Traffic
hideTraffic 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
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News tagged with traffic
Going vertical: Fleeing tsunamis by moving up, not out
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the minutes after a strong earthquake struck offshore of the Indonesian city of Padang on Sept. 30, fears of a tsunami prompted hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate the coastal ...
Putting the squeeze on data
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Data compression is one of the fundamental research areas in computer science, letting information systems do more with less. It’s the reason the iPod nano can hold thousands of songs instead ...
Smarter cars are gaining traction (w/ Video)
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Lives can depend on a vehicle's moment-by-moment traction. New European technology promises to make cars as good as experienced, alert drivers at sensing and adjusting to wet, snowy or icy ...
More 20 mph zones in London would prevent 100 killed or seriously injured casualties each year
Dec 11, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
20 mph traffic speed zones reduce casualties by 41.9% with the greatest reduction in child casualties, according to research published today in the British Medical Journal.
Murders, Traffic Deaths Connected
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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If you want to know how many people are killed in car accidents in a particular U.S. state, look to its prisons. Regions with higher murder rates also tend to have a greater number of traffic fatalities, according to a new ...
Beijing vehicles exceed four million: state media
Dec 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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The number of registered vehicles in Beijing topped four million this week, state media reported, meaning a quarter of the 16 million permanent residents in China's capital have a car.
Privacy concerns could limit benefits from real-time data analysis, researcher says
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Society will be unable to take full advantage of real-time data analysis technologies that might improve health, reduce traffic congestion and give scientists new insights into human behavior until it resolves questions about ...
Air Force grant to tighten online encryption
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer scientist Rafael Pass is seeking new approaches to cryptographic security with a $600,000, five-year grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
