The idea is that additional stops—for, say, coffee—tacked onto already painful commutes translate into even more gridlocked traffic and a powerfully negative ecological impact. The idea’s originator is one travel behavioral analyst by the name of Nancy McGuckin, who based her ideas on a survey of 70,000 households. It might not actually make that much of a difference—there’s possibly some debate—but, you know, it could.
(WaPo: “Pursuit of a Grande Latte May Be Stirring Up Gridlock,” by Katherine Shaver [April 18, 2005]; via PLANETizen)