Traffic why we drive the way we do

Zusatztext A surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings behind the steering wheels . . . Required reading for anyone applying for a driver's license. The New York Times Book Review Engagingly written, meticulously researched, endlessly interesting and informative. The Washington Post Book World Smart and comprehensive. . . . Vanderbilt's book is likely to remain relevant well into the new century. The New Republic Traffic will definitely change the way you think about driving, which also means changing the way you think about being human. SlateFascinating, surprising . . . Vanderbilt's book will be a revelation not just to us drivers but also, one might guess, to our policy makers.Alan Moores, The Seattle TimesAn engaging, informative, psychologically savvy account of the conscious and unconscious assumptions of individual drivers.... Full of fascinating facts and provocative propositions.Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAn engrossing tour through the neuroscience of highway illusions, the psychology of late merging, and other existential driving dilemmas.DiscoverManages to be downright fun.Road and TrackSmart and comprehensive . . . A shrewd tour of the much-experienced but little-understood world of driving . . . A balanced and instructive discussion on how to improve our policies toward the inexorable car . . . Vanderbilt's book is likely to remain relevant well into the new century. Edward L. Glaeser, The New RepublicA delightful tour through the mysteries and manners of driving. Tony Dokoupil, NewsweekA breezy . . . well-researched . . . examination of the strange interaction of humanity and multiton metal boxes that can roar along at . . . 60 m.p.h. or sit for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago TribuneTraffic will definitely change the way you think about driving, which also means changing the way you think about being human. Michael Agger, Slate[A] joyride in the often surprising landscape of traffic science and psychology. Abigail Tucker, Smithsonian Magazine"Tom Vanderbilt is one of our best and most interesting writers, with an extraordinary knack for looking at everyday life and explaining, in wonderful and entertaining detail, how it really works. That's never been more true than with Traffic, where he takes a subject that we all deal with (and worry about), and lets us see it through new eyes. In the process, he helps us understand better not just the highway, but the world. It doesn't matter whether you drive or take the bus--you're going to want to read this book." James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds"A great, deep, multidisciplinary investigation of the dynamics and the psychology of traffic jams. It is fun to read. Anyone who spends more than 19 minutes a day in traffic should read this book." Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black Swan"Fascinating, illuminating, and endlessly entertaining as well. Vanderbilt shows how a sophisticated understanding of human behavior can illuminate one of the modern world's most basic and most mysterious endeavors. You'll learn a lot; and the life you save may be your own." Cass R. Sunstein, coauthor of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness"Everyone who drives--and many people who don't--should read this book. It is a psychology book, a popular science book, and a how-to-save-your-life manual, all rolled into one. I found it gripping and fascinating from the very beginning to the very end." Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner EconomistA well-written, important book that should hold the interest of anyone who drives a car. Dennis Lythgoe, Deseret NewsAn engaging, sociable tour of all things driving-related. Joel Rice, The TennesseanTraffic changes the way you think about driving. For that reason alone, it deserves your attention.Dan Danbom,...

Auteur

Tom Vanderbilt writes about design, technology, science and culture for Wired, Slate, The New York Times and other publications. He lives in Brooklyn and drives a 2001 Volvo V40.

www.howwedrive.com

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A New York Times Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year
The Washington Post • The Cleveland Plain-Dealer • Rocky Mountain News

In this brilliant, lively, and eye-opening investigation, Tom Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots. Traffic is about more than driving: it's about human nature. It will change the way we see ourselves and the world around us, and it may even make us better drivers.

Résumé
A New York Times Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year
The Washington Post • The Cleveland Plain-Dealer • Rocky Mountain News

In this brilliant, lively, and eye-opening investigation, Tom Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots. Traffic is about more than driving: it's about human nature. It will change the way we see ourselves and the world around us, and it may even make us better drivers.

Échantillon de lecture
Why I Became a Late Merger(and Why You Should Too)Why does the other lane always seem to be moving faster?It is a question you have no doubt asked yourself while crawling down some choked highway, watching with mounting frustration as the adjacent cars glide ahead. You drum the wheel with your fingers. You change the radio station. You fixate on one car as a benchmark of your own lack of progress. You try to figure out what that weird button next to the rearwindowdefroster actually does.I used to think this was just part of the natural randomness of the highway. Sometimes fate would steer me into the faster lane, sometimes it would relinquish me to the slow lane.That was until recently, when I had an experience that made me rethink my traditionally passive outlook on the road, and upset the careful set of assumptions that had always guided my behavior in traffic.I made a major lifestyle change. I became a late merger.*Chances are, at some point you have found yourself driving along the highway when a sign announces that the left lane, in which you are traveling, will close one mile ahead, and that you must merge right.You notice an opening in the right lane and quickly move over. You breathe a sigh, happy to be safely ensconced in the Lane That Will Not End. Then, as the lane creeps to a slow halt, you notice with rising indignation that cars in the lane you have vacated are continuing to speed ahead, out of sight. You quietly seethe and contemplate returning to the much faster left lane--if only you could work an opening. You grimly accept your condition.One day, not long ago, I had an epiphany on a New Jersey highway. I was having a typical white-knuckle drive among the scenic oil-storage depots and chemical-processing plants of northern Jersey when suddenly, on the approach to the Pulaski Skyway, the sign loomed: LANE ENDS ONE MILE. MERGE RIGHT.Seized by some rash impulse, I avoided the instinctual tickle at the back of my brain telling me to get in the already crowded right lane. *Just do what the sign says, that voice usually counsels. Instead, I listened to another, more insistent voice: *Don't be a sucker. You c…