Traffic - looks like an interesting new book

An interesting new book is be promoted, related to the causes of behavior in traffic situations. USA today had an interesting review and NPR's Fresh Air had a short interview with the author, Tom Vanderbilt. Among the thought are Mr. Vanderbilt's support for "zippering", as I have discussed in a previous post, and support for traffic circles, which I like.

In addition to these areas, he delves into the psychology of what causes different driving behaviors in different people. Looks like a good read. Ordered my copy from Amazon today!

Traffic Circle Suggestions for Knoxville

I have written in the past about traffic circles. I have two additional intersections which would benefit from traffic circles, where traffic needs to kept moving and in general is low to moderate pace of traffic. The first is at the intersection of Gleason and Gallaher View. This intersection is usually low traffic, but backs up tremendously during rush hour and on Saturday mornings. The shape of the intersection is also odd, which could rectified or fit into the traffic circle design.


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The second intersection which could benefit from a traffic circle is the intersection Cross Park Drive and Park Village Drive in the Cedar Bluff area. Traffic backs up during early morning and late morning rush hour.


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Both these intersections are four way stops and suffer from the "Stop Sign Menace", where you have drivers who are too impatient to wait their turn and double-pull into the intersection and suffer from drivers who do not monitor whose turn is is to go through the four way stop. A traffic circle is the best option for these intersections.

Zipper in merging situations

I heard the zipper term from a European colleague of mine. The definition is that, during merging situations from two lanes to one, that cars alternate in merging. What a great concept for the United States. There are too many situations where the signs for merging indicate that a merge is required 1-2 miles down the road. All the traffic comes to a screeching halt and the merging process starts way to early. The entire lane that is being merged is empty, and a lot of road capacity is wasted.

What is worse are those individuals who feel the need to enforce this premerger behavior, by getting in the merging lane and going as slow as possible. Then there are the people who will swerve into your lane as you pass, to intimidate you, and creating a dangerous situation.

Now we have highway signs that indicate "Start Merging Now", two miles before the merge occurs. Not only is is crazy, but the state governments are supporting it. Let's use common sense, some merging civility (see previous post) and also use the highway capacity. Zipper together and keep the traffic moving.

Traffic Notes - Blinker On, Let them In

Given that I just posted re: slow traffic keep right, this may seem like a weird post from me. This is my little stab at the rude world. If a person is active enough to turn on the blinker, they will get an entry into my lane. It does nothing for the world to let the person sit in the left lane and block all that traffic, when a little southern hospitality will go a long way to keeping the traffic moving. I see this all the time in highway merge situations and daily in the Cedar Blufff area, as people feel that they need to police the mergers. If they then add a hand wave, it is a double-bonus. So turn on your blinker and merge.

Traffic Notes - Slower Traffic Keep Right

My recent post on the Cedar Bluff traffic caused me to think about general rules of driving. These thoughts are sure to stir controversy, as driving skills are right after religion, sports and operating systems in inflaming mass public passions. See an example at www.knoxvilledriverssuck.com, a page that I disagree with for most of the information. So, flame on....

Rule One: Slower traffic keep right. - this used to be the rule of the road. You would actually see signs for it. It was enforced. A good summary for keeping right is here. I won't repeat all the points, but will add that slow cars in the left lane should honor the five second rule. If a car is behind you for more than five seconds, pull over and let them pass. The capacity boost to our roads will be huge.

Our own little version of New York

I have, for years, thanked my lucky stars that I had the short commute, low traffic environment of Knoxville, Tennessee. Lately, though, I am seeing more and more that we have our own little version of New York City in West Knoxville. I drive daily from one end of the Cedar Bluff "zone" to the other. Starting at Kingston Pike and ending at Knoxville Catholic High is a joy. Between the traffic lights, the red light cameras, traffic merging, Starbucks turns and Cedar Bluff School traffic, the transit time is murder and the southern politeness is out the window. Now I am as aggressive as the next guy, but I will let someone with their blinker on and a legitimate reason to merge, into my lane.

I do not travel downtown, often. Nor have I experienced the New York, San Fransisco or LA traffic very often. Nevertheless, I feel justified in asking, "What are the plans for this Area?" This could be a classic overdevelopment situation.

BTW, lunchtime is no better. Pictures to follow.