Traffic #%&@

[aswnl]

In NL the system is fully automatic in response to induction-sensors every 600m (~ 0,35 mile) in the road-pavement. It is called Automatic Incident Detection (AID), and is in use since 1979. If speed drops to an avarage of less than 35 km/h (~20 mph) the gantry at that point will show a 50, the gantry 600m upstream will show a 50 with flashers, and another gantry even 600m further upstream wil show a 70 with flashers. All fully automatic. VMS only gives information on travel times or on the location the traffic jams are. See the picture down here:


And yes, that's a VMS imported from Britain

[Alex]

^^ That's proven wrong. The number of traffic jam tail accidents has dropped significantly on Dutch freeways with such a system, compared to those without. First warnings are nearly 1200m (3/4 mile) before the tail-end.

Well it sounds like they are effective in Europe. VMS here generally display nothing, which is why I like to refer to them as WOM (wastes of moment). Some areas however do a good job; Texas for instance effectively uses travel times and the like to advise of congestion. Other areas do not inform motorists of congestion until they are already in the thick of it, which through my travels happens far to often.

[mightyace]

Well it sounds like they are effective in Europe. VMS here generally display nothing, which is why I like to refer to them as WOM (wastes of moment). Some areas however do a good job; Texas for instance effectively uses travel times and the like to advise of congestion. Other areas do not inform motorists of congestion until they are already in the thick of it, which through my travels happens far to often.

The same goes for traffic reports on the radio.  By the time you get them it's too late.

Now, some of the internet traffic monitors are fine, but if you try to look at them while driving, you might start the next pileup! 

[BigMattFromTexas]

i think this is as bad as San Angelo, Tx gets

[Voyager]

Yikes!

[Truvelo]

Why is it closed when the accident is well clear of the two lanes? At the very least they should keep one lane open instead of letting traffic build up.

I try to take pictures of crashes if I'm in the right place at the right time. My best one is of an air ambulance which due to the rotors on the helicopter requires traffic in both directions to be halted. I forgot the exact amount but on a busy road like this the queue extends something like half a mile for every minute it's closed.

[Chris]

Is that M25?

[Truvelo]

Is that M25?

No, it's the M1 near Kegworth, at almost the exact spot of the 1989 air crash.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Truvelo: This accident involved over 8 cars and a school bus got in a wreck on the access and the main roads

[Chris]

Rural traffic jam in the Netherlands. Time: 11.30 am, length: 8 miles.

[Truvelo]

Was that caused by an accident or just people heading away for Easter?

Here traffic is expected to be worse this year as people go on domestic holidays rather than fly abroad due to the recession.

[Chris]

Both. The freeway was loaded with Germans with packed cars and trailers heading to the Dutch westcoast, and an accident happened 3 hours earlier.

[Alex]

Fantastic photos Chris, that's some seriously awful traffic!  You don't get 8 mile back-ups on this side of the Atlantic too often...

[cjk374]

Y'all need some railroads to allieviate that kind of truck traffic.

[Truvelo]

The problem with the railways in the UK is they are already running at capacity due to an intensive passenger service. Unlike North America the railways over here are something like 95% passenger and 5% freight so it's not as simple as running extra freight trains. The other problem we have is our loading gauge is very small which means normal 9'6 containers are too big to travel on many lines and those that do require the use of well wagons where the container sits just above the tracks between both sets of wheels. And the other problem with general freight is it's easier to take it door to door by road than to transfer it between road and rail. Most of our rail freight is bulk commodities like coal where huge amounts are transported between ports and power stations.

Because of this we have heavy truck traffic on the roads. In this picture there's fewer trucks than cars but they up a disproportionate amount of road space compared than cars when there's a jam. In this case a stalled car in the fast lane requires all traffic to be stopped to allow it to be moved to the shoulder. Traffic heading the other way is also slow due to rubbernecking where people slow down to take a look at what's going on. You can see the red Jaguar heading towards us is causing a long line behind it for this reason.

[Alex]

The same rubbernecking deal is prevalent over here too. One day last year on the way back from work, a normal hour long drive took an extra 34 minutes due to several accidents. I was not driving this day, so I took several snaps before we finally bailed from the freeway:

[mightyace]

Special events can cause monstrous backups.

Tne annual Bonnaroo Festival produces backups so long that TDOT recommends that through traffic not take I-24.

NASCAR races are notorious for monster traffic tie ups as attendance at tracks is over 150,000!

On our way to the Bristol race a couple of weeks ago, we ended up bailing on I-81 over 25 miles from the track as the traffic was already stop and go!  (The track's capacity is 160,000 and was still nearly full.)

And you don't want to be on I-20 east of Birmingham on the 26th of April when the first of two Talladega races is held.

[ComputerGuy]

Marysville, WA wanted a NASCAR track back in '07, that would have been a nightmare...only one 2-lane road on the property..no traffic lights, just stop signs.

[Chris]

You don't get 8 mile back-ups on this side of the Atlantic too often...

The A2 freeway in NL had a 30 mile back-up three days in a row.... and that's just commuter traffic, no big accidents. 

Unlike North America the railways over here are something like 95% passenger and 5% freight so it's not as simple as running extra freight trains.

Same in the Netherlands. Here, 99.2% is transported by truck, 0.8% by rail. They did build a freight-only railway line, but the costs were astronomic (7 billion dollars for 80 miles of track through mostly rural area), so I don't see many others appearing soon here in Europe...

[Bryant5493]

I don't have a photo, but I have a video of one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJSrNwFs55E


Be well,

Bryant

[Chris]

This 18 mile backup was an international one, it started in Germany and the other end of the traffic jam was in the Netherlands. Reason: Germans heading for the Netherlands for easter holidays.





Welcome to Northrhine-Westphalia.

[BigMattFromTexas]

here is a traffic jam in one of my cities in RCT3 


i like making traffic jams

[Chris]

Moscow traffic:

[74/171FAN]

How many lanes is that?(and I thought Ontario's 401 was bad)

[Chris]

That's Moscow, where urban surface streets are like 16 - 20 lanes wide... I wonder if they shouldn't build a 10 lane depressed expressway instead over there. Takes less space, but more capacity (freeflowing).