Comments on: Traffic Ahead http://www.howwedrive.com/2008/07/28/traffic-ahead/ Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 17 May 2012 03:32:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Alistair Adams http://www.howwedrive.com/2008/07/28/traffic-ahead/#comment-73 Alistair Adams Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:09:24 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=141#comment-73 Just caught your interview with Terry. You talked about the dilemma zone and that we're not robots that can make calculations on speed and time. You also talked about roundabouts. Having learned my traffic skills in the UK, a country full of roundabouts and devoid of stop signs, my observation is the US drivers are less skilled at looking ahead and estimating speed and time that UK drivers. This I attribute to the many 4-way stops which remove all need for this skill and the lack of roundabouts which to navigate quickly and successfully requires the ability to look ahead, judge relative speed, distance and timing. The lack of skill of judging speeds and planning ahead is what results in the wave pattern on heavily congested freeways (at least in California) which creates stress and accidents. I remember driving in similar conditions in a business trip in Germany and remarking how the traffic just smoothly crept along at 10-15 mph. With regard to cyclists and drivers, one thing I've noticed is that drivers wanting to make a right turn will often pass a cyclist then stop and wait for the cycling to pass ahead inside of the vehicle, something that as a cyclist I find very scary. That rarely happens in the UK. I've yet to come up with a plausible reason for this difference. Just caught your interview with Terry. You talked about the dilemma zone and that we’re not robots that can make calculations on speed and time. You also talked about roundabouts. Having learned my traffic skills in the UK, a country full of roundabouts and devoid of stop signs, my observation is the US drivers are less skilled at looking ahead and estimating speed and time that UK drivers. This I attribute to the many 4-way stops which remove all need for this skill and the lack of roundabouts which to navigate quickly and successfully requires the ability to look ahead, judge relative speed, distance and timing.

The lack of skill of judging speeds and planning ahead is what results in the wave pattern on heavily congested freeways (at least in California) which creates stress and accidents. I remember driving in similar conditions in a business trip in Germany and remarking how the traffic just smoothly crept along at 10-15 mph.

With regard to cyclists and drivers, one thing I’ve noticed is that drivers wanting to make a right turn will often pass a cyclist then stop and wait for the cycling to pass ahead inside of the vehicle, something that as a cyclist I find very scary. That rarely happens in the UK. I’ve yet to come up with a plausible reason for this difference.

]]> By: Shauna http://www.howwedrive.com/2008/07/28/traffic-ahead/#comment-69 Shauna Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:38:44 +0000 http://www.howwedrive.com/?p=141#comment-69 Caught bits & pieces of your interview w/Terry Gross - couldn't tell you had a cold and was fascinated by the info. I feel fortunate I caught it, and will be headed to a book shop later this afternoon. Of particular interest, is your research on bicyclists and drivers. We own a bicycle shop in Reno and it seems the culture is to drive OVER cyclists, purposefully running cyclists OFF THE ROAD! (OF COURSE cyclists need to obey traffic laws as well; no more than two abreast, hugging the shoulder as much as possible, signaling, etc.) Despite rising gas costs, we fear that bicycle commuting isn't going to dramatically increase until attitudes change. It seems to be a vicious circle of "It's only MY road," vs. "SHARE the road," drivers and cyclists alike! Caught bits & pieces of your interview w/Terry Gross - couldn’t tell you had a cold and was fascinated by the info. I feel fortunate I caught it, and will be headed to a book shop later this afternoon. Of particular interest, is your research on bicyclists and drivers. We own a bicycle shop in Reno and it seems the culture is to drive OVER cyclists, purposefully running cyclists OFF THE ROAD! (OF COURSE cyclists need to obey traffic laws as well; no more than two abreast, hugging the shoulder as much as possible, signaling, etc.) Despite rising gas costs, we fear that bicycle commuting isn’t going to dramatically increase until attitudes change. It seems to be a vicious circle of “It’s only MY road,” vs. “SHARE the road,” drivers and cyclists alike!

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