What Causes Traffic Jams? - Instant Egghead

Dec 17, 2012 | 1

It's happened to all of us: we're cruising down the freeway and suddenly find ourselves stuck in a thick jam of other cars. Where did they come from? What caused the traffic mess? Scientific American editor Larry Greenemeier explains.

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1. sunspot 05:06 PM 12/18/12

Larry,
While your model is very basic, you could add that lane-changing behavior is a primary cause of sudden braking and accidents. Also, please give references to traffic models and studies. What is new and timely in the field of traffic analysis?

I'm interested because I used to pass the time, while stuck in traffic, thinking up mathematical models (my profession) of diamond lanes (multi-passenger requirement) vs. normal usage of the lanes. The diamond lanes turned out to be a traffic nightmare and they caused a big increase in accidents due to the sudden braking of diamond lane drivers who needed to exit or otherwise merge into the normal (slower) lanes. The result: Diamond lanes are a really bad idea, leading to unsafe conditions and they actually decrease traffic flow!
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