I always slow down when there are PEOPLE NEAR THE ROADWAY. I don’t consider it rubbernecking, I consider it safer than barreling past at 80 mph.
First, I think it may be difficult to distinguish between the ripple effect described and “rubbernecking”. I’m sure there are people who are slowing down additionally, or not speeding up as quickly as ther could once they reach the site of the accident.
However, I can vouch that the ripple effect definitely occurs. Driving on a Sunday afternoon on lovely I-76 (the most expensive parking lot ever made) in Philadelphia, I have encountered a huge traffic jam. This is very frustrating, as I had not included heavy traffic in my itinerary for the day. Once I get to the end of the jam, I find that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, the would seem to have caused the jam. It makes me curse the rubbernecking yahoo’s who had gone before me for slowing down and causing all this grief. But now I see that perhaps the real cuase is just the ripple effect.
Also, I remember a report on NPR about how traffic studies are a big deal in some physics labs. I remeber discussion of applying fluid models (which was previously mentioned). I also remeber mention of a phase change model i.e. off-peak traffic is a gas, heavy moving traffic a fluid and gridlock a solid.
-G
It’s a quote from a film (and if you’ve ever slipped on cat shit on lino, you’ll know just how slick that can be :))
There is a very interesting interactive dsplay at the Boston Museum of science (and presumably others). It is a computer simulation that treats traffic as a fluid dynamics problem. It shows a circular piece of highway with entry and exit ramps. You control the average speed of the vehicles, and the number of vehicles entering and exiting the roadway. It demonstrates the ripple effect very nicely. Experimenting with various settings shows how speed limis affect traffic volume and how to keep traffic moving smoothly. It’s quite simple and instructive. I wonder if the program is available on the internet anywhere.
This was also discussed in Discover Magazine a few months ago. They said that during peak times, slowing traffic will actually allow everyone to get home quicker. They also showed how small, well regulated traffic circles are faster and safer than four-way stop light intersections.
with the concept of traffic behaving as a fluid and the ripple effect. I have also been curious for a number of years whether a program was available to play in traffic.
HOWEVER, I must insist that rubberneckers contribute to ongoing traffic delays far longer than a delay would otherwise occur. Virtually every time I am stuck in traffic and get to the source of the problem (whether it is off to the side, or on the other side) they person in front of me does not accelerate when the road is clear in front of him/her. Typically they cruise until they are past the point of interest(!) before turning their attention back to driving.
I spoke to a friend about this a number of years ago, as she is one who does this. Her reasoning is that she is stuck in the slowdown and has, in effect, paid her dues to see some carnage.
Drummy,
was the reasoning for slower traffic due to the speed at which people merge into the traffic flow? I fell in love with traffic circles when I drove in the UK and think they work great…too bad North Americans just don’t understand them…
Ha! This is similar to my lament after spending hours in tourist traffic on my way home from the office every Friday … “If I’m stuck in this mess, there’d better be a mangled corpse!”
I’m only kidding of course. It helps ease the tension.
I used to drive a lot, all over the UK, so I saw the ripple thing a lot.
I noticed that the frequency of the stop/starts and the distance that one travelled in each ‘spurt’ seemed to follow a pattern, I even started to wonder if it might be possible, given the duration and frequency of the stop/start events, plus the distance and speed travelled each ‘spurt’, to calculate how far ahead is the obstruction.
If I remember correctly, traffic flowed better when slow becuase it compressed the range of speeds of the different vehicles. Instead of individual cars moving at speeds ranging from 50 to 70, with the slower cars bottling up the faster ones, you have traffic moving at 35 to 40 and everyone moving at a constant rate. I could be misremembering the article, however. I don’t have it in front of me right now.
I only know of two traffic circles near here. The one in New Braunfels seems to work okay, though it takes some getting used to. Also, taking the long way to a left turn is kind of strange. The traffic circle in Waco, however, is infamous for its terror. It is very large and very fast. It is very easy to get swept off into the wrong direction, or worse.