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When unexplained traffic jams happen, says an MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) study, you can probably blame tailgaters. The researchers say that if drivers kept an even distance between cars rather than driving too close to the vehicle in front, traffic flow would remain even. This "bilateral control," could double the speed of the average vehicle on busy highways.
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This ideal is very different from what is the norm in most thinking about traffic, especially by those stuck in it. Drivers (and, consequently, vehicle control systems) tend to be looking ever forward, responding only to what's ahead and largely ignoring what's behind. Thus, in stop-and-go or slow-and-go situations (traffic jams), each vehicle reacts to the vehicle in front, causing intermittent slowdowns or stops (jams) in wave-like patterns. When vehicles are working to maintain equal distances both from the car in front and the vehicle behind, the MIT paper contends, these wave patterns are minimized and traffic flows more smoothly.
Maintaining even spacing facilitates lane changes and merges as well.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday December 19 2017, @08:29PM (1 child)
The one thing I will say is that if somebody puts on their turn signal, I cooperate, whatever that means. If I got to slow down because the slow lane isn't letting people in and the guy in front of me is having trouble getting in, I'll help in what ways I can.
A turn signal is a polite request, or at least that's how I look at them.
You hit the mail on the head. A lot of people don't practice that anymore.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday December 20 2017, @02:34AM
Sadly true.