
Traffic Engineers Say Slowing Down Will Get You Through a Jam Faster - prostoalex
http://online.wsj.com/articles/traffic-engineers-say-slowing-down-will-get-you-through-a-jam-faster-1415386073?google_editors_picks=true
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iLoch
Doesn't take a traffic engineer to figure this out. If you've ever observed a
"ghost" traffic jam the source of the problem is very obvious - any one person
who stops short will cause the person behind them to stop short, and so on.
The problem was never discovering the solution, it's been distribution of the
solution.

I'd love to see more rigorous testing done on potential drivers to ensure they
are able to drive not only safely, but efficiently. This could mean having a
simulator that takes you through a traffic jam. The intent of course being to
teach you, not to fail you as soon as possible because you didn't check your
mirrors frequently enough.

I think the underlying problem though, is with the instant gratification
associated with filling a gap in traffic flow. People feel that because
they've filled the gap they've somehow saved a bit of time, when in reality
the time saved is negligible for most trips (say 3 seconds in a 30 minute
commute or something.) Good luck teaching people that going slower is faster.

Edit: Here's a good explanation.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goVjVVaLe10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goVjVVaLe10)

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nathannecro
Interesting article. Behind paywall:

[http://online.wsj.com/articles/traffic-engineers-say-
slowing...](http://online.wsj.com/articles/traffic-engineers-say-slowing-down-
will-get-you-through-a-jam-faster-1415386073)

^Link is full article.

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fallinghawks
Unless I am misunderstanding you, the above link is also behind the paywall,
I'm afraid.

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nathannecro
Ah, that's unfortunate. It wasn't earlier.

I cannot edit my OP, but apologies, that link now leads to a paywall.

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oftenwrong
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