There are four billion hours of travel delays in America each year, contributing to pollution, fossil fuel waste, and costing us all money—an estimated 87.2 billion dollars. Not to mention traffic is just plain annoying! But is there a solution to your traffic woes?
美國每年塞車延誤行進的時間有四十億小時，造成汙染、燃料浪費，還花了我們一堆錢－－估計有八百七十二億美元。更別提塞車就是很煩人!不過有沒有一個辦法能解決你的交通大災難呢？
Traffic is often due to construction, an accident, or bottlenecks created by on-ramps and tunnels. But do you ever feel like congestion just seems to appear for no reason? You aren't imagining it. In a 2008 experiment, drivers were instructed to drive along a circular road, following the car in front of them while trying to maintain a constant speed. As the participants drove, they started to have fluctuations in the speed. These fluctuations increased, eventually causing cars to stop completely, which broke the free flow and led to traffic jams without any added factors.
塞車常是因為施工、事故，或匝道和隧道造成的狹窄路段。但你是否曾覺得塞車好像沒來由地就出現了？那不是你的想像。在一項 2008 年的實驗中，駕駛們被指示沿著一條環狀道路行駛，跟隨前方車輛同時試著保持固定速度。參與者行駛時，他們的速度開始有變動。這些變動增加，最終造成車輛完全停止，那破壞順暢交通，並在沒有任何額外因素加入的狀況下導致塞車。
Researchers compare traffic jams to the particles in a liquid and a solid. Moving cars are like the free-flowing particles in a liquid but can undergo a phase transition to that of a compacted solid. Once the particles, or cars, reach a critical density, gridlock happens. One of the key reasons gridlock happens is our inability to maintain a constant speed. When a traffic break happens, most accelerate to catch up to the vehicle ahead, resulting in eventual braking that forces the drivers behind to slow down, only causing the jam to grow.
研究人員將塞車比作液體和固體中的粒子。行進的車輛就如液體中自由移動的粒子，但可能經歷相變成為密實固體中的粒子。一旦那些粒子，或說車輛，達到一個關鍵密度時，交通大堵塞就會發生。交通堵塞發生的其中一個重要原因是我們無法維持固定速度。當交通空檔發生時，多數人會加速追上前方車輛，導致最後迫使後方駕駛減慢的煞車，只讓塞車情況更嚴重。
When you're in a traffic jam, you're a part of the problem. Studies show that 80 to 90 percent of drivers think they're better than the average driver, which is...impossible. Additionally, as humans, our attention is selective, and we tend to forget that other drivers are people too—kind of like commenting online, we can dehumanize other drivers in ways we wouldn't face to face. This leads to jerks on the road—following too closely or constantly changing lanes—which contributes directly to the congestion that creates traffic jams.
當你塞在車陣中時，你就是那問題的一部分。研究顯示百分之八十到九十的駕駛認為自己比一般駕駛優秀，那是...不可能的。此外，身為人類，我們的注意力是選擇性的，而我們往往忘了其他駕駛也是人－－有點像在網路上留言評論，我們可以用面對面時不會的方式不把其他駕駛當人看。 這造成路上的三寶－－跟太近或不斷變換車道－－那直接導致造成塞車的阻塞。
Thankfully, as the good driver you are, you can make a difference. Pay attention to the car ahead and behind you to keep a buffer of space around you. This way, if the driver in front of you brakes, you have room to slow down and won't pass the braking tension along the chain of traffic.
幸好，像你這樣的優良駕駛，你可以做出影響。注意前方和後方車輛來保持你四周的緩衝空間。這樣一來，如果前方駕駛煞車，你就有空間減速，而且不會讓煞車造成的緊張沿著車流傳遞。
Drive slower. Set your car to cruise control to try driving at a consistent speed. In Belgium and the Netherlands, there's a technique implemented at times of high volume known as "block driving," where a chain of cars drive at a consistent speed to help others keep pace. Police have also used this strategy for 15 years, driving at an appropriate pace in groups to keep the flow of traffic moving.
開慢點。將車輛設為定速巡航來試著以固定的速度行駛。在比利時和荷蘭，有一種在交通量大時實施的技術叫「路障式引流」，一排車輛會以固定速度行駛來幫助其他人跟上。警察也運用這種策略有十五年之久，以適當速度結隊行駛來保持交通順暢。
Of course, the advent of autonomous self-driving cars will see automobiles that are able to connect and communicate with one another, vehicle to vehicle, and is expected to reduce traffic jams significantly. Additionally, researchers are using biologically inspired algorithms to reduce travel times. In one study, researchers applied a model based on ant travel behavior as a way to route traffic. Changes in infrastructure work, too. Recently, Los Angeles became the first city to synchronize every street light, causing lights to make automatic adjustments based on flow, which has reduced travel time by 14 percent. Traffic aside, another solution is taking public transit when possible. An MIT study of Boston traffic found that if one percent of current drivers took transit, everyone's commute will be reduced by 18 percent.
當然，自動駕駛汽車的出現將會讓汽車有能力和彼此連結交流，車輛對車輛，而且可望能大幅減少塞車情況。此外，研究人員正利用生物啟發的演算法來減少移動時間。在一項研究中，研究人員運用根據螞蟻移動行為的模組來當作指引交通路線的方法。基礎建設的改變也有效果。最近，洛杉磯成為第一個同步每座街頭號誌的城市，讓燈號依車流做出自動調整，那讓移動時間減少了百分之十四。先把塞車放一旁，另一個辦法是可以的時候就搭大眾運輸工具。麻省理工學院研究波士頓交通發現，如果現今的駕駛有百分之一搭大眾運輸工具，所有人的通勤時間將會減少百分之十八。
Of course, companies like Toyota, who supported this episode, are finding new ways to address mobility challenges, developing future technologies to interconnect drivers and vehicles with road infrastructure. Toyota is launching their new Corolla iM Hatchback with the Toyota Safety Sense technologies like pre-collision systems, automatic high beams, and lane departure alert, all of which will be standard and launching across Canada this September. They also have a goal to produce vehicles with zero emissions by 2050, which is something we really support.
當然，一些像 Toyota 這樣的公司，Toyota 贊助本集節目，都正在尋找解決移動困難的新方法，研發未來科技來讓駕駛與車輛和道路基礎建設互相連結。Toyota 目前推出搭載 Toyota 主動式安全防護系統科技的全新 Corolla iM 斜背型汽車，配備像是撞擊預警系統、自動遠光燈以及車道偏離警示，這全會是標準配備，而且今年九月會在加拿大全面推出。Toyota 還有一個在 2050 年前生產零排放汽車的願景，那是件我們樂見其成的事。
So, special thanks to Toyota for supporting our channel and being a leader in the science and technology space. And subscribe for more weekly science videos!
那麼，特別感謝 Toyota 支持我們的頻道，並在科技界作為一位領導者。訂閱以收看更多每週科學影片!
- 「促成、導致」- Contribute To
There are four billion hours of travel delays in America each year, contributing to pollution, fossil fuel waste, and costing us all money...
美國每年塞車延誤行進的時間有四十億小時，造成汙染、燃料浪費，還花了我們一堆錢... - 「更不必說」- Not To Mention
Not to mention traffic is just plain annoying!
更別提塞車就是很煩人！ - 「因為、由於」- Due To
Traffic is often due to construction, an accident, or bottlenecks created by on-ramps and tunnels.
塞車常是因為施工、事故，或匝道和隧道造成的狹窄路段。 - 「趕上」- Catch Up
When a traffic break happens, most accelerate to catch up to the vehicle ahead...
當交通空檔發生時，多數人會加速追上前方車輛...
