5 HN users recommended this explainer5 months2013–2022score 5.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN likes it as a fun, clear explainer of traffic waves and of the benefits of leaving gaps while driving.
A short video from the trafficwaves.org site showing how traffic jams and standing waves form, including the fight between cheaters and blockers at an exit-lane backup. It also touches on how individual driving behavior affects the flow.
“One of my favorite videos of all time on this topic: Traffic Waves” (HN, 2022)
One of my favorite videos of all time on this topic: Traffic Waves [this video] (Not new information, but a fun video, and it's something truckers have known about for decades)
You beautiful zen traffic wave surfer you. This, a thousand times this. Somewhere on the web there is a great video of a guy doing this pretty effectively. I guess it's maybe five years old now but worth a watch. I think this wsj vid may contain excerpts from the original: [link] If everyone could just relax out there, some of those traffic standing waves would diffuse away to nothing. Ahhh... When I get in bad traffic and struggle against the urge to tailgate I play a game where I try and give enough space to where I just roll up to the car in front of me as it is starting to move again. This gives me a time-local goal to aim at instead of fixating on supposed "bad actors" I might want to judge instead. Edit: I found it! (from 2008 it appears) [this video]
Demonstrates driving to dissolve traffic standing waves
I leave massive gaps constantly now, it lets me see farther ahead so I can switch lanes when I see a problem coming and my average trip time is definitely shorter because of this. I really like this video for describing some of the advantages of "zen driving": [this video]
Describes advantages of leaving gaps while driving
Original copy at [link] A video from there, omitted from OP: [this video] OP is a cut-down version of this site, which has been up for a decade or two. I'm curious if it's a legitimate copy.
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