Send a message to: [ select from table on left or click a flag ]Write a message above
This motorway simulation
allows other online drivers to alter their desired gaps. You can communicate
with other drivers in the stream by sending them messages. Please
be polite.
If
there are no other flagged drivers online, you can either get
your friends online or simulate the effect by visiting this
url in two different browsers,
e.g. Internet Explorer and Firefox.
You can also test the message sending facility by clicking the
driver in the table on the left.
Factors in this traffic illustration
Tracking
speed To keep the action on screen the camera
moves to keep pace with the lead car; effectively this is the road
speed – slower cars dropping behind and faster cars catching
up. Your vehicle has a yellow flag and may slip off the screen if
the lead car gets too far ahead.
Traffic Flow Traffic
flow is measured here in vehicles per minute. You can adjust the circumstantial
traffic flow using the slider. This way you can simulate the effect
sudden changes caused by vehicles joining or leaving the flow from
junctions.
This illustration cannot accurately represent all the factors that affect a stream of traffic -
use it only as an aid to understanding your own experiences.
The
safe gap
If all vehicles could maintain a 2 second gap the flow would be just
under 30 vehicles per minute. The vehicles you find in your stream
will have a random mix of desired gaps, ranging from 0.2 (crazy) to
4 (very safe) seconds. By adjusting the flow, say from 30 VPM to 60
VPM, you would force all drivers to compromise their desired gap to
accommodate the new circumstance. This would cause the "comfort
factor" to be changed from 100% to 50%. The "comfort factor"
is a notional measure intended to indicate the variation from the
driver's preferred gap. Your desired safe gap may be compromised by
events beyond your control.
Some opinions assert that a gap of 2 car lengths should be maintained.
A few moments thinking about this will easily show that this advice
is flawed. The safe distance to be maintained will depend on speed.
The faster you travel the more distance you will need to be able to
react and slow down.
Grip The ability of cars to
brake in response to an emergency is determined by the grip available.
In dry conditions we'll assume this is 100%. Grip reduces through
damp and wet conditions to about 10% in icy conditions.
