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Chaos and Your Everyday Traffic Jam

Posted by timothy on from the could-often-be-my-dad's-nutty-driving dept.

An anonymous reader writes "What causes these mysterious traffic jams that continually appear throughout the day for no reason whatsoever? Is it simply the fact that most people just don't have a clue how to drive? That's very possible, and in reality there are so many variables involved in something like a traffic jam. But is it possible that the entire traffic jam could be both the continuing and end result of a chain reaction set in motion by a single driver who was in too much of a hurry?"

2 of 477 comments (clear)

  1. Field of Study by WaXHeLL · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's actually a field of study for this: Traffic Analysis. Of course, this is not to be confused with all of the material out there relating to internet/network/packet analysis.

    This mainly deals with optimizing freeways and the like, based on people's behavior in traffic, and the ripple affects.

    --
    The troll with karma.
  2. Re:On a very busy road... by Skater · · Score: 4, Informative

    Uh, merging in at the end is exactly what they SHOULD be doing. Think of it as a "zipper" that closes at the end of the lane. It works out better for people in both lanes. The people that merge in early actually make the continuing lane slower for everyone.