Traffic jams caused by defensive drivers?

[PaleMelanesian]

Misleading headline, as usual.

It's aggressive drivers and timid drivers who cause problems. There's a big difference between timid and defensive. Sometimes defensive driving calls for a little zoom-zoom.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Thymeclock

Actually, you can't have traffic without people.

Sure you can: Huge Field of Dinosaur Tracks Found | LiveScience

[redyaris]

...I think that traffic jams are caused by bankers lending money to people to buy cars. Just think how emty the streets would be if we all had to save our money to by a car. The other cause of traffic jams is people out driving around when they should be at home so that I don't have to be in a traffic Jam.

[cfg83]

Frank -

I wonder what the traffic-wave guy would say :

SCIENCE HOBBYIST: Traffic Waves, physics for bored commuters
Coherent moving states in highway traffic : Abstract : Nature

CarloSW2

[Buxtonski]

Traffic jams seem to be caused by damn rubberneckers.

[gone-ot]

...rubbernecking looky-louie's.

...sorta: "...pay attention to the traffic ON the road, not the traffic OFF the road."

[jkp1187]

I could see timid drivers in the left lane doing a lot to create highway traffic jams.

[Piwoslaw]

Shockwave traffic jams recreated for first time

[Arragonis]

Every single one of my current set of jams is caused by Scottish Gas replacing piping and Edinburgh Stupid Council installing Trams.

The aggressive / timid people just make them worse.

[comptiger5000]

With traffic jams, you just have to be smooth and ride it out. I usually lock the auto into 1st gear, at which point the Jeep will hold 6 - 10 mph no problem without use of the brakes, which is typically about the speed needed to do like those with manuals and ride through smoothly, rather than playing into the rubber-band game.