#trafficsolution #trafficjam #commuting
If you have always lived in the US, this observation may be alien to you. And if it seems alien at first, please think about it and then let me know your thoughts.
Traffic in the US, in large metropolises, has only gotten worse. The promise of less traffic through either self-driving cars or car-sharing has yet to materialize. Instead, the latter, has actually created more traffic as it has become a means of income for some people.
My observation and suggestion is for highway driving and it is simple. There is only one. The right-of-way is 100% for the vehicles already in the highway. In Western Europe, cars merging into the highway must yield to vehicles already in it. Even, if yielding causes backups into the highway. It works very similar to control traffic lights during busy rush hours. Except merging drivers follow the yielding rules on their own.
Because cars merging into the highway must yield, it means fewer distractions and fewer lane changes for vehicles already in the highway. Each time a vehicle changes lanes, specially during heavy traffic, it causes a downstream effect of adjustments to vehicles following. They either have to slow down and/or change lanes themselves. It’s a domino effect. Anytime a vehicle in front of you causes you to make a change, you may do the same to the person behind you, or next to you, and so on down the line.
Another benefit of the yielding of merging vehicles, is that since cars do not have to worry about vehicles merging into the slow lane, they can remain in slower lanes without worrying about cars slowing them down. One of the reasons people tend to stay off the slow lane is because of the added activity in it; cars merging, exiting and sometimes passing. Because most drivers can remain in the slower lanes, it means that faster drivers can use the faster lanes exclusively for passing. The benefit of this approach is that as a driver you have one less thing to worry about in terms of drivers overtaking you on the right side.
All in all, while it may seem like this idea/suggestion may cause additional delays (mostly merging into the highway), it enhances the driving experience by making it less stressful. Stress and crowding are some of the most common causes of road-rage and by reducing some of the stress-inducing habits we’ve become accustomed to, commuting to work could actually be enjoyable.
All vehicles merging onto the highway must yield. Vehicles already on the highway have 100% right-of-way.
What do you think?
