4 ms·
Absolutely! I've thought about this so many times... what is 5 seconds for you (allowing someone to merge in front of you) would translate to much much faster c
by superk 16y ago
Absolutely! I've thought about this so many times... what is 5 seconds for you (allowing someone to merge in front of you) would translate to much much faster commute to _everyone_ else. It is all about the balance between my personal greed and what's better for the common good (if only we could solve this on _and_ off the road).
Where I live there is terrible traffic... and I've contemplated causes and solutions many a mind-numbing commute. I realized we behave differently when we are behind the wheel... Very few people would behave or maneuver the same if it where lines of people instead of cars. That is why your best chance to merge is to make eye contact with the other driver - if they recognize you as another human not just another vehicle than they are much more likely to move over or make space.
When I drive (during rush hour) I suffer a lot to justify my actions. What I have settled on... is a simple rule: In any situation the person who is in the wrong is the one who has contributed to the impediment of the overall flow of traffic. This comes back to what zepolen says (and I agree with). If we could ever make the connection that what's good for my fellow (wo)man is good for me too... we would be so much better off in general.
- daten 16y agoI agree in the situation where all other drives on the road are equally intelligent and paying attention when they drive. Sadly, in the area I drive in, many drivers are constantly paying more attention to their phone than the road. Those drivers cause all of the traffic problems I see. They likely contribute to many of the accidents as well. They will end up leaving huge gaps in front of them at the expense of traffic behind them even when traffic ahead of them is moving smoothly and quickly. The cost of letting cell phone drivers in front of you can be many minutes to your commute per each driver. Add a few minutes for each traffic light or merge lane that you will spend behind the inattentive drivers. In a 5 mile commute, following the flow of inattentive drivers can add 45 minutes to my drive. Attentive driving and following the flow of other "aggressive" drivers can make it a 10 minute drive total. So what I have actually found helps, in a real world scenario, not a fictional one where all drivers are equal, is trying to identify and cooperate with other "aggressive" drivers helps the group of aggressive drivers get through traffic efficiently and gives the cell-phone drivers plenty of time to concentrate on their conversations.