My mental model of traffic on the highway tells me that trucks are the reason that highways are slow, but they’re also very helpful in helping the traffic flow. The latter is somewhat validated by using ants to research traffic flow.

In the latest findings, published in the February issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, Dussutour’s team found that ants leaving the colony automatically gave right-of-way to those returning with food. Of the returning ants, some were empty-mandibled — but rather than passing their leaf-carrying, slow-moving brethren, they gathered in clusters and moved behind them.

This seemingly counterintuitive strategy — when stuck behind a slow-moving truck, are you content to slow down? — actually saved them time.

Now if drivers would just stop weaving around trucks and changing lanes, traffic wouldn’t be as bad. Though, that’s as likely to happen as everyone following the trucks.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: driving, research