describing how to hack this phenomenom, but it will really only work if more people would be willing to apply it.- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2in downtown Jax, FL they have the traffic lights timed so that you have to drive 10mph above the limit to get them all green.
If everybody speeds, then nobody has to stop. If the city needs more revenue....
- willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2in downtown Jax, FL they have the traffic lights timed so that you have to drive 10mph above the limit to get them all green.
- jefree, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5People will fill the gap, especially since the slow highway drivers often use the center lane and not the right lane where they belong. I find it's easier to drive in the right lane and allow merging traffic to enter when necessary rather than drive in the fast Lane to try and pass.
Ultimately your goal when driving should be to keep as even and steady a speed as possible. If you have to use your brake on the highway then you are driving to fast. You should be able to control your speed by thinking ahead and adjusting the gas pedal. - growlzor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Ha ha I would love to see someone try this in southern california. The traffic is so tight and slow you'd have to sit still in traffic for 5 minutes in order to create somewhat of a gap and by that time 10 other cars would have taken your place.
- PrometheuZ, on 10/12/2007, -8/+8Everyone would have to follow this strategy for it to be properly effective...one word comes to mind...'Pipedream'!...especially in Los Angeles, where just about everyone is a self-centered narcissistic road-warrior psycho-maniacal vehicle-flamer ...myself included!
- foolonthehill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8No they don't. The point is made in several places throughout TFA. In one lane traffic you only need *one* driver to do it. On roads with more than one lane, you only need a small proportion of drivers doing it to make a difference.
- PrometheuZ, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3Are you taking me seriously?? LOL I didn't even bother to read most of the seemingly endless article, it's too long and I'm too dizzy to be legit. ...But ok, whatever you say ;) Let's put it this way...do you think this will make any measurable difference, most especially in Los Angeles? I don't think so...it's never going to happen. So keep smoking the herb. :)
- mcduckov, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What you would need, at least in NY, is to have designated trained drivers doing this and cooperation from pretty much everyone. It doesn't work so well when nearly every driver on the road would kill their own mother to gain 3 seconds in traffic.
- foolonthehill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20I remember when I first had this concept introduced to me, applied to a queue of people rather than cars. I was with my dad at the NEC, queuing for some big exhibition (a Tomorrow's World one, I think). The queue itself was huge because we got there before opening time, and it extended around the entire perimeter of a neighbouring, unused, exhibition hall. This meant the entire queue was in view and you could actally see all the waves. Then my dad started walking slower and explaned to me what he was doing, and 'lo and behold I could see that we we smoothing out the waves for all of the people behind us. funnily enough I remember this better than anything in the exhibition we were going to...
- andburn1, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21It's not a "hack." Try not to let your geek show too much.
- Hazardc, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3If you want everyone to go the same speed as you, take a farkin train.
Anyone who thinks they are going to get all traffic to move the same speed as them is delusional and more of a self centered prick than the people they are bitching about.- ApeInago, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5No, you see, if everyone was moving the same speed, the average speed would be higher.
When encoutering waves, the time it takes to decelerate to stop/slowdown, and the time it takes to accelerate/speed back up, is wasted time thta could could be going at a marginally slower speed...
- ApeInago, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5No, you see, if everyone was moving the same speed, the average speed would be higher.
- fishdan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17this strategy should only be performed in the right most lane. The left lane is not for driving, it's for passing. A much simpler technique would be to follow the rule: "You can only be in the left lane unless there is no one behind you. If there is another car within 5 car lengths and approaching, you are obligated to move into the right lane to let this car pass."
Following this simple rule would alleviate almost ALL traffic problems. Nothing is worse than 2 cars driving the same speed adjacent to each other, with a line of cars behind them. Or the jerk driving 60 in the left lane, when the speed limit is 55, who refuses to get over.
If people are passing you on the right, you are part of the problem. PLEASE DON'T DRIVE in the left lane.- Hazardc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12iit even ***** me off when i have to pass people in the right lane because they dont move out of the left lane ...ever.
Then they wonder why people are honking at them, apparently never seeing the big signs in most states that says "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT" - foolonthehill, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7You're completely correct. So many people don't seem to realise that the outside lanes are for overtaking, and that you should pull back in if you're not actually passing traffic. I was never taught this as a learner, and it wasn't made a big deal of in the theory test book I had. It should be drilled in to all learner drivers IMO. It's a tricky thing to evaulate, but when people have tried to evaluate it, the amount of capacity wasted by people with poor lane discipline is quite shocking:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3586474.stm - schnoggi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1if people are passing you in the right lane, and you don't pass them later when they have their nose in someone's bumper, then traffic must be flowing. This isn't about that scenario. You can have start-stop waves in the passing lane too. So easy to toss those shoulds around when you aren't paying attention...
- egrumling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This is known as "lane discipline," and failing to yield the passing lane on the Autobahns will get you a ticket* (so will tailgating). This this the one thing that can greatly improve driving in the US on normally loaded highways. The only time it breaks down is when everyone is trying to get around a long string of slow movers. An example: for some unknown reason, the state of Ohio has 2 speed limits - 55 for trucks and 65 for cars. On a typical 4 lane interstate, all the truck traffic is stuck in the right lane and all the cars are in the left. It only takes one nervous driver to back up all the traffic. I couldn't wait to get through there the last time I was driving I-70. I think the entire state was a traffic jam. Everyone was tailgating and riding the brakes.
*lane discipline and tailgating are also illegal in the US, but because it would be so hard to prove (the autobahns have automated cameras and traffic control personnel all over, along with fewer lawyers), that I doubt it has ever been enforced. - catmistake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0just realized this is working Newton's Third Law of Motion, or, as they know it in the East, Karma, or, as we know it in the West, The Golden Rule.
But I think this guy is giving truckers too much credit. Yes, they are experts... at serving themselves. The reason truckers drive the way they do has little to do with desire to affect traffic; its to save their gas. If you drive a lot, esp. in hilly, topographical settings, you will come across this scenario (3 cars only): You are driving normally, maybe a little over the speed limit on a nice expanse of highway, no one is behind you for miles, but are rapidly approaching a truck going slower in the right lane, who is behind another car... so you switch to the passing lane to pass both with plenty of space so the trucker sees that you are now no longer behind him, but are rapidly overtaking him... but the trucker is approaching the bottom of a hill to climb, or is already climbing that hill but close to the bottom, so his speed increases to compensate... just as you are about to pass him (which would take 3-5 seconds by the time you reach the truck), because his pace car in front is now not moving fast enough (even though maintaining the same speed), rather than tapping his breaks for 10 seconds (max), the trucker switches lanes JUST as you are about to pass... and you have to hit the breaks and wait 5 minutes to 20 minutes while the truck negotiates passing and moving back into the right lane. Yes, they know what they are doing, and they'd be doing it whether there was a car trying to pass or not. Yeah, it makes sense, they're optimizing their fuel economy... its just that they do it at the expense of courtesy, which promotes road rage. If there are only 3 damn cars, that trucker could have waited the 3-10 seconds it would take to let a faster moving car pass before switching lanes without devistating his gas milage, but they never do... they always opt to destroy the passing car's milage rather than take a minor hit themselves.
Sure, a lot of truckers are good at what they do, a credit to courteous drivers everywhere... but not all of them.
Once, on a long trip, I had enough... this is really stupid but... every truck that did this to me, after I was able to pass, I moved ahead a few miles and waited behind a slower car in the right lane. When the bastard that cut me off approached, just at the critical moment of passing, I pull into the right lane and passed as a truck passes (i.e. slowly). Every trucker did the same thing: engine break right up my ass (so... maybe they don't care as much about fuel as I thought). And I'm sure they got really ***** off (I been there, pal). Its not nice is it? Of course, road rage is the worst way to teach someone a lesson. However, truckers have breaks and should use them rather than cutting people off to save gas. - willcode4beer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You are right but, the article was written by a guy in the Seattle area. There, the hiway is backwards. Slow cars drive in the left lane, and the fast ones are in the right.
before you ask, yes its dangerous, not a day goes by that there aren't multiple accidents on the I-5. - satanatnmtedu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Multiple states have different speed limits for trucks and cars (Arkansas, California, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States - jpohl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is the default on Europe's highways, and it works very well. Semi's are restricted to the right lane, middle lane does the work and the left lane is for passing. I never traveled so fast for so long without touching the brakes..
- Hazardc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12iit even ***** me off when i have to pass people in the right lane because they dont move out of the left lane ...ever.
- turbotron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9It's an interesting article, but the average driver couldn't care less about clearing up traffic for people behind him, he just wants to get through the traffic as fast as possible for himself. Altruism and highways will never really mix. Maybe unmarked cop cars could be conscripted to do this job instead of going on donut runs?
- ApeInago, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1but in this case, being altruistic is in the best interest for you... it can speed you up by not having to waste time slowing down.
- betona, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's called maturity and courtesy while driving. While I have the car and the racing training that can leave most of them behind with considerable ease, I keep it very tame in traffic and never tailgate. With a painted bumper, tailgating just leads to rock chips in the nose of your car anyway. And you can always count on me to give you the room you need to merge over.
Still, it seems a little ostentatious for the author to think that he can single-handedly de-clutter an entire traffic jam. - bromine, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0How would this make you get were your going any faster?
If you slow down to wait for the situation ahead to clear up, instead of waiting in traffic your just arriving there slower. Same amount of time spent. - SpeedingSkills, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2"A hack to prevent traffic Jams"??? What hack? Hate to be over critical but, the sensationalism of the title is misleading.
"singlehandely reduce traffic jams"??? After reading, and even after doing what described in the article, the traffic jam will still be there.
If you want to reduce traffic jams, drive to work an hour or two earlier, or an hour or two later. And if you want to reduce it even further, get a night job, or work from home!
Saving the components in your car by accounting for traffic in front is what everyone is supposed to be doing while driving to begin with. There's no point in trying to change the oil filter of the car in front by entering the engine bay through the tail pipe, as it doesn't even lead to the oil filter anyway!
Nothing new was brought to the table, and the over-delivering title is ridiculous and irrelevant in resolving a traffic jam.
It's like saying "He was really lucky when his house collapsed."
If he was really lucky, then the house wouldn't even collapse, don't you think? - sdo1, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I tend to find that the opposite is true, at least on my commute (mostly a 4-lane divided road with lots of traffic lights and some hills). The biggest cause of traffic, IMO, is people NOT keeping up with the car in front of them... especially when approaching lights at the top of a hill. If people would STEP ON THE GAS and get going, a lot more people would make it through the lights on each cycle, but instead traffic just keeps backing up and backing up because of people who refuse to get going and keep up with those in front when the light changes.
- adamk0310, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This article was referring to traffic jams on interstates... i.e. roads with no traffic lights.
- Archeologist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"Just one single "lubricant atom" had a profound effect on the turbulent particle flow within the entire miles of "tube.""
Maybe he can even find a way to lubricate the tubes of the internets.- WaterDragon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Maybe we all need to go back to 28.8 dialup!
- Christia, on 10/12/2007, -5/+928 comments, all of them probably by Kyoto inimical Americans, as they all fail to mention the huge environmental benefit this sort of driving has.
This kind of traffic behaviour should be taught in driving schools all over the world.- schnoggi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1ABSOLUTELY this should be taught as part of normal driver training. How many times on an otherwise-clear highway do you go 70mph for a mile, then grind to a complete halt, then when you get through it it's back to 70, and so on. At least at night you can see the stopped traffic ahead easier and slow down accordingly. And yeah, doing this, you aren't going to get where you're going any faster, but maybe it's just the OCD/artist guy in me that's offended by the stupidity of this and wants to impose my ego on it and make it go away. so what, just sitting in traffic, may as well do something useful with my time.
- diggless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5most Americans dont even know what Kyoto is, its our government and corporations that are against it.
dont confuse the actions of the nation with the will of the people .... uh hmm well this is where we are in our society.
i for one would love to see kyoto, establishing a real cost for environmental damage should be top priority as we are the worst offenders per capita in the world. - ejm508, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1all the companies would just relocate to third world countries where the restrictions wouldn't apply if that happened, and then we'd have the same problems
- analgesia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12In Holland the traffic authorities uses this method. They call it 'blokrijden' (or freely translated 'block-driving').
When traffic jams are about to happen a roadinspector drives in the middle of the road and sets the pace. This prevents unnecessary accelerating and breaking. When the flow of traffic is normal again he leaves the road.
dutch link:
http://www.regering.nl/actueel/nieuwsarchief/2005/07July/14/blokrijden.jsp - Eoxx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One element inside the group can influence (in a good or bad way) the whole traffic that follows him. Less Stress, less fuel used, less pollution, less time to make the same distance ...
It means that if you care of people behind you ,then this is a good thing for the community and for you (if other do like you)...
If I dared I would say we could generalize this theory in the whole life
Being nice, helping others, caring about others is good for the whole community including you at the end. Create "waves" only if it is necessary - to make opinion change in the good way or to make people "move" - to help them not being stuck in their life...
Being aggressive thinking of you as the only people that counts, treating other people like sh.. is bad for everyone including you ... This " wave" will come back to you in the face with more power ... - Trigrhapy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6A hack, haha. Does everything that has to deal with the "non norm" have to be called a hack.
- WaterDragon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I liked your hack of the comments section!
- RpgActioN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Of course it does, it's digg.
- WaterDragon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4There is only one way to preserve the gap in front of you, without cars filling it up immediately.
You need lasers, projected out the front of your car. - smoothmedia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Throw one hundred $20 bills in the air, and let a mob of 100 people fight for them. This is the kind of behaviour that occurs in a traffic jam.
- synned, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0You'll never shutdown the real NAPSTER.
- arizonagroove, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6There's a motorway here in England called the M25 where they reduce the speed limits during heavy traffic based on the theory that it keeps the traffic flowing at a steady pace rather than grinding to a halt in certain areas.
- lazyplayboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And in the main, it works...
- DijonWolfie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The M42 (M5 to M6 linkway which runs past the NEC & Birmingham airport) has a traffic management system that includes adding extra lanes etc depending on the traffic. Also speeds are monitored and adjusted in real-time and since it's been introduced I haven't stopped on my commute once! This is an old old old theory and I think was first used on Buses on oxford street 60+ years ago!
- gdm9000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Oh, I thought that this article was a reference to this awesome hack to prevent people from speeding (note - NSFW):
http://www.speedbandits.dk/- gdm9000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Holy crap, I thought for sure a relevant comment on Digg that references a VIDEO OF BOUNCING BREASTS would get dugg up...
- miaow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the authorities know this works. i think the london orbital road reduce the speed limit at peak times. its much less stressful and saves on gas too.
- BlackLineFish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22I have an idea about hacking traffic. We need to implement a traffic system using Digg technology. Someone does something dangerous and stupid and you Digg them down. Someone else lets you merge, Digg them up. Wireless technology and a few buttons ought to do it - and their score is displayed on the car. It should not transfer with the driver, either - but stay with the car. Imagine hearing "no way are you borrowing my truck, I saw the score on your Honda!" Also, when a Trooper ends up behind someone with a -300 score, they won't cut them any slack for weaving or something.
The psychology of approval forces people to cooperate. Only sociopaths wouldn't work for approval. The industrial psychology aspect of driving and traffic has always amazed me. For the most part, I think it is because people do not feel very accountable for their actions in the anonymity of driving.
--gh- ChillyWilly5280, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I like the idea, but people would get dugg down (or up) based on their bumper stickers, appearance (girls driving topless would always have a positive rating regardless of their driving habits), etc...
- rickypc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9oops sorry i hit u on the road...i was busy digging
- Greenfday6, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2I am one of the people that will fill the gap no matter what. So you all just keep doing ths, then i know there is always a gap in front of the lead car. Thanks.
- UtopianComplex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2... It doesn't matter if you do that because the problem with shifting lanes is that it forces people to slow down, but if there are more uniform gaps which will naturally occur if a few cars adopt slowing down early. Don't get me wrong... you are still a jerk... but you are not working against the efficiency of this as much as you think
- ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3wow, what a nasty hack
or is it driving, i can't tell due to ridiculous terminology. - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Here's a problem with this guy's logic. While he's absolutely right, if everyone behaved more sanely on the highways, everyone would get to their destinations more quickly and more safely, it's not about "everyone." It's about "me."
From TFA FAQ:
"If I try to become the "vengance police" and punish the cheaters who zoom ahead, then I close up ranks and stop all merges. Closed ranks create traffic jams. "Cheaters" don't trigger traffic jams, it's the people who try to punish the cheaters who do it."
Great, then if everyone follows his rules, it becomes more advantageous for *me* to be a cheater. I will get to my destination more quickly if I speed ahead than if I do not.
He's proposing highway altruism, but forgetting to realize something. When I go more slowly, allowing other traffic to merge in front of me, I am sacrificing my own drive time for the sake of others. When *other people* go more slowly, allowing other traffic to merge in front of *them,* I arrive at my destination more quickly. Therefore, there is no incentive for me to employ these tactics myself, and every incentive to get other people to employ them.- w0mbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually, I think the individual loss from this tactic is much less than you suggest.
However, it is a form of the Prisoner's Dilemma.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma
Also driving at a steady speed is cheaper for you in terms of fuel consumption and wear and tear. - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sure it's cheaper as far as fuel and maintenance is concerned, but for the most part, people do not think about such things while en route. The aim is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible.
Anyway, I follow these rules most of the time, not because I know it'll pacify traffic jams (I was already aware of that) - but because it's less irritating to me to drive steadily than to race forward and slam on brakes.
- w0mbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Actually, I think the individual loss from this tactic is much less than you suggest.
- PhillyMJS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Hah! I don't know how people drive in Seattle, but I can tell you that his little plan wouldn't work here in Philly on most of the major roads during daylight or the evening rush hour... if you leave a space barely larger than a car length between the car in front of you for more than about 10 seconds, some asshole will dive right in there.
~Philly- sumgi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That's the whole point
- pauljaroszewski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2haha, thats a hilarious comment. that is the sort of thinking which causes traffic jams in the first place.
- PhillyMJS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@pauljaroszewski
Dude, I try to leave buffer space between me and the car in front of me, but it's not possible the way most people drive around here. If I keep slowing down to recreate some buffer space after some asswipe jumps in front of me, I'm just inviting yet another asswipe to jump into the lane between me and the previous asswipe. I got rear-ended once on I-95 when a jackass in a pickup took the buffer space of the guy behind me, and someone else cut into the lane further ahead at the same moment and forced everyone behind him to panic-stop. I stopped safely, then looked into my rearview mirror and saw nothing but sill-advancing Ford grill. Boom.
I don't know how aggressive drivers are in Seattle, but this guy's technique sure ain't working in Philadelphia, Jersey, the NYC metro area or Boston. People in Boston are the craziest friggin' drivers I've personally seen, those mofos drive like they're playing GTA for real.
~Philly - ApeInago, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@phillymj5
the point is not to slow down to create buffer space while you are aldreayd in the jam... he talks about this in the faq i think
- Barryke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Seriously, am i the first one that says this???
Holding a steady pace is part of normal driving! DOH!!!
It eleminates those trafic waves, DOH!!
And here, the only guy who tries to undertake you is a funny looking testeroncar casting a pink hue on the roaddeck. - Pilot85, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My god... this information could be used for great good... or terrible evil.
- Louisd11, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If u tried this in NJ, you would totally get ran off the road. I dare someone to try this.
- osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1On my campaign against NJ, I must say this any time someone mentions Hell: ***** NJ.
- psb2pdr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow, how did this work? Interesting
- sumgi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3two second rule, make it a law.
- diggless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it is, have you ever heard of someone getting pulled over and ticketed for 'following to closely"?
its called tailgating and it IS defiantly against the law as it is very dangerous. - sumgi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm pretty sure police can use their own discretion, if a driver has road rage and is riding someones bumper at 70 mph then I'm sure something will be done. But I don't think the two second rule is a law, at least not here in Texas.
- diggless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it is, have you ever heard of someone getting pulled over and ticketed for 'following to closely"?
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