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Mathematicians Solve the Mystery of Traffic Jams
mlimber writes "Do you ever find yourself in a traffic jam, thinking, 'Man, there must be a bad accident up ahead,' but as you plod along you see no evidence of any crash? Some mathematicians have solved the mystery by developing a mathematical model that shows how one driver hitting the brakes a little too hard can cascade into a backup miles behind. The mathematicians' future research will investigate how automatic braking systems may alleviate the problem."
I was about to write the very same... I remember several studies of traffic that showed that it only takes one driver to slow down traffic, especially on roads that are above their actual capacity. It is kind of like the Slinky effect, where you send a pulse down it and it rebounds. Car stops ahead and the cars behind begin breaking, and this begins a chain reaction... I'd love to catch this in the act at night and film the tail-lights lighting up in sequence.
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UK motorways are proactive with this in that they adjust the speed limit when the volume of traffic is higher. I remember seeing basically TFA printed a few years ago explaining all this.
I lived in Columbus for 5 years, then moved to So Cal, so I know exactly what you're saying. When I get back there, I think "why can't it be like this in Cali?" I love it, I can just sail down the 670 to the college from the airport.
I think some mid-major cities like Indianapolis and Columbus have a good surface street infrastructure so people going in-city (or from the suburbs) take the surface streets. I think you have people living closer to work too... You also don't have entire towns communiting to the city to work, trying up the freeway (the only way) to get to work at the same time in the morning. There are very few good jobs in the town I live in, but it is the only place working class folks can ever hope to buy a house, so... the commute begins." I mean, I took a $25,000 pay raise to work in San Bernardino, but inheritied 1:15 commute each way, if I'm lucky.
When I moved to Cali we started visiting my wife's parents every Sunday, like an hour away. I lived 1:30 from my parents (in Cincy) when I was in Columbus and going home was a huge weekend affair, not a afternoon trip. Strange how that all works out.
Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
sounds good to me, the solution I've always driven for (no pun intended), is to slow down at traffic jams to the point where you can plod along without actually stopping. This does a good job of equalizing the in/out ratio. I wonder why this isn't taught in driver's ed.
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They would have gotten the answer a long, long time ago if only more mathematicians would race bicycles.
There is nothing worse than flying along at 40+ KMh and having some inexperienced joker using her brakes to back off the wheel in front of her. It sends the riders behind her into convulsions.
FYI: that's why bicycle track racing (fixed gears) is much safer despite fantastic speeds and tight(!) groups.
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Part of the problem is that brake lights themselves only have "on" and "off" modes. They could be designed to convey so much more information than that, by utilizing the entire spectrum ranging from:
Brake lights glowing dimly: indicates the car is decelerating slightly. (And not necessarily due to active braking by the driver. Perhaps the driver has merely begun to coast, or does not have the accelerator sufficiently depressed while driving up a steep hill. It would be a good idea to communicate these scenarios to other drivers too.)
Very bright accompanied by a rapidly flashing strobe: indicates the car is braking maximally; antilock braking system is fully engaged. (At times like this, the car should do everything possible to get the attention of other drivers.)
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