On roads all over eastern Massachusetts prisoner's dilemma scenarios played out with confounding consequences. As traffic thickened then stopped, cars waited through cycle after cycle of changing lights without forward movement. Frustration and impatience compelled some into the intersections. With the precedent set, many broke ranks, stopped ceding legal right of way, drove against one way traffic, piled into breakdown lanes and parking spaces. Exits and intersections clotted completely until the entire network seized. Cars continued to flow into the stagnating soup until the act of starting a trip - leaving parking lots, garages and side streets - became impossible.
Lessons?
- Beyond a certain level of congestion the rules of the road dissolve. It doesn't take much to push the urban population into acts of immediate self interest, actively thwarting the interests of others
- Civility evaporates, but not entirely. There wasn't a lot of shouting or blowing of horns. Police were nowhere to be seen, but a few people tried to jump into the breach and direct traffic. With the gridlock fully established though, this accomplished nothing
- The machine can't save us. Once laws are ignored and the social contract has been broken, the inanimate mechanics of traffic control are entirely worthless. It wasn't possible to untangle the knot until pressure began to diminish from the extremities.
- No leaders, no team. We have no social experience with or preparation for subordinating self interest (at least where transportation is concerned) to a greater whole. People are not trained to pull over and direct traffic. Motorists are not prepared to respect civilians who do.
