The Voorhees law of traffic: when overtaken slow cars seem to always catch up at a red light
www.theguardian.com
Maths researcher explains seeming inevitability of phenomenon experienced by many motorists

Those who use the bike know this very well: in the city, speeding motorists overtaking other cars, only get one thing: they arrive first to the next red.

With a simple model, the author estimated the probability that one car that overtakes another, will then be reached again at a later red light. Then he estimated the probability that the same thing will happen when there are multiple successive traffic lights, as usual in the cities.

The result is that as fast as an aggressive driver goes, the presence of multiple traffic lights makes it virtually certain that a slower driver will catch up

So, if someone aggressively overcomes you, when you reach him at the next traffic light, you can tell him that it is mathematically proven that he/she is an idiot.

In addition, this study has implications for the 30 km/h city, demonstrating how in urban areas the traffic lights determine the travel times, not the maximum speed reachable between one traffic light and the next.

The original scientific article is here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/4/260310/481212/The-Voorhees-law-of-traffic-a-stochastic-model

crossposted from: https://poliversity.it/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/116419204210303856

  • PapaStevesy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    7 days ago

    Like I said I’m a different reply, It’s not in anyone’s best interest for me to go 15 to 30 mph below the flow of traffic just because I ended up behind someone who doesn’t know they’re on Earth much less operating an automobile. If there’s a legal way to pass them, I’m going to. Once they’re behind you, you only have to worry about getting rear-ended at a stop, which is only an issue in slower city traffic where it is easier to keep an eye on someone behind you. In which case, just stay in the lane you used to get around them.

    If they’re driving erratically, however that’s another story and I definitely agree that I want to stay as far back from them as I can. But they’re usually speeding and my whole point is centered on the premise of being stuck behind a slow inattentive or otherwise neglegent driver. They don’t even need to be a bad driver, maybe they’re new to the area, looking for parking, having a medical issue, etc. Just pointing out that not all overtaking is about getting there first.