Gridlock

By extension, the term has been applied to situations in other fields where flow is stalled by excess demand, or in which competing interests prevent progress.

[2] Another type of gridlock can occur during traffic surges between highway on-ramps and off-ramps located within a quarter mile of each other.

In New York City, drivers who "block the box" are subject to a moving violation that comes with a US$90.00 penalty.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, noting that the ten-minute ticketing process actually contributes to overall traffic congestion, has asked the New York State Legislature to remove "blocking the box" from the moving violation category.

The word is attributed to Sam Schwartz, who was then the chief traffic engineer for the New York City Department of Transportation at the time of the strike.

[13] Writing up a memo of emergency recommendations for senior officials, he recalled the words of a colleague several years earlier who had been analyzing a proposal to close Broadway to vehicular traffic.

[14] In another interview Mr. Schwartz said that he coined the term in the mid 1970s with fellow traffic engineer, Roy Cottam, who "was a little paranoid and thought he would be blamed for gridlock and so he gave me all the credit".