Those who use the bike know this very well: in the city, speeding motorists overtaking other cars, only get one thing: they arrive first to the next red.
With a simple model, the author estimated the probability that one car that overtakes another, will then be reached again at a later red light. Then he estimated the probability that the same thing will happen when there are multiple successive traffic lights, as usual in the cities.
The result is that as fast as an aggressive driver goes, the presence of multiple traffic lights makes it virtually certain that a slower driver will catch up
So, if someone aggressively overcomes you, when you reach him at the next traffic light, you can tell him that it is mathematically proven that he/she is an idiot.
In addition, this study has implications for the 30 km/h city, demonstrating how in urban areas the traffic lights determine the travel times, not the maximum speed reachable between one traffic light and the next.
The original scientific article is here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/4/260310/481212/The-Voorhees-law-of-traffic-a-stochastic-model
crossposted from: https://poliversity.it/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/116419204210303856
I see this every week when I drive to the office. Most of the route is 20mph and single lane. I go at the speed limit and every 2/3 weeks one will overtake me. I’ll then see them at the next light, then there next one, then the roundabout, etc for the next 30 minutes. I’ll usually then go past them as theres one junction with 2 lanes and they always seem to go in the “fast” lane so they end up behind me when it goes down to one. Makes me so happy everytime!
Sometimes you see it when walking even in a black traffic spot - you’ll get to the lights before the cars you’ve passed sitting there.
Im doing to build my fitness up to cycle the route and think it’ll take roughly the same time.
Unfortunately the route is really difficult and long on public transport - it’s easy to get into central and back but trying to go across the edge to the other side was never designed for
Assuming that the traffic light changes colour based on a set time cycle rather than a sensor, and that the cars are travelling on a single-lane road, the results reveal that, taking into account the probabilities of each of the four scenarios, on average the possible gains and losses in spacing between the cars balance exactly.
… that’s the opposite of rost lights where I live. Even at midnight hours where many switch to timed-mode, there are many that won’t change at-all unless a heavy-enough vehicle is in certain lanes, and even many cars get stuck having to exercise the rules about such that were meant for motorcycles and bicycles.
This is where you get to properly reducing lanes can improve speeds.
My town has a major road lined with strip malls that used to be two lanes in each direction. It was also one of the most dangerous and aggravating roads as there was always someone maneuvering for position, and sudden stops or lane changes when someone wanted to turn.
Then a few years back they restriped it, plus coordinated the lights. Now it’s one lane in each direction and that lane is a through lane. Every strip mall gets a dedicated turn lane, so there’s no more reason to maneuver, no more sudden stops or lane changes. The stop lights are more likely to let you through.
Now it’s clear and measurable, everyone’s individual speed is down, accidents are down, but stopping for any reason is way down so you get through the busy section noticeable faster. And it’s much calmer
Unless I am following a very heavy vehicle that takes a long time to get up to speed, I find there is almost no reason to pass the other traffic. Very seldom do the cars dashing around me get to the next light before it changes unless they are exceeding the speed limit by excessive amounts in which they are even more likely to cause a crash and still not beat me to the next light or other destination.
Till first light - yes. But then I won’t get the penalty of you being slow or on your phone. You won’t be behind me at the second light.
You’re also wasting gas accelerating to speeds that don’t get you anywhere any faster
And wearing out your brakes faster by braking more heavily at the lights.
This matches my intuition. I extremely rarely do any city driving (I don’t even own a car anymore) but like… You’re not going to go that much faster. You’re probably not driving very far. The total amount of time can’t be that big.
even on the highway I kinda looked at it like this. If I travel 1mph I can get there twice as fast at 2mph and on and on. so ou get to 64 and its like. ok so the next step is 128? no thank you. I mean its going to be depending on the measurments used but your still going to max out somewhere around there just due to how it works. Add in you are in energy efficient loss territory and its a no brainer.
I have experienced this. Someone with a distinctive enough car will get annoyed at my hypermiling and speed around. More often than not having to stop suddenly at the next light while I glide in but maybe they just make it. Later though I will be gliding in just as the green changes and they are there stopped while I just coast on through starting to accelerate as distance increases.
I always say to myself when someone impatiently overtakes me: “See you at the next red light!”
For me it’s, “Wow, you sure did get to that light before everyone else. Good job!”
This happens with me all the time in my e-bike, max speed is 40 or 50 in some roads, and I can go confortable at 30. They horn me, overpass me only to me to catch them on the next red and I pass them again
You’re the reason so many roads have a minimum-speed of 40mph. You’re right that honking at you and trying to pass when there isn’t PLENTY of room to do so is pointless, but only those two things, and I doubt the article is about your specific brand of non-sense.
I don’t even overtake ebikes with a number plate. What ist even the point. But people freak oyt behind.
When you filter at a red light on a motorcycle and the driver that was aggressively swerving all over the place yells about how dangerous and illegal it is.
My mental model is slightly different. I think of average speed of the car between source and destination. Every segment of the road will have an average speed at a given time, which may vary depending on the time of the day. This average speed is dictated by numerous factors, including traffic lights, number of slow vehicles on the road, speed limits, etc. You cannot really go significantly higher than this average speed, even if you try as aggressively as possible.
There are exception, especially in Asian roads. If you are a large vehicle, who doesn’t care about the law and limits, and they do very aggressive driving, then they go at a larger average speed. I have some completely asshole private bus services in my country.
I find people who say this don’t properly account for their time waiting at lights. Sure, you may be going faster when you aren’t stopped, but you will catch those reds more often and will be stopped longer, reducing those average speeds. Which is the entire point of the article.
Yeah but what about when you leave the city and you just happen to pass that one car that wants to do 30 in a 60 on a straight road. Worth.
No red lights in the country. After you pass that slow car it ain’t got no way of catching up to you.
Oh but now you passed me!? I’m going to accelerate to 75! Driving in the US is awesome.
No surprise there. I think people do it not to be faster but because they like the acceleration. That feeling of being pushed back into your seat pulling 0.1 Gs, man, it gets the small penis going!
This occurs in un-penised motorists too.
Their behavior has nothing to do with their body and by body shaming people are just catching strays. Even if statistically they tended to have smaller penises it still wouldn’t be cool just as it’s not cool to be transphobic or racist just because you don’t like the person. It’s still transphobic or racist which is objectively bad. Just as is body shaming.
Man, social justice warriors really have to be offended about everything. Joke about body part? Body shaming. Comment about intelligence? Mind shaming. Wrong pronoun by mistake? Some kind of phobia. Didn’t express full throated support for the cause? Must be a nazi! Into the gulag! Bought an… anything really -> capitalist pig!
