Driving like a Jerk actually reduce the risk of traffic jams

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I knew that. Always nip up the inside then quickly into the space the other driver is too slow to occupy, obvious :D
 
Actually, it's an interesting piece of research and should give some pointers as to how to improve traffic flow. The key point seems to be that one or two drivers doing something "out of the ordinary" encourage the rest of the rule-following travellers to increase their separation.

I particularly liked the example of breaking the speed limit to pass a slow vehicle preventing a long chain of cars from forming on a single-carriageway road. Unfortunately, lower speed limits and rigorous enforcement - which is HMG's preferred traffic management strategy in the UK - has exactly the opposite effect, causing close-following convoys to form with the attendent increased risk of collision through close proximity. Still, never let the facts get in the way of ill-considered policy :rolleyes:
 
I knew that. Always nip up the inside then quickly into the space the other driver is too slow to occupy, obvious :D

This is the one thing that drives me flippin' bonkers on the motorway. I've trained myself to ignore it but I hate it none the less.

I leave a decent stopping distance between me and the car in front, not only because I don't want to shunt into them in case of an emergency stop but also to avoid unecessary hard braking under normal conditions.

What happens is that some nob tailgates me and then undertakes and loses my safety gap to only tailgate the car in front.
 
What I noticed in the research was their use of the 'three second rule', whereas iirc I was taught "only a fool breaks the two second rule." In city traffic, I try to adhere to the two second rule, never see the point of tailgating in traffic just to nip-through traffic lights and the like. You'll just be stuck at the next set sooner.:rolleyes:
It does seem to give pedestrians the urge to 'chance it' and dash-across to centre islands and the like when you do allow yourself space to the car in front.
On a side-note, I heard and saw blues and twos going on an ambulance recently, trying to progress down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square. Two separate pedestrians simply dawdled into its path not even looking in its direction causing it to come to a standstill at the junction. Absolute lunacy.
 
This is the one thing that drives me flippin' bonkers on the motorway. I've trained myself to ignore it but I hate it none the less.

I leave a decent stopping distance between me and the car in front, not only because I don't want to shunt into them in case of an emergency stop but also to avoid unecessary hard braking under normal conditions.

What happens is that some nob tailgates me and then undertakes and loses my safety gap to only tailgate the car in front.

Who mentioned motorways??
 
I had to work in deepest Kent yesterday. A county divided from Norfolk by the M25. I also had to travel in peak traffic times, so I took the bike.
About 2.5 hours for both journeys of 140 miles and I'm sure judging by the stationary traffic it would have taken at least 3.5 hours in any Mercedes:dk:
I didn't ride like a jerk, but used my old mate Phil Tring to make safe and careful progress through the various car parks including the M25 and A12.
I was passed on a few occasions by bikers travelling much faster than slow traffic and there is only so long you can roll those dice before losing out to a blind lane changer.:wallbash:
 

Telling phrase: "The physicists ran the simulation over and over, each time boosting the percentage of rule-breakers. "

With a telling word "simulation".

The thing is you don't need a simulation. If you go to a country where everybody acts like a jerk then you see what *real* traffic jams become and how a minor bit of congestion spirals into a major jam.

What happens in real life is once a few drivers start breaking the rules then it cascades and very quickly the flow breaks down completely.
 
Ive noticed that when they close two lanes off on a 3 lane motorway, everyone seems to want to get into lane 1 over a 1000 yards before the cones come into play.. this in itself causes massive tail backs..

I always wait for the 200 yard marker before moving over..
 
no simulation

Telling phrase: "The physicists ran the simulation over and over, each time boosting the percentage of rule-breakers. "

With a telling word "simulation".

The thing is you don't need a simulation. If you go to a country where everybody acts like a jerk then you see what *real* traffic jams become and how a minor bit of congestion spirals into a major jam.

What happens in real life is once a few drivers start breaking the rules then it cascades and very quickly the flow breaks down completely.

Try Turkey, where they drive like maniacs, and the sides of the roads are littered with the wrecks that result!
 
This is the one thing that drives me flippin' bonkers on the motorway. I've trained myself to ignore it but I hate it none the less.

I leave a decent stopping distance between me and the car in front, not only because I don't want to shunt into them in case of an emergency stop but also to avoid unecessary hard braking under normal conditions.

What happens is that some nob tailgates me and then undertakes and loses my safety gap to only tailgate the car in front.

Your sig, "If I don't do it y'know somebody else will", looks a bit ironic here, Lewy!;)

An exit from a major roundabout near me goes from two lanes to one after a right hand bend, with signage requesting cars to "zip" into one lane. This reduces bottlenecking, as drivers co-operate with one another, but it takes the sign to promote this common sense behaviour.
 
Your sig, "If I don't do it y'know somebody else will", looks a bit ironic here, Lewy!;)


:p

Actually it's a line from one of my favourite songs, 'Such a night' by Dr John.

He's getting the come on from his best friend Jim's girlfriend hence the line "If I don't do it y'know somebody else will"
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom