Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It [Hardcover]

Randal O'Toole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2010

Americans are the most mobile society in history, yet our transportation system is on the verge of collapse. Traffic congestion today is five times worse than it was 25 years ago. Many of our bridges are in desperate need of replacement. Worst of all, many transportation planners believe their job is to make congestion worse in order to discourage mobility. Gridlock reveals how we got into this mess and how we can fix it. The United States has two paths before it. Some say we should build an expensive network of high-speed trains and urban rail transit lines that will mainly serve a narrow elite. Gridlock argues instead that we should focus on improving methods of transportation that will increase everyone's mobility and pay for themselves, whether it's cars, buses, planes, or trains.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"O'Toole's Gridlock is a brilliant ode to mobility, which he argues is the foundation of our freedom and our prosperity. He blasts those groups in our society which have turned from promoting mobility to restricting it. He punctures the pretensions of congressmen, transport agency bureaucrats, urban planners, `smart growth' advocates and their ilk who want to spend billions promoting trains and rail transit systems that few people want to ride. This book will infuriate some and inspire others by its pointed and data-driven conclusions. But its policy arguments are too urgent and too important to ignore. A must-read book for everyone interested in the future of transportation policy." --James A. Dunn, Jr., Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, and Author of Driving Forces: The Automobile, Its Enemies, and the Politics of Mobility

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute; 1 edition (January 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935308238
• ISBN-13: 978-1935308232
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Mass Transit

More About the Author

Randal O'Toole is a senior fellow with the Cato Institute specializing in public lands, urban growth, and transportation issues. O'Toole spent 15 years working with environmental groups helping them understand the perils of big government planning and 15 years working with libertarian groups helping them find ways to protect the environment without big government.

O'Toole is an active cyclist who rides thousands of miles a year and a rail fan who loves riding passenger trains. But he is also an economist who recognizes that government spending must be cost-effective if it is to accomplish anything other than transferring money from taxpayers to special interests. This makes him skeptical of proposals to, for example, spend billions of dollars on urban rail transit or high-speed rail.

A native Oregonian, O'Toole was Yale University's McCluskey Conservation Fellow in 1998 and the Merrill Visiting Professor at Utah State University in 2000. He also taught at the University of California (Berkeley) College of Natural Resources in 1999 and 2001. He currently resides in Camp Sherman, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important book, February 20, 2010

By 

Gene "Gene" (hartford,ct.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It (Hardcover)

O'Toole claims that our cars are practically computer controlled anyway so why not use those computers to maintain a system of driverless cars that will eliminate gridlock by ostensibly eliminating the subjective elements of individual driver control. Sounds like a great idea, one which I recall Walter Cronkite's "21st Century" touting twenty years ago. There is lot to this book including important ideas about how government subsidizes a mass transit policy that actually encourages rather than eliminates gridlock. But I wanted to simply mention that one of the main criticisms - how would you phase in such a system when it takes twenty to thirty years to turnover the existing automobile inventory - could in my view be easily accomplished either by dividing the existing road network into driver and driverless similar to HOV lanes and/or having the cars be built with dual mode systems (e.g. autopilot). In any case well worth the read.

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening and fascinating read, November 11, 2011

By 

A consumer - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It (Hardcover)

As a Civil Engineer trainee with a master's degree, one of my interests is in transportation policy and how some proposed projects will (or will not) solve the problems that are facing us. I stumbled upon this book while reading about a proposed high-speed rail system in my home state, and finding many flaws in the plan.

I've been reading this book, "Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It", and it has offered a fresh perspective on transportation issues. The book explores many topics in transportation, including some history on transportation; some thoughts on mass transit and high-speed rail; environmental impact of different kinds of transportation; the economical and financial aspects of transportation improvements; and even on driverless cars. One of the most interesting facts I have learned from reading this book has been that the transportation improvement that has made the most positive impact on the environment has been to improve traffic signal coordination. It also turns out that mass transit really isn't that environmentally friendly compared to driving. For example, Florida's high-speed rail system (which has now been killed and re-killed) would have used up to 6 times as much energy as the cars they would have replaced!

Some may criticize this book as "agenda-driven misinformation". That, it is not. It is a book grounded in the truth, and the conclusions that O'Toole makes follow well from his assertions. Like any good researcher, he cites his sources for all of his statements and assertions. I have personally checked many of his references myself and have found them to be reliable.

I believe that this book ought to be required reading for all transportation professionals, whether they be at the university, working in the public sector (state DOT, etc.) or in the private sector (consulting). I believe in the freedom of movement, and after you read this book you may find as I have that we can (and should!) find creative ways to be better stewards of our energy, environmental, and economic resources while still preserving and enhancing this very important freedom.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Pragmatic read on today's transportation policies, January 23, 2011

By 

Jason L. Read "Chief Read" (Ringoes, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It (Hardcover)

O'Toole does a great job of composing an excellent book on the modern challenges of transportation policies, funding, congestion, and mass transit. A must read for anyone interested in transportation issues.

The book made me confront a few soft and hard biases on the effectiveness and efficiency of certain transportation methods.