71–80 of 149 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are a lot of driver douches which will always overtake whatever is overtakeable, driving like this makes you an easy 'target' and that gets me all worked up. edit: spelling
Except it doesn't. Like I said, I rarely experience drivers cutting in front of me.
This is a representation of classic game theory. If all participants cooperate to drive as described, the traffic clears. If nobody else helps to open up space, however, you will personally arrive at your destination slower by driving passively, even though many others behind you will benefit. And since this type of driving requires some degree of altruism, you can pretty much rule it out as a realistic outcome witho…
The peak performance of the system is actually a mix of altruism and selfishness.
I changed my driving patterns after first reading this remarkable essay some years ago. Now I follow what I affectionately call the "zen of driving", to wit: leave a huge gap in front of me, drive at a constant speed where possible [1], avoid using the brakes except in case of emergency, and so on. On long driving trips through mixed traffic, I have made several observations, some obvious and some surprising: * Drivi…
I did exactly what you described on a recent 12 hour car trip. I'm never tailgating again. The main benefit for me, and one you don't mention, is safety. Knowing I have actual time to react in an emergency instead of being stuck with brake hard and pray I think really calms my subconscious.
The rule is simple and works for any traveling speed: pick any arbitrary mark on the road, watch as the car in front of you passes it, and count 3 seconds. You want at the very minimum, 3 seconds to pass before you pass that same mark.
This not only has the advantages described by the OP (he's definitely following it, if not calling it by name), but one thing he didn't mention is that it can save your life.
Why do car "pile ups" exist? It's because someone was driving along just fine, when suddenly they come to a crashing hault (at 70+MPH), and all of the tailgators behind them are not physically capable of reacting to the situation in time. SMASH! You're fucked.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except it doesn't. Like I said, I rarely experience drivers cutting in front of me.
In what part of the US do you live? Having just completed a cross-country move, I can assure you that driving behaviors wildly vary from coast to coast.
I changed my driving patterns after first reading this remarkable essay some years ago. Now I follow what I affectionately call the "zen of driving", to wit: leave a huge gap in front of me, drive at a constant speed where possible [1], avoid using the brakes except in case of emergency, and so on. On long driving trips through mixed traffic, I have made several observations, some obvious and some surprising: * Drivi…
BTW, sorry if this sounds off-topic, do you know any good books/articles on Traffic? I'm very much fascinated by this too. Thanks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Zen would be driving at what feels like a natural speed, only adjusting that when circumstances dictate, and "letting go" of your attachment to forward progress when something stands in your way. Instead, you're driving at an artificially limited speed to try to regularize your driving experience. You're tricking yourself into feeling less frustrated by consciously elim…
>That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Please see my edit in my original post to clarify what I meant to write. In fact my speed ranges up and down based on the level of congestion, whereas the safe buffer I maintain in front of me remains constant - and by safe I mean long enough that I don't have to use my brakes when traffic slows. As for my use of "zen", don't read too much into it. It was just a tongue…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another problem is drivers who insist on driving in the left lane at all times and refuse to move over. IIRC, the left lane used to be referred to as the 'passing' lane...
The thing that drives me nuts the most is slow people who stay in the left lane in the passing lanes that are sometimes put in on 2 lane highways (ie, 2 lanes going in the same direction for a time). Some states (Minnesota for sure) simply make a solid line to shunt drivers over to the right lane and it makes a huge difference, but around here (Wisconsin) they don't do that and inevitably I'll end up stuck driving 45…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what part of the US do you live? Having just completed a cross-country move, I can assure you that driving behaviors wildly vary from coast to coast.
Yeah, come to Massachusetts and I'm sure you'll have an entirely different experience.
I've driven like the article suggests on Rt. 128 and it totally works. My lane ended up moving smoothly (albeit at a reduced speed; I still can't go any faster than the average speed of the cars in front of me), and nobody cut in front of me.
However, drivers on Rt. 2 are routinely crazy. There've been times I've been going about 70 in a 45 zone, with a guy on my tail, then he'll pop out from behind me, pass me at about 90 mph, cut right in front, and then tailgate the person in front of me until he does the same stunt. Luckily traffic on Rt. 2 is light enough that this doesn't cause many jams, but it does cause its fair share of accidents.
Then there's the Rt. 2/3/16 intersection by Alewife, where it is customary for about 5-10 cars to run the red light before somebody finally stops.
I changed my driving patterns after first reading this remarkable essay some years ago. Now I follow what I affectionately call the "zen of driving", to wit: leave a huge gap in front of me, drive at a constant speed where possible [1], avoid using the brakes except in case of emergency, and so on. On long driving trips through mixed traffic, I have made several observations, some obvious and some surprising: * Drivi…
Dad called it "cruising."