# The Importance of Antipersistence for Traffic Jams

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how the antipersistence in traffic flow time series influences the duration of traffic congestion, revealing a high frequency of short traffic jams that pose collision risks.

## Contribution

It highlights the significance of antipersistence in traffic flow data and its impact on congestion duration, an aspect previously overlooked.

## Key findings

- Many short-lasting traffic jams observed
- High risk of rear-end collisions due to congestion patterns
- Antipersistence affects traffic congestion dynamics

## Abstract

Universal characteristics of road networks and traffic patterns can help to forecast and control traffic congestion. The antipersistence of traffic flow time series has been found for many data sets, but its relevance for congestion has been overseen. Based on empirical data from motorways in Germany, we study how antipersistence of traffic flow time-series impacts the duration of traffic congestion on a wide range of time scales. We find a large number of short lasting traffic jams, which implies a large risk for rear-end collisions.