I think this behavior is taught now, since a car that never uses its brakes but reduces its speed will give a false impression to the car behind that it's travelling at the same speed as it was a second ago.
A road trip marred by stultifying standstill delays provided most of yesterday's sensory bang for the buck.
Sitting there with the guitar (I was a passenger the first half), I remembered past thoughts on automobile brake lights as another key intelligence indicator for me - specifically, more brake usage suggesting lesser grokking prowess with respect to the likes distance, velocity, and mass in a time(ing) context.
Seems I so rarely encounter others who - based on how a traffic jam has been progressing - can more often than not provide just the right amount of power to coast the vehicle to needing another such power input *without* wasting power/momentum on braking.
Instead, I'm usually witnessing an angsty accelerate-too-much/brake-hard alternation, which somehow screams brain-dead automaton to me.
I think this behavior is taught now, since a car that never uses its brakes but reduces its speed will give a false impression to the car behind that it's travelling at the same speed as it was a second ago.
This mental picture always brings to mind "Mambo No. 8" by Perez Prado (I remembered the song name, but had to look up the artist) from the beginning of "Office Space" when the traffic is START/STOP, and as he pulls into the faster lane, IT stops, and the former lane moves along, only to switch back and have the same thing happen. Hysterical movie.
I think the most impressive move in regards to slow-moving traffic is the "Never-Stop-Stop", where the driver will move along with traffic, and when the cars ahead come to a full stop, they apply the brake *ever* so gently, and slowly drop from 1mph, to 1/2 mph, to 1/3 mph, and just at the event horizon where you think said driver will have to swallow their pride and stop completely, the cars ahead move along, and they can apply gas again.
Life/dignity restored. Ego boosted. Cosmos synchronized in unison.
What a feat!
> I think the most impressive move in > regards to slow-moving traffic is the > "Never-Stop-Stop", where the driver > will move along with traffic, and when > the cars ahead come to a full stop, > they apply the brake *ever* so gently, > and slowly drop from 1mph, to 1/2 mph, > to 1/3 mph, and just at the event > horizon where you think said driver > will have to swallow their pride and > stop completely, the cars ahead move > along, and they can apply gas again.
I'm feeling compelled to refer to that as "enbrakenment"....