

MIT mathematicians model traffic jams like detonation waves







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RE: humans
By micksh on 6/10/2009 4:57:29 PM , Rating: 2
There is a way to measure distance in time units and this can be found in some safety guidances.
Theoretically if all cars keep distance considered safe (3 seconds to the next car) the distance will be proportional to speed and highway throughput will stay the same at any non-zero speed.
But, that is only if we don't count car length. Safe distance between cars increases with the speed but cars don't elongate. So the throughput should increase with the speed unless drivers increase safe distance measured in time units (which is probably the case).

On the side note, people just don't seem to use gas pedal here, in North California. I see a lot when people enter highways at 45-50 mph where limit is 65 mph, and these are not grandmas, these are otherwise normal-looking young and middle-aged men. Maybe they are trying to save on gas that way?
And then "inverse race" starts with some car in right lane. The car on highway which is already well below speed limit slows down trying to yield to entering car. And the entering car slows down trying to yield to the car on highway. At around 40 mph they finally settle this desperately slowing down all right lane. And all that when highway is not crowded, there is a lot of room to merge into it.
Many people just can't estimate at what point they need to merge and they think the slower the safer.

