For anyone who has been out for a drive and wondered why other drivers seem to act the way they do, Tom Vanderbilt's Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What Says About Us) is a book filled with information about understanding how people drive. While he writes various articles for different publications, he is best known for Traffic and its style of various examples to explain the math behind human driving patterns. Through many different ideas, Vanderbilt breaks down some common notions like by showing that more roads only leads to more traffic or by just showing who is more likely to honk and why.

From an introduction describing a classic Disney cartoon to the many examples that prove driving patterns and their benefits, this book shines a profound light on the situation with how drivers respond to any situation on the road. While in one sense it comes across as an easy read, it also possesses a very in-depth analysis which allows this to be a good read for the average person, but the reader who can drive would appreciate this book even more. The car has been the American machines for years, and although the driving scene will continue to change, this book provides plenty insight as to why people will continue to act the way they do.