The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
blogs.reuters.com
The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
1–10 of 62 posts
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#2He should also test switching to the slower-looking lane in anticipation of others switching to the faster-looking lane.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#3Counterintuitively, in stop-and-go traffic everybody spends more time watching others pass them than passing others.
Let's say you have to drive 100 km. Half of the distance your lane moves at 100 km/h, and the other half your lane creeps along at 10 km/h.
So you'll spend 50 / 100 + 50 / 10 = 5.5 hours in the car, at an average speed of 18.18 km/h.
For every one minute you spend passing other cars, you'll spend 10 minutes watching other cars whiz by you!
Even though the fast and slow distances are evenly distributed, all drivers perceive that they're in the wrong lane.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#4Of course, the fact that switching lanes or not doesn't make a difference in how fast you get to your destination does not imply that everyone switching lanes doesn't make it slower for everyone.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#5What I dislike about traffic isn't the delay so much as the cognitive load. I will often take a temporally longer route if it means I am not constantly watching for lane-changers cutting in front of me and then suddenly braking.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#6Of course, the fact that switching lanes or not doesn't make a difference in how fast you get to your destination does not imply that everyone switching lanes doesn't make it slower for everyone .
It kinda does actually.
It speaks to the fact that perception of moving faster does not match reality.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#7He should also test switching to the slower-looking lane in anticipation of others switching to the faster-looking lane.
I often find that by moving right I pass a TON of people who shifted left in anticipation of heavy traffic ahead.. left lanes back up, right lanes open up.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#8Of course, the fact that switching lanes or not doesn't make a difference in how fast you get to your destination does not imply that everyone switching lanes doesn't make it slower for everyone .
It kinda does actually. It speaks to the fact that perception of moving faster does not match reality.
Regardless of their perceptions or actual travel speeds, the lane-switchers could be providing a much needed liquidity between the more dynamic right lanes (with entrances and exits) and the more static left lanes. Perhaps it's in doing so that they unwittingly ensure that everyone arrives at the same time. (Although it's almost certainly not the optimal time…)
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#9What I dislike about traffic isn't the delay so much as the cognitive load. I will often take a temporally longer route if it means I am not constantly watching for lane-changers cutting in front of me and then suddenly braking.
This is why driving is exhausting. There's always a few people who, evidently lacking any real stimulation in their lives, feel the need to constantly jockey for positions on the road, endangering everyone around them for a mere ego trip. It seems like many of these drivers view their driving habits as reflections on them as a person; e.g. they cannot appear weak by yielding to others (even if yielding produces an optimal result, time-wise).
I can't wait for driverless cars. We are the ones who make traffic much worse because we have to have our own way.
Re: The utility of switching lanes when stuck in traffic
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
It kinda does actually. It speaks to the fact that perception of moving faster does not match reality.
Regardless of their perceptions or actual travel speeds, the lane-switchers could be providing a much needed liquidity between the more dynamic right lanes (with entrances and exits) and the more static left lanes. Perhaps it's in doing so that they unwittingly ensure that everyone arrives at the same time. (Although it's almost certainly not the optimal time…)
I was thinking the opposite - lane switchers cause "turbulence" in the flow and hence contribute to slowing everyone down.