Tom Vanderbilt is the author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).

MCT / Antonio Perez

LOS ANGELES

It’s not pleasant, but the irony is apt: L.A. traffic has made me late for my interview with Tom Vanderbilt, the author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).

Fearlessly but recklessly, I drive and dial, using my cell phone to inform Vanderbilt I’m almost there even as the metal chaos seems about to crush my compact rental car. Calmly, wisely, Vanderbilt urges me to stop worrying, slow down ... and hang up. He’ll wait for me.

And that’s my first impression when I meet him face to face: Here is a rational, rather serene fellow who has written a book about one of the most illogical, maddening aspects of modern life: getting into your car and dealing with other cars (more and more of them all the time), rage-filled motorists and construction zones that seem to lead not to the other side of town but straight to hell.

Vanderbilt admits that reading his book will not provide you with a cure-all for your driving woes. But you’ll learn a few things, including some that might actually make your life better — or at least a bit more philosophical.

Lesson one: Those new “roundabouts” that are replacing stop lights at four-way intersections are your friends. Many drivers seem to think they slow things down. Not true, according to “Traffic.” They’re faster, but keep in mind that we’re dealing with averages here. Roundabouts quicken traffic partly because they eliminate the time you spend sitting at a red light at an otherwise empty intersection.

So stop whining when you have to slow down to enter those roundabouts. No, really: Stop complaining. Because in addition to saving you time, that roundabout just might save your life.

“To get into a roundabout, you have to slow down to about 15 to 20 miles an hour,” Vanderbilt says. “It makes it a safer situation versus the conventional four-way signal light intersection, where you might have someone going through at 45 miles an hour.”

If a driver traveling at that speed runs the red light, it can lead to a dangerous “T-bone” collision in which the front of that driver’s car smashes into the side of yours.

Vanderbilt’s entire book, in fact, is full of details that might surprise the average motorist. Believe it or not, roads with a 55 mph speed limit can handle more traffic volume than roads with a 70 mph limit.

“It comes down to the amount of space you need to leave between you and the car ahead of you. The faster you go, the more headway you need. It’s another one of these (odd) things. If you look at traffic as a system, it often behaves differently than the way we think it would.”

As for merging lanes to deal with roads that narrow into construction zones: You might get the nice-guy award for merging early, but in this case, trying to be good can lead to something bad — a longer transit time through that zone. Turns out that if everyone merges early, it leaves an open lane of concrete and slows everyone down.

So be really aggressive and don’t merge till the last minute, right? Well ... be reasonable. But, yes, in this case, using all the concrete available does help, Vanderbilt’s book argues.

“The merge is going to have to happen somewhere. But in a congested situation, it’s best just to take advantage of that road capacity.”

If the other drivers who merged early will let you in, that is. Note: I’ve tried this, and someone always does. But you need a thick hide. You may get through the orange barrels faster, but expect to see some raised middle fingers.

One thing that won’t make your commute any quicker: tailgating. It doesn’t solve anything, and it’s an activity that can make the driver in front of you really see red.

Realist that he is, Vanderbilt knows some of the worst human tendencies seem to come out on the road.

“If we could get around this aggressive, stop-and-go traffic — smooth it out, get everyone to go at a slower, steadier pace — we could improve (flow). But it’s hard for humans, for individual drivers, to accept the ideas of slowing down, not aggressively tailgating. If we do lay back and try to do the right thing, someone else may just take that space ahead of us!”

So what to do about all this road angst?

First, more roads are not the answer, according to Vanderbilt. Communities that provide more mass transit are doing the right thing, so hooray for light rail and buses.

Second, rising fuel prices may push us to take another look at lowering the speed limit. That would produce several benefits, the author says.

“It took the ’73 oil embargo to bring about the 55 mph speed limit, and, lo and behold, we saw the largest single drop in highway fatalities in one year.”

And traveling at slower speeds saves fuel consumption.

The recent move some cities are seeing regarding living closer to one’s work may help, too.

Finally: Pay attention to what you do behind the wheel. Vanderbilt isn’t the only one to say this, but he’s happy to join the chorus. Talking on phones, eating, putting on makeup — all these activities increase your chances of having an accident. Ask yourself: Is it worth your life?