[Tengocity]

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20160...affic-part-one

Really interesting article actually, but the problem is convincing people that slowing down and leaving decent gaps will get you there faster.... folk will do it right up till the first twat takes the piss.

[HighlandPete]

I've been convinced for years we are our own worst enemies when we drive in heavy traffic. Two observations;

When on the motorway and we get into the 'spaced' chevron sections, if used correctly we typically speed up in heavy traffic, with less changing of lanes. What does that tell us? Bad spacing and unnecessary lane changing is the cause of a lot of the slow downs?

Take a set of temporary traffic lights, why are the first cars gone into the distance while others are still waiting to move off? In principle, all cars could move off together, increasing their spacing as speed is added.

Poor anticipation and over-reactions mess traffic flows, from my observation.

[subsy]

Also on exit slip road / merge in turns there's a tendency for an orderly queue to be formed in one lane and a whole lane left empty - anyone tries to use that lane and people take offence and try and block them or the like. It's crazy.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Good read, however it has been known for years.

It's a bit like contra flow systems, junctions, road works, traffic flow etc used to be modelled using calculus (dx/dy Instantaneous rate of change etc).

These days it's likely some conceptual modelling software, however it will still use the maths.

I had to do one for a traffic light system at college.


On a long stretch of road with an incline, Just look at the impact of an HGV moving in to middle lane for just say 10 seconds.

We all react and recover back to our speed at different rates, adding in an acceleration delta to the mix.

Totally agree with Pete.

[Watsey]

In my experience there are just a few root causes :

- Poor lane discipline in terms of awareness and consideration : not obeying the first rule if the road "keep left" (UK and other left side nations) thereby effectively occupying two lanes rather than one; applies to cars, and to HGVs taking huge distances to complete overtake manoeuvres due to limiter restrictions.

- Poor lane discipline in terms of cutting-in to buffer gaps, or pulling into a faster lane without checking the relative closing speed and distance of vehicles in that lane, with resultant pulse braking through the following traffic.

- Drivers not leaving sufficient distance to the car in front (but see previous point) which results in 'driving by brakes' rather than 'driving by throttle' which also results in pulse braking.

- Then we have the semi-conscious virtually asleep at the wheel drivers (typified by the thousand yard stare and simply following the car in front, irrespective) and the belligerent "I may be holding-up traffic but I WILL NOT pull in".

This all points to poor driving standards rather than an outright, i.e. singular, problem with the capacity of the road network.

Unfortunately most of this, with the exception of 'dangerous' driving, is not actively policed. Speeding us more black & white and therefore easier to prosecute.