The team developed a mathematical model to show the impact of unexpected events such as a lorry pulling out of its lane on a dual carriageway. Their model
revealed that slowing down below a critical speed when reacting to such an
event, a driver would force the car behind to slow down further and the next car
back to reduce its speed further still.The result of this is that several miles
back, cars would finally grind to a halt, with drivers oblivious to the reason
for their delay. The model predicts that this is a very typical scenario on a
busy highway (above 15 vehicles per km). The jam moves backwards through the
traffic creating a so-called ‘backward traveling wave’, which drivers may
encounter many miles upstream, several minutes after it was triggered.
Hat Tip: The Evangelical Outpost
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