Traffic: Why we drive the way we do

Format: Audiobook

Source: Public Library

Rating:4.25

Are you an early merger or late merger? Do you text and drive? Do you think you are a better driver than most (I know I certainly do)? This book takes you through many intersections of traffic , safety, and human reasoning.  The majority of accidents happen at intersections. also more accidents happen when people try to stop for a light, but more fatalities happen when lights are fun.We get an insight into LA traffic controls on Oscar night. Also, how one traffic controller takes to the air in his Cessna to analyze traffic from above.  We also get an in-depth conversation with the Danish road architect who is designing roads for bikers, pedestrians, and cars.

Overall this book gives lots of little bits of information that you probably know but do not often think about.  Like did you know that in work zones the workers are actually safer than the drivers?  Often times people are rubbernecking and run into the back of the car in front of them.  Or how about roundabouts eliminate lots of accidents that happen at normal intersections.  Another interesting fact I came across in this book was safer roads tend to be more dangerous than what would be considered a dangerous road.  Like a tight mountain road that feels so dangerous but is actually safer because we focus a lot more than normal on our driving.  Or how about when there is a bike lane we sometimes pay less attention to the bikers because we assume they will stay in the lane, when if we have to share the road we actually give them more space.

An estimated 110 million traffic violations happen daily in Dehli. More trucks are in accidents than any other vehicle. Cars are equipped with more safety features than they have ever been, but is their safety making us more careless? One final quote “Is cars being safer making us less aware of our driving ability or is car availability allowing more inexperience on the road?”

This book was very eye opening to a few thing that I need to work on in my own driving abilities.  It also showed me how cars, bicycles, and pedestrians need to find a way to cohabitate in traffic.