Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the summer driving season, and that means traffic - lots and lots of traffic. If you’ve ever wondered why traffic jams form, why more roads just seem to lead to more traffic, and why, when you’re waiting in traffic, the other lane always seems to be moving faster than yours, then you might want to check out Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), which is located on the "new book shelf" just inside the library entrance.
Based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, the book looks at the dynamics and psychology of the everyday activity of driving. It’s not just about driving - it’s also about human behavior. It reveals, for example, the most common cause of stress on the road, who is more likely to honk at whom and why, why drivers don’t pay much attention to traffic signs, and how our minds can trick us into doing things like driving closer to oncoming cars when there is a center line divider than when there is not.
For more on the book, read an excerpt, view a talk by the author, or read a review.
