Mathematicians take aim at 'phantom' traffic jams (+ photo radar argument)

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Drifter Steve

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- i tried explaining this theory to some people in the "photo radar is bad mmmkay" thread.


basically, a person slowing down because of a radar trap, can have devastating consequences to the flow of traffic behind them.

Mathematicians take aim at 'phantom' traffic jams - MIT News Office

Countless hours are lost in traffic jams every year. Most frustrating of all are those jams with no apparent cause -- no accident, no stalled vehicle, no lanes closed for construction.

Such phantom jams can form when there is a heavy volume of cars on the road. In that high density of traffic, small disturbances (a driver hitting the brake too hard, or getting too close to another car) can quickly become amplified into a full-blown, self-sustaining traffic jam.

 
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Our traffic problems are more than just phantom jams.

Last second cutting; traffic weaving; random braking; left-laners that cut two lanes to exit; road-ragers who won't let traffic flow from entrance ramps... just to name a few.

The model described in the article is pretty good, although an actual published paper would be even better because we don't really know get much detail in the article.
 
This happens on the 15N every single day right before real rush hour hits..

say around 2:30-3:00pm.. the S-shape bend in the highway before De Salaberry makes idiot drivers hit their brakes instead of just letting off the gas in anticipation.. it's atleast 3 times that I've had to slam on the brakes and come to a complete stop in the middle lane most probably because some clown was tailgating, and it causes a monumental shift in traffic flow.

I locked my brakes once because of this.. fucking insane. Going 100 to 15km/h in the middle lane.. unreal.
 
This happens on the 15N every single day right before real rush hour hits..

say around 2:30-3:00pm.. the S-shape bend in the highway before De Salaberry makes idiot drivers hit their brakes instead of just letting off the gas in anticipation.. it's atleast 3 times that I've had to slam on the brakes and come to a complete stop in the middle lane most probably because some clown was tailgating, and it causes a monumental shift in traffic flow.

I locked my brakes once because of this.. fucking insane. Going 100 to 15km/h in the middle lane.. unreal.

I don't understand why people are braking in the 1st place that S curve can easily be taken going 100-120 or even more.
 
I don't understand why people are braking in the 1st place that S curve can easily be taken going 100-120 or even more.

All it takes is one idiot not paying attention to hit the brakes and one idiot tailgating him to cause a complete stop a half a km down the highway.. and only in the middle lane for some reason, I don't get it.. its 4-5 times now that it happens and there's no accident or any other apparent reason.
 
Our traffic problems are more than just phantom jams.

Last second cutting; traffic weaving; random braking; left-laners that cut two lanes to exit; road-ragers who won't let traffic flow from entrance ramps... just to name a few.

The model described in the article is pretty good, although an actual published paper would be even better because we don't really know get much detail in the article.

heres your article
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0810/0810.2820v1.pdf
 
Their argument will be: "Ya but, traffic jams aren't dangerous. Our goal was to make the roads safer, which we did. Who cares if it takes an extra half an hour to get to work and get home every day."

Of course we would all scream "FAIL!", but that wouldn't do any good as usual.
 
This happens on the 15N every single day right before real rush hour hits..

say around 2:30-3:00pm.. the S-shape bend in the highway before De Salaberry makes idiot drivers hit their brakes instead of just letting off the gas in anticipation.. it's atleast 3 times that I've had to slam on the brakes and come to a complete stop in the middle lane most probably because some clown was tailgating, and it causes a monumental shift in traffic flow.

I locked my brakes once because of this.. fucking insane. Going 100 to 15km/h in the middle lane.. unreal.

Une des amies a ma mere evite de prendre la 15 a cause y'a ''trop de virages''. True story, elle doit etre belle a voir quand a conduit...
 
Just take a look at the champlain bridge, theres ALWAYS people slowing down over the highest point of the bridge... which causes massive traffic jams all the way down the highway, retarded.
 
Their argument will be: "Ya but, traffic jams aren't dangerous. Our goal was to make the roads safer, which we did. Who cares if it takes an extra half an hour to get to work and get home every day."

Of course we would all scream "FAIL!", but that wouldn't do any good as usual.

Lol, try telling that to my lab crew, 4 years and over 40 million in lung cancer research, do you think that spending hours in traffic is good for ether you immune system or your lungs. Humor me and make the link in your fluoride overdosed brain, cancer patient = 4 million of therapy + endless oncology lists.
 
I don't understand why people are braking in the 1st place that S curve can easily be taken going 100-120 or even more.

...because people never learned how to take a curve correctly....how many idiots end up in the ditch in the winter for the same exact reason???
 
Just take a look at the champlain bridge, theres ALWAYS people slowing down over the highest point of the bridge... which causes massive traffic jams all the way down the highway, retarded.

J'ai jamais compris pourquoi le monde ralentissent rendu en haut du pont. C'est vraiment gossant.
 
Ceux qui m'énervent sont ceux qui collent l'auto d'en avant (toutes voies confondues) et qui mettent les brakes à tout les 5 secondes parce qu'ils réalisent qu'ils sont trop proche.....DÉCOLLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
je pense aussi que c'est a cause du fait qu'on a pas de system de controle de circulation par ordinateur... c'est moins pire dans les autres villes canadiennes qui on incorporé ce systeme

i believe it's also because we don't have a computerized traffic control system...
traffic is much more bearable in the other canadian cities that do have it.
 
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