The Road Trafic

Introduction:

In my report I will talk about road traffic , and I think it is very important to know about it because it is very common issue these days and people do not know how to deal with it, so I want to define the road traffic in simple way and find some solutions to this problem. Therefore, I will divide the report into four sections. The first section will give a background to road traffic , and then the second one will describe the causes of road traffic . After that, I will mention the effects of road traffic and the damage they cause it globally. Finally, I will give some solutions to avoid the road traffic.

Traffic :

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queuing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the traffic stream, congestion is incurred. As demand approaches the capacity of a road (or of the intersections along the road), extreme traffic congestion sets in. When vehicles are fully stopped for periods of time, this is colloquially known as a traffic jam.

Cause :

Traffic congestion occurs when a volume of traffic or modal split generates demand for space greater than the available road capacity, this is point is commonly termed saturation. There are a number of specific circumstances which cause or aggravate congestion; most of them reduce the capacity of a road at a given point or over a certain length, or increase the number of vehicles required for a given volume of people or goods. About half of U.S. traffic congestion is recurring, and is attributed to sheer weight of traffic; most of the rest is attributed to traffic incidents, road works and weather events. Traffic research still cannot fully predict under which conditions a “traffic jam” (as opposed to heavy, but smoothly flowing traffic) may suddenly occur. It has been found that individual incidents (such as accidents or even a single car braking heavily in a previously smooth flow) may cause ripple effects (a cascading failure) which then spread out and create a sustained traffic jam when, otherwise, normal flow might have continued for some time longer.

Negative impacts :

Traffic congestion has a number of negative effects:

▪ Wasting time of motorists and passengers (“opportunity cost”). As a non-productive activity for most people, congestion reduces regional economic health. ▪ Delays, which may result in late arrival for employment, meetings, and education, resulting in lost business, disciplinary action or other personal losses. ▪ Inability to forecast travel time accurately, leading to drivers allocating more time to travel “just in case”, and less time on productive activities. ▪ Wasted fuel increasing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions owing to increased idling, acceleration and braking. Increased fuel use may also in theory cause a rise in fuel costs. ▪ Wear and tear on vehicles as a result of idling in traffic and frequent acceleration and braking, leading to more frequent repairs and replacements. ▪ Stressed and frustrated motorists, encouraging road rage and reduced health of motorists ▪ Emergencies: blocked traffic may interfere with the passage of emergency vehicles traveling to their destinations where they are urgently needed. ▪ Spillover effect from congested main arteries to secondary roads and side streets as alternative routes are attempted (‘rat running’), which may affect neighborhood amenity and real estate prices.

Traffic management

Use of so-called Intelligent transportation system, which guide traffic:

▪ Traffic reporting, via radio, GPS or possibly mobile phones, to advise road users ▪ Variable message signs installed along the roadway, to advise road users ▪ Navigation systems, possibly linked up to automatic traffic reporting ▪ Traffic counters permanently installed, to provide real-time traffic counts ▪ Convergence indexing road traffic monitoring, to provide information on the use of highway on-ramps ▪ Automated highway systems, a future idea which could reduce the safe interval between cars (required for braking in emergencies) and increase highway capacity by as much as 100% while increasing travel speeds ▪ Parking guidance and information systems providing dynamic advice to motorists about free parking ▪ Active Traffic Management system opens up UK motorway hard shoulder as an extra traffic lane, it uses CCTV and VMS to control and monitor the traffic’s use of the extra lane

Other associated :

▪ School opening times arranged to avoid rush hour traffic (in some countries, private car school pickup and drop-off traffic are substantial percentages of peak hour traffic). ▪ Considerate driving behavior promotion and enforcement. Driving practices such as tailgating and frequent lane changes can reduce a road’s capacity and exacerbate jams. In some countries signs are placed on highways to raise awareness, while others have introduced legislation against inconsiderate driving. ▪ Visual barriers to prevent drivers from slowing down out of curiosity (often called “rubbernecking” in the United States). This often includes accidents, with traffic slowing down even on roadsides physically separated from the crash location. This also tends to occur at construction sites, which is why some countries have introduced rules that motorway construction has to occur behind visual barrier ▪ Speed limit reductions, as practiced on the M25 motorway in London. With lower speeds allowing cars to drive closer together, this increases the capacity of a road. Note that this measure is only effective if the interval between cars is reduced, not the distance itself. Low intervals are generally only safe at low speeds. ▪ Lane splitting/filtering, where space-efficient vehicles, usually motorcycles, scooters, and ultra-narrow cars ride or drive in the space between cars, buses, and trucks. This is however illegal in many countries as it is perceived as a safety risk.

Conclusion:

To sum up, I wrote my report to define the road traffic in simple way and to find some solutions to this problem. Therefore, I gave a simple background easy to understand to the road traffic contain definition of road traffic. Then, I talked about the causes of the road traffic. Also, I referred to the damage which caused by the road traffic. Finally, I found out some solutions to avoid road traffic. And I think that people must be more awareness about road traffic. Finally, I recommend doing more research in the future on the road traffic to find more solutions to solve this problem.

References :

1. Andrew Downie (2008-04-21). “The World’s Worst Traffic Jams”.Time. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 2. Federal Highway Administration “Congestion: A National Issue”. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-09-25. 3. “Science Hobbyist: Traffic Waves”.

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic