fossil fuel waste and costing us all money; an estimated $87.2 billion dollars! Not to

石油燃料的浪費，這些損耗我們的金錢，費用預估高達872億美元！更別提

mention traffic is just plain annoying! But is there a solution to your traffic woes?

交通本身就是很煩人！到底有沒有解決交通困擾的方法呢？

Traffic is often due to construction, an accident, or bottlenecks created by on-ramps and tunnels.

交通堵塞通常是因為施工、事故或是因為閘道、隧道造成的瓶頸反應而造成

But do you ever feel like congestion just seems to appear for no reason? You aren’t imagining

但你曾經看過完全毫無理由就出現的堵塞嗎？你並不是想太多！

it! In a 2008 experiment, drivers were instructed to drive along a circular road, following

在一個2008年的實驗中，駕駛們被指引沿著一個環形的道路駕駛，跟著

the car in front of them while trying to maintain a constant speed. As the participants drove,

前面的車輛行駛，同時試著維持一個恆定的速度。當這些參加者行駛，

they started to have fluctuations in the speed. These fluctuations increased, eventually causing

他們開始在速度上有所變化。當這些變化增加，最後會導致

cars to stop completely, which broke the free flow and led to traffic jams without any added

車輛完全停止，並沒有其他的外在因素就破壞了流暢的動線並且導致交通阻塞

factors. Researchers compare traffic jams to the particles in a liquid and a solid;

研究者將交通阻塞相比較於液相和固相

moving cars are like the free flowing particles in a liquid, but can undergo a ‘phase transition’

移動的車輛就像是自由流動在液相中的分子，但是卻可以藉由「過渡階段」

to that of a compacted solid. Once the particles/cars reach a critical density, gridlock happens.

變成緊密的固體。一但車輛數達到一定的密集程度，高壓封鎖就會發生

One of the key reasons gridlock happens is our inability to maintain a constant speed.

其中一個高壓封鎖的發生主要原因就是我們沒辦法維持等速

When a traffic break happens, most accelerate to catch up to the vehicle ahead, resulting

當交通狀況失去平衡時，大部分的人會加速追趕前方的車輛，導致

in eventual braking, that forces the drivers behind to slow down, only causing the jam to grow.

最後必須煞車，讓後面的駕駛速度放慢，造成交通膠著

When you’re in a traffic jam, you’re part of the problem. Study showed that 80-90% of

當你遇到交通阻塞時，你其實也是其中的問題之一。資料顯示，百分之八十到九十的

drivers think they’re better than the average driver, which is... impossible. Additionally,

駕駛認為他們是優於平均水準之上的駕駛，但這件事是不可能的。此外，

as humans, our attention is selective, and we tend to forget that other drivers are people

身為人類，我們的注意力是有選擇性的，而且我們會傾向於忽略其他的駕駛者也是人

too - kind of like commenting online, we can dehumanize other drivers in ways we wouldn’t

就像是在線上留言一樣，我們會剝奪其他駕駛者的人性，但我們卻不需要

face-to-face. This leads to jerks on the road - following too closely or constantly changing

面對面說話。這導致了路上的反射行為，靠得太近或是持續改變

lanes - which contributes directly to the congestion that creates traffic jams.

線道，這也是直接造成交通阻塞的因素

Thankfully, as the good driver you are, you can make a difference! Pay attention to the car ahead

幸好，有些就像是你一樣的優良駕駛，你可以做出一些改變！注意前方的車輛

and behind you to keep a buffer of space around you. This way, if the driver in front of you

並且在後方四周保持一定的緩衝距離。如此一來，如果在你前方的駕駛

brakes, you have room to slow down and won’t pass the braking tension along the chain of

煞車了，你就有空間可以將車速慢下來，並且不會緊急煞車

traffic. Drive slower. Set your car to cruise control or try driving at a consistent speed.

開車慢一點。將車子設定為可控制的模式或是試著以一定的速度行駛

In Belgium and the Netherlands, there’s a technique implemented at times of high volume

在比利時和荷蘭，有個被大量使用的技術

known as ‘block-driving’, where a chain of cars drive at a consistent speed to help

叫做「間隔駕駛」，車輛以等速行駛，讓

others keep pace. Police have also used this strategy for 15 years, driving at an appropriate

每個人都能保持距離。警方也使用這個措施長達了十五年，以一個適當的

pace in groups to keep the flow of traffic moving.

距離行駛在車陣當中，保持交通的流暢

Of course, the advent of autonomous self-driving cars will see automobiles that are able to

當然，自動駕駛車的發明會看到車輛可以

connect and communicate with one another, vehicle-to-vehicle, and is expected to reduce

與其他車輛連結和溝通，車輛對車輛，並且被預期會減少

traffic jams significantly. Additionally, researchers are using biologically inspired

重大的交通阻塞。另外，研究者正在使用生物性啟發的

algorithms to reduce travel times. In one study, researchers apply a model based on

算法去減少行駛的時間。在一個研究中，研究者使用一個模型以

ant travel behaviour as a way to route traffic. Changes in infrastructure work too; recently

螞蟻的遷徙行為當作交通路線的途徑。在基礎措施的層面也會跟著改變，最近

LA became the first city to synchronize every street light, causing lights to make automatic

洛杉磯成為第一個同步紅綠燈的城市，讓紅綠燈自動

adjustments based on flow, which has reduced travel time by 14%.

由車流量來判斷，這也減少了14%的交通時間

Traffic aside, another solution is taking public transit when possible. An MIT study

另一個解決方式是如果可行的話，搭乘大眾運輸。一個麻省理工學院的研究顯示

of Boston traffic found that if 1% of current drivers took transit, everyone's commute would

波士頓的交通狀況，如果現在有1%的駕駛者搭乘大眾運輸，每個人的交通時間可以

be reduced by 18%.

減少18%

Of course, companies like Toyota - who supported this episode - are finding new ways to address

當然，像是支持這個單元的toyota這一類的公司們，正在尋找新的方法去解決

mobility challenges, developing future technologies to interconnect drivers and vehicles with

交通的挑戰，發展未來科技去連結駕駛和車輛使用

road infrastructure. Toyota is launching their new Corolla iM Hatchback with the Toyota Safety

道路基礎建設。toyota正在發布他們新的corolla im 掀背車，乘載toyota安全

Sense technologies like pre-collision systems, automatic high beams, and lane departure alert

感應科技，像是預備撞擊的系統，自動的高射線和巷道排除警示

- all of which will be standard and launching across Canada this September. They also have

這些全部都是標準配備並且將於今年九月在加拿大上市。他們也有

a goal to produce vehicles with zero emissions by 2050, which is something we really support!

一個目標是在2050年之前製造出零排放的車款，這也是我們非常支持的項目！

So, special thanks to Toyota for supporting our channel and being a leader in the science

因此，特別感謝toyota汽車公司支持我們的頻道，它是科學界

and technology space!

和科技界的領導者！

And subscribe for more weekly science videos!

訂閱我們的頻道可以獲得更多的每週科學影片！