Being stuck in miles of halted traffic is not a relaxing way to start or finish a summer holiday. And as we crawl along the road, our views blocked by by slow-moving roofboxes and caravans, many of us will fantasize about a future free of traffic jams.
As a mathematician and motorist, I view traffic as a complex system, consisting of many interacting agents including cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians. Sometimes these agents interact in a free-flowing way and at other (infuriating) times they simply grind to a halt. All scenarios can be examined – and hopefully improved – using mathematical modeling, a way of describing the world in the language of maths.
