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How we can reduce traffic congestion

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Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#41

Post by mqus »

netsharc wrote: post #26
bob1029 wrote: post #14

If we could copy the traffic laws of a country like Germany to the US, I think that would have the biggest + cheapest effect. I am OK with automated/elevated enforcement if it means stop & go traffic evaporates into free flowing conditions. We should also take the idea from Finland where the traffic fines scale with each person's ability to pay. $100 for camping the passing lane or failing to maintain a reasonable fo…

I wish there was more police presence to spot lane-camping and fine them in Germany, too many idiots do it and get away with it. If I ran Google Maps, I'd ask to route stupid drivers away from my routes. The GPS and phone accelerometer should be able to tell us who they are -- "Oh you have Google Maps actively navigating, GPS says you're going 50mph, and the app in focus is WhatsApp and you're using the phone keyboar…

People hate patronizing systems in their cars already, not sure this would help

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#42

Post by netsharc »

mqus wrote: post #41
netsharc wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was more police presence to spot lane-camping and fine them in Germany, too many idiots do it and get away with it. If I ran Google Maps, I'd ask to route stupid drivers away from my routes. The GPS and phone accelerometer should be able to tell us who they are -- "Oh you have Google Maps actively navigating, GPS says you're going 50mph, and the app in focus is WhatsApp and you're using the phone keyboar…

People hate patronizing systems in their cars already, not sure this would help

The idea is the system would just judge terrible drivers quietly, and then route them away from my route whenever I'm on the road.

Of course the first step of that is I have to gain control of Google Maps...

Terrible drivers cause traffic jams and accidents, who wouldn't want to be segregated away from them?

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#43

Post by TRiG_Ireland »

fragmede wrote: post #36
pretzellogician wrote: post #34

"Hence, the efficient use of transportation networks is of paramount importance." Perhaps some sort of carpooling profile? That would be a dramatically bigger improvement than, say, routing users through residential neighborhoods.

Is this the comment for me to snarkily reinvent trains and trams and buses on?

All attempts to reimagine transport are train but worse, except for the occasional bike but worse.

Every now and then, an especially inventive inventor manages to do both at once. And that's how you get the Shweeb.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7qNOtgrIjO4

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#44

Post by dghlsakjg »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #18
jawns wrote: post #6

One of the things this type of intervention doesn't take into account is that different roads are built with different levels of hardiness based on the amount of traffic they are expected to receive. For instance, a few years ago, a segment of I-495 in Delaware needed to be unexpectedly shut down for emergency repairs. Drivers were rerouted. But because of the increase in traffic on the less-hardy detour route, that…

A random factoid that will always stick in my brain is that the damage a vehicle does to a road is proportional to the weight on an axel...to the fourth power. I suspect rerouting semis to the roadway is by far the greatest factor.

Another random fact is that Norman Mailer coined ‘factoid’ to refer to a fabrication presented as fact, but now means the opposite (as in, a fact presented as a fact, not a fact presented as fabrication).

So it’s now one of those words like ‘literally’ which can be its own antonym.

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#45

Post by cyberax »

Well, duh. Grid design that allows traffic to diffuse is a secret superpower of American cities. Along with stroads that seamlessly blend local and arterial traffic.

One of unforgivable mistakes of Project Zero Vision is sabotage of stroads. If forced more traffic onto local streets, resulting in MORE pedestrian deaths.

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#46

Post by financetechbro »

cyberax wrote: post #45

Well, duh. Grid design that allows traffic to diffuse is a secret superpower of American cities. Along with stroads that seamlessly blend local and arterial traffic. One of unforgivable mistakes of Project Zero Vision is sabotage of stroads. If forced more traffic onto local streets, resulting in MORE pedestrian deaths.

Do you have stats to support your statement?

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#49

Post by ventana »

The same things keeps happening every time I find myself stuck in traffic on the interstate. Out of nowhere, a popup appears in Google Maps: a faster route is available! 4 minutes faster! Unless either the passenger or the driver are fast enough to hit "No thanks", the change auto-applies, and Google now wants me to exit the interstate at the nearest exit and drive some random road I had no idea about, to rejoin the interstate a few miles ahead. Of course, a bunch of other vehicles in the same traffic jam got the same notification, so that minor road now get a sizable fraction of the interstate traffic, all of which then struggles to merge back.

Seeing this again and again. We call it a "Google detour" in the family, and rarely agree to the change of the route.

Re: How we can reduce traffic congestion

#50

Post by hinkley »

ceroxylon wrote: post #48

Happy that research time is being put towards this, however a fuel use decrease of ~0.75% is a bit underwhelming for this particular endeavor, even when consumer cars/vans are 10% of CO2 emissions.

I think it's a mistake to represent average speed increase instead of characterizing the speed increase as as hours of full, moderate, and low speed traffic per day.

Because an extra ??minutes a day of avoiding stop and go traffic is worth far more than the average speed increase it tells.

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