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Thanksgiving Travelers Brave Holiday 'Traffic'

Thanksgiving travelers on Washington, D.C.'s Capitol beltway in Nov. 2007.
Mark Wilson
/
Getty Images
Thanksgiving travelers on Washington, D.C.'s Capitol beltway in Nov. 2007.

When you hit the road this Thanksgiving, take a look at the driver who honks at you. Author Tom Vanderbilt has some theories: he says men honk more than women, and people in expensive cars honk more at less expensive cars.

Vanderbilt is the author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), in which he explains the psychology of driving and the engineering of roadways. He also reveals some contradictory traffic truths: why roundabouts are safer than intersections and how slower can actually be faster.

Vanderbilt has written for Wired, Slate, and The New York Times.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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