Forgetting How to Drive in the Snow

Last night, less than one inch of snow caused massive traffic jams in DC.  Hypothesis, inspired by today’s post on forgetting: Holding snowfall constant, the traffic jams will be most severe at the start of every snow season, then decline.  The reason: At the start of the snow season, people’s snow driving skills have atrophied from disuse.  Practice revives them, but only as long as the snow – and the practice – continues.

Related thought: At first glance, snow driving is a physical skill, which would normally decay at a relatively slow rate.  But on second thought, it’s mostly cognitive.  Remembering to drive slowly and leave buffer zones is a matter of concentration, not dexterity.

HT: Dan Lin

DC handles one-inch of snow with the same efficiency that it uses for running the country pic.twitter.com/YDYGDIdeyF

— Daniel Lin (@DLin71) January 21, 2016

The post appeared first on Econlib.