Dear Editor:
Re: Transport Woes Threaten NV Business, Jan. 19 front-page story.
I was struck by the recent article about the effects of traffic congestion on North Shore businesses.
I had just been listening to an interview on Spark, a CBC technology show, about the effects of tailgating on traffic jams. Apparently if we are following a car so closely that we have to keep applying the brakes, the inertia of the braking action propagates through a line of traffic, resulting in the bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go congestion we see to often on the Upper Levels. If you leave a space (we used to be taught one car length for every 10 m.p.h.) the likelihood of stop-and-go congestion is reduced with a consequent doubling of traffic throughput per hour.
Politicians seem to hate to ask us to grow up. They are more comfortable with spending billions of taxpayer dollars in a futile effort to make roads safe and swift for the most unconscious drivers on the road.
What would the cost be of a few well-placed signs saying “Leave a safe following distance and prevent traffic jams?” Side benefits could include fewer accidents, lower insurance costs and less rudeness on the road.
Wouldn’t that be nice? I think it’s worth a try.
Liz Neil
North Vancouver
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