Traffic

The first thing I thought when finishing this book was "Well, that was interesting." Whether that says more about the book's subject matter or my lack of intellectual creativity is a matter of debate, I suppose, but this is an interesting book. Although I did find it interesting, I think its reach exceeds its grasp somewhat.

There's a lot here -- the prologue is about how we merge when construction closes a lane on the highway (spoiler: the author advocates merging towards the end of the lane, in a zipper merge, but notes that we have issues because not everyone thinks that way). We then go through how anonymity vs. awareness of others influences how we act on the road, how we fail to receive feedback on our driving (with a sidebar on self-driving cars), how our eyes perceive objects while we're moving, traffic flow and human nature, congestion, traffic engineering, traffic around the world, and risk. Quite a bit to digest, even if it is presented clearly and sequentially. (There's even a few notes "this subject will be covered in detail in a later chapter")

This is all very readable and interesting, but my issue is that for a work that details some of the issues we face on the roads, there's not too much time spent on solutions. (The author notes that we are conditioned to reporting our commute in terms of time, as opposed to distance, as well). Any solutions presented are typically within small lines, or must be inferred (such as setting sidewalks farther back from the road can increase pedestrian deaths). Worth reading, and plenty to think about, but I can't help but feel that this could have been more than it is.