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Traffic Waves

wbeaty · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Everyday physics & science demosTransit, cities & urban planning

What it is

A short video from the trafficwaves.org site showing how traffic jams and standing waves form, including the fight between cheaters and blockers at an exit-lane backup. It also touches on how individual driving behavior affects the flow.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN likes it as a fun, clear explainer of traffic waves and of the benefits of leaving gaps while driving.

  • 5 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2013, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “One of my favorite videos of all time on this topic: Traffic Waves”

    Fun explainer on traffic wave phenomena

    wildrhythms, 2022-04 · Strong recommendation · in “A smartphone app that allows public to submit evidence of speeding drivers”

  2. “It helped me understand traffic waves quite a bit”

    Helped explain how traffic waves form

    thunderbong, 2015-05 · Recommendation · in “What Are Traffic Waves and Why Do They Happen So Much?”

  3. “is an enjoyable summary of some of these ideas”

    Enjoyable summary of traffic wave ideas

    xbryanx, 2016-04 · Recommendation · in “Can a single car break a traffic jam?”

  4. “Somewhere on the web there is a great video of a guy doing this pretty effectively.”

    Demonstrates driving to dissolve traffic standing waves

    tobmlt, 2018-09 · Recommendation · in “How America lost its love for the stick shift”

  5. “I really like this video for describing some of the advantages of "zen driving"”

    Describes advantages of leaving gaps while driving

    TheSmiddy, 2018-12 · Recommendation · in “After 48 hours we haven't seen any sign people are using Waymo's service”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: traffic jams, standing waves, driving, physics, zen driving

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