Green arrows and the pole position dilemma

When you have pole position at a turn, you are obligated to watch the light like a hawk and stomp on the gas the exact moment it turns green. Otherwise we might begin the cascading effect of each individual emerging from their own personal red-light hibernation.

Theoretically, we all should be doing this in unison: watching for the green arrow, then all stomping on the gas. What a beautiful sight that would be! A line of cars leaping to life like some water ballet maneuver...

For further reading on the "pinch effect" read this article from the Journal of Physics. If that is too elementary a more detailed version is at the Science Hobbyist.