traffic jams
If you read /. - and odds are, you do, if you're reading this - there was an article on there talking about how chaos theory and non-linear dynamics explain the mysterious "phantom traffic jams" that you'll sometimes see.
What gets me is, well, the "duh" factor. It sort of makes me wonder - did one of these uber-geniuses coming up with this get caught in his first one?
To me, it's patently obvious that this happens, and is what basically causes most traffic jams. There's not an accident EVERY DAY on the DTR (Dulles Toll Road) -- I-66 corridor that I drive home, yet it slows down to a stop-and-go crawl. If you only get stuck in it occasionally, you'd probably think that something extraordinary had to cause it, or perhaps that it's due to the fact that four lanes dwindles down to two lanes, then merges with two more lanes, then dwindles down to three then later to two more.
But if you drive it at a non-peak time, you'd see that traffic doesn't slow down there. At least, it doesn't until someone cuts someone else off, or some little old lady driver (be they actually old or a lady) slams on their brakes because OH MY GOD THERE'S A TURN IN THE HIGHWAY or, worse of all - is determined to be "polite" and let something in, so they hit their brakes, and let someone merge, when if they'd just kept driving the person could've merged behind them.
Once on the DTR I saw some jackass thinking they would be cute and try to get back onto the airport access road. Well, going east on the DTR you simply cannot do that, it's gated - and thus they had to throw it in reverse, pull out of the marked off lane (clearly labeled as to what it's for, and that doesn't mean you, buddy), then try to get back into traffic.
Most people thought like I did - they'll get back in when they get back in. They were stupid and trying to get an unfair advantage over everyone else on the toll road (after all, they were trying to sneak onto the non-toll road without paying), and thus they'd have to wait their turn, pay the penalty, whatever.
Instead, the lady behind me slammed on her breaks and waved the person in.
You could see it in your rearview mirror all the way down the road - she had to come to a complete stop. Thus, so did all traffic behind her. And to the sides of her, as people tried to get past this sudden roadblock. And what had been one traffic tie-up, thanks to an accident, became a HUGE one (as indicated in the traffic reports on my Blackberry when I got home).
What does that tell you?
The road to traffic hell is paved with good intentions. It's helped along by jackasses.
How can you keep yourself from causing such a thing?
It's easy. I won't say "don't be polite" but what I will say is "don't be a pushover" and "be assertive". If you're signaling that you need to get over, and there's space, GET OVER. If you stop and wait, and then someone stops for you, and the both of you are trying to "be polite", you've just tied up traffic. I see that probably once-twice a day right in front of my house, as someone on Fairfax Drive needs to get into the left turn lane and someone merging in from I-66 needs to get right.
When you get into an area where lanes merge, and your lane is the one disappearing, don't try to jump over to the other lane early - you'll just make someone else hit the brakes. Instead, follow the flow of traffic up to the merge point, and merge in after the car who let someone else in. When traffic goes one by one - I let someone in, someone pulls in behind me as the person behind me lets someone in, etc., it means that we each only get one person immediately in front of us and traffic does well. When some jackass tries to squeeze in with to the next spot up, or tries to avoid letting people merge into them, it backs things up - as it does when someone tries to let more than one person over.
Look - driving isn't for the faint of heart. It's also not an excuse to be an asshole. As is my philosophy - drive offensively, but not aggressively. Don't try to take someone out or cause them harm - but don't let people take advantage of you on the road, either.
Oh well. I'm sure no one will read this and change their mind about driving. But it feels better to get it off my chest. And to laugh at idiots on the road.
What gets me is, well, the "duh" factor. It sort of makes me wonder - did one of these uber-geniuses coming up with this get caught in his first one?
To me, it's patently obvious that this happens, and is what basically causes most traffic jams. There's not an accident EVERY DAY on the DTR (Dulles Toll Road) -- I-66 corridor that I drive home, yet it slows down to a stop-and-go crawl. If you only get stuck in it occasionally, you'd probably think that something extraordinary had to cause it, or perhaps that it's due to the fact that four lanes dwindles down to two lanes, then merges with two more lanes, then dwindles down to three then later to two more.
But if you drive it at a non-peak time, you'd see that traffic doesn't slow down there. At least, it doesn't until someone cuts someone else off, or some little old lady driver (be they actually old or a lady) slams on their brakes because OH MY GOD THERE'S A TURN IN THE HIGHWAY or, worse of all - is determined to be "polite" and let something in, so they hit their brakes, and let someone merge, when if they'd just kept driving the person could've merged behind them.
Once on the DTR I saw some jackass thinking they would be cute and try to get back onto the airport access road. Well, going east on the DTR you simply cannot do that, it's gated - and thus they had to throw it in reverse, pull out of the marked off lane (clearly labeled as to what it's for, and that doesn't mean you, buddy), then try to get back into traffic.
Most people thought like I did - they'll get back in when they get back in. They were stupid and trying to get an unfair advantage over everyone else on the toll road (after all, they were trying to sneak onto the non-toll road without paying), and thus they'd have to wait their turn, pay the penalty, whatever.
Instead, the lady behind me slammed on her breaks and waved the person in.
You could see it in your rearview mirror all the way down the road - she had to come to a complete stop. Thus, so did all traffic behind her. And to the sides of her, as people tried to get past this sudden roadblock. And what had been one traffic tie-up, thanks to an accident, became a HUGE one (as indicated in the traffic reports on my Blackberry when I got home).
What does that tell you?
The road to traffic hell is paved with good intentions. It's helped along by jackasses.
How can you keep yourself from causing such a thing?
It's easy. I won't say "don't be polite" but what I will say is "don't be a pushover" and "be assertive". If you're signaling that you need to get over, and there's space, GET OVER. If you stop and wait, and then someone stops for you, and the both of you are trying to "be polite", you've just tied up traffic. I see that probably once-twice a day right in front of my house, as someone on Fairfax Drive needs to get into the left turn lane and someone merging in from I-66 needs to get right.
When you get into an area where lanes merge, and your lane is the one disappearing, don't try to jump over to the other lane early - you'll just make someone else hit the brakes. Instead, follow the flow of traffic up to the merge point, and merge in after the car who let someone else in. When traffic goes one by one - I let someone in, someone pulls in behind me as the person behind me lets someone in, etc., it means that we each only get one person immediately in front of us and traffic does well. When some jackass tries to squeeze in with to the next spot up, or tries to avoid letting people merge into them, it backs things up - as it does when someone tries to let more than one person over.
Look - driving isn't for the faint of heart. It's also not an excuse to be an asshole. As is my philosophy - drive offensively, but not aggressively. Don't try to take someone out or cause them harm - but don't let people take advantage of you on the road, either.
Oh well. I'm sure no one will read this and change their mind about driving. But it feels better to get it off my chest. And to laugh at idiots on the road.