" and use a total of 2.9 billion gallons (11 billion liters) of fuel. "
Lost in all this nonsense is that if you drive an EV powered by the sun and sit in traffic even all day your not burning up fuel that's producing the pollution from burning up those extra 2.9 billion gallons of fossil fuel.
People driving gas cars when alternatives are available are the scum of the Earth in my opinion.

I know it slows me down, because when someone tailgates me, I just back off the gas pedal. If they are in THAT much of a hurry (I typically drive between the speed limit & 7mph over), they can go around me.

And another reason why tailgating is a bad idea. Never mind that it’s illegal and dangerous.

Bit harsh Vincent, people cant afford the ridiculously expensive e cars....
Plus, didn't need MIT to figure that out, worked that out 40 years ago...

When I drive in traffic I can tell who's following too close by the many times they step on their brakes. Best thing is to back off and make a game out of spacing yourself so that by time you come up on them they're moving again and you never touched your brakes.
You're not going to get past the traffic so it's best to just cruise along at 20-30mph instead of acting like the idiots that zoom up on the cars ahead and stand still for 2 minutes and then start moving.

Bob you are right, I judge the driving skills of people by how often they use their brakes on the freeway. Everytime you touch your brakes you are wasting momentum, for which you need fuel to regain it again.

I think this analysis does not take into account all parameters. It may be true before the jam. But Inside the jam, the effect of people wanting to change lane all the time to gain time is not negligible. In fact, if everyone was letting more space, aggressive drivers would change lane everytime their lane is moving slower. This would quickly neutralize all movement in the start of the jam. Moreover, in the case of an entry on the highway, this could block the highway.

I'm fairly sure this phenomenon was pointed out in 2008 in the book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do by traffic engineer Tom Vanderbilt ( http://a.co/iERFzip ).

I agree with Scottsdale Bob that rational drivers seldom apply their brakes. As soon as that distant traffic light turns yellow, I turn off the cruise control and coast to the finish line, alternately coasting and low-gearing my 6-speed automatic. My 2011 Fiesta has gone 113,000 miles, and I've never had to replace the brakes' front discs or rear shoes.

Study is wrong. It makes too many assumptions. Traffic actually tends to bunch up in back of a few slow drivers. People tailgate to try to get around these drivers who are obstructing traffic. The best way to speed up traffic flow and decrease congestion is to enforce the laws to keep to the right except to pass and to set speed limits using the 85 percentile rule instead of politics.