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I read a great book about traffic patterns a long time ago, back when I was really into motorcycling. It was written by a traffic engineer. It was so long ago, the name escapes me now.
This phenomenon is common, and it is solely caused by a person or people in the left lane who are not passing people in the other lanes. That is why there are left lane laws in many states. This “bunching” of cars is more likely to lead to accidents than people speeding in the left lane. The left lane is supposed to be a pressure relief valve, allowing traffic to disperse along the highway. The farther that cars are apart from each other, the less likely an accident will occur, regardless of speed.
Which is bringing back memories of another interesting point the book made. If you are one of those “polite” people who approaches a merge, and you move over as quickly as you can, just to be polite, then you are causing traffic to be worse. According to the book, traffic will dissipate faster, if people “filter” to the shortest line possible in the merge. But some people feel like they are cutting the line, so they try to enter the longest line of the merge, long before they reach the back of the shortest line. So you are actually doing everyone a favor, by not being “polite”.
I have this thing that I must have no cars in front of me whenever I drive on the highway. So I either have to be head of the pack or on an empty lane. So I am usually on the left or right lane since they are the 2 most likely to be empty. The right lane is challenging since incoming cars merging and I have to decide whether to speed up or down but usually requires getting around merging cars.
Traffic has picked up the last few weeks but still nowhere close to normal times. I was amazed how good the memorial day weekend was on GSP. I usually cringe have to drive down GSP with tons of beach goers and traffic accidents. Probably the 1st holiday weekend where I didn't see any accidents at all.
+1
A couple of years ago, I was attempting to exit from the parking lot of my local post office, and I had to brake very hard to avoid being hit by a vehicle coming directly at me. The elderly female driver rolled down her window, pointed to a sign, and shouted... Look at the sign! Do Not Enter!
The sign was facing toward her, not in my direction.
its my general belief that most accidents are from poor drivers not aggressive drivers. i use the term "driving scared" to refer to people who seem overwhelmed by driving and are nervous and can be easily confused with road situations.
I have to agree with this. I notice way too many drivers who don't seem confident about their driving skills, particularly on highways. I have often glanced over to the person I'm passing because they are in the center lane going below the speed limit, causing everyone else to have to drive around them, and inevitably I see someone leaning forward, wheel clenched in a death grip, and a look of fear on their face, as if they have no control over what is happening.
inevitably I see someone leaning forward, wheel clenched in a death grip, and a look of fear on their face, as if they have no control over what is happening.
+1
You just described a woman whom I used to know. The only time that I rode in her old Buick, I was sandwiched between the bench seat and the dashboard because she had the seat much further forward than it really needed to be. To make matters worse, the seatbelt/shoulder harness was jammed and could not be used. So, there I was, with my face ridiculously close to the windshield, with no restraint.
But, it gets worse! As soon as she merged onto the NJ Turnpike, she immediately veered over to the left lane, where she proceeded to drive under the speed limit, while cars and trucks blasted their horns at us and careened around us. I asked her why she was driving in the left lane, and her answer was... I feel safer over here!
After that one hair-raising experience, it was just so much easier to say... Let's take my car, June.
I have to agree with this. I notice way too many drivers who don't seem confident about their driving skills, particularly on highways. I have often glanced over to the person I'm passing because they are in the center lane going below the speed limit, causing everyone else to have to drive around them, and inevitably I see someone leaning forward, wheel clenched in a death grip, and a look of fear on their face, as if they have no control over what is happening.
I was hit by a distracted driver, and twice my son has had to drive onto the shoulder to avoid hitting a car that moved into his lane in front of him and then braked. None of them were fearful.
Wait until you guys get on a bike in NJ, some people are very courteous towards bikers but I've seen all kinds of people don't give people on bikes any courtesy. As you bike though a store the most dangerous area are people pulling out of stores they don't seem to see bikers passing by so often I either brake or go around them from behind. I guess it depends on what kind of bikers because I've seen certain bikers that will just go through any intersection without ever checking.
Things are just different now. Stop signs may as well be yields, yellow lights don't mean slow down, they mean gun it, and speed limits are negotiable it seems, not to mention people have learned to drive and use the phone at the same time, somethings always going on in the car, people are either talking away, fumbling with the music, eating, or on that phone. Nobody just drives no more, listens to whatever's on the radio with their head up..
I was hit by a distracted driver, and twice my son has had to drive onto the shoulder to avoid hitting a car that moved into his lane in front of him and then braked. None of them were fearful.
Distracted is a whole different issue! The scared ones are SO alert that it's certainly not them drifting into the next lane. Both types can cause accidents.
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