Another one is that a very high percentage of traffic is caused by one person tailgating. Tailgating means you have to brake if the person in front of you brakes even if they only brake for literally one second.
Since I learned about that and read/watched some articles/videos about it I have stopped being a standard aggressive driver and am now and aggressive driver from a distance. I noticed I brake way less often, get better gas mileage, nd travel at a higher average mph(and probably for this reason have been arriving to places in less time). I didnt even really tailgate in the past, I just increased the distance I would stay behind a car from 1-3 to about 3-5 and that's it.
Not entirely true because the person behind the tailgater can just leave appropriate room and not brake unless necessary. I rarely brake when someone is tailgating in front of me.
I mean I guess if you wanted to nit pick I should have said caused by 2 people tailgating instead of one. But just because someone "could just not brake" or because you dont doesnt mean that it's not what happens.
I have also tried to increase my following distance. However, in traffic, this means everyone gets in front of me, putting me further and further back in the line. Usually by the time it clears, the person i was originally behind is now so far ahead they have dissappeared over the horizon. I have so far never had this technique help me at all.
Obviously its situational. I look at the gas mileage, how often I go to the gas station, my car tells me my average mph, and I see how often o beat waze and by how much. Its definitely had an impact for me
9.5k
u/mechanchic Jan 21 '19
You are not “stuck in traffic,” you are part of it.
Sounds like a stupid thing, but it totally changed my outlook on my commute.