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Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

trafficwaves.org

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Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#121

Post by camtarn »

qeorge wrote: post #93
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #29

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…

Absolutely. I've tried to impart this to others, but the inescapable response is "someone will jump into the gap." If they would just try it.. I picked it up from truckers, who uniformly take this strategy.

There seems to be a difference in trucker culture between the US and UK - truckers in the UK don't seem to practise this technique.

While there are some courteous and sensible UK truckers, most of them seem to be driving right up against their speed limiters, and will tailgate then overtake anyone in front who dares travel 1mph slower than them - even if this involves attempting to overtake while going uphill, causing a wall of congestion on an otherwise free-flowing motorway.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#123

Post by jasonkester »

rdtsc wrote: post #62
axod wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK it still is, and passing on the left is illegal. I like that system more that all lanes equal.

So if there is a slow car there, what do you do? Does everyone wait behind them until they turn/exit or decide to switch lanes?

Yes. It's amazing to watch if you're used to driving in the US. You'll get an unbelievable amount of grief if you allow yourself to be approached from behind in the inside lane. Even driving in the center lane, you are expected to move outside if there is room to do so. Try driving there long-term and you'll get fast drivers cutting you off from the passing lane just to teach you a lesson.

And no, nobody passes on the outside. Even if you're about to exit and the rest of the lanes are moving slowly, you'll still slow down considerably and look a bit sheepish as you drift past the main highway traffic.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#124

Post by kingnothing »

itistoday wrote: post #73
bouncingsoul wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm constantly surprised by how few people have heard of the "3 second rule". 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 n…

I was taught to leave 1 car length per 10 mph of speed, which probably has about the same effect. Either way, I've been driving for a decade and haven't hit anyone yet.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#126

Post by kingnothing »

designtofly wrote: post #85
tptacek wrote: post #53

Doesn't this imply that cities could alleviate traffic pathologies by hiring people to drive carefully down the highway?

This was the focus of a short video a group of college students made a few years ago, "A Meditation On the Speed Limit." http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5366552067462745475

Is that the video in Atlanta where they drive side by side around I-285 at the speed limit of 55 mph? It's an interesting social experiment, but I'm surprised none of them were driven off the road. Traffic on the left on 285 generally moves at 70 - 80 mph here.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#127

Post by losvedir »

murrayb wrote: post #96
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #29

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've been doing the same thing for some time now as well. As well as what you have observed I have observed that you really can actually hack the traffic to reduce congestion. I've seen a gap that I brought to a merge point allow 8-9 cars to move and several hundred meters of stationary traffic was able to pick up speed enough to merge, I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror. Instead of competing…

"I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror."

Heh, you didn't happen to learn to drive in, say, Massachusetts did you? It's called the "rear view mirror", but I've found that due to the accent, many people here in Boston have always thought it was the "review mirror".

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#128

Post by dgallagher »

axod wrote: post #66
rdtsc wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if there is a slow car there, what do you do? Does everyone wait behind them until they turn/exit or decide to switch lanes?

If there's a slow car in the outside lane, and they're not making any attempt to overtake anything, you generally flash them until they move over. They are, after all, breaking the law.

What if a car is in the passing lane doing the speed limit? Asking them to move out of the lane so another driver could pass by speeding, breaking the law, doesn't make much sense either.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#129

Post by eru »

Eliezer wrote: post #112
itistoday wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm constantly surprised by how few people have heard of the "3 second rule". 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 n…

Except that this only gives you a linear amount of space with respect to your speed. You need space that goes as the square of the speed.

Depends. For cancelling your reacting time you only need linear speed. And if the vehicle in front of you has the some breaking deceleration as you can achieve, that's fine.

Re: Traffic Hacks: How One Driver Can Vastly Improve Traffic

#130

Post by eru »

netsp wrote: post #110
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #29

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…

Not only does a manual transmission help, but it kind of pushes everyone into that kind of driving. Maybe it's just because you don't need brakes as much. When I drive an auto (usually rental), I find I'm a lot more aggressive. I also fond that places with a higher percentage of auto drivers are heavier on the heavy traffic scooch-and-brake.

In Germany manual transmissions are the norm. I heard people drive more aggressively than in the US. Might be a cultural thing, though.
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