The effects of routine exposure to traffic jamming on mood, psychology, blood pressure and task performance of car drivers are numerous. And traffic jamming is seen by many of us as a major environmental stressor that hinders one's movement between two or more destinations.
However, scientists have devoted much attention to the urban environment and to its impact on the behavioral and health consequences of exposure to urban settings (including traffic jamming). Your opinion is much appreciated!
Yes, indeed, traffic jam can be a real stressor especially when we have an appointment or should get to an early morning class. Most my classes are early in the morning. I always leave early and before the rush hour. Recently, I listen to CDs/MPs to improve my rusty French!.
The following report shows that Traffic jams are 'biggest cause of stress'!
Getting stuck in a traffic jam is the biggest cause of everyday stress, according to a new survey.....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1404881/Traffic-jams-are-biggest-cause-of-stress.html
Traffic jamming increase the level of stress. It is really a big problem when you face it in the morning when you go to work and in the evening when you come back from work.
In addition to that, traffic jam can waste may be two or three hours daily. This wasted time can be use in researching or in any productive activity.
Well, I think dear Mahfouz, it makes all of us lose their temper!
Yes traffic jamming can be very stressful, because we all have the feeling to loose valuable time. Because you merely can prevent the jamming, it´s better to find some mental occupation in such situations. You can listen to music or audible books, you can think some thoughts, you wanted already maintain since days, or you just can feel free and calm.
It´s better for your health.
Dear Roland,
your behaviour is exactly what I ment, when proposing some "tasks" during trafic jamming.
I admire your high tolerance and sense of patience, dear Roland and Hanno. And I think mental occupation is the key to it all!
Dear Prof Marwan
It's really disturbing moments, especially in the hours of the start and end of working hours and for me it's moments actually I lose my temper . I observed this uncontrolled hours some arab countries . I think proper planning of the cities may solve this problem
Dear Profs and friends, I avoid jams by moving to stay at my college that is 60 km from home. It's not just the waste of valuable time that I can convert to useful work, not just preventing the stress. It's also the many accidents that are caused due to drivers when they get so stressed.
'Traffic accidents rank fifth among the leading cause of deaths in Malaysia. The country is burdened with more than ten billion ringgit of losses due to traffic accidents every year.' How is it in your country, Prof Marwan?
http://www.miros.gov.my/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=5ff75a6d-d902-4532-9cd1-e328df11530d&groupId=10124
Yes, indeed, traffic jam can be a real stressor especially when we have an appointment or should get to an early morning class. Most my classes are early in the morning. I always leave early and before the rush hour. Recently, I listen to CDs/MPs to improve my rusty French!.
The following report shows that Traffic jams are 'biggest cause of stress'!
Getting stuck in a traffic jam is the biggest cause of everyday stress, according to a new survey.....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1404881/Traffic-jams-are-biggest-cause-of-stress.html
Dear Professor Marwan,
thanks for sharing the question.
Yes traffic jam can have a very negative impact and become a source of stress. but what really some time stress even when there is no traffic jam is what some drivers do in not following the traffic rules, or even the selfishness of these drivers, you can feel sometimes that these drivers think that they are the only persons who are travelling on the streets.
Dear Marwan,
Of course traffic jams can be irritating but it is good to have fascinating book under hand and keep distance. Such option is solution for keeping somatic wellbeing.
Below some comic example of kind of extraordinary traffic... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0PekTUmBdY
I agree with you Rana. Traffic jams are generally annoying and distressful. However, human-made or caused traffic jams are even more annoying and one has to be extremely patient to deal with their negative impacts!,
Thanks everybody for the very educated in-put as usual.
Who is not on the edge of his/her nerves because of the traffic jam?!
Folks,
What do urban and environmental scientists say we can do about this "killer"--so to speak?
All,
I don't wonder at "jamming" during rush hours (or generally spoken all over the day!) in "big cities" (thinking esp. of metropoles). Especially one can foresee jamming in cities where no real "public transport" possibilities exist. This also perhaps correlating with the number of inhabitants vs. owners of cars and quality / quantity of roads, tracks and other transportation routes. What personally at present bothers me that in my own city (Salzburg, Austria, "only" some 130.000 inhabitants and some 50.000 people in the surrounding areas up to 25 km radius getting into or passing the inner city areas for working there) for several weeks now we face extreme jamming (car traffic) due to misplanning of several road (and Autobahn=) construction sites IN and around the City itself at the same time. True fact: for 15-20 km driving (beeline ONLY 5-10 km) one needs (reportedly) up to 1 h (and often more)! People on the way to reach their work place report to be on the road up to 1.5 hours(!). Despite having "public transport service" (said to be overdimensioned!), change to public transport (despite having many separated and priviledged road-lanes) does not really alter the situation: busses (and electric driven trolleys) are as stucked as private cars and trucks. Many people upset, nothing can be changed... because the multiple construction sites cannot be closed immediately (poor coordination of construction areas was admitted officially).
Waste of time, huge waste of natural resources (gasoline), contamination of environment, and the so called "environmental scientists" (which mostly consist of "politicians") have no clue at all. (Not being either of those "experts") it would be time to rethink urban traffic systems and conceptions in general, I guess (in the case of Salzburg: how much traffic you can permit in a classical, baroque,and narrow city where hundred years ago as road users there were only carts pulled by horses??).
Agreeing with most if not all replies given up to now in this interesting thread, best wishes and a beautiful weekend, warm regards, Wolfgang
Traffic jamming annoys me due to the lack of learning the (optimization science) well by many people specializing in most branches of sciences & engineering. After all, the matter is related to transportation, roads planning, residential & commercial locations, and human behaviors. Any one will claim that getting the best conditions for an activity is what is sought, but to get the best is something which has to be learnt as a full-fledged science & art. A crowded gathering, in which there is stampede, is similar to traffic jamming in the sense of lacking optimization. You may be surprised to know that a colony of ants has a higher degree of order & motion than the humans as if these creatures has learnt optimization by chemical sensors.
Dear @Marwan, traffic jam does not affects me so often, as I do live in small town and I do use car only when I have to travel. Of course, I am aware of its impacts! Stressful!
On a lighter vein, a friend of mine at Delhi took a little over three hours to cover a distance of under three km in his car. His wife was with him. After his patience wore out (not that he could claim any substantial ownership of the precious quality!!), he started throwing profanities at every other driver. His wife was upset at his behavior but thought it better to let him vent out. After a while, he ran out of his stock of expletives. Not willing to give up, he started inventing combinations of words and soon reached such unearthly, insensible and hilarious combinations that his wife started laughing. He himself could not help but to join her. At the end of the ordeal when they reached my home for dinner, they were actually in splits. As his wife started recounting his 'innovations', the whole party burst out laughing and we all ended up having a good time.
It is true that traffic jams could be extremely tiring and irritating. But whenever I am caught in one, I recollect my friend's episode and then hardly realize how time passes!!
Dear Barbara, Cecilia, Ljubomir, Nizar and Wolfgang "Waste of time, huge waste of natural resources (gasoline), contamination of the environment, heart attacks,chronic stressful factors and the so-called "environmental scientists" (mostly "politicians") have no clue at all!" I cannot say a word and cannot agree more!
Dear Prof Marwan and friends, last weekend when I went home, I got sad news that the 18 yr old nephew of a good friend passed away in a road accident. Traffic accidents rank fifth among the leading cause of deaths in Malaysia. The success of the local automoblie industry has put so many cars on the road!
The worst jams occur during Hari Raya (as Eid festival is called here). Many severe accidents as a large number of drivers are fasting. Petrol stations offer free Nescafe as part of a social service. The police and Red Crescent are all on the alert, but still many fatal accidents occur.
Traffic jamming, especially in large cities is unavoidable. The only solution might be, instead of people travelling, let "information travels"! The present day technology allows even for public servants, to work from their home, and not going to offices! Using technology optimally we can avoid the traffic jams completely. Bur the changes are very slow!!!
Yes, dear Costas, the changes are very slow, as you say, but the consequences are horrible and alarming!
Dear Costas,
your travelling ideas are a good approximation. But how will you provoke traveling of your bred from the bakery and all the other nutrients, how would you like to move assembly belt in the factories and how the doctors to the hospitals just be moving the thoughts.?;-)
Dear Marvan,
to be understood. I´m living in a town, where about 30000 persons have to arrive in a car factory to do their technical work.
I read you, dear Hanno! I cannot agree with you more. You're talking about a town where 30000 people have to struggle daily. I live in Amman, the Capital of Jordan, where nearly 2 million people have to deal with the traffic jam at the peak time daily--employees, workers, bankers, statesmen, fire chiefs, businessmen, students, teachers, school kids, families, journalists, bus drivers, taxi drivers, engineers, physicians-- all at once! Not to mention the big cities like Cairo in Egypt or Rio de Janeiro in Brazil or Delhi in India and the sprawl in the US, for this matter!
Dear Marwan,
of course a million´s problem is much more impressing then my small 30 kilo example. But the principles don´t differ. BTW: I know big cities as well. It´s much more bothering, but if these localities take efforts, they can provide public traffic as well and they do it.
Dear Marwan,
I´ve overlooked the most impressing contribution to your daily traffic jamming, the statesmen. So I´d like to thank you for this wonderful bit of humor. ;-)))
Dear Marwan,
not to be misunderstood because of joking.
Traffic jamming is a real and very threatening influence to the health of people in the townships and for the ecology and environment. Just remember the horror news from smog in China. I´ve witnessed such smog situations during my childhood and youth. In some big cities, as example Frankfurt, the smog was so dense, that the children had to get artificial UV radiation by their doctors from sun lamps to prevent rachitis by lack of vitamin D. We called it "Höhensonne" and I never foget the typical smell. And because these physicians had absolutely no measure, they irradiated us children to much. So many of us developed skin cancer by these radiations. A niece of mine is till today overcrowded with black skin cancer.
And no discussion about the horrible air by pollution. Try to analyse the term smog as a construct from smoke and fog (London city). And please remember the actual videos from China.
You see here a lot more of bad aspects of trafic jamming. And I know it and have experienced it through my life.
But I don´t know any solution of this worldwide problem.
Dear Hanno,
Much gratitude for this very educated opinion of yours!
Smog (smoke and fog ) is the worst type of air pollutant, caused by the burning of coal within a city, which contains particulates from smoke, sulfur dioxide and other components—in as far as I know?? It is often found in big cities as a type of air pollution derived from emission of internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight. This type of pollution is highly toxic to humans and can cause severe sicknesses, diseases, skin cancer and eventually death.
Dear Marwan,
smog today also contains all the emission from cars without sufficient catalysis. In deed it´s highly toxic for each kind of beeings. You see, we are not only suffering from waiting and wasting time, we are in many places of the world also suffering from bad air and noise.
Dear Profs and friends, are you sure that statesmen get caught up in traffic jams exactly like us? They have at least a driver, most of the time, right? See this link and have a good laugh! I quote:
'Most people just end up driving to work from wherever they stay and not many can afford to uproot their dwelling whenever they change jobs. You go where the money is — and for you to go there, you need means to travel in the first place. School leavers often have to deal with jobs requiring them to have their own transport when they need jobs so they can buy that means of transport. But what do our politicians with their fancy cars, drivers, assistants, expense accounts and generous allowances know? I have a simple suggestion: take away Bung’s cars and drivers. Make him get around the city and his constituency in nothing but public transportation. No calling for a cab, he has to stand on a busy road and try to flag one down in the rain.'
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/erna-mahyuni/article/let-politicians-take-public-transport#sthash.LtBPpzUj.dpuf
Still, dear Miranda, they get caught up in traffic jams exactly like the rest of us do and they are as exposed to noise and air pollution as we all are-- no exclusion whatsoever!
Dear Hanno,
There should be cases that unavoidable you have to go out. For example vacations, hospitals, etc. Supermarkets nowadays deliver commodities to your home. The objective was not to empty the roads, but to make them more human and easy to travel. If you make all public servants stay at home that would be a big relief!
The worst traffic jam was in Beijing, China: August 2010. Imagine being trapped in a 62-mile long traffic jam that lasted for an incredible 12 days. That just what happened to the poor folks attempting to traverse the Beijing-Tibet expressways in August of 2010, for which the trip took as long as three days. Not caused by closure or natural disaster, this all-time tie-up cause was simply the result of too many vehicles clogging the road, particularly a bevy of heavy trucks carrying construction supplies into Beijing, ironically for road work that was intended to help ease congestion.
For details on the traffic jam look at the following link:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2013/05/21/the-worst-traffic-jams-in-history/
How to Avoid Traffic Jams is very useful article with many hints and tips! Cut traffic jams out of your life (and preserve your sanity)!
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Traffic-Jams
Can we really, dear Ljubomir, cut the traffic jams out of our life and preserve our sanity? Can this really happen in everyday life given all the psychological strain around us?
Traffic has been a challenge for urban developers. We cannot be eliminate the trafic jams! and cut them out of our lives!
In less populated cities, sometimes it is just bad driving habits or bad decisions which makes a local congestion. We can do the following to avoid contributing to traffic congestion:
- Take Mass Transit
- Try Active Transportation
- Avoid the temptation to talk on the phone, text, even if traffic is moving very slowly
- Drive courteously
- Pull over quickly and completely if we have a problem.
- Don't react to aggressive or rude behaviors of others.
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Contributing-to-Traffic-Congestion
Thanks @Behrouz for good advice. Thanks Prof Mahfuz, for reminding me about that traffic jam that makes history! I had really forgotten about it!
Prof Marwan and friends, some of our statesmen hardly get caught in traffic jams. They often use a helicopter. But helicopters can also give some problems. I quote:
'When Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing, the country’s Defence Minister and Acting Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, may have recalled his own brush with death. Just last year, a helicopter he and his family were travelling in toppled over onto its side after landing at a site in Kuala Lumpur. Strong winds were blamed. No one was hurt, but the incident left the Minister dazed.'
http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/is-hishammuddin-hussein-headed-for-the-top/
Traffic jams certainly cause stress and frustration as travelling is not an end by itself - instead it leads to an intended destination where the person is trying to reach in time. The traveller may be a serious patient needing an immediate medical attendance or a fire brigade heading to tackle a serious fire accident or a common man trying to manage his daily routine. In any case, no one enjoys getting trapped on the way. Most of the jams are caused by indiscipline and may be avoided by following the traffic rules.
Dear Shanker,
Is traffic jams a question of traffic rules, or, to be exact, a question of too many vehicles on the road that get us trapped, frustrated and disgusted!
Dear Marwan,
I think it is a combined effect of these two as well as a number of other factors. Tonnes of water flows smoothly through the pipelines as long as the guiding principle that is the basis of the design is followed. If the inflow exceeds the design capacity, we cannot expect a smooth flow.
Dear @Muhammad Aledeh, and dear all,
All the researchers on RG are well able to infer and conclude for themselves from info in the pics and links, concerning most conditions in most places. We are all bonded by desire to use our lives and intellect for the betterment of our global village. While we bear up with stresses like traffic jams, some people are forced to bear up being a minority group in countries that favor the majority. Obama spoke on that matter about Myanmar and about Malaysia openly, when he visited us some months ago.
Folks,
Thanks to you all for the up-dates!
What solutions do you envision for this horrible modern problem? Abandon personal cars altogether? Use public transportation? Use bicycles? Have more trains? Buses? Rely more on the net to do work distantly from home without having to go work?
Dear Marwan,
all the tips you gave should be performed except the abandoning. The reason is, here in Germany in many situations people live out of the cities in rural regions, because they can not effort the costs for the houses in the cities.
Public transportion like trams, trains etc when ever it´s possible. Yes!
Bikes whenever the working population can perform it because of distance, wether, health etc.
Busses, of course, it they are accessible in the regions outside the cities.
And whenever it´s possible use distantly working. But you all know the limitations, we already discussed them.
'Work from home' may be practiced wherever possible. This will help reducing the traffic load substantially.
The concept of 'Work from home', wherever practicable, will also reduce the huge initial as well as operating expenses towards infrastructural facilities needed for the offices in addition to reducing load on transport.
Improvement in transportation efficiency can influence cost of doing business, travel time, comfort, safety and security of people. The direct benefit of an efficient and effective transportation system reflects in the reduced travel time, which translates into cost saving, increase in output and ultimately GDP (Kulash 1999, World Bank 2002).
.
Dear Mahfuz,
I don´t have access to the cited papers. But I´m not sure, that a better traffic system really saves money of corporations, since the costs for transport are often payed by the employee. But I can imagine, that a "short time travellor" delivers better results because s/he is not already exhausted when arriving at working place.
And no doubts, it will be better for environment.
Well, folks, thinking of e-culture, e-civilization, e-learning, smart phones, high-speed cars, hybrid systems, to mention just a few examples, I believe we need yet another smart solution for our daily traffic. How would our cities and streets be like 50 years down the road?!
Dear Francesca,
Thanks for a very valuable contribution. What you have said would lead me to discuss other questions ranging from individualism to loneliness to industry to business and finally humanity. You're about to suggest that to be a human being, one must lose his/her humanity! Correct?
Greetings all... Gruezi, dear Francesca!
Just to comment on a sentence Francesca's reply above:
"Déjà-vu" / "Déjà-entendu" with the scene of Hoffmannsthal's "Jedermann" ("Everyman"), cf. also e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedermann, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up3CvYTQtbg (from 2010-performance) or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGna41GT0v8 (see: min. 1:20 following):
MAMMON ("your - our MONEY") will never let you become its "master"...).
Sorry for not being able to translate the dialog and have in their scene: http://article.wn.com/view/2013/07/21/Salzburger_Festspiele_Tosender_Beifall_fur_neuen_Jedermann/# (starting find LINK VIDEOS (left side) find video "Jedermann Salzburg 2013" and have a look at 1:26:30 hrs play ff......) but if there you can find any translation it is worth to listen or read that text! Best wishes to all, Wolfgang
Read this article:
Traffic Jam
(a) What is traffic jam?
(b) Where does it occur?
(c) What are the causes of traffic jam?
(d) What are the sufferings of traffic jam?
(e) How traffic jam may be removed?
Traffic jam is a long line of vehicles in which many vehicles get stuck in jam. It is one of the major problems of city life. It occurs in big cities and towns. There are many causes of traffic jam. The main cause of traffic jam is the narrowness of roads in proportion to the large number of vehicles. Our vehicles have increased but our roads have not increased. The numbers of unlicensed vehicles are increasing day by day. The drivers have little knowledge about traffic rules. The number of traffic police is insufficient. Parking here and there and overtaking tendency are also the cause of occurring traffic jam. It brings great suffering to us. It kills our valuable time. We can not reach school, college, office and hospital in time. Sometimes ambulance and fire brigade can not go hurry up due to traffic jam. However, this problem should be solved. The number of roads should be increased. Sufficient traffic police should be posted in important places. Traffic rules should also be imposed with an iron hand. Unlicensed vehicles should be removed. Drivers have to be conscious about traffic rules and regulations.
see the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion
How to Avoid Traffic Jams
Traffic jams - the bane of your existence, and a perfect waste of time. This article will review a few ways you can try and cut traffic jams out of your life (and preserve your sanity).
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 1
Map out some alternative routes. Look for at least two additional ways you can complete your commute. Ideally, you can come up with five (even if some of them are different by only one street).
Review maps, both online and offline. Use different colored highlighters on a paper map to explore routes. Online, many map sites offer alternate routes and "no highways" options.
Ask co-workers, or other people who make a similar commute. They may know of a shortcut.
It also helps to know how to switch from one route to another, at various points of your commute. That way, if you find out there's a sudden traffic jam ahead, you can adapt.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 2
Try the alternative routes. Do this on days when you can afford to be late, if the route should turn out to take longer. The important thing is to leave your home at the same time you normally would, because if you leave early, you might be fooled into thinking that route is faster when it was really that it's just less crowded at that specific time (which most routes are, anyway--see the next step).
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 3
Play with your timing. If your commute is one that is seemingly always slow moving, consult with your employer about the ability to shift the start and stop time of the work day. Sometimes a shift of just an hour can significantly reduce the amount of time spent in the vehicle.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 4
Check traffic reports before you leave. Traffic updates are available on the radio, news, and Internet. Once you hit the road, continue listening to traffic reports on the radio.
Use Clearflow if it is available for your city. Clearflow technology is considered to be more innovative than other traffic features because it's based on the analysis of several years' worth of real-world traffic data.[1] Go to http://www.bing.com/maps/ and click on "get directions". Enter your starting and ending address, and make sure you check off the "Use Clearflow to route based on traffic" option.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 5
Use a GPS device with live traffic updates during your commute. These devices will usually cost at least $200, and some require an additional subscription cost. A 2008 report by Consumer Reports suggests that the Garmin Nuvi 265T and Garmin Nuvi 265 WT provide the best value, although they do have text-based advertisements.[2] Other factors to consider are ease of use, screen size, and whether street names are spoken.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 6
Get traffic updates on your phone. Be careful with this, however--checking mobile phone updates can be distracting while driving.
Use Twitter. Find out how people are tweeting about traffic in your city and have those alerts sent to your phone. For example, updates with "@commuter" and your city's airport code will turn up tweets from people who are sharing traffic info on the Internet.[3]
Rand McNally also offers traffic updates sent to your mobile phone.
You can also browse the web and check for live traffic updates on various websites, but this draws your attention away from the road and is not recommended. Even if you're in a traffic jam, you might still bump into the person in front of you, or contribute to the jam by not moving ahead when a space opens up in front of you because you're too busy looking at your phone.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 7
Ditch the car altogether. Not only is it better for your sanity, but it's better for the environment, too.
Commute By Bicycle
Use public transportation.
Convince Your Boss to Let You Work from Home
Consider moving closer to your work.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 8
Motorbike. If you live in the UK or California, riding a motorcycle between lanes is permitted as long as it is done in a safe, prudent manner. You can drive right through traffic and not have to change your route.
Avoid Traffic Jams Step 9
Move. The best solution may be to move to a city with less congestion.
Tips
Many roadways have "HOV" (High Occupancy Vehicle) or similar type lanes that remain mostly clear of traffic congestion. Operating in these lanes requires that vehicle has at least a certain number of passengers. If there is a lane like this on your commute, carpool.
If working from home isn't an option see if you can't start your day at home. Or see if you can work slightly different hours such as starting early or late.
Warnings
Always follow rules, signs and speed limit so all vehicle will go in flow & traffic would not be stuck.
Don't honk at somebody if they switch lanes or get in front of you.
Focus on your driving instead of gossiping, using your cell phone, or doing other things.
In many countries and regions, using a phone while driving is illegal. Keep up to date with fast-changing laws about this activity.
Alternative routes clog up fast if a major accident happens on the highway; fifteen minutes after the accident, it may not be worth it to switch to an alternate route.
Don't drive when you feel drowsy, fatigued, or otherwise distracted. You could cause an accident and be the one who causes a traffic jam.
Thank you, dear Shanker, for this very important info that has made this discussion even richer!
Cause and Effect: Traffic Congestion
Even the most modern cities in the world, are facing a problem of traffic congestion. Many residents spend hours stuck in traffic in the cities every day. This is a complex problem with many serious effects.
There are many reasons why we suffer traffic jams every day. One of these is the rapid growth of the population. As a result of this, the number of cars is increasing annually. A further point is that there are more women drivers and younger drivers today than in the past. The increase in the number of trucks and commercial vehicles also causes traffic congestion. These vehicles move very slowly, sometimes stopping to unload goods, and blocking traffic. Road works are another major problem that can lead to streets being very crowded.
Traffic congestion has many effects. One of the most important is parking problems. People find it difficult to park their cars especially in the city centers. Long delays in getting to and from work are another result, leading to less productivity from employees. There are also more accidents, because people become frustrated or angry due to the traffic jams. Pollution in the city centers worsens as a result of car emissions, and the cities become less attractive places to live. Shops are forced to close in the city centers and have to relocate to malls or to the outskirts of the cities, where parking is available.
In conclusion, despite having good roads and modern infrastructure, cities are suffering from traffic problems. There is no simple solution to this problem because it has many causes, but the effects are damaging both the cities and the people who live there.
Cause & Effect: Traffic Problems of a Big City
Cities like New York, London, and Paris have all had to deal with thousands of cars running through their streets each day. Traffic congestion is a big problem for everyone within the city. The main reasons why traffic congestion occurs are more cars, poor road management, and poor practices on behalf of employers.
One of the main reasons why there’s more congestion is due to more cars on the road. The adult population is increasing and therefore more people want their own personal transport to get around with. As the number of cars increase the chance of congestion also increases. It’s why in smaller towns and villages congestion is almost unheard of.
This is coupled with a lack of proper infrastructure. Councils and national governments fail to act on the looming threat of heavy congestion until it happens. The city doesn’t expand along with an increasingly car reliant population. A single street with a lane on each side before might not suffice in ten years after the population has increased. Authorities often fail to convert this into a dual carriageway.
Alternate routes are also a problem. Cities have limited capacity to expand due to poor funding and planning restrictions preventing building on green belt spaces. Cities are forced to work with the routes they already have. If they can’t increase the number of lanes it leads to congestion.
Employers can also play a part in dealing with congestion. Congestion almost always happens when people are travelling to and from work. Traffic congestion has eased in recent years as a result of growing unemployment and the introduction of more flexible work hours.
By adhering to the traditional 9-5 routines, there’s a greater chance of congestion. Everyone has to travel to and from work at the same time each day.
A lack of public transport, or poor public transport options, will also cause problems. If there isn’t enough buses, trams, or local trains people are forced to take their cars to work. The ratio of passengers to vehicles decreases, whereas if they were able to take the bus people would feel less of a need to drive their cars.
In many places, commuters are forced away from public transport by the private companies which run them. Increasing fare prices, especially on the trains, make driving a car with its associated high fuel costs cheaper than public transport. By pushing people back to their cars again they only exasperate the congestion problem.
In conclusion, congestion is mainly caused by a desire for people to drive their cars coupled with a failure by local government to act. If they invested in more affordable public transport options and a better infrastructure the incidence of congestion would decrease in major cities.
Can a city ever be traffic jam-free?
Read this link:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140611-can-we-ever-end-traffic-jams
The Worst Traffic Jams In History
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2013/05/21/the-worst-traffic-jams-in-history/
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ehmk45kigm/1-brussels-belgium-2/
http://debatewise.org/debates/1539-what-is-the-best-solution-to-prevent-traffic-congestion/
traffic jam solution
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=traffic+jam+solution&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=647&noj=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=yoIuVJKJEsf8ugT6uILAAw&ved=0CCQQsAQ
How to Avoid Contributing to Traffic Congestion
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Contributing-to-Traffic-Congestion
No More Traffic Jams
http://www.pbs.org/america-revealed/teachers/lesson-plan/3/
Working at home 'traffic jam solution'
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/10011937/Working-at-home-traffic-jam-solution
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR URBAN TRAFFIC CONGESTION
http://easts.info/on-line/proceedings/vol3no2/320026.pdf
What can we do about traffic congestion?
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/04/18/what-can-we-do-about-traffic-congestion-2/
Nine Solutions to Ease Congestion in Dar es Salaam
Ready-to-go package
http://twaweza.org/uploads/files/Peoples%20Views.pdf
Solutions to reduce traffic jam in major cities?
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070426023443AA6hww5
Solutions for more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent systems
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/in/en/traffic_congestion/nextsteps/
3 economic solutions to traffic congestion
http://sbr.com.sg/economy/commentary/singapore-reveals-3-economic-solutions-traffic-congestion-asian-peers
Public transport and cycling offer congestion solution
http://shoroc.com/congestion-solution/
Drivers Avoid Traffic Jams with Big Data and Analytics
http://www.sap.com/bin/sapcom/en_us/downloadasset.2013-09-sep-23-16.drivers-avoid-traffic-jams-with-big-data-and-analytics-pdf.html
Possible Causes & Solutions of Traffic Jam
http://fpd-bd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/14879-55742-1-PB.pdf
Heart Disease, Traffic Jams and ADHD Share One Simple Solution: Drive Less
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/10/18/heart-disease-traffic-jams-and-adhd-share-one-simple-solution-drive-less/
Dear Professor Marwan M. Obeidat,
In some of cities traffic is so hazard and dense where its difficult for Ambulances and Police van can not move.
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