If you are at all interested in traffic, drive a lot or even if you're a pedestrian, this book is a great read. You'd think a book on traffic would be boring, but it is extremely interesting. I think it's because traffic is such a huge part of our lives. We talk about it constantly, it's always in the news, we seem forever stuck in traffic jams.
Mary Roach of the New York Times puts it well: "“Traffic” is not a dry examination of highway engineering; it’s a surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings behind the steering wheels." Read her full review for more.
My favorite find of Tom's research is a bit of a surprise - the "safer" the design of the intersection (lights, signs, road markings), the more accidents there are. Remove all signs and lights and leave it to drivers to make the right judgement, and accidents dissapear.
Definitely worth a read!
TRAFFIC
Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)
Tom Vanderbilt
402 pp. Alfred A. Knopf.
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