Traffic Waves: Breaking up a traffic jam

[blackomen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFqfTCL2fs

This seems to sound great in theory and I've tried it for a while but I'm still not convinced if it really does consistently break up traffic jams in practice and/or make commutes shorter.  Still it's an interesting watch (and read if you check out the theory on their website.)

[Storm]

I've heard of this before.  It is an interesting concept, however, I don't think it can benefit you as an individual.  What it can do, however, is benefit all the other poor people stuck in traffic behind you by clearing the standing waves quicker.

[moda0306]

The problem with "taking one for the team" is all the people that fill in in front of you if you try it.  This keeps the martyr simply hitting waves anyway because the space they try to create is filled in with mergers.

Of course, this may serve to lessen the waves of the other lane, but having people merge in waving traffic is often the cause of accidents.  I simply wish more people would drive with an understanding and appreciation of the overall system they're a part of, not their individual place in the line.

That said, left-lane lollygaggers and mopey-mergers are as bad as the aggressive drivers in terms of fouling up the system.

[Reub]

I like the concept. However, if you tried that in New York you might get shot with an illegal handgun!

[Storm]

I firmly believe that most traffic jams are created by people travelling too slow, or someone getting "spooked" and slamming on the brakes in the middle of regularly flowing traffic.

For example, there is one interchange by where I live that connects the Merritt Parkway to I-95.  The connector has a posted speed of 45mph (you know, those yellow recommended speed signs), but it is also going up a hill and curved in such a way that a lot of people slow down on that connector.  I have found when there is no traffic I can safely take the connector at 60 or 70 mph.

However, what happens often is that you get one old driver that takes it at 25mph, for whatever reason (because of the hill, they didn't apply adequate gas, or because of the turn they thought they should slow down, when it is really a mild curve).  In heavy traffic, that one person that slows to 25mph now creates a standing wave behind them where each driver has to slam on the brakes and go slower and slower.  The end result is stopped traffic for 2 miles back on the highway, creating additional standing waves that drivers who are not even taking the connector have to deal with.

I really hope we get autonomous cars soon.  Granny taking a freeway interchange at 25mph can not only cause a 30 minute delay for the rest of us, she can kill because a lot of people might not stop quickly enough to avoid the traffic jam and rear end collisions happen.

[MachineGhost]

I really hope we get autonomous cars soon.  Granny taking a freeway interchange at 25mph can not only cause a 30 minute delay for the rest of us, she can kill because a lot of people might not stop quickly enough to avoid the traffic jam and rear end collisions happen.

2009 or earlier is the latest.  Giddyup!