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    Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
    Unavailable
    Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
    Unavailable
    Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)

    Written by Tom Vanderbilt

    Narrated by David Slavin

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Driving is a fact of life. We are all spending more and more time on the road, and traffic is an issue we face everyday. This audiobook will make you think about it in a whole new light.

    We have always had a passion for cars and driving. Now Traffic offers us an exceptionally rich understanding of that passion. Vanderbilt explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our attempts to engineer safety and even identifies the most common mistakes drivers make in parking lots. Based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, Traffic gets under the hood of the quotidian activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological and technical factors that explain how traffic works.

    Editor's Note

    Reduce your road rage…

    This analysis of traffic will both shockingly captivate you (after all, what’s more boring than a traffic jam?) and turn you into a better driver. For anyone who’s ever wondered why highways are so aggravatingly designed, the safety of traffic circles, or the complications facing bike lanes.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 29, 2008
    ISBN9780739370339
    Unavailable
    Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
    Author

    Tom Vanderbilt

    Tom Vanderbilt writes on design, technology, science, and culture for many publications, including Wired, Slate, The London Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, Artforum, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine and Popular Science. He is contributing editor to award-winning design magazines I.D. and Print, contributing editor to Business Week Online, and contributing writer of the popular blog Design Observer. He is the author of three previous books: Trafic: Why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us), Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America and The Sneaker Book.

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    Reviews for Traffic

    3.5/5

    447 ratings39 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Reading this book makes it simultaneously more interesting to drive and more terrifying-- maybe more informative than the movies you (used to?) see in driver ed.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good up to a point but then I wanted more "hard stuff": more data on why we do the things we do. And it didn't answer my question of "why do 3-lane highways suck do bad."
    • 4/5
      I rarely read non-fiction books all the way through... I suppose I am overly reliant on a narrative of some kind. But, I really like the way this book was written and how consisely Vanderbilt distilled many studies into an understanding of the psychology of driving habits. I frequently find myself talking about the conclusions discussed in the book, much to the dismay of my husband.
    • 4/5
      An interesting look at the flow and slowing down of traffic.Why do people wait until the last few moments to merge lanes? Is it better or worse that way?How do celebrities get through LA traffic on time for award shows?This book looks into these, and many other issues and quirks about driving and the nebulous creature that is, traffic.
    • 1/5
      UPDATE 2/8/09

      I ended up returning this one to the library after reading just two chapters or so. I agree w/my son, nothing too surprising or enlightening in this one. It could have made an interesting news article or snippet in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, instead of a whole book.





      I am supposed to be reading this, as I picked it up from the library a week ago, but my 14 yr old son 'stole' it and it is now somewhere in his room! He's read the first few chapters and this is what he said: "Mom, there is nothing really new in this book, nothing we don't know already.".. Now while that was disappointing to hear, I'll have to see for myself if I agree... when I get my hands on it....
    • 1/5
      Sorry - nothing new to an experienced driver, and the volume of notes and bibliography is misleading because it's not really based on good science. Too bad.
    • 3/5
      3.5 starsThis book looks at traffic theory and science. Although I don't have a car, I found it quite interesting. He did talk a little bit about pedestrians and cyclists as part of traffic, as well. He mentions a lot of very interesting studies and statistics. It seems there are some things about traffic, especially in regards to safety and fatalities that are quite opposite of what one would think. Very interesting.
    • 3/5
      OK, I enjoyed this first third of this book. It's very much in the same realm of Malcolm Gladwell's books. The problem is there really is only so much I can enjoy about traffic patterns et al. Major kudos go to such a young author making such a dry topic approachable. I wouldn't tell anyone to not read this, but I'd recommend The Tipping Point before it.
    • 4/5
      Spectacular book, that in one motion accomplished two things for me: 1) I now understand - truly - why people behave the way they do on the road and why things are designed the way they are. 2) It scared the bejabbers out of me to the point of not wanting to be in a car anymore. However, the new knowledge in my head as a result of the first thing the book did for me, should overcome what the second did. The information is revelatory and eye-opening. My brain is now full of useful statistics I can now spout at will. It was a long read though, as there was just so much information to absorb, but it's useful, practical, actionable information, hence the read was an excellent experience.
    • 4/5
      A layperson's look at why traffic and traffic engineers act like they do. I loved this. I have now become a "late merger" (don't glare at me as I drive by, it's better for all of us!) and a longer-distance follower on the highway (to dampen down traffic jams). It is interesting to think about how cars are designed - and will be designed in the future - and how roads are built that may or may not change traffic the way it is desired. The final chapter, which reflects on why we do so little to reduce traffic fatalities, when more people die on American highways every few weeks than died on 9/11, makes the book worth the read. I listened to it as an audiobook, mostly while I was driving, and had a hard time not acting out some of the experiments that were discussed -- so just a warning in case you're susceptible!
    • 4/5
      Really, the title says it all. It was exactly as I expected and I learned quite a bit. Well worth the read.
    • 5/5
      Holy cow, this book was awesome. Pop science in which the author puts together a lot of studies about how driving actually works (like the physics and technology of how cars move) and ways this gets translated by people driving cars. It was the kind of book where every single paragraph contained at least one amazing fact. Like so amazing that everyone I know is really lucky that I wasn't calling you at 2 AM on a Wednesday to tell you that up to 20% of the earth's surface can be covered in insect swarms in a given moment. TWENTY PERCENT, PEOPLE. If you're wondering how that relates to traffic, apparently it came up in a conversation he was having with someone who was comparing information about insect swarming behaviors to traffic congestion models. I should point out that most of the amazing facts were more directly about driving, but the fact that the author was compelled to wedge this one in there makes me feel like he's a kindred spirit. This is also the kind of book that makes me wish I had a better guidance counselor in high school, in terms of career planning. Or I don't know, maybe the guidance counselor wouldn't even have had a chance, given that a basic description of how engineers can use systems analysis to make recommendations about public policy sounds like a terrible job. It sounds like the most boring thing ever, until you get to the actual examples of engineers and other scientists playing around with traffic flow and then it sounds like the best job ever. Of course this was a winner with me right out of the gate, because the very first section is an explanation of why the zipper merge is more efficient for everyone than the early merge. THE ZIPPER. Be still my heart.
    • 4/5
      For so many years I thought nonfiction was boring...but now that I've read several NF titles, I have changed my mind.

      I learned so many interesting theories about traffic in this book. I think this book even made me a better driver!
    • 5/5
      A rave review of this book told me it had changed the way the reviewer drives. Now I can say the same. Vanderbilt covers all the questions we have, about road rage, late versus early merge, the most dangerous places to drive, and more. a great read and an educational one.
    • 4/5
      This book was full of interesting and important information about driving, something I never do. I'm probably even less likely to after reading this. A fascinating mix of physics, sociology, psychology, statistics, with a lot of good sense. If you do drive, it may change some things about your driving.
    • 4/5
      A good read full of interesting information, but best when Vanderbilt stays away from the evolutionary psychology and a few other social things. The most glaring oversight was bringing up the idea of being able to report antisocial driving behavior, but without acknowledging that in today's society (full of systemic race, gender, and class-based bias) the reports would certainly be skewed away from "pure" driving behavior - indeed, other parts of the book explicitly discuss the limits humans have on objectivity. The majority of the book sticks to discussing less distressing ideas, however, and provides interesting facts and research on quite a few different topics. It is definitely worth a read.
    • 5/5
      This book is well-written and extensively researched. Some of the more interesting ideas Vanderbilt discusses are congestion pricing and lowering speed limits -- both ideas sure to get lots of support (tongue-in-cheek). The best thing I learned -- driving is serious business and must be consciously done. We aren't just riding around in "mobile living rooms."
    • 4/5
      'Traffic' started off as a promising treatise on the counter-intuitive nature of driving: it's risks, management, and place in society.Unfortunately it didn't quite live up to my idealised image, but it was still a worthwhile read on all of the above topics related to driving, cars, and roads.
    • 4/5
      Note to the audiobook users: Be careful listening to a book on traffic while in traffic! You may find many of the insights a little too close to home.Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt takes a closer look at a phenomenon of modern living we're all familiar with and one that we all think (secretly, at least) we're better at handling than our peers. The way we drive is selfish, inefficient and messy and yet there is a certain ease and harmony to it which is why it is still the most preferred form of travel.The most compelling argument in this book is what I'll call "The Congestion Tax" or simply charging drivers for the privilege for using the most traveled roads. I've seen this argument in other forms (a carbon tax, for instance) and it is so compelling because there's an excellent case for both sides. The pros: Congestion would be eliminated, daily commute times would improve and fuel use per car would on average decrease. The cons: It's a regressive tax on the poorer auto users, it would be politically unpopular to enact and many would see it as a moral assault to our way of life which views roads as a shared public space freely accessible to all.As modern progress goes, traffic will only grow larger and more complex. A universal network of toll roads is probably inevitable. It's a common contradiction that most of us view traffic as what other drivers cause and not what we ourselves are a part of too.
    • 3/5
      Read this in 2008, but was reminded of it recently. I remember enjoying & finding interesting the information about traffic control measures in the US and other countries, psychology of driving, traffic calming measures, and the counterintuitiveness of some measures and the effect they have.
    • 4/5
      This is a surprisingly fascinating book, even (especially?) for car sceptics like me, shedding light on the many little-known facts that make traffic engineering such a complex matter. Exploring subjects such as congestion physics, group behavior, statistics, safety measures, traffic calming, culture biases and disturbingly adequate analogies with insect societies, Tom Vanderbilt gives a very thorough picture of the many counterintuitive facts about traffic. Reading this book won't help you avoid traffic jams, but at least you'll know how they work!
    • 4/5
      Comprehensive run through of the social science of traffic, but gets carried away with one major argument. If it's true (as he argues) that each safety breakthrough (ABS, airbags etc) is self-defeating because drivers are more aggressive to make up for it, why do motorbike riders die so much more often? Aren't they in the equivalent of a car with a dagger in the middle of the steering wheel? And isn't that meant to cancel itself out by greater care in driving/riding as he argues? He can't have it both ways.One possibility which he seems to preclude is that some accidents happen no matter how carefully a person drives. Someone stopped at a traffic light who is crashed into by a truck would be better off with half a dozen airbags and modern progressive crash structure than none. I.e. some safety engineering is NOT overriden by more aggressive driving.But that's only one argument among so many. Great book, and great that it's so popular.
    • 4/5
      My father writes:
      What a vast compendium of a multitude of studies of human behavior behind the wheel of an automobile. So many tidbits of information about how and how many accidents happen per mile driven, per passenger mile, per time behind the wheel. One of the many counter-intuitive claims is that because we tend to steer toward whatever we are looking at, we steer toward obstacles rather than away from them. I hope that fortunately people generally overcome that tendency before it is too late.Statistically, the riskiest (in terms of chances of an accident, not chances of being killed) driving we do is on quiet rural two-lane roads, such as around Battle Lake. It's hard to keep in consciousness that possibly someone just over the hill may be pulling out into the path of your car.I can personally testify from experience that drivers at an intersection do not see bike riders or pedestrians, especially if they are on a sidewalk, and particularly those coming from the driver's left, exactly the side to which the driver is looking before entering the cross-street or highway. I learned that to my cost when I rode in front of a car stopped on a side street entering a major thoroughfare in Lincoln. The woman seemed to be looking right at me, but started forward right when I was in front of her, and knocked me and the bike flat. She was still going very slowly, and stopped immediately, with a look of horror on her face. I wasn't hurt, nor was my bike, but that's just luck. I picked myself up, dusted off, and rode on to the restaurant a short distance away where I was meeting friends for lunch. But I don't assume any longer that drivers at intersections see me. If they are stopped and waiting for traffic to clear, and I'm impatient to cross, I tap on their hood and make sure I have their attention before I cross in front of them. This book reinforces my sense that this is a prudent thing to do.But much of the time we are at the mercy of chance when we drive, and there's not a lot we can do about it. When we read about those dozen-car pile-ups on interstate highways, we maybe think for just a moment about how close we frequently follow the car ahead of us, or, more often, how close the car behind is tail-gating. If we're in a string of cars, and the first one has to brake suddenly, the reaction time is less for each car down the string. So what is a reasonable braking distance for the second car in the string may be adequate, the same distance is not adequate for subsequent cars. But it's not plausible that each car down the string will keep a longer stopping distance.These are just a couple of thoughts suggested by a book that has more about driving behavior than anyone really wants to know, even if it is in everyone's interest to know.
    • 3/5
      This book makes you think differently about the way you drive. The author analyzes many different things that go into traffic and what causes congestion and accidents. Parts of it are interesting and many of the tidbits are eye opening. However my interest in in kind of waned after a while and I found myself not looking forward to listening to it and looking forward to when it would be over. So I would say it's not the most engaging book, perhaps thumbing through the print version may be different but as an audiobook it may not hold your interest. 
    • 4/5
      OK, I am a traffic and engineering geek, so I was pre-disposed to like this. But I think Vanderbilt does a good job of explaining the science to laymen, and getting into all the psychological stuff which you wouldn't normally think about associated with traffic.And, I've been driving way more carefully in my local streets -- it's a complete eye-opener in that sense.
    • 4/5
      TrafficI have often been accused of being both an aggressive and an unsafe driver, much to my chagrin. I know I am aggressive, but unsafe? That I take exception to. It is true however that your own perception of how you drive is much out of whack with your passenger's perspective. Traffic - Why We Drive The Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt seeks to explore this most mundane of everyday activities. Driving and Traffic are technically separate but closely related subjects and Mr. Vanderbilt provides a fascinating discussion of both. Traffic begins with Mr. Vanderbilt's admission of being a 'late-merger', someone who waits till the last moment before exiting a closed lane and merging into a parallel one. There are some drivers who choose to merge early, as soon as they see a sign indicating their lane is closed ahead (or is exit only etc.), others wait right up to the last second and then indiginantly try to merge into the freer flowing traffic of the next lane. The first few chapters of the book focus on driving, taking into account factors like cognition, culture, human psychology (and psyche), self perception of who you are and who you want to be, reflex times and the meaning of gestures and signals. Chapter Five is provocatively titled 'Why Women Cause More Congestion Than Men (and Other Secrets of Traffic)' - but don't get offended yet, the author goes on to explain why that is so. Women continue to handle a lot of 'non-work' trips, taking kids to school and soccer practice for example. Women also tend to be engaged in what Vanderbilt calls "serve-passenger" trips, where they are taking passengers to places they don't have to be themselves and they tend to make several stops thus 'chaining' multiple trips. Women also tend to leave later for work than men and therefore drive right into already congested freeways. Hence, 'women cause more congestion than men'. About half way through the book Vanderbilt shifts gears (I couldn't resist that pun) and focuses on traffic engineering and management. Chaper Six talks about the confounding observation that as more roads are built, traffic only seems to get worse. The author explores the idea and travels around the US talking to traffic engineers and looks into the externalities of America's obsession with driving. Chapter Seven was my favorite, presenting the most interesting ideas in the book. The author talks approvingly of the work of Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman who supposedly hated traffic signs. The author argues, by citing examples and urging the reader to analyze his own experiences, that roads deemed to be unsafe tend have a lesser proportion of fatal crashes precisely because drivers are a lot more careful when using them. A smooth flowing freeway tends to induce boredom and distraction, and distraction at 70mph can be fatal. Chapter Eight is a quick romp through two of the worlds' most congested cities Delhi and Beijing. Both culture and corruption seem to affect accident rates and fatalities on the roads of these dense and, for a western driver, terrifying cities.Traffic could easily have been a work of pop psychology, filled with platitudinal wisdom. The appeal of the book is that it resists that temptation. This is a well researched book with a 110 pages of notes to satisfy the obsessive reader. The writing itself is engaging and enjoyable. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      A surprisingly absorbing account of what is known about the behavior and design principles that affect traffic. It begins with considering if late merging is more effective than early merging with respect to traffic flow, and concludes that the late merge is better. The author explores multiple societies, from the chaos of New Delhi to the sedate behavior of the Dutch, and explores a number of misconceptions about traffic. Road signs and barriers designed to separate pedestrians from traffic in cities seem to impede traffic flow in many situations. Roundabouts are more effective at moving traffic and are safer, despite the perception that they are more dangerous. Cell phones cause as much distraction and failure of traffic performance as drinking, and free parking on streets leads to congestion in traffic, although parking on streets may improve safety. The most dangerous roads are rural two lane highways, and doctors are among the most dangerous drivers. I read this in about two sittings, because it is well written and very absorbing.
    • 5/5
      A well researched and thorough book that reads like a good article in "Wired" but book length! A little US centric but manages worldwide coverage. Topics covered include driving psychology, driving aids, traffic planning, problems with perception and concentration and lots and lots of good statistics. Despite being US centric, the author manages to provide a book that is interesting, and challenging. It is perhaps not a must read for everyone, but if you are remotely interested in why we drive the way we do, and in understanding our fellow motorists, this is a book for you. If you want to be a better driver, there is also plenty of good information here - but it is not primarily an advanced driving manual. Nevertheless it repays the time spent reading it.
    • 3/5
      This follows the template of Freakonomics blending economics. sociology and phychology with counter-intuitive results. Unfortunately, it very much has the feel of a book comissioned to jump on the Freakanomics bandwagon. Here's an interesting subject - I'll write about 10 issues, roughly 25 pages each - please can I have an advance? The results are patchy. Some of the chapters are very interesting - notably those on cultural differences in driving, the economics of congestion and the Dutch experiments on integrating vehicles and pedestrians. Others feel like filler, with a whole chapters devoted to subjects that could have been dealt with in a shortish magazine feature. As a consequence, more than half the book is repetitive and some times tedious. Vanderbilt is preofessional and objective throughout but its hard to detect any passion for the subject. The prose is very competent in a journalistic style but rarely inspiring. It's a shame because, this is a good subject and if the book were cut down a bit and other aspects of traffic dealt with (some more history would have been appropriate, for example) it would have been much more successful.
    • 5/5
      A fascinating look at the psychology of driving, based on the latest research into traffic patterns and driver studies. Cleverly-written, too.