Back off Jack...

Coming through Chicago (I know but still) couple weeks ago I had 3-4 truck lengths between me and the truck in front. Then as I'm watching Idiot 1 in the left lane signals to get in front of me, and Idiot 2 on the right does the same. Luckily they didn't hit. I was being safe, alert and left lots of stopping/following room. Until two idiots took it away from me.

 

Slow ride, take it easy.

 

I was coming north on I 75 in Ocala, Florida, following a Walmart truck at about three or four truck lengths. I thought I had more than enough room. It wasn't.

Walmart suddenly jerked it to the left and I was surprised to see the right lane at a complete stop because the ramp was backed up. I couldn't move left because of the traffic so I had no choice but to hit the shoulder or I probably would've plowed through at least two of the cars.

Now when the traffic gets heavy, I leave a LOT more room and go about 5 miles an hour slower than the traffic ahead of me. I just let them go on by.

 

About twenty years ago I had a "driveway moment". That's when you are listening to something on the radio, pull into the driveway and sit in the car to finish listening.

I was listening to an interview with a man with a PhD in fluid dynamics, who's job was analyzing traffic flow. He tried to make a computer model to emulate traffic, BUT was having a problem because normal flow of fluid doesn't have "stop and go" like traffic.

The man commuted to work in Boston. One day he had a "Eureka moment" during his commute, when he realized that the reason why "stops" happened was because people were trying to prevent other folks from "taking their space" or get ahead of them. It was a competitive thing.

So he programmed a "selfish gene" into his computer model...

...and suddenly his computer program emulated stop and go traffic PERFECTLY.

After that accomplishment, and well on his way to completing his doctoral thesis, he was again driving in Boston rush hour. Stop and go hell. Then he decided that HE wasn't going to be one more selfish molecule.

He started to make a game of it. He tried to drive at a pace that allowed him to arrive at stopped traffic when they had already started moving. Then he started keeping score. If he came to a full stop, that was minus ten points. If he hit the brakes, that was minus five points. However, every time another driver merged into the lane in front of him, that was positive one point.

Then he started to notice something really strange. He noticed that when he tried to keep a steady pace drivers around him started to match his speed. There were fewer stops up ahead. Traffic started to flow more smoothly.

He went back to his computer model and started injecting a few molecules that were "unselfish". He found that only a few "unselfish" molecules caused the majority of "selfish" molecules to flow without stop and go.

I have used this technique for twenty years, especially after getting back into trucking. It's absolutely amazing that in heavy traffic in major metro areas I can have half a mile or more of empty lane in front of me as I putter along at a steady pace. Nobody's trying to "cut me off" or even merge into that space as I move along.

Try it. Be the steady and predictable one in traffic. Make room in front of you SO THAT OTHER FOLKS CAN USE IT. It really becomes a Zen thing to drive in heavy traffic like this.

 

I've started doing that, and although centre lane trucks usually bug me if I have to pass on the right, I'll pick the middle lane in traffic and slow down and piddle along. Like you said zone out and let everyone else fight.

You just said it a lot smarter than I did. Cool info, thanks

 

I don't think I've ever been to a family picnic.
No, my family outings were going to Hawaii for the weekend or some other place in the country to learn something useful.

And you are singling me out... why?
I don't think my response was offensive, so maybe it is because I am with Swift?
Or maybe because I do things in a safe way, or even my own way?

You will never reach my level of understanding... in anything.

 

Genius, to say the least.

 

YOU ARE WRONG!!! THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH TOO MUCH SPACE...it's between sheeples' ears.