I'm full of dumb ideas.  So here's another one to throw in the pile:  Regulating speed as a means to preventing traffic. 

Thinking back to the movie Minority Report (can't stand Tom Cruise), the futuristic ideas of cars and driving were pretty interesting.  From what I remember, it looked sort of like a roller coaster:  Everything was on a track (or several tracks), and people were in individual cars.  But the cars didn't really require any user intervention, seeing that the futuristic police were able to force Tom Cruise's car to go where they wanted it to go.  So basically, everything was automated. 

If everything was automated, there'd be no need for highway cops because no one would speed or break any other driving laws.  Merging would be no problem at all because cars would leave exactly enough room for another car to squeeze in.  Congestion would be non-existent because there wouldn't be that "one guy" that causes backups by tapping his breaks or driving too slow or rubbernecking or getting the sun in his eyes. 

So the idea of "regulating speed" would mean that everyone went the same speed.  Maybe that speed would be 70 mph.  Maybe it would be 40 mph.  Either way, everyone would be going the same speed, so no one would need to slow down or speed up or do anything stupid.  And the people merging onto a 65 mph highway would merge at 65 mph, not 30 mph.  (Obviously this idea stems from 16 hours of driving this past weekend.)

So yeah, I expect to see this implemented by tomorrow morning. #travel