Actually, traffic does behave like a liquid... kinda...
The traffic simulations I've seen use a particle model to work out traffic flows. The idea being that people over and under estimate the speed of their own car, and others on the road. The result of this is each car "vibrates" against others (with a certain air gap, hopefully).
The result of *that* is that traffic tends to slow *more* than the slowest driver would travel at. Which is why you get congestion at points of merging and corners for no appare
This is really easy to work out.
If we select describe the mean journey length, l, and we have a maximum speed s, then the journey time t = l/s.
If we decrease the maximum speed, then we can see that this increases the mean journey time.
People will start there journeys at different times. This means that there will be a rate of journeys being started, and they will exist for a time (mean journey time).
A journey, means a car on the road.
If you increase the amount of time a journey takes, you must inc
It's not that simple. The stoping distance increases with speed, so therefore the space taken up by a car will increase. Secondly, unless you drive at a constant speed at all times, the algorithm to calculate your time on the road is not correct. It is possible that when speeding your journey will take exactly the same time.
Speeding does slow you down. Especially when it's significantly faster than the limit/traffic flow.
The reasoning is simple, there are enough people who don't want to get ticketed, die in a car wreck, ect. that when you are trying to maintain the high rate of speed you will eventually have to go around one of them, and sooner or later you will get stuck in the outside lane by one. The outside lane is called the slow lane for a reason. By the time you Unstick yourself the cars you were in front of in the other lane have already passed you.
Not only that but the spacing and cycle duration of red lights is such that you typically find yourself stoped at one for long enough that all those 'slowpokes' you left behind are now right next to you also waiting for the light to change.
And of course over the long haul the time you spend pulled over getting a ticket brings the average way down (as doese the wasted time on the bus when you finally loose your drivers license).
I average about 30k miles a year, mostly local travel on a few highways and local roads. And based on my experience a fast car is slower than a smart driver. I've frequently pulled up to red lights next to the guy who was so frantic to pass me (when I was already doing the speed limit) twice in about three years I've caught up to the guy made plain his discontent at my only doing +5 over on the highway, except he was pulled over and I'm shure I got where I was going well before he did. I've had idiots 'pass' me three or four times because thier in such a hurry they get themselves repeatedly stuck behind slower traffic.
Doesn't slower speed increase congestion? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Doesn't slower speed increase congestion? (Score:0)
This is one of those cases. If traffic was a liquid flowing smoothly through a pipe, then it would be. But traffic does not behave like a liquid.
Re:Doesn't slower speed increase congestion? (Score:5, Informative)
The traffic simulations I've seen use a particle model to work out traffic flows. The idea being that people over and under estimate the speed of their own car, and others on the road. The result of this is each car "vibrates" against others (with a certain air gap, hopefully).
The result of *that* is that traffic tends to slow *more* than the slowest driver would travel at. Which is why you get congestion at points of merging and corners for no appare
Slower speed does increase congestion...but (Score:1)
Re:Slower speed does increase congestion...but (Score:1)
Re:Slower speed does increase congestion...but (Score:0)
only if:
Re:Slower speed does increase congestion...but (Score:3, Insightful)
The reasoning is simple, there are enough people who don't want to get ticketed, die in a car wreck, ect. that when you are trying to maintain the high rate of speed you will eventually have to go around one of them, and sooner or later you will get stuck in the outside lane by one. The outside lane is called the slow lane for a reason. By the time you Unstick yourself the cars you were in front of in the other lane have already passed you.
Not only that but the spacing and cycle duration of red lights is such that you typically find yourself stoped at one for long enough that all those 'slowpokes' you left behind are now right next to you also waiting for the light to change.
And of course over the long haul the time you spend pulled over getting a ticket brings the average way down (as doese the wasted time on the bus when you finally loose your drivers license).
I average about 30k miles a year, mostly local travel on a few highways and local roads. And based on my experience a fast car is slower than a smart driver. I've frequently pulled up to red lights next to the guy who was so frantic to pass me (when I was already doing the speed limit) twice in about three years I've caught up to the guy made plain his discontent at my only doing +5 over on the highway, except he was pulled over and I'm shure I got where I was going well before he did. I've had idiots 'pass' me three or four times because thier in such a hurry they get themselves repeatedly stuck behind slower traffic.
Mycroft