Re: Game theory and US vs. Italian drivers

["Stephen D. Thompson" <thompsonlaw@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I personally noticed a marked difference in moving from Tacoma, WA (part of
the large metro area coming to be known as Pugetopolis) to the country out
here in Idaho, but peppered with city transplants from LA, Seattle, etc.  On
I-5 in Pugetopolis, one uses all the lanes however one can, even so far as
to throwing a "fake" unsignaled lane change to slow a car in another lane
down to make a space to merge to your exit.  In the Sun Valley area, people
merge nicely, even ignoring traditional rules of the road to allow others
from stop signs to merge into traffic on the ONLY way north and south in the
valley.  The roads here are mostly two lane and rural highway in nature.

Most people here drive Ford F-150s or 250s etc or Suburbans or Suburban
knock offs.  It is definately a pioneer, settler type attitude that has
traditionally prevailed (many "Barn raising" type benefits to help anyone
who is in some kind of need in the community).  However, some additional
lanes have now been built for part of the commute between south county where
everyone lives and north county where many work.  Some of the urban
transplants cannot resist the open "extra" lanes even if the extra lanes
merge back together in a couple miles and no real time savings is gained by
passing on the right and re-merging.  Some relationship between how crowded
it is and aggression seems apparent.

Steve Thompson
71 Berlina
-- 


> From: owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided (alfa-digest)
> Reply-To: alfa@domain.elided
> Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 14:44:00 +0000
> To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
> Subject: alfa-digest V9 #623
> 
> American culture is sometimes contradictory. Despite ideals of "rugged
> individualism" and everybody fighting for himself, America also has strong
> communal elements, possibly passed on from the first settlers. The latter
> shows up in the American tendency to nicely merge from one to two lanes of
> traffic if there is an obstacle far ahead. Europeans tend to try to beat each
> other to the obstacle, causing friction and probably slowing everybody down in
> the process. For those familiar with "game theory", it seems the Americans
> have gotten this point better than the Europeans.
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