And you thought your commute was bad

Wired writes about a report released by IBM Research regarding traffic in large cities. Using a web-based survey, IBM  included 8,192 drivers in 20 cities. IBM developed a “Commuter Pain Index” that is comprised of ten criteria.

The worst cities, starting with the worst and then declining on the index: Beijing, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Moscow, and New Delhi. The first US city, Los Angeles, shows up at #14 with New York and Houston at #17 and #18, respectively.

If you were curious, IBM recommends as a solution new technologies to “empower transportation officials to better understand and proactively manage the flow of traffic.”

Combining stop and yield signs

A venture capitalist is seeking a new road sign: a combination of the stop and yield signs. His reasoning: there are times when no one else is at the intersection and a driver should not have to completely stop. These combination signs would save much time and money and would function best when a minor road intersects a major road. Read about it here (and also get a lesson in when stop and yield signs were developed in America).