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Shockwave traffic jams -- the kind where you slow down and speed up (with others behind you doing the same thing) -- have finally been recreated in a controlled environment (woo-hoo!). Theories about the causes of traffic jams have been computer modeled before, but here hasn't been a live demonstration of how a body of traffic goes from highway speeds to a dead stop -- for no apparent reason -- until now.

A team of Japanese scientists put 22 cars on a circular track and told them to drive about 20-MPH. Sure enough, a few laps in, uneven gaps appeared between the cars. Then a group of cars got bunched up. The people at the back of the bunch sometimes had to come to a stop. The car at the front of the bunch would lurch away... only to rejoin the back of the bunch on the other side of the circle.

Now that the phenomenon has been recreated in "lab" conditions, the greatest minds of our generation can get to fixing it. Or, not really, since the cause of shockwave jams is conclusively shown to be -- tada! -- human error. Some folks just can't go with the flow when traffic needs it most. So while fixing human error might not be on the cards, at least there's some hope now for traffic jams. Watch video of the artificial shockwave traffic jam after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Ben!

[Source: New Scientist]

There is a nice discussion going on over at AutoblogGreen regarding the act of lane splitting, which is when a motorcycle rides the dotted line in-between lanes. Lane splitting is a common practice in much of Europe, but here in the States it's only legal in California. Golden State law dictates that a motorcycle is only allowed to split lanes when traffic is moving very slowly or stopped and "must be done in a safe and prudent manner." NBC San Diego ran a little news piece on lane splitting and found that some drivers in California weren't even aware that it was legal, and others dislike the practice.

According to the video, the practice of lane splitting was initially allowed for safety reasons, and while many doubt that the practice is safe, data suggests that lane splitting reduces rear-end collisions involving motorcycles. So, what do you think? Is lane splitting a good idea? If so, should it be made legal in all s
States?

[Source: AutoblogGreen, NBC San Diego]

Red light cameras are nothing more than a surreptitious tax. Oh sure, they're sold to municipalities as a safety benefit, but what else would you say if you wanted to be paid to install, administrate, and monitor your little ticket-writing bots? The cities and towns that put the cameras greedily snap up the extra revenue generated by dangerously short yellow lights and overzealous cameras. Patrick Bedard has been poking holes in the theory that traffic cameras are the salve for behind the wheel idiocy, and a recent study by the University of South Florida Public Health agrees that the cameras actually cause accidents. Other studies also back up the findings that drivers are quicker to slam on their brakes at yellow lights when they spot the cameras. While it should not play out with a rear ending, nobody maintains a safe following distance, or even pays attention. In some cases, the rate of red light running is low enough that the cameras cause a spike in incidents, proving that the cure can sometimes be worse than the sickness.

[Source: Kicking Tires, Photo: Morning Chu Hi]

Neenah, Wisconsin has such a speeding problem that it can't keep up. Even with a full court press of law enforcement, drivers continue to speed and have even sped by other motorists receiving their obligatory revenue-production invoice. In an effort to keep drivers on their toes while also leaving time to fight real crimes, the Neenah PD will post cardboard cutouts that look like an officer pointing a radar gun in strategic locations. Like something out of Weekend At Bernie's, the paper tigers will be rotated with living, breathing officers so that the ruse has a chance of effecting change. At this point, it's less about filling the coffers and more about quelling an epidemic of overly-velocitized drivers.

[Source: Winding Road, Photo: brentkmoore.blogspot.com]

In light of the "backwards-travelling wave" that researchers recently discovered as a cause of congestion, another study has pinpointed a possible major contributor. The University of Utah's Traffic Lab uncovered that drivers paying more attention to yapping on their phone – hands free or not – add to the suffering of us all. Talking while driving leads to drivers who take considerably longer to change lanes when following slow-moving vehicles, drive slower overall, and take longer to arrive at their destination.

Any benefits from slower speeds and more deliberate movements are mitigated by the distraction of a conversation. Thinking along the lines of chaos theory, even the small slowdowns created by poky drivers can grow into exponentially larger traffic problems quickly. Then, when we're all stuck in the stop and go, we call someone else and bitch about how bad the traffic is. Sounds like what they've really discovered in Utah is the fuel for a perpetual motion machine. Car stops, jaw continually flaps.

[Source: Reuters, Photo: hotrodscustomstuff.com]

Finally, there's an explanation for those wasted hours we spent on the MassPike today asking no one in particular "what the (dirty word) is this (dirty word)?" A team of mathemeticians from the Universities of Exeter, Bristol and Budapest developed a mathematical model revealing that traffic jams are caused by idiots. Okay, not exactly. The real explanation is that unexpected events, such as being cut off, require slowing below a threshold speed for smooth traffic flow. As we've all observed, when the car in front of you brakes suddenly, you need to brake even harder to compensate for your reaction time; this creates a wave that radiates back through traffic. That "backward-traveling-wave" means that because of one driver's inattention, we all pay for it miles behind.

The results of the study really point up the need to drive smoothly. Roads with heavy traffic volume seem to be more prone to traffic jams, too, but that's not necessarily the case. Heavy volume can proceed smoothly if drivers anticipate and avoid sudden actions. In the end, it appears that the main way to fix traffic jams is driver diligence. The low-tech solution is to pay attention when you're behind the wheel, but we've also now got radar-based cruise control that does this for you, so you can continue blithely on your way. It boils down to common sense; be a smooth driver, expect that everyone around you is a moron, and hopefully you won't be slamming on your brakes, causing a domino reaction.

[Source: physorg.com via Motive Mag, Photo: Ed Edahl/FEMA]

Here's a news flash: traffic is a huge waste of time for commuters mired in rush hour gridlock. A recent study by the Texas Travel Institute unearthed some startling statistics concerning traffic, and everybody, including state and local governments, is paying huge.

On average, drivers spend 38 hours per year in traffic, which translates into 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel. If you live in L.A., 72 hours per year are thrown out the window as a result of congestion. Due to the strain that 2.9 billion additional gallons of gasoline puts on the volatile refinery market and all the lost revenue caused by the delays, about $78 billion goes down the drain each year.

The study puts much of the blame on an infrastructure that hasn't grown much over 50 years, even as the amount of drivers on the road has exploded. Commuters are also putting more distance between themselves and their typical destination. It'd be a welcome sight for our government to spend as much energy increasing the bandwidth of our roads as it does imposing challenging fuel economy standards on automakers. The economy could use the extra jobs created by the needed construction work, and our environment could use a break from all the carbon coming from drivers with their foot on their brake.

[Source: CNN Money]

We understand a lot of strange urges, especially when it comes to cars. What we don't understand is the urge to do something illegal, commit it to video, and then upload that video to one of the world's most famous broadcast mediums.

A teenage mechanic in England took his dad's MR2 for a high speed run on the M65 and, recording the event for posterity on his cell phone, got to an indicated 140 mph. An off-duty police officer watched him thread traffic and use the shoulder for his run, and got his license plate number but didn't follow and arrest. A week later, the officer was told about a YouTube video, and it turned out to be the teen in question on that very drive. Campbell told the court that he didn't upload the video, but he sent it to a friend who did. The court did give him a small break, shaving 20 MPH off his offense, and charged him for driving 120 instead of 140. For his friend's efforts, Campbell gets to spend a stint in the brig while he contemplates his next feature film.

Thanks for the tip, EricDJ!

[Source: This London]

As Americans are well aware, angry drivers are a dedicated, relentless, and unpredictable bunch. Angry drivers in Britain, fed up with the scourge of Gatso speed cameras, have destroyed them in all manner of ways. How are the authorities (or rather, capitalism) fighting back? A Dutch company has created a camera it wants to sell in Britain that could actually survive a day on the corner of a Baghdad street, let alone whatever purturbed British motorists can throw at it.

The camera is 13-feet tall, sits on a steel base placed in the ground, has cameras hidden behind strengthened glass, and has a fire-resistant body. It can monitor four lanes of traffic moving in both directions and doesn't use flashes so you don't know when you've been caught. And due to new regulations, it can be painted to blend in with its surroundings. Not only is it practically indestructible, but if it senses a threat via onboard smoke and vibration detectors, it will alert the nearest police station and upload all of its data to a central database so that no scofflaw gets away. Pending Home Office approval in England, it will be one giant leap for law enforcement, and one step closer to Robocop. We can think of only one achilles heel for this indestructible speed camera... a setp ladder and some spray paint.

Thanks for the tip, Spluch!

[Source: This London]

Ever feel like one more day of commuting will kill you? You might be right, especially if you live in Riverside, California. Or Atlanta. Or Los Angeles. Those are the top three cities on Forbes' list of the 25 with the most unhealthy commutes.

The combination of dangerous drivers, the stress of dealing with them and high levels of air pollution is apparently taking a serious toll on big-city commuters' health. Forbes quotes one study showing Americans commute an average of 25 minutes every day, but are exposed to 50% of the day's pollution during their drives. One study found diesel particle levels four to eight times greater inside commuters' cars than outside. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Southern California gets four spots on the list, with Houston, Miami, Detroit and Washington, D.C., taking some of the others.

There are ways to make your drive to and from work healthier, though. Forbes recommends you roll up your windows and set the air to recirculate. That will reduce some of the incoming air, and maybe some of the particulates that clog up your respiratory plumbing. Another health-saving solution is to take the long way home. Taking that curvy road home will not only give your inner F1 driver an outlet, but it will also avoid all those particulates spewed by diesel trucks on the highways.

[Source: Forbes, photo by K.C. Hohensee]