h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

traffic jams happen when the motorway (or other road) is at it's limit in terms of number of cars per mile, or when there are road(doesn't)works. Everyone needs more space in front of them at higher speeds, so the only way to avoid jams is to gradually decrease speed until the gaps are sufficiently smaller.
If someone suddenly decides to increase the gap between them and the car in front, and puts the brakes on, the person behind also does. The problem comes when reaction times are slow (i.e. on hot summer days)so that the person behind doesn't notice till quite late, and ends up going slow waiting for a gap to open again. Also, accelaration is gradual, so the gap doesn't open up fast enough to stop the line behind the first car from slowing(or stoping).

This is very annoying because you spend ages in a traffic jam only to find that there wasn't any obstruction at all.

Traffic jams are a bit of a way of life for me at the moment. Have you any suggestions for dealing with boredom in one? I like to think that in time I will be able to identify - by smell alone - deisel & petrol fumes by make, but it will be a while. I have tried making faces to scare people, but it loses humour after being trapped next to the same couple with their caravan for a hot half hour on the M6.

hee hee
Wanna see some reasons? ---> http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A344251

enjoy!

Bossel

Have you tried books on tape?

sorry,

ummmmm someone asked about how not to stay bored in a trafic jam just throwing out a sugestion