Collisions+Due+To+Heavy+Traffic

Every time a driver hits a yellow light, they are faced with two options. They can either be a good driver and slow down, or they can speed up and and risk hitting someone or someone hitting them.
 * __Brief Description:__**

Heavy traffic doesn't just mean a bunch of cars on the road, just that there is a lot going on. Somethings that count as "heavy traffic" is speeding, rubber necking, and the new texting while driving.
 * __Statistics:__**

-"Nearly 30% of all car accidents ending in death are caused by speeding" -because speeding drivers are less likely to wear their seat belts, they are more likely to have a higher incident -a driver is risk for a collision when texting is 23 times greater then just driving alone Kinematics will help you with this type of problem by helping you know when to stop, how far away to be from other cars, what to do when your not sure how long to break for, so you can avoid looking like this:
 * __Kinematics of this hazard:__**

__**Scenario:**__ Say, for example, that you're driving during rush hour down Columbus blvd. You're driving at 15.6 meters per second, yet the speed limit is 13.4. Your car is a Mercury Mariner which is about 4.5 meters long. There is another car about 4 meters in front of you, going at the same speed. If the car in front stops abruptly 20 meters away from the stop light, how long will you have to keep your breaks on so that you don't run into the other car? *Note: The average traffic light changed from yellow to green within 30-32 second. This will be important

In order to solve this type of problem, you will need to know a few things. First will be the main pieces of information: how far the cars are away from each other, how far from the traffic light is the first car, and how fast each car is going. These are easily found in the scenario -The cars are 4 meters apart, the first car is 20 meters away from the light, and they are both going at 15.6 meters per second

One way to start off this problem is to create a position over time graph. This will give you the equations to both as you can see, the lines are parallel, which means they will not meet.

Or a second way of solving this type of problem is by using the equation- V=at+Vo (or if your use to seeing this in an algebraic way, y=mx+b)

You- V=15.6(1) V=15.6

Other car- V=15.6(1)+4 V=15.6+4 V=19.6

The best time to start slowing up is when the car in front of you has a velocity of 19.6 and yours is at 15.6. This way the car in front to you has given you time to start to slow down and not get rear ended. By using kinematics to predict this, you will have less of a chance of hitting someone while driving.
 * How this Hazard Can Be Avoided With a Better Knowledge of Kinematics**

__**Conclusion**__ Most new drivers feel that if they keep their eyes on the road and wear their seat belts they will be fine, but they forget that there are other drivers that don't follow all the rules and they are not looking out for you. When you use kinematics to predict what will happen, it give you a "step ahead" of what to do in certain situations.

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