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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!dembry
From: dembry@hplabs.UUCP (Paul E. Dembry)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Driving Habits - (nf)
Message-ID: <1714@hplabs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Aug-83 19:27:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabs.1714
Posted: Thu Aug 18 19:27:09 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Aug-83 13:09:45 EDT
Sender: notes@hplabs.UUCP
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
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#R:tty3b:-17500:hplabs:4200001:000:786
hplabs!dembry    Aug 18 16:09:00 1983

iRe: Why traffic slows down for no reason

Once traffic on a heavily travelled freeway is slows down, for
whatever reason, people arriving at that location will also slow down
while those at the end of the congestion are speeding up. Therefore,
while the actual reason for the original congestion may have lasted
on a brief period of time ( such as someone changing lanes and 
causing someone else to brake quickly ), the backlog of traffic will
dissipate at a much slower rate.  Unless the people leaving the "block"
do so at a higher rate than those who are arriving, the congestion will
remain for a long time.
This is much more obvious if you watch it happen from a helicopter or
light plane.  Try to visualize the situation from that perspective
and you will see what I'm saying.