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From: otto@ihuxi.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.auto
Subject: Re: physical laws of freeway traffic?
Message-ID: <451@ihuxi.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 19-Jun-83 02:08:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxi.451
Posted: Sun Jun 19 02:08:49 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Jun-83 00:10:58 EDT
Lines: 15

Regarding the comment of "visual constriction" slowing traffic down, I have
also noticed the same thing.  On the expressway from Naperville to Chicago
there is one place where traffic is almost always slow.  Once this section
is passed, traffic speeds up.  There is rarely any physical reason for the
slowdown, such as a stalled car, but there *is* a psychological reason.
This particular stretch of roadway is psychologically constricted, in that
for about 1/4 mile there are no shoulders on either the left or right sides.
The road feels more cramped to drive on than do the other sections, and
apparently many people react to this feeling by slowing down.  Once the
shoulders reappear on both sides everything feels OK again, and traffic
speeds up.

					George Otto
					Bell Labs, Indian Hill
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