Traffic

Why is it so hard for people to behave in traffic? Why?
You're not alone on the road, all the people pay for it and have to use it so have a little respect will you? Everyone wants to get to the finish just like you, they all think they'll be late for work, they all should've left earlier.

And why are people so damned hasty on the road? Because they're afraid to get stuck in traffic... Traffic jams, who doesn't love them?
Kilometer after kilometer cars and trucks waiting for the one in front of them to get out of the way so they can drive. A lovely sight during the hot summer days, the air trembling above the melting asphalt where vehicles slowly sink down as if dumped in a swamp, and nobody ever heard from John Doe again, having disappeared on his way to work.

One study I liked said that if all the vehicles didn't drive faster than 60 kph, there wouldn't be any traffic jams here in the Netherlands. So why are there still jams when the people can only go slower than that?
The answer (in my humble opinion of course) is, keep your distance! Don't try to read the navigation system in the car in front of you to see where that person is headed. Not even if it might be someone going in your direction and threatening to grab the parking space closer to the front door of your office.

I see people having to come to a complete halt because there's not enough room in front to let another car inbetween. Which means everybody else behind them has to stop completely too if they don't leave enough space. In a few days where I had to participate in the national pastime of trying to just miss kissing bumpers and making sure no-one can arrive before you at the end of the jam I kept a relaxed distance and didn't care if one extra car got in front of me. Guess what? I could keep my car rolling longer than the ones in front. Less need to clutch, break, shift, accelerate and leave burning rubber on the road.
So what if I arrive 2 seconds later at the spot than the one in front? When he has to go to the trouble to keep his distance as short as possible I arrive at the same time he leaves and I just keep rolling relaxed to the next spot.

Keeping distance means a smoother transition from 3 to 2 or 2 to 1 lane on the road. One might have to drive a little slower, but if one prefers to stand still for 15 minutes or more go sit in a parking lot. The purpose of a road is to have moving traffic on it.

And if you really need that adrenaline rush of risking your car and yourself by kissing the bumpers in front of you go park your suv at the nearest Hell's Angels (hi guys!) club between the Harleys.