Forgetting How to Drive in the Snow, by Bryan Caplan

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

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