Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Driving in Small(er) Towns

The one thing I hate about my home town Waterloo is the slow reaction time of drivers. It's like they think they and everyone around them have all the time in the world. Of course, I should probably feel bad that there were two little old ladies (I only noticed this afterwards as I was passing) who pulled over on single lanes in a residential neighbourhood to let me pass (though in my defense, I'm pretty sure I wasn't tailgating).

That being said, and not that I admit to being one, you should thank "jerks" because they apparently improve traffic flow (Physics Buzz):

The next time someone cuts you off on your morning commute, don't be so quick to call the driver a jerk; you may have a reason to say thanks. According to the latest physics research, rule-breakers—drivers passing you on the wrong side or changing lanes too close to the intersection—actually help smooth the flow of traffic for the rest of us.
Ah, I have to say that the article certainly makes me feel better (for no particular reason at all of course, least of which would be that it has anything to do with me other than the fact that hardly anyone doesn't like better traffic flow of course).

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