One of my hot buttons!bblhd672 wrote:I wish everyone exceeding the speed limit in DFW area would slow down! When I'm going 70 in traffic and someone flies past me weaving in and out of traffic I always wonder if they have any idea the effect they are having on other motorists?
An experiment worth trying - estimate how many cars per minute pass a spot on the road when traffic is heavy but running free and 70 MPH. Now count how many cars per minute pass that same spot when traffic is running 5 MPH.
It seems to me the number is about the same. It's like a road has a certain bandwidth. Cars can go 75 or crawl, about the same number get through every hour, no matter how long it takes any individual traveler.
I'm certain that if every driver in Dallas woke up tomorrow with the notion they would maintain reasonable following distance, avoiding the accordion effect where traffic for miles squeezes up if one driver hits his brake abruptly, everyone would get to work quicker. Particularly those who got to work without the help of a tow truck.
On that dark, dreadful day when cars are all automated, we'll at least have quicker commutes. Cold algorithms won't mind slowing down for more efficient use of a road.
And no doubt our machines will offer endless benefits as human judgement becomes obsolete.
Yep, one day you're tailgating, the next you've been rendered at a Soylent Green plant, all because you ripped the label off a mattress as a kid and started the whole avalanche.
