This is What You Need To Know if you Want to Avoid Sitting In Gridlock Traffic
Jim Schwartz coined the term “gridlock” for describing the heavy traffic we so often find ourselves facing in our daily commute. As a traffic engineer, it is Jim’s job to understand the flow of cars on our highways, and he’s come up with some tips for avoiding traffic, or at least lessening your contribution to the problem.
Schwartz’s first tip is an easy one for most of us: stay off the brakes! Not only does braking slow your vehicle down, it signals to those behind you to slow down, possibly starting a chain-reaction of braking and even phantom traffic jams, as demonstrated by the traffic circle exercise in this video. With no outside influence, the drivers in the demonstration manage to create traffic jams while simply driving around a roundabout, all thanks to unnecessary braking.
Schwartz also suggests laying off the tailgating, which is not only unsafe, but rude. And finally, Jim suggests picking a lane and sticking with it, and provides another demonstration to prove his theory. Watch as a pair of Inside Edition staffers – one changing lanes aggressively and the other sticking to a single lane – drive 35 minutes, only to arrive at their destination at the same time. Watch this video, and keep Schwartz’s tips in mind next time you take to the highways, and just maybe we can cut down on some of the congestion.
