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Overtaking and going fast in urban areas is not only dangerous, but also useless: a mathematical demonstration (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 5 days ago by HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org to c/europe@feddit.org
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cross-posted from: https://feddit.it/post/28637207

Those who use the bike know this very well: in the city, speeding motorists overtaking other cars, only get one thing: they arrive first to the next red.

With a simple model, the author estimated the probability that one car that overtakes another, will then be reached again at a later red light. Then he estimated the probability that the same thing will happen when there are multiple successive traffic lights, as usual in the cities.

The result is that as fast as an aggressive driver goes, the presence of multiple traffic lights makes it virtually certain that a slower driver will catch up

So, if someone aggressively overcomes you, when you reach him at the next traffic light, you can tell him that it is mathematically proven that he/she is an idiot.

In addition, this study has implications for the 30 km/h city, demonstrating how in urban areas the traffic lights determine the travel times, not the maximum speed reachable between one traffic light and the next.

The original scientific article is here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/4/260310/481212/The-Voorhees-law-of-traffic-a-stochastic-model

crossposted from: https://poliversity.it/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/116419204210303856

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[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 1 points 10 hours ago

Cars are also great and super flexible, but cities should be designed in a way you can get easily from one to another by car, bus or train without needing to drive through other cities.

If you look at maps of European cities, they have usually a main railway station right in the center, which is also a central hub for pblic transport.

And yes, "park-and-ride" parking spaces where people who come from the outside by car can leave their thingy and can continue by fast commuter trains do exist. They are not used enough, they should be complemented by city tolls like in New York City, which should be so high that it rarely makes sense to use the car.

Oh, and residential parking spaces in cities should have a minimum walking distance from the home, of at least ten minutes, for anyone who is not actually disabled. That alone would reduce a lot of unnecessary car travel in cities.

Not to say that rural areas don't need different solutions - they do. But the mayority of people live in cities, here is where we need change first.

this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2026
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