SO Much Traffic - Its Increasing day By day
- Thread starter melroy88
- Start date
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- day increasing traffic
roshcrazy
Roshni Bhatia
with new competition coming up in the automobile industry, the prices of automobiles hv dropped dwn considerably...moreover..loans are also easily available nowadays..so more ppl can afford to hv their personal vehicles and as a result...............>>>>>INCREASE IN TRAFFIC!
melroy88
Melroy Lopes
Which my fav chinese road side stall have to be disposed
...nahi yarr think of an alternativekukrejanilesh
Nilesh Kukreja
increase reliability on public transport sytem install reward system
ankitgokani
Ankit Gokani
WHILE SURFING THRU I READ THIS WANTED TO SHARE HERE.........
Causes
Congestion caused by a road accident, Algarve, Portugal.
Congestion caused by evacuees fleeing Hurricane Rita.
Congestion and public transport, Moscow.There are several main causes of traffic congestion. The prime cause is simply a volume of traffic or modal split that generates demand for space greater than the road capacity, but there are a number of specific circumstances which cause or aggravate congestion - most of which 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 throughput of people or goods. The former causes include on-road parking, construction works, accidents and emergencies or unsafe road conditions (due to weather or other factors); the latter causes include conditions where the mode share between high and low occupancy vehicles primarily consists of low occupancy vehicles or of types of vehicle that take up a large quantum of network space per person. Speed and flow can also affect network capacity though the relationship is complex.
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 which then spread out and create a sustained traffic jam when otherwise, normal flow might have continued for some time longer.
Mathematical theories
Traffic engineers therefore apply the rules of fluid dynamics to traffic flow, likening it to the flow of a fluid in a pipe. Congestion simulations and real-time observations have shown that in heavy but free flowing traffic, jams can arise spontaneously, triggered by minor events ('butterfly effects'), such as an abrupt steering maneuver by a single motorist. Traffic scientists liken such a situation to the sudden freezing of supercooled fluid.
In the three phase traffic theory of Boris Kerner, congestion is classified into two distinct phases: synchronized flow and wide moving jams (in addition to the first phase, free flow). In synchronized flow, the speeds of the vehicles are low and vary quite a lot between vehicles, but the traffic flow (expressed in vehicles per time unit) remains close to free flow. In wide moving jams, vehicle speeds are more equal and lower, and time delays can be quite large.
Economic theories
Congested roads can be seen as an example of the tragedy of the commons. Because roads in most places are free at the point of usage, there is little financial incentive for drivers not to over-utilize them, up to the point where traffic collapses into a jam, when demand becomes limited by opportunity cost. Privatization of highways and road pricing have both been proposed as measures that may reduce congestion through economic incentives and disincentives. Congestion can also happen due to non-recurring highway incidents, such as a crash or roadworks, which may reduce the road's capacity below normal levels.
Economist Anthony Downs, in his books Stuck in Traffic (1992) and Still Stuck in Traffic (2004), offers a dissenting view: rush hour traffic congestion is inevitable because of the benefits of having a relatively standard work day. In a capitalist economy, goods can be allocated either by pricing (ability to pay) or by queuing (first-come first-serve); congestion is an example of the latter. Instead of the traditional solution of making the "pipe" large enough to accommodate the total demand for peak-hour vehicle travel (a supply-side solution), either by widening roadways or increasing "flow pressure" via automated highway systems, Downs advocates greater use of road pricing to reduce congestion (a demand-side solution, effectively rationing demand), in turn plowing the revenues generated therefrom into public transportation projects. Road pricing itself is controversial, more information is available in the dedicated article.
Classification
Qualitative classification of traffic is often done in the form of a six letter A-F level of service (LOS) scale defined in the Highway Capacity Manual, a US document used (or used as a basis for national guidelines) worldwide. These levels are used by transportation engineers as a shorthand and to describe traffic levels to the lay public. While this system generally uses delay as the basis for its measurements, the particular measurements and statistical methods vary depending on the facility being described. For instance, while the percent time spent following a slower-moving vehicle figures into the LOS for a rural two-lane road, the LOS at an urban intersection incorporates such measurements as the number of drivers forced to wait through more than one signal cycle.
Negative impacts
Traffic congestion detector in Germany.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, education etc. - 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 increases air pollution owing to increased idling, acceleration and braking. Increased fuel use may also in theory cause an imperceptible 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.
Countermeasures
In many respects, the level of congestion that society tolerates is a rational (though not necessarily conscious) choice between the costs of improving the transportation system (in infrastructure or management) and the benefits of quicker travel.
Road infrastructure
Junction improvements
Grade separation, using bridges (or, less often, tunnels) freeing movements from having to stop for other crossing movements
Ramp signaling, 'drip-feeding' merging traffic via traffic signals onto a congested motorway-type roadway
Reducing junctions
Local-express lanes, providing through lanes that bypass junction on-ramp and off-ramp zones
Limited-access road, roads that limit the type and amounts of driveways along their lengths
Reversible lanes, where certain sections of highway operate in the opposite direction on different times of the day/ days of the week, to match asymmetric demand. This may be controlled by Variable-message signs or by movable physical separation
Separate lanes for specific user groups (usually with the goal of higher people throughput with fewer vehicles)
Bus lanes as part of a bus way system
HOV lanes, for vehicles with at least three (sometimes at least two) riders, intended to encourage carpooling
Slugging, impromptu carpooling at HOV access points, on a hitchhiking or payment basis
Market-based carpooling with pre-negotiated financial incentives for the driver
Supply / Demand
Increasing road capacity by adding more lanes or new routes - classical method of dealing with traffic congestion
Reduction of road capacity - alternative to above, intended to force traffic onto other travel mode
Both these strategies are now widely disputed. Adding road capacity has been compared to "fighting obesity by letting out your belt" (causing demand that did not exist before),while reducing road capacity has been attacked as reducing free choice as well as increasing travel costs and times. Both strategies are linked to the induced demand hypothesis.
Parking restrictions, making motor vehicle use less attractive by intentionally not providing parking where it is wanted
Public transport improvements, a 'pull'-method to change modal shares, often connected with 'push'-methods like discouraging road use
Road pricing, charging money for access onto a road/specific area at certain times, congestion levels or for certain road users
'Cap and Trade', where only licensed cars are allowed on the roads. A limited quota of car licenses are issued each year and traded in a free market fashion. This guarantees that the number of cars does not exceed road capacity while avoiding the negative effects of shortages normally associated with quotas. However since demand for cars tends to be inelastic, the result tends to be exorbitant purchase prices for the licenses, pricing out the lower levels of society.
'Cordon pricing', where a certain area, such as the inner part of a congested city, is surrounded with a cordon into which entry with a car requires payment. The cordon may be a physical boundary (i.e. surrounded by toll stations) or it may be virtual, with enforcement being via spot checks or cameras on the entry routes. A major example is the London congestion charge system.
Rationing, where some types of vehicles are not allowed to drive under certain circumstances or in certain areas
An example is number plate restrictions based on days of the week, as practiced in many large cities in the world, such as Athens, Mexico City and São Paulo. In effect, the cities are banning a different part of the automobile fleet from roads each day of the week. Mainly used to combat smog, it also reduces congestion. A weakness of this method is that many richer drivers will purchase a second or third car to circumvent the ban.
Traffic management
Traffic reporting, via radio 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
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[citation needed]
Other associated
School opening times arranged to avoid peak hour traffic (in some areas, school pickup and drop-off traffic are substantial percentages of traffic)
Promotion of more considerate driving behavior. 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.
Promotion of utility cycling through legislation, cycle facilities, subsidies, and awareness campaigns. The Netherlands has been pursuing a cycle friendly policy for decades, and around 1/3 of commuting is done by bicycle in that country.
On highways, congestion may be caused by curious drivers slowing down to observe a motor vehicle accident on the opposite lane (often called "rubbernecking" in the United States). To prevent this, visual barriers are often placed in the central section of the highway by the police when there is a major accident.
Reduction of speed limits, as practiced on the M25 motorway in London. The argument is that a lower speed allows cars to drive closer together, which 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.
Park and ride - encourages people to park their car outside the main town/city and transfer by public transport, shuttle bus, or carpool. Park-and-ride lots are common at freeway entrances in suburban areas to encourage ride sharing.
City planning practices that avoid concentration of traffic on a small number of arterial roads and allow more trips to be made without a car. One measure is arranging streets in a fused grid geometry, rather than a tree-like network topology branching into cul-de-sacs.
Lane splitting or filtering. Space-efficient vehicles, usually motorcycles and scooters, ride or drive in the space between cars, buses, and trucks.
ITS Use of Intelligent Transportation Systems, including VMS, CCTV, Traffic Operation Centers, Remote Traffic Signal Control and Parking Guidance and Information systems.
Causes
Congestion caused by a road accident, Algarve, Portugal.
Congestion caused by evacuees fleeing Hurricane Rita.
Congestion and public transport, Moscow.There are several main causes of traffic congestion. The prime cause is simply a volume of traffic or modal split that generates demand for space greater than the road capacity, but there are a number of specific circumstances which cause or aggravate congestion - most of which 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 throughput of people or goods. The former causes include on-road parking, construction works, accidents and emergencies or unsafe road conditions (due to weather or other factors); the latter causes include conditions where the mode share between high and low occupancy vehicles primarily consists of low occupancy vehicles or of types of vehicle that take up a large quantum of network space per person. Speed and flow can also affect network capacity though the relationship is complex.
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 which then spread out and create a sustained traffic jam when otherwise, normal flow might have continued for some time longer.
Mathematical theories
Traffic engineers therefore apply the rules of fluid dynamics to traffic flow, likening it to the flow of a fluid in a pipe. Congestion simulations and real-time observations have shown that in heavy but free flowing traffic, jams can arise spontaneously, triggered by minor events ('butterfly effects'), such as an abrupt steering maneuver by a single motorist. Traffic scientists liken such a situation to the sudden freezing of supercooled fluid.
In the three phase traffic theory of Boris Kerner, congestion is classified into two distinct phases: synchronized flow and wide moving jams (in addition to the first phase, free flow). In synchronized flow, the speeds of the vehicles are low and vary quite a lot between vehicles, but the traffic flow (expressed in vehicles per time unit) remains close to free flow. In wide moving jams, vehicle speeds are more equal and lower, and time delays can be quite large.
Economic theories
Congested roads can be seen as an example of the tragedy of the commons. Because roads in most places are free at the point of usage, there is little financial incentive for drivers not to over-utilize them, up to the point where traffic collapses into a jam, when demand becomes limited by opportunity cost. Privatization of highways and road pricing have both been proposed as measures that may reduce congestion through economic incentives and disincentives. Congestion can also happen due to non-recurring highway incidents, such as a crash or roadworks, which may reduce the road's capacity below normal levels.
Economist Anthony Downs, in his books Stuck in Traffic (1992) and Still Stuck in Traffic (2004), offers a dissenting view: rush hour traffic congestion is inevitable because of the benefits of having a relatively standard work day. In a capitalist economy, goods can be allocated either by pricing (ability to pay) or by queuing (first-come first-serve); congestion is an example of the latter. Instead of the traditional solution of making the "pipe" large enough to accommodate the total demand for peak-hour vehicle travel (a supply-side solution), either by widening roadways or increasing "flow pressure" via automated highway systems, Downs advocates greater use of road pricing to reduce congestion (a demand-side solution, effectively rationing demand), in turn plowing the revenues generated therefrom into public transportation projects. Road pricing itself is controversial, more information is available in the dedicated article.
Classification
Qualitative classification of traffic is often done in the form of a six letter A-F level of service (LOS) scale defined in the Highway Capacity Manual, a US document used (or used as a basis for national guidelines) worldwide. These levels are used by transportation engineers as a shorthand and to describe traffic levels to the lay public. While this system generally uses delay as the basis for its measurements, the particular measurements and statistical methods vary depending on the facility being described. For instance, while the percent time spent following a slower-moving vehicle figures into the LOS for a rural two-lane road, the LOS at an urban intersection incorporates such measurements as the number of drivers forced to wait through more than one signal cycle.
Negative impacts
Traffic congestion detector in Germany.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, education etc. - 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 increases air pollution owing to increased idling, acceleration and braking. Increased fuel use may also in theory cause an imperceptible 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.
Countermeasures
In many respects, the level of congestion that society tolerates is a rational (though not necessarily conscious) choice between the costs of improving the transportation system (in infrastructure or management) and the benefits of quicker travel.
Road infrastructure
Junction improvements
Grade separation, using bridges (or, less often, tunnels) freeing movements from having to stop for other crossing movements
Ramp signaling, 'drip-feeding' merging traffic via traffic signals onto a congested motorway-type roadway
Reducing junctions
Local-express lanes, providing through lanes that bypass junction on-ramp and off-ramp zones
Limited-access road, roads that limit the type and amounts of driveways along their lengths
Reversible lanes, where certain sections of highway operate in the opposite direction on different times of the day/ days of the week, to match asymmetric demand. This may be controlled by Variable-message signs or by movable physical separation
Separate lanes for specific user groups (usually with the goal of higher people throughput with fewer vehicles)
Bus lanes as part of a bus way system
HOV lanes, for vehicles with at least three (sometimes at least two) riders, intended to encourage carpooling
Slugging, impromptu carpooling at HOV access points, on a hitchhiking or payment basis
Market-based carpooling with pre-negotiated financial incentives for the driver
Supply / Demand
Increasing road capacity by adding more lanes or new routes - classical method of dealing with traffic congestion
Reduction of road capacity - alternative to above, intended to force traffic onto other travel mode
Both these strategies are now widely disputed. Adding road capacity has been compared to "fighting obesity by letting out your belt" (causing demand that did not exist before),while reducing road capacity has been attacked as reducing free choice as well as increasing travel costs and times. Both strategies are linked to the induced demand hypothesis.
Parking restrictions, making motor vehicle use less attractive by intentionally not providing parking where it is wanted
Public transport improvements, a 'pull'-method to change modal shares, often connected with 'push'-methods like discouraging road use
Road pricing, charging money for access onto a road/specific area at certain times, congestion levels or for certain road users
'Cap and Trade', where only licensed cars are allowed on the roads. A limited quota of car licenses are issued each year and traded in a free market fashion. This guarantees that the number of cars does not exceed road capacity while avoiding the negative effects of shortages normally associated with quotas. However since demand for cars tends to be inelastic, the result tends to be exorbitant purchase prices for the licenses, pricing out the lower levels of society.
'Cordon pricing', where a certain area, such as the inner part of a congested city, is surrounded with a cordon into which entry with a car requires payment. The cordon may be a physical boundary (i.e. surrounded by toll stations) or it may be virtual, with enforcement being via spot checks or cameras on the entry routes. A major example is the London congestion charge system.
Rationing, where some types of vehicles are not allowed to drive under certain circumstances or in certain areas
An example is number plate restrictions based on days of the week, as practiced in many large cities in the world, such as Athens, Mexico City and São Paulo. In effect, the cities are banning a different part of the automobile fleet from roads each day of the week. Mainly used to combat smog, it also reduces congestion. A weakness of this method is that many richer drivers will purchase a second or third car to circumvent the ban.
Traffic management
Traffic reporting, via radio 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
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[citation needed]
Other associated
School opening times arranged to avoid peak hour traffic (in some areas, school pickup and drop-off traffic are substantial percentages of traffic)
Promotion of more considerate driving behavior. 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.
Promotion of utility cycling through legislation, cycle facilities, subsidies, and awareness campaigns. The Netherlands has been pursuing a cycle friendly policy for decades, and around 1/3 of commuting is done by bicycle in that country.
On highways, congestion may be caused by curious drivers slowing down to observe a motor vehicle accident on the opposite lane (often called "rubbernecking" in the United States). To prevent this, visual barriers are often placed in the central section of the highway by the police when there is a major accident.
Reduction of speed limits, as practiced on the M25 motorway in London. The argument is that a lower speed allows cars to drive closer together, which 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.
Park and ride - encourages people to park their car outside the main town/city and transfer by public transport, shuttle bus, or carpool. Park-and-ride lots are common at freeway entrances in suburban areas to encourage ride sharing.
City planning practices that avoid concentration of traffic on a small number of arterial roads and allow more trips to be made without a car. One measure is arranging streets in a fused grid geometry, rather than a tree-like network topology branching into cul-de-sacs.
Lane splitting or filtering. Space-efficient vehicles, usually motorcycles and scooters, ride or drive in the space between cars, buses, and trucks.
ITS Use of Intelligent Transportation Systems, including VMS, CCTV, Traffic Operation Centers, Remote Traffic Signal Control and Parking Guidance and Information systems.