I just came across this:

traffic-simulation.de/ring.html

I read about the idea of traffic waves over 20 years ago, and I often drive with this in mind, but almost everybody hates me for it. Nobody seems to be able to get out of their head that fast doesn't necessarily mean fast in traffic.

I never do this sort of driving in the right lane because it freaks me out and annoys the stupid drivers, but does anyone else practice leaving a gap and using it to absorb the ebbs and flows of traffic? It ends up being at least as fast and better flowing, but people sure don't understand it.

Is there a chance that your mother is your father's cousin?

Wasnt there a documentary showing where they experimented with slowing to a stop on a big american bridge would take hours to return traffic to normal etc ?

Yeah,I do that. Can't see the point of rushing up and then stopping. Heard about it being better for the traffic years ago

Its a good representation of how things could work, and how they do work (pretty sure they did it for real somewhere too).

unfortunately almost everyone has a different mentality to that when driving, and rds aren't always multi lane straights with no entries or exits. Leave a gap and someone will fill it the moment they feel a slight amount of slowing in their own lane.

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Subsonic said..
Its a good representation of how things could work, and how they do work (pretty sure they did it for real somewhere too).

unfortunately almost everyone has a different mentality to that when driving, and rds aren't always multi lane straights with no entries or exits. Leave a gap and someone will fill it the moment they feel a slight amount of slowing in their own lane.

That last bit is the hardest thing. You have to override your compulsion to stop people doing that. People will see a gap and jump in. I think people instinctively think 'that lane must be faster'. The cool thing is that the same person will sit there for a while, realise it is no faster and then jump out. Just leave the gap and get over it. It will sort itself out and that person will change lanes again, and even if they don't, so what? If the traffic moves smoother and that person is 5 cars ahead of you, does it really matter?

The biggest danger with driving like this is that often the person behind you gets upset and thinks 'you are driving too slow' and gets angry. Even though you are doing the same average speed and much smoother, people don't like it. On the other hand you do get people that happily sit behind you and have a smooth drive to work with no constant stopping and starting, even though sometimes they don't realise it.

That simulation has different scenarios where you can see different traffic configurations. You can change the number of cars, their speed, on the onramp and on the primary road. When you click on areas, it slows the cars down in that area and that then impacts the flow. If nothing else, it shows you how things fall apart really easily. You can even add traffic lights to see what they do.

One of the things that really started me doing this was when I used to drive to work in Sydney, there would be an accident on the road running under the airport regularly. Once the accident cleared, nothing would change because everyone would drive up, slow down, lots of people would be rubberneck to see what caused it, and then speed off. So you would get a blockage that would last all 'peak hour', hours after the accident.

The solution to it was to slow down well before the blockage, leave a big enough gap, and then keep driving at a constant speed through that area. Unless some idiot slows to look, it makes the blockage just vanish.

Now, I see the same thing on the Kwinana in Perth. There are certain roads where people merge like numpties and it just creates jams for no reason. Every single day.

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myscreenname said..
Is there a chance that your mother is your father's cousin?

There's always a chance. I will ask aunty-grandma when I see her next.

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Froth Goth said..
Wasnt there a documentary showing where they experimented with slowing to a stop on a big american bridge would take hours to return traffic to normal etc ?

I think there are heaps of this sort of stuff on Youtube and Mythbusters have looked at it at least once.

You can try it on that simulation link I posted. You just have to add traffic lights, stop the cars, and when they start again, the blockage stays. You can change the number of cars, their speed, and the distance between them, and at some settings, the blockage disappears.

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Subsonic said..

unfortunately almost everyone has a different mentality to that when driving, and rds aren't always multi lane straights with no entries or exits.

Just to clarify that, the simulation has a few models you can select, not just the roundabout with no entries or exits. I think the big circle is just to simplify what you are looking at.

Click on a point on that big circle to slow cars, to simulate them slowing, and see the blockage it creates. I think its a pretty accurate simulation.

Now I have regen braking, I do it more, especially coming up to traffic lights. Using the brake just wastes power, so timing the lights so the left pedal isn't needed is the most efficient.
It can piss the driver behind me off though, and I try not to do that.
They don't realise they are saving on brake pad wear and wasted fuel.

I've noticed that when we run our petrol Golf in Eco mode, it seems to put the transmission into neutral so we can lift off earlier and coast up the the lights with no engine braking.

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remery said..
I've noticed that when we run our petrol Golf in Eco mode, it seems to put the transmission into neutral so we can lift off earlier and coast up the the lights with no engine braking.

It does that? My falcon drops fuel to nothing when coasting down a hill, but keeps the engine engaged. I had assumed that engine braking was a good thing in most cases, but unless you downshift it probably doesn't have much effect.

It still surprises me that a 4 litre engine can get such good economy, but it does it by shutting the alternator down a lot when running. Sure, its not as good as a smaller engine, but for such a big engine, remarkable economy.

My car only seems to have eco terrorist mode so I challenge myself to get from MH to Perth without ever touching the brakes, and smooth the traffic flow. - it's a joy when you have someone behind you who understands. These days, in the LH lane, it is rare that I don't have a rear view mirror full of a chrome radiator grille when I try, and TBH I can rarely see more than a car or two ahead so it's certainly getting more of a challenge, but at least it keeps my defensive/evasive driving skills on par.

I just found the updated rules on WA driving etiquette. Have read if you are new to the west coast:
www.thebelltowertimes.com/top-signs-youre-driving-in-wa/

Form another site:-
Tail gaiting - there is nothing like a lazy afternoon to zip in and out of lanes in a mad rush to get to the lights slightly quicker than your fellow motorist. However, some days this is simply not enough. After all, you didn't buy a Ford Ranger to sit meekly behind a driver that is working you up for the sin of doing the speed limit.Thus you are duty bound by the laws of being an aggro-dick to drive precisely 2cm away from the rear of the car in front of you. No doubt this will motivate them to go faster. Or perhaps brake-check you - in which case you'll be forced to follow them home and attack them in front of their family. It's the natural order of the world.