Home > Events > CTS Luncheon Series > Spring 2009

CTS Luncheon Series — Spring 2009

May 19, 2009
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Sheraton Hotel, Bloomington

“Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)”

Tom Vanderbilt

Would you be surprised that road rage can be good for society? Or that most crashes happen on sunny, dry days? That our minds can trick us into thinking the next lane is moving faster? Or that you can gauge a nation’s driving behavior by its levels of corruption? These are only a few of the remarkable dynamics that Tom Vanderbilt explores in his book, “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).” At the CTS Spring Luncheon, Vanderbilt will share the complex web of physical, psychological, and technical factors that explain how traffic works, why we drive the way we do, and what our driving says about us.

About the Speaker

Tom Vanderbilt writes on design, technology, science, and culture, among other subjects, for many publications, including Wired, Slate, The London Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Magazine, and Popular Science. His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). He has given lectures at colleges and business conferences, and has appeared on a wide variety of radio and television programs around the world, including NBC’s Today Show, ABC News’s Nightline, NPR’s Morning Edition, Fresh Air with Teri Gross, the BBC’s World Service and The One Show, Fox Business, and CNN’s Business Today, among many others.

Vanderbilt’s blog.