Explain · Like I'm five version
Traffic jams in terms of a Mexican wave
A traffic jam is just a giant Mexican wave where everyone is much too sad to stand up and cheer.
Think of a road full of cars as a row of people waiting to watch a race. When the first person decides to stop because they see a squirrel or a red light, the person behind them has to hit their brakes to stay safe. This creates a little wave of stopping that travels backwards through the line of cars, moving away from the front just like a wave moves around a big stadium.
Soon, the wave has moved so far back that it catches up with cars that are miles away from where the first car stopped. Each driver adds a bit of their own waiting time, making the wave grow bigger and slower. By the time the wave reaches the very back, it feels like a giant, grumpy wall of metal that refuses to move, even though the original reason for the stop happened a long time ago.
It is like the most boring game ever invented, where nobody wants to win and the prize is just getting home in time for tea. You sit there waiting for your turn to move, watching the brake lights twinkle like dull Christmas fairy lights in the dark. Eventually, the wave passes, and everyone zooms off, probably just to get stuck in another wave at the next roundabout.
Where the analogy breaks downA Mexican wave makes people feel happy and connected, while a traffic jam just makes everyone want to eat their steering wheel.