Traffic

hide

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel. Traffic laws are the laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles, while rules of the road are both the laws and the informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic.

Organized traffic generally has well-established priorities, lanes, right-of-way, and traffic control at intersections.

Traffic is formally organized in many jurisdictions, with marked lanes, junctions, intersections, interchanges, traffic signals, or signs. Traffic is often classified by type: heavy motor vehicle (e.g., car, truck); other vehicle (e.g., moped, bicycle); and pedestrian. Different classes may share speed limits and easement, or may be segregated. Some jurisdictions may have very detailed and complex rules of the road while others rely more on drivers' common sense and willingness to cooperate.

Organization typically produces a better combination of travel safety and efficiency. Events which disrupt the flow and may cause traffic to degenerate into a disorganized mess include: road construction, collisions and debris in the roadway. On particularly busy freeways, a minor disruption may persist in a phenomenon known as traffic waves. A complete breakdown of organization may result in traffic jams and gridlock. Simulations of organized traffic frequently involve queuing theory, stochastic processes and equations of mathematical physics applied to traffic flow.

For more information about Traffic, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with traffic

results timeline


Cisco has released a Web security app for iPhone

Cisco releases Web security app for iPhone

Technology / Software

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Cisco on Friday announced the release of a free iPhone application for anyone who wants to stay on top of the latest trojans, worms, or other threats marauding on the Internet.


Braking news: Particles from car brakes harm lung cells

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Real-life particles released by car brake pads can harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused ...


A brief intervention that works for drivers who persist in driving while intoxicated

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Driving while impaired (DWI) contributes significantly to road-traffic crashes, and is involved in more than one-third of all fatalities. Many DWI recidivists - drinking drivers who re-offend - do not participate in mandated ...


A woman watches the trailer for the upcoming movie about Michael Jackson on a computer

Video spurs explosion of Internet traffic

Technology / Internet

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Internet traffic will have increased six fold by 2012 in a five-year period as more users view and post videos online, delegates at an Internet forum heard on Wednesday.


Cars sit in traffic on a highway

Netherlands to levy 'green' road tax by the kilometre

Technology / Hi Tech

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (5) | comments 8

The Dutch government said Friday it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometre from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion.


Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Technology / Energy

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Automakers around the world continue to slowly infuse their cars and trucks with greener, more efficient technology, but researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute contend that technology alone will not ...


Tackling new Arctic challenges from space

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 1

International scientists, researchers and decision makers met at the 'Space and the Arctic workshop' to identify the needs and challenges of working and living in the rapidly changing Arctic and to explore how space-based ...


The search -- computers dig deeper for meaning (w/ Video)

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Search engine technology is in a state of flux as it digs ever deeper for new meaning. Europe is poised to reap the benefits of the new age of semantic search thanks to the work of European researchers.


Google logo

Google unveils free GPS navigation for mobile phones

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Oct 28, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Google unveiled a free navigation system for mobile phones on Wednesday in a move seen as a potential challenge to the makers of GPS navigation devices.


FCC votes to begin crafting 'net neutrality' rules

Technology / Telecom

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Federal regulators took an important step Thursday toward prohibiting broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain kinds of Internet traffic.


Safety board issues wake-up call on sleep disorder

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Safety investigators have sent government agencies a wake-up call about sleep apnea, a disorder that's showing up in a wide range of transportation accidents.


Virtual solution to driving phobias

Virtual solution to driving phobias

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nervous drivers are being helped to overcome their road phobias by donning Cyclops-style goggles that transport them to a three-dimensional virtual world.


Hurdles remain as FCC ponders Internet data rules (AP)

Hurdles remain as FCC ponders Internet data rules

Technology / Internet

created Oct 18, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 8

(AP) -- With Democrats in charge in Washington, supporters of so-called "net neutrality" rules seem poised to finally push through requirements that high-speed Internet providers give equal treatment to all ...


Screen of a computer showing a file-sharing web site

Swedish court overturns landmark file sharing ruling

Technology / Internet

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

A Swedish appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark file sharing ruling that forced an Internet service provider to reveal an Internet user's identity to five publishers.


Intelligent Traffic System Predicts Future Traffic Flow on Multiple Roads

Intelligent Traffic System Predicts Future Traffic Flow on Multiple Roads

Technology / Engineering

created Oct 12, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (65) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- In urban areas, there’s almost always more than one way to get somewhere, but often it’s difficult to predict which road will be fastest. In an attempt to improve traffic flow and decrease ...