We surely have all had the experience of driving with a passenger, riding with a driver, or being stuck in traffic behind someone with a very different driving philosophy. And we all have opinions on the traffic calming measures that are popular in Bay Area cities, as well as various CalTrans decisions about highways. Tom Vanderbilt drove, rode with local drivers, and interviewed psychologists and traffic engineers all over the world. The resulting book is full of insights, many of them counterintuitive. It gives the reader a greater appreciation for the complexities of traffic engineering and for other drivers’ differing viewpoints. It might even make us all safer drivers. As for me, I’d still rather take public transit, where I can just sit and read. Sorayya Carr, UPB partner.
Having lived in Delhi, where learning traffic norms feels like learning a new (dangerous!) language, I look forward to this book to illuminate what goes on in peoples’ heads as we interact in this (from evolution’s perspective) bizarre way.