Single drivers can unclog traffic jams?

[snousle]

Interesting stuff at http://trafficwaves.org/ . The video linked from that page is worth watching, and provides a new perspective on driving. The idea that just one driver can have a substantial effect on reducing traffic jams merely by leaving large spaces in front is surprising, but on reflection it makes a lot of sense.

I must admit, I find it very hard to avoid being provoked by aggressive behavior on the road. I last about 30 minutes before losing my cool. This is a major reason I left the Bay Area; traffic was ruining my life. I envy this guy's ability to be a "zen driver" and overcome the competitive impulse, which doesn't do anyone any good in the first place.

I also feel genuinely sorry for those who are so wrapped up in their egos that they cannot even conceive of driving being a non-competitive process. It's a crappy way to live.

Comments

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

The most obnoxious example of ego-driving I think is when someone tries to "jump the line" in traffic. Any number of times when driving on I-5 through the Valley in busy traffic, I've seen a phenomenon where the right-hand lane is mostly occupied by large trucks and other slower moving vehicles and the left lane mostly by pasenger cars, pickups & motorcycles. Said left lane is usually moving at a decent pace - at or near the speed limit, sometimes even a bit faster - and yet, there's occasionally someone for whom that's not fast enough.

So, they jump out into the right hand lane, run up to right behind one of the slow moving vehicles and then try to merge back into the left lane. They're not going to be traveling any faster - it's purely an ego-driven power play that winds up slowing down the traffic in the left lane. Once I saw some jackass try to pull this and have to back off 4 or 5 times in a row. And indeed, many drivers WERE refusing to let this yutz back into the left lane after seeing this behavior - I was amazed at how many times it took for this idjit to learn that this tactic does not work! In busy traffic, smooth & steady does indeed win the race, and cooperation (like letting someone merge over who's just entered the freeway from an on-ramp) does benefit everyone.

If this sounds a bit conflicted - it seemed to me that a lot of the drivers understood that cooperation was the best way to get through this heavy traffic, and they were "punishing" the obnoxious driver for screwing things up for many people by trying to force his way ahead. It's not unlike public disapproval of littering, or other antisocial behavior.

[snousle.livejournal.com]

A big problem with driving is that people apply intuitions appropriate for personal relationships to people that they will never see again.

Punishment behavior is kind of a strange thing. I'm not sure if it improves traffic safety / efficiency or makes it worse. But for sure, people don't apply it in a way that is "rational" beyond rewarding their own instinct to punish; on the road, it doesn't confer the advantages it would in the social environment we're evolved to live in.

It would be a great and wonderful thing to have instincts that were in accordance with the reality of the modern world. Willfully aggressive drivers live in a fantasy world where these conflicts somehow "matter", when in reality they are inconsequential.

One mental trick I use to stay calm is to consider that asshole drivers are like peasants stealing bread - they are so starved for time that they are compelled to scramble for every extra second. I imagine myself magnanimously throwing them crumbs of time, while watching them grovel for more. It's less stressful to feel sorry for them than to get angry at them. Like I said, that works for about 30 minutes, before I'm reminded of why I don't carry a gun. ;-)