Shockwave traffic jams recreated for first time

[newton2013]

You can erase a traffic jam by hanging back and gliding. Stay behind the idiots tapping their brakes- If you leave some car lengths in front of you, and glide slowly, by the time you hit the point where the jam was... the people in front of you will be moving again, and you and the people behind you will not have hit the brakes. The jam disappears.

[numbsphynx]

Douche in the white sedan slowed down and screwed the whole thing up.

[spillymon]

Driver error

[krumenthum]

I figured out this principle in the second grade lunch line...

[SoulDevoured]

Makes total sense.

[TNTIV]

Weirddd.

[Icarus000000]

Asian drivers, nuff said.

[jeffrey625625]

@Icarus000000 my dad is asian and he speeds like he gives no shit. fact is men drive like crazy and women are careful and slow. well most

[DonnyPlaysWoW]

tested in japan hmm think about it

[Fatmouse25]

@DonnyPlaysWoW your right, Level: Asian here. No accidents just drifting.

Well kids this is why you should drive at a consistent speed( and not speeding) to prevent hard braking and accidents that in turn cause delays to traffic.

[TwoPointOProductions]

I named that the Nangle effect in '94. Spread it like wildfire.

[PinoyPogiman]

this is mainly because of the rise and fall of speed among the diversity of vehicles.

as people are slower, faster drivers slow behind and cause other drivers to do the same.

and because of the length of the track, there is still more coverage so the slowed driver can advance faster and regain speed.

this is different in a multiple-lane road as Drivers *have the ability to switch lanes*

[drydyboy]

Hey haters, this shows how traffic jams happen in a CONCRETE way, not in a theoric way. SO yeah it's because some people aren't going at exactly 30 mph.

[Dalavine]

@drydyboy What about the motorcyclists that disregard traffic and blaze right through?

[Chunmeista]

Would this work with all vehicles on 30kph "cruise control?"

[WAStarDust]

@Chunmeista Assuming that all cars cruise control was perfect then no. This is just a good demonstration of the according effect; where little slow downs and speed ups accumulate.

[fuelx7]

I see this everyday in a traffic light. I always wonder why it takes so fucking long for the guy in front to start moving

[Supsy0]

Epic.

[twizzle1919]

so if one was going 30 like it was supposed to, and the rest were going 29.9 that would drastically effect the entire loop. would it not, stupid cunt

[spadorade]

"No reason at all"

Really?

All it takes is one person to go 29kph

I'm now smarter that a scientist.

[jesusgarciab]

@spadorade sure you are... you deserve a novel prize for your discovery

[alpha0031]

How I got here from watching:

OMG Facts -> Know Your Meme -> Skyrim

What the fck?

[v10moped]

You say asians can't drive. but their economy is a lot better than yours.

[animerulezx]

@v10moped what does that have to do with driving? lol

[bobby2hotti]

@animerulezx to prove the stereo-type that asians can't drive hahaha

[PoopTruffles]

RAPE THAT BITCH LIKE A NAKED NECROPHILIA.

[ryomali]

Soliton waves

[1want2ski]

This pretty much explains crop circles as well. Nice job!

[DaRocknessMonster2]

Just prooves Asians cant drive.

[NxyDolli]

Whilst that's kind of interesting, what effect does the drivers being Asian have on the experiment? In the name of scientific validity, I demand retests...though everyone in the nearby area should evacuate when it's the female Asians' turn. That won't end well...

[jt33396]

aaahhhh!!! 

[two3swisha]

i came here from watching B.F.3 vids

[grawwr2514]

How did i get here from watching sickass skyrim videos?

[Apophis1919]

Add a Cell phone in that and see what happens...

[geras2]

The same trick is valid in 2 lane road - DON'T OVERTAKE your NEIGHBOUR in traffic jam! By going slower, you'll clear the traffic jam in front of you!

[geras2]

To avoid traffic jams in this ideal model, all you need is that one guy would always keep the same distance from the guy, driving 180 deg from him. If the 180o guy goes slower, the driver has to go slower, even if he has space to accelerate! HE HAS TO BE FOLLOW BLINDLY, NO SPEEDING UP! This will bind this chain, and according to Goldratt's soldier model, this "rope" will force the chain to move as fast as the slowest element.

[MasterADG1]

@geras2 Someone smart on the interwebz? a rare find. I congratulate you.

[DrunkenSamurai18]

cuz dumbass ppl dont know how to leave space. everybody is always riding up someones ass cuz they r fucking morons.

[Garfyspy]

How very interesting.....back to watching video games

[playlifevr4]

it only takes one asian

[dpwellner]

I remember that stuff happening in school. Waiting in line, the person in front of me would take off. I would sprint to catch em and them..... WHAM!!! They stop. Now everyone behind me would slam into me. Gave me a woody!

[TheOnlygCrusher]

@dpwellner ...and knowing is half the battle.

[LouSaydus]

It's always that asshole that decides its a good idea to do 10 under in the passing lane. thats how they start.

[Artemithable]

there's an actual mathematical function for this phenomenon, engineers use it when designing roads, only way to beat it is to go at a constant speed and not brake

[Gadoink1]

How did I get here from a Skyrim video? And why is the sidebar still filled with Skyrim?

[Ultamation]

This is already old knews. Your average driver already knows how this happens. Unless they are unintelligent, then its "magic."

[ELriChY2050]

SARKK :)

[tommoex]

i thought it'd be a bit more interesting than this, wheres david mitchell when you need him?

[yoshi50047]

some mr sark

[SquishyBananaBread]

interesting

[5687678]

All cars are imperfect, even if you set cruise control for 30 Mi/H there is always that +- error, those error will eventually build up and cause a traffic jam.

[naevan1]

FUS ROH DAH!

[miawmiawist]

I drive a manual Mitsu Lancer.

[allstarRB1029]

there was traffic because they are Asian. problem solved

[cokefan3]

@allstarRB1029 It takes one kid to make me mad. Damn, impressive.

[allstarRB1029]

@cokefan3 you can go fuck yourself, how does that sound? make you mad?

[leftbackchamp]

how did i get here from watching battlefield 3 clips?

[WalkThroughification]

@leftbackchamp you and me both, i was watching skyrim videos O_o

[Pokez0rd]

@leftbackchamp i have the same question

[Paumonsu]

@leftbackchamp me too :(

[BotCRyMann88]

@leftbackchamp Blame sark from machinima

[Lukester132]

@leftbackchamp i got here watching skyrim glitches.

[RagedAssassin]

@leftbackchamp haha same...

[HEADCRABMAN1121]

@leftbackchamp Maybe because Battlefield 3 is the REAL DEAL!

[NuclearNinja115]

@leftbackchamp same here...

[HaffaWaffle]

@leftbackchamp from the promoted video highlighted in yellow... :P

[JustKev699]

@leftbackchamp same

[dragonmoose1987]

@leftbackchamp lol same thought

[Timmyboy505]

@leftbackchamp wel you probably took that turn at "900 metre gunshot" then took a right at "Chun Li's ass is Guile's" after that it was a 100 metres straight ahead, and bam you're there

[itzapro]

i lol'd when he said "the japs"

[zcheeseolly]

@itzapro He said "jams."

[BawlzToY0u]

YA WUT IMA3SOMEMAN SAID. DEY USED ASIANS SO ITS NOT ACCURATE MOTHERFUCKERS! ASIANS ARE TERRIBLE DRIVERS GOD DAMN BUT THEY ARE HILARIOUS AS HELL LOLOLOLO

[SmokingCures]

@BawlzToY0u I bet 90% of 'Asians' can type better English than you.

[BawlzToY0u]

@SmokingCures FOO IM A RETARDED MONKEY OKAY. I DONT KNOW HOW TO SPELL GOD DAMNIT AGHHH I GOTTA TAKE A SHIT AGAIN FUCK

[ima3someman]

they used asians though...

[Choice777]

no apparent reason ? they'r idiots :D

[dillpickle327]

woah woah woah hold on......... japanese drivers?

[ht448]

^One Asian^ LOL JK Asians are awesome.

[11wolflovers]

as seen on Ray William Johnson WTF

[freshburritos]

haha nice to know video person

[Derek147900]

people need to learn that the left lane is the FAST lane, Not the "i would like more space" lane, if your not going 5 or more miles faster then the speed limit then stay in the right lane.

[MrMoneyclips]

now do this with everyone wasted

[qotsaandsoadfan1]

Youtube comments are retarded, no exceptions.

[Cao13]

Just wondering... why everyone things that beeping helps? I mean, not like beeping will make the car in the front levitate over the others... or does it?

[mitchio83]

The white care at the bottom of the screen at 0:08 caused the whole jam.

[chipznthingz]

still moves faster than the M5

[humbertojimmy]

Rubbish! Everybody knows traffic jams because we male drivers slow down to gaze at big lingerie outdoors!

[PhysicsTowerTeam]

Interesting. Since they were told to be at 30 Km/H, they would eventually have to put on the brakes for a slight moment, to maintain the speed. This causes the driver behind to also put on the brakes, and creates a shock wave effect.

[metafis]

@PhysicsTowerTeam

Your sensible and true comment is a welcome relief in a sea of mostly retards, thanks.

[tudordn92]

@PhysicsTowerTeam You don't need to brake to maintain a constant speed.

[PhysicsTowerTeam]

@tudordn92 They may be slightly faster than the car ahead of them. (1MP/H?) and in time, they would eventually catch up, forcing him to slow down slightly. This continues (very slight) until it grows larger.

[kidcreole77]

@PhysicsTowerTeam Let me know where I can send your award. You are the guy that causes traffic.

[CokenOpi]

every day of my life

[67Zaka]

@kiwiekatten so true

[scotty688]

@kiwiekatten lol so much trueness in this comment.

[c0mmando96]

lol

[3243F6A8885]

96% of drivers think they are above average.

[tekNiqueAU]

IT was cause some idiot wanted the luxury of 5 car lenghts in front of them. Let me tell all you princesses out there that is something you cant do in peak hour traffic. You get one car length, people will just keep changing lanes into that space and you'll keep dropping back giving them room causing traffic jam in our lane. So remember you share the road you dont have right to hang 5 lenghts back from the car in front, if we all did that in peak hour traffic we'd never get no where.

[rpn453]

Wow, this is actually the level that some minds operate at. And they pilot vehicles weighing thousands of pounds in close proximity with others. Scary.

[strudeltastic]

so what your telling me is that is test is inconclusive because all the drivers are asian?

[MrRandomballs]

OR THERE IS A GIRL DRIVING SIMPEL

[vazelogamis]

auto pou lew panta,enas malakas na uparxei mprosta dimiourgi mpotiliarisma.kai dustixos uparxoun poloi.

[Luciddream22]

@vazelogamis pesta re file :P

[Sannhetensprofet]

Its caused by stupid drives that can't drive at a constant speed.

[harvestsun]

A lot of people don't understand why or how this happens... And so they end up speeding towards the jam and slamming on their brakes, which (of course) just makes it worse.

What I do when I see a little jam like is I let off the gas a bit, anticipating the jam, leaving a larger gap in front of me... then by the time I get to the car at the back of the jam, it has started moving again, and I have never had to even use my brakes. With some skill, this can almost completely ELIMINATE the jam.

[SarahParks1000]

/watch?v=twya1j6FpLY

[VideoDracula]

"How traffic jams occur with no apparent reason"

What do you mean "no apparent reason"?

It was the asshat in the blue car at 0:09

[bw905]

This is why I don't follow NASCAR racing.

[CriminalMacabre]

If they equipped the cars with proximity sensors and FORCED the car to stay apart other cars depending the speed, there would be no more traffic jams anymore

[HepheistoBD]

if you just go slowly and keep a large enough gap between you and the stop and go traffic in front of you, you can break it up for everybody behind your vehicle. driving at a constant speed is the key, but it wont ever work if humans drive cars - autonomous vehilces would handle traffic much better

[69juggler69]

this is stupid. why did they put that exactly number of cars? with one million cars it would be always stoped, with one car it would be always moving...

[UnbiasedRender]

That's not the first time such an experiment has been done. I've seen the exact same in a German television program called "Quarks und Co" a few months back!

[demjp8RqDA]

@UnbiasedRender ...and notice that this video was posted more than 3 years ago.

[JovoProduktion]

@demjp8RqDA: Oh, yes! Thank you!

Then I have to ask, why it appears on BestofYouTube just now and not earlier... And why it is so much commented... :D

[chonypark]

traffic seems to always slow down under bridges and up/down hills -.-

[Maxpow33r]

I get a fuzzy feeling every time the car in front of me slows down and i dont have to tap the brakes before they speed up again

[JohnAzzi430]

the problem is they are using Japanese drivers

[NewToTheLyte]

I drive a manual and I can tell you exactly why traffic occurs... Because you damn people who drive automatic like to push the brake even when you are not intending to come to a stop, especially on the interstate. Instead of skillful spacing between you and the car in front of you, you'd rather ride their ass and flutter your brakes, causing huge gaps in traffic. Combine this with people who drive slow in the fast lane and you have what they call a clusterfuck of idiot drivers.

[prleet]

@NewToTheLyte

Only the manual drivers realize that rest of the hoards do not know how to drive. Being on I95 often, I put space between me and the front car, refusing to use the brake, second gear constant speed, but you know what happens when there is a space in front of you, some assholes goes in and causes the wave to restart. Some killing should prevent spread of stupidity.

[Ektomias]

@NewToTheLyte I agree, but not ALL folks who drive an automatic do that. I take pride in maintaining a decent following distance and using my brakes as little as possible on the highway, and like you am highly annoyed by the "brake flashing idiots." :o)

[NewToTheLyte]

@Ektomias I certainly agree. There are some great automatic drivers out there. I just find that people who drive a manual and are required to use 2 hands are less distracted. But drive on brother and be safe.

[ronz706]

@NewToTheLyte Bad drivers are the cause, has nothing to do with automatic or manual?

Bad manual drivers also tailgates and slam on the brake too.

[mrtekbunny]

@NewToTheLyte

automatic is superior to manual, so therefore, it comes down to idiot drivers.

or would you prefer you load a set of floppy discs into your computer each time you booted up or came from a suspended state still?

and simply to be contrary, i find that people who use two hands to be more distracted, as they have additional things to think about and do than someone who merely has to focus on going forward at a certain rate. also, you have both hands to steer. potato-potato.

[NewToTheLyte]

@mrtekbunny I wouldn't say automatic is superior to manual, certainly its easier. I feel that people who drive automatic are tempted to use their cell phone while driving or eat. Try texting/eating while driving stick, almost impossible lol. Also, when you don't have to focus on the shifting of the car, as you do with auto, you may tend to drift to the side or fall asleep while driving. In the end, bad drivers would be bad drivers whether it is stick or auto. Safe driving to you

[mrtekbunny]

@NewToTheLyte

trust me, i have totally thought of your point of view, but if i could post a pic of my girlfriend who uses a manual txting on both her work and personal cellphone, you would disagree with what you are saying. not only that, but i've witness many a person shifting and eating/calling at the same time on the freeway. it is so far from impossible that i can attest to seeing it on a weekly basis here. again, i agree with your last sentiments. bad drivers are bad drivers.

[CazzaCanola]

@NewToTheLyte im thinking u just cant afford an automatic

[NewToTheLyte]

@CazzaCanola I'm thinking that you have no common sense, or you are a troll. The price difference between a manual and an automatic is at most 3k. How can I be too poor to buy an automatic, yet still be able to make car insurance payments, which are about $120 a month (or $1440 a year). Not to mention my other bills and shit.

[CazzaCanola]

@NewToTheLyte Im thinking you should lick my nut

[mediarocker543]

@NewToTheLyte What's even worse is when you get trapped in the "pack of stupid" where moronic drivers drive next to each other doing the same damn speed. Not only does this put you into a dangerously vulnerable position should someone have to take evasive action, it also puts you into a bad position for defensive driving as your safety is dependent on the morons blocking you in.

[NewToTheLyte]

@mediarocker543 You said it brother, that has to be one of the most frustrating things on the road. Not to mention that they cause an immense amount of traffic behind them.

[BOOSTRED]

Its crazy because of how I already intuited this same idea while driving, I try not to break when I know its just random breaking that will be followed by acceleration.

[iHuglittleboys]

this concept occurred to me before. thers no accidents or closed lanes yet there is traffic. must be a singular build up of cars that constantly feeds itself at the beginning and frees up at the end.

[fcusack]

How could you misquote YOURSELF (your own article you link to) so wrongly? The jams aren't for no reason, they are for no APPARENT reason. The reason it occurs seems pretty obvious (to me) as an outside observer.

[fcusack]

To be clear, it's because of the blue car at the bottom of the screen at 0:10

[iHuglittleboys]

@fcusack actually it would be the white car preceding the blue car cause why you gonna slow down and not try to speed up?

[NikoKun]

I can't wait for self driving cars.. Everyone will get where they need to go, faster, with almost no accidents.. No traffic jams, because the computerized system will be able to adjust for such problems in real time..

[ChrisDoll44]

shit i could of told u that

[TheEdinMiami]

Next: Water is wet.  Film at 11.

[MrRiggyRiggs]

I like to road rage, makes me get a boner yo.

[Sheboobellach]

weird

[mreeuwij]

should have instructed all to keep same distance....

[happeecamperz]

@mreeuwij They were, but it's impossible to do.

[mreeuwij]

@happeecamperz is not what it says, they said they tried to keep the same speed, is something else then keeping distance.

[UnitedCorpOfAmerica]

Humans in a material and mechanical world. One can extrapolate this onto why the economic system can not be sustained.

[ku420guy]

obviously it wasnt a constant 30 mph. or the spacing between the cars wouldnt have varied.

[StrikesnGutters2]

This experiment is way invalid...how you gonna study traffic patterns with Japanese drivers?

[FatPumPumLovah]

What they never heard of traffic waves?

[Mike61911]

Wanderingirl is the girl that causes the slow downs.

[ThreeGuysTechReviews]

Does anyone know a way to simulate this in MATLAB?

[SpikeZeek]

Did you know you can slow your car without brakeing, just lift your foot off the gas, now your slowing.

[SuperMattman5]

Are we their yet?

[hatchet125]

got to love the break games retards play to make traffic jams.

[godhelpusall1]

It's the fucker in the blue car at 0:09 GIT HIM!

[manguy01]

@purplehayabusa I used to get stuck in traffic jams like you, Then I took an arrow in the knee.

[terin26]

@purplehayabusa Har har har. Sexist jokes are so funny.

[clancy0391]

@terin26 Get back in your kitchen.

[pete975]

That video was much as I expected from traffic behaviour and so many comments trying to find someone to blame are an even better demonstration of the sort of stupid attitudes that perpetuate these jams on real roads.

So many think they are good drivers and everyone else is a moron.

Driving like an impatient idiot is the problem not the solution to traffic jams

[quinnweller]

@pete975 Ironic comment of the year.

[hightmplr3]

@pete975 ur dum

[tioz01]

what I'd like to know, is who was the idiot that first came to a complete stop.

[justtrolin]

so lemmins DO eventually stop?