Costs of Traffic Congestion
Introduction
vehicular congestion, traffic, taco (in Chile and parts of Colombia), trancón (in parts of Colombia), tranque (in Panama), dam (in Costa Rica), queue (in Venezuela), traffic or jam refers, both urban and interurbanly, to the condition of a vehicular flow") that is saturated due to excess demand on the roads, producing increases in travel times and Traffic jams This phenomenon commonly occurs during rush hour or peak hours, and is frustrating for motorists, as it results in loss of time and excessive fuel consumption.
The consequences of traffic congestion result in accidents, even though cars cannot travel at high speed, since the motorist loses his calm when he finds himself static for a long time in one place on the road. This also results in road violence, on the other hand it reduces the severity of accidents since vehicles do not travel at a high speed to be the victim of more serious damage or injuries. Also, vehicles unnecessarily lose fuel because they are inactive for a long time in the same place, without advancing on the journey from one point to another.
According to Time Magazine, the city of São Paulo suffers the worst congestion in the world.[1] Based on reports from the Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego, the municipal agency that administers traffic management in the city, on May 23, 2014, the historical mark of 344 km of lines accumulated around the city of São Paulo during rush hour was reached. afternoon.[2].
Cities with the most vehicle traffic
Among the several cities with the worst vehicular traffic are Bogotá (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Moscow (Russia), Istanbul (Turkey), Santiago (Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), State of Mexico (Mexico), Sao Paulo (Brazil), London (United Kingdom), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Boston (United States), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Rome (Italy), among others.[3].
Causes
Vehicular congestion occurs when the volume of traffic or the normal distribution of transportation generates a demand for space greater than that available on the roads. There are a number of specific circumstances that cause or aggravate congestion. Most of them reduce the capacity of a road at a certain point or during a certain period, or increase the number of vehicles necessary for a certain flow of people or goods. In many highly populated cities, traffic congestion is recurrent, and is attributed to the high traffic demand. Most of the remainder is attributed to traffic incidents, road works and weather events. Speed and flow can also affect network capacity, although the relationship is complex.