Deerfoot. I hate you Deerfoot. - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

RougeUnderoos · 11-10-2008, 05:21 PM

I'm not on Deerfoot very often, but for the past year or so, every single time I'm on that road we come to a dead stop somewhere along the way. Then we crawl along for a while and then get back up to speed. There is no evidence anywhere that anything happened to cause this stoppage.

No accidents, no construction, debris on the road, dead deer, black ice, naked woman on median, Jesus-shaped puddle on underpass or anything else. There is apparently no reason we've all been stopped, but we have, then we go again. It's not like there is a traffic jam either. This happened to me this afternoon and it probably only slowed the trip up by 5 - 10 at the most, but it happens every time. It's infuriating.

Can anyone explain this to me? I kind of doubt anyone can, judging by the number of other drivers I observed in their cars with their right and on the wheel and their left hand held palm-up, moving up and down, and the long form of the phrase "WTF".

In vaguely related news, will this economic downturn send some people back to wherever it is they came from? It was rush-hour on the Deerfoot but it wasn't rush-hour time.

4X4 · 11-10-2008, 05:28 PM

Would anyone believe me if I told them that this all starts with a-holes keeping pace with each other and blocking the "fast" lane?

getbak · 11-10-2008, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

Would anyone believe me if I told them that this all starts with a-holes keeping pace with each other and blocking the "fast" lane?

Yes, I would believe you. I hate people.

RougeUnderoos · 11-10-2008, 05:32 PM

One jackass doing a hundred in the left shouldn't stop all four lanes of traffic but if you can explain how it would, I'll believe you.

Someone's obviously doing something wrong, and that's a pretty common mistake.

4X4 · 11-10-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getbak

Yes, I would believe you. I hate people.

I guess there were three. You, me and REDVAN. I got nailed to the cross for bringing this up about a year ago. I remember comments like "suck it up" and "speeding is illegal" and "I can go whatever speed I want in the left lane and to hell with the rest of you".

photon · 11-10-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Can anyone explain this to me? I kind of doubt anyone can, judging by the number of other drivers I observed in their cars with their right and on the wheel and their left hand held palm-up, moving up and down, and the long form of the phrase "WTF".

Actually I guess it's a pretty well known phenomenon in traffic. The actual point of slowdown can be far removed in time and distance from the actual problem.

I saw some simulations of it done once, where someone at one end of a busy road (say deerfoot up near canyon meadows) slams on their brakes, which causes the next person to do it, etc, causing a small area where everyone has to slow down to 20 or stop even. Then over a half hour this region will "move" down the road as it works its way out.

I can't find it now, but it was pretty interesting stuff.

4X4 · 11-10-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

One jackass doing a hundred in the left shouldn't stop all four lanes of traffic but if you can explain how it would, I'll believe you.

Someone's obviously doing something wrong, and that's a pretty common mistake.

What happens is that the one jackass doing 100 in the left lane causes the people coming up in the left lane going 110 to hit their brakes. As soon as brake lights light up, everyone hits their brakes. BINGO, traffic jam.

photon · 11-10-2008, 05:37 PM

http://vwisb7.vkw.tu-dresden.de/~treiber/MicroApplet/

Actually here's one, you can play with it to get similar things.

4X4 · 11-10-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

http://vwisb7.vkw.tu-dresden.de/~treiber/MicroApplet/

Actually here's one, you can play with it to get similar things.

That is awesome. The one that loaded immediately showed what happens when one moron doesn't know how to merge. Bingo, traffic jam.

flip · 11-10-2008, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

Actually I guess it's a pretty well known phenomenon in traffic. The actual point of slowdown can be far removed in time and distance from the actual problem.

I saw some simulations of it done once, where someone at one end of a busy road (say deerfoot up near canyon meadows) slams on their brakes, which causes the next person to do it, etc, causing a small area where everyone has to slow down to 20 or stop even. Then over a half hour this region will "move" down the road as it works its way out.

I can't find it now, but it was pretty interesting stuff.

IIRC someone here posted a study from the Japanese that came to the conclusion that 1 car can disrupt traffic for up to 2 miles or something.

All it takes is one idiot.

getbak · 11-10-2008, 05:42 PM

There's a video on YouTube (it's blocked at work, so I can't find it) of a group of college kids in the States who decided to do an experiment to see how badly they would screw up traffic if they got onto the freeway (this was done on a five lane freeway) and got side by side and all drove exactly the speed limit.

They had someone else standing on an overpass a few miles down the road with a video camera, and you can see virtually all of the traffic on the freeway disappear, then the speed limit group rounds the bend, with a huge string on traffic crawling behind them. It's amazing what an effect it had.

I believe there was also a thread a few months ago about a study that was conducted in Japan (I think) that basically demonstrated the traffic butterfly effect, where one person hitting their brakes on the freeway can cascade back to a point where traffic comes to a complete stop a kilometre or more back.

It's exactly as described in the OP, traffic stops for no apparent reason, then starts up again with no apparent change.

Barnes · 11-10-2008, 05:43 PM

1. Left lane ###### tards
2. Not keeping up with the flow
3. Random highway breaking

There's a video you can probably find on YouTube that demonstrates the principle people are describing. It's a bunch of cars driving in a circle and the drivers are told to keep a constant speed of x kmph. As more cars are introduced, traffic begins to bunch up and come to a complete stop.

Tron_fdc · 11-10-2008, 05:49 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suugn-p5C1M

Madman · 11-10-2008, 05:50 PM

I personally think there a couple problems that compound upon each other to create the worst road on the planet.

The biggest thing, as stated above, is the idiots who think its their duty to do 99km/h in the left lane. Yes, we get it, you are a perfect citizen and I am a giant a$$hole in my gas guzzling big truck riding your ass.

The other thing is the terrible design of the road itself. I don't know if it was in the original concept to make it as non-straight as possible, but if it was they sure hit the mark. There also must have been a discount if the city bought more interchanges and placed them as close together as possible. Having one major interchange on-ramp basket weave directly into the off-ramp of another interchange 3 seconds down the road is mind boggling.

The ultimate though, is when these two factors combine into one giant cluster f of traffic madness. It's these boobs who merge onto Deerfoot and feel the need to instantly get into the left lane the moment the on ramp touches the freeway. Then they run into the off-going boobs who panic and brake because they can't get into the lane for the off ramp at the absolute starting point of the lane and think the world is coming to an end.

RougeUnderoos · 11-10-2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

Actually I guess it's a pretty well known phenomenon in traffic. The actual point of slowdown can be far removed in time and distance from the actual problem.

I saw some simulations of it done once, where someone at one end of a busy road (say deerfoot up near canyon meadows) slams on their brakes, which causes the next person to do it, etc, causing a small area where everyone has to slow down to 20 or stop even. Then over a half hour this region will "move" down the road as it works its way out.

I can't find it now, but it was pretty interesting stuff.

So the person who started this is already at home when I get stopped on the freeway? That makes it even worse.

photon · 11-10-2008, 06:00 PM

Could be worse, he could be leaving for work the next morning when you get stopped.

metallicat · 11-10-2008, 06:09 PM

That traffic simulation is awesome!

Dion · 11-10-2008, 06:22 PM

When in Calgary i avoid the Deerfoot when possible. If I have to use i make sure it's not during rush hour. The worst stretch is when the lanes narrow to 2 because of the Glenmore turnoff.

I sympathise with those who have to use it on a regular basis. I always see someone crawling along at 80 kms while others dodge in and out to pass. Maybe the police should do a ticket program to get the snail drivers off the road instead of always going after the speeders.

burn_this_city · 11-10-2008, 06:29 PM

I blame the merge morons.. You know the ones who light up their brakes at the start or middle of the merge.. Or they try to merge going 20 km/h less than the flow of traffic.. I almost rear ended one the other day because I was shoulder checking when she panicked.

Dan02 · 11-10-2008, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I blame the merge morons.. You know the ones who light up their brakes at the start or middle of the merge.. Or they try to merge going 20 km/h less than the flow of traffic.. I almost rear ended one the other day because I was shoulder checking when she panicked.

Indeed the biggest problem on deerfoot and most of Calgarys big roads is peoples inability to merge correctly, or even at all.