Traffic Waves

As you know by now, I like to give driving tips in my columns, and when I come across a new one - new to me anyway - I want to share it. 

I recently watched a video about something called a 'traffic wave'.  Further research elicited another name, the 'phantom traffic jam'.  It taught me that, although I've been driving for sixty years and have been in many, many traffic waves during that time, I have been using exactly the wrong action to break the wave or prevent one in the first place.

How many times have you been driving along and suddenly seen lots of brake lights up ahead?   Your first thought is that there must be an accident or some road construction that is causing the backup.  Then, when you finally can see far enough ahead to determine that traffic is again flowing smoothly, you realize that there is no reason at all for the blockage; no accident on either side and no closed lanes.  For some unknown reason, all the traffic is starting to flow again from the front of the jam.

This is a traffic wave, not a traffic jam, distinguished by the lack of accident or any  road construction at the head of the stoppage.  There has apparently been a lot of research on what causes stop-and-go traffic, and there were three main causes:

• Variable speeds of the vehicles. 
• Failure to keep adequate space between vehicles 
• Frequent lane changing. 

These three factors can actually create traffic jams without any other physical cause.

If all vehicles are moving at the same speed, there should be no stoppage, but tailgating, not keeping adequate space between vehicles can cause it.  A safe distance is governed by the 3 second rule, which increases distance as speed goes higher.  SmartMotorist.com has a good article on that if you care to read it by clicking on the link.

Lane changing is another no-no, but we all do it.  Except in heavy traffic, you should only change lanes to pass the vehicle in front of you, and then you should get back in line in the rightmost driving lane.  Hogging the passing lane is one cause of both traffic waves and road rage, and we all know how that sometimes turns out.

I have a confession to make before I continue.  I am guilty of all three of the above, and I have often criticized my dear wife for NOT following my instructions to "close it up," or "get over into the next lane," or even "go a little faster and pass that truck."  It turns out that she was doing the right thing after all.

I could try to explain what I learned in print, but if you watch at least the two videos that I've linked for you above, I believe you'll get the idea.  If not, use your search engine and input "traffic waves" (without the quotations) to see several other explanations.

The only thing I will state here are the three positive actions you can take to possibly prevent the hypothetical "next" traffic wave:

• Maintain a constant speed with the traffic in your lane
• Leave some space between your vehicle and the one ahead, even when not moving, and don't get upset if a vehicle moves into the space.  Adjust to keep the same distance from that vehicle.
• Try not to change lanes except when passing and to enter or exit the roadway.

Following those three simple rules won't prevent any future traffic waves, because other drivers will continue to break them, but at least you won't be the one to start the wave, and you might find that you can be the one to break it up.  If nothing else, you can prevent a traffic wave in your lane merely by following these three rules. I've tried it and it actually does work.