One of the coolest things about traffic is that it seems to be entirely counterintuitive! Wider streets with more lanes lead to more congestion -- even better public transit leads to more congestion! Bike lanes don't slow down traffic, and driving more slowly doesn't necessarily either. Up is down, good is bad, slow is fast!!!

You're right, most of these are not intuitive. 

And while it might seem like the next lane over on the highway is always moving faster, the truth is that’s usually not the case.