What makes a traffic jam

What makes a traffic jam asks Science sleuths Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry to investigate everyday mysteries sent in by BBC UK listeners.

This week in episode three of Discovery from the BBC, which will broadcast on Phuket Island radio 0nline and air at 102.5FM, we find out more about what makes a traffic jam.

Science sleuths Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford investigate two curious questions: What makes a traffic jam? And why do people shout on their mobile phones in public?

What makes a traffic jam in London?

Adam ventures onto the London orbital motorway in search of a tailback, and Hannah looks at projects worldwide that have attempted to solve the scourge of traffic jams.

We feature Neal Harwood from the Transport Research Laboratory and BBC technology reporter Jane Wakefield.

I have often wondered about this phenomenon what makes a traffic jam.

With the traffic congestion in Phuket simply getting worse and no real road, disciplines are Phuket destroying itself?

Anyone travelling to Bangkok frequently has witnessed the total gridlock on some days, while things are relatively smooth on other days.

Of course, it is not just cars. Some areas of Asia have thousands of Motor Cycles, all hustling for the same piece of space. 

Discovery from the BBC this week also looks at the vexing question of why people shout on their mobile phones in public.

By delving into the inner workings of telephony with a tale of engineering rivalry, Victorian etiquette, and early otolaryngology. Their witnesses are acoustic technologist Nick Zakharov and historian Greg Jenner, author of A Million Years in a Day: A Curious History of Daily Life.

You may listen to this BBC Discovery broadcast this Sunday at 8:30 am on Phuket Island radio 0nline and on-air at 102.5FM, followed by another programming from the BBC Science in Action technology from Click and hourly BBC International news.