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60 to 0 mph in 5 seconds because of sheer volume.

60 to 0 mph in 5 seconds because of sheer volume.

Evening rush, not so bad... until the lights ahead.

Evening rush, not so bad… until the lights ahead.

Many students wander the inner lot in search of spaces.

Many students wander the inner lot in search of spaces.

Typical Rt 70 craziness.

Typical Rt 70 craziness.

Start of Monday morning rush hour.

Start of Monday morning rush hour.

Every day, millions of us commute great distances to school or work; but how much of your fuel is actually used to move your car? The answer is most certainly not as much as we like (neither individually nor all of society). All of the wasted fuel while in traffic substantially contributes to incomprehensible damage to our environment. What can you do?

The answer is both simple and complex. Three major factors of our traffic troubles are accidents, volume, and inefficient infrastructure. The first factor is something everyone can help with: drive safe! We all know what is considered safe driving, and some simply choose not to. On these highways, this means excessive speeding, weaving, and, the most dangerous, tale gating. Tale gating significantly reduces a driver’s view, thus limiting time to react to dangers. If you are at a high speed with an unsafe distance between your car and the one in front of you, all the other car has to do merge last second to reveal a much slower car in front of them. You know what happens then? You will definitely hit that vehicle and will probably injure yourself and others (or worse). Make smart decisions!

The other two factors causing traffic are difficult to solve; but, because we know about them, it is not impossible. The increase in traffic volume overall has shown that the states must revamp traffic infrastructure. There are always transportation projects in the works, but they are not completed fast enough. Although there is little we can do at the moment, we absolutely must keep this issue open in case technological innovation or a novel idea is revealed in the future. Perhaps we must rethink our transportation system in its entirety.

By: William Lusky – Influence of Mass Media

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