The lane next to you is more likely to be slower than yours

A short probabilistic explanation for why the lane or queue next to you often seems faster. Using a supermarket checkout analogy with two lines of different speeds, the author shows that because you spend more total time in slower queues, any random moment you sample is more likely to find you in the slower line — making the other line statistically more likely to be faster. This is a general queue phenomenon, not specific to traffic.