NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Bumper-to-bumper traffic is a regular occurrence for holiday travelers, but researchers with Vanderbilt University in Nashville hope findings from a large traffic study can help alleviate some of that congestion.
Nationwide, AAA has already predicted that roughly 80 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles for their Thanksgiving celebrations this year. A record 71.7 million are traveling by car, the AAA projects, adding to potential traffic jams across the country.
One type of traffic jam — the “phantom traffic jam” — has been of particular interest to researchers at Vanderbilt. This type of congestion is characterized by slowdowns or queueing that appears to happen for no clear reason.
But after a 2-year study of Interstate 24 (which runs straight through Nashville), Vanderbilt University researchers Dan Work and Jonathan Sprinkle said their team had compiled several steps to help drivers avoid — or at least avoid contributing to — a “phantom” jam.
- Average and steady wins the race: You don’t have to be slow and steady — just steady. Driving at a steady, legal speed will get you where you need to go without creating a problem for other drivers on the road.
- Speeding up will slow you down: Everyone’s in a hurry but speeding up to get right behind the car in front of you will only lead to hitting the brakes. Keeping your wheels rolling and staying a safe distance behind the cars in front of you will allow you (and the cars behind you) to avoid a stop-and-go commute.
- Think about your bank account: Don’t focus on how fast you can get there; think about how much money you can save. Avoiding a speed-up-slow-down pattern can also reduce fuel costs and improve emissions.
“Especially during the holiday time, it will be different than our normal daily drive,” Sprinkle said. “We may seem like we’re falling behind traffic at some point, and then only maybe 20 or 30 seconds later, end up pulling behind a vehicle that had just recently passed us.”
Another tip based on the study findings is to make the most of adaptive cruise control.
Researchers added that using this feature could help safely regulate traffic patterns.
AAA had previously predicted the worst travel days of the extended Thanksgiving weekend to be the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before the holiday, citing traffic projections from INRIX. The best time to travel, on the other hand, is Thanksgiving Day itself “when interstates and highways are typically clear,” AAA said.
“Drivers returning home on Sunday should leave early in the morning, and those coming back on Monday should expect a mix of travelers and work commuters on the road,” the organization added.