XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: michael.stemper@gmail.com   
      
   On 01/13/2014 12:23 PM, Doc O'Leary wrote:   
   > In article ,   
   >   David Friedman  wrote:   
   >   
   >> One of my colleagues was involved in intelligent highway projects, and   
   >> it sounded from her account as though they eventually concluded that the   
   >> projects were unworkable.   
   >   
   > The problem with intelligent highways is that drivers remain   
   > unintelligent.  And we're all to blame, in some ways.  Who among us   
   > hasn't had the "bright" idea to change over to a faster moving lane or   
   > take some other self-centered action?  Given human nature, it's almost a   
   > guarantee that telling people that there will be a traffic slowdown 5   
   > miles ahead would result in a lot of them gunning it in an attempt to   
   > get ahead of everyone else.   
      
   Interestingly, in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota),   
   MN-DOT (the Minnesota Department of Transportation) has spent the last   
   quarter-century adding more and more cameras, which are routed back to   
   the RTMC (Regional Transportation Management Center), and making the   
   information available to the public on a ten-minute periodicity during   
   both the morning and afternoon rush hours. The net result of that has   
   been to reduce (by miles) the backups caused by "events" on the metro   
   area freeway system. People will go elsewhere, if they have the knowledge   
   that there's something to be avoided.   
      
   --   
   Michael F. Stemper   
   This post contains greater than 95% post-consumer bytes by weight.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)