Ten Questions & Answers About Traffic Jam
TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TRAFFIC JAMS
January 2012
LISTENING TO THE TRAFFIC JAM INFORMATION IS NOT THE MOST PLEASURABLE MOMENT OF THE DAY FOR MANY. ISN’T IT TIME TO SOLVE ALL THOSE TRAFFIC JAMS? THAT’S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. HOW CAN WE BOOST THE ACCESSIBILITY OF LOCATIONS AND THE RELIABILITY OF OUR TRAVEL INFORMATION? WHAT ALTERNATIVES CAN WE DEPLOY? OR, HOW CAN WE FACILITATE MOBILITY? TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TNO AND TRAFFIC JAMS.
JRV090112-02
TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TRAFFIC JAMS
1. What are traffic jams? In short, a traffic jam occurs when a number of road users cannot drive at the speed they would like to drive, up to the maximum speed. While road users have learned to live with this, and sometimes even regard delays as an opportunity to rest, traffic jams are still undesirable for a variety of reasons. Some undesired effect are a higher risk of collision due to unexpected braking, extra CO2 emissions due to constant slowing and accelerating, economic damage caused by goods being on the road longer or irritation among drivers who had not taken the extra travel time into account. The Traffic Information Department defines a traffic jam as a collective term for three types of stagnating traffic: − Slow-moving traffic: traffic that moves slower than 50 km/hr but faster than 25 km/hr over a distance of at least 2 km. − Stationary traffic: traffic that moves at less than 25 km/hr almost throughout but for at least 2 kilometres. − Slow-moving to stationary traffic: slow-moving traffic over a longer distance with ‘pockets’ of stationary traffic. 2. How do traffic jams arise? A traffic jam is a capacity problem. If the capacity needed – the number of road users who want to go from one place to another – exceeds the available capacity of, for instance, a section of road, the traffic flow is disrupted. As a result, there is too much demand (as during rush-hour), too little capacity (as in a
January 2012
LISTENING TO THE TRAFFIC JAM INFORMATION IS NOT THE MOST PLEASURABLE MOMENT OF THE DAY FOR MANY. ISN’T IT TIME TO SOLVE ALL THOSE TRAFFIC JAMS? THAT’S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. HOW CAN WE BOOST THE ACCESSIBILITY OF LOCATIONS AND THE RELIABILITY OF OUR TRAVEL INFORMATION? WHAT ALTERNATIVES CAN WE DEPLOY? OR, HOW CAN WE FACILITATE MOBILITY? TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TNO AND TRAFFIC JAMS.
JRV090112-02
TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TRAFFIC JAMS
1. What are traffic jams? In short, a traffic jam occurs when a number of road users cannot drive at the speed they would like to drive, up to the maximum speed. While road users have learned to live with this, and sometimes even regard delays as an opportunity to rest, traffic jams are still undesirable for a variety of reasons. Some undesired effect are a higher risk of collision due to unexpected braking, extra CO2 emissions due to constant slowing and accelerating, economic damage caused by goods being on the road longer or irritation among drivers who had not taken the extra travel time into account. The Traffic Information Department defines a traffic jam as a collective term for three types of stagnating traffic: − Slow-moving traffic: traffic that moves slower than 50 km/hr but faster than 25 km/hr over a distance of at least 2 km. − Stationary traffic: traffic that moves at less than 25 km/hr almost throughout but for at least 2 kilometres. − Slow-moving to stationary traffic: slow-moving traffic over a longer distance with ‘pockets’ of stationary traffic. 2. How do traffic jams arise? A traffic jam is a capacity problem. If the capacity needed – the number of road users who want to go from one place to another – exceeds the available capacity of, for instance, a section of road, the traffic flow is disrupted. As a result, there is too much demand (as during rush-hour), too little capacity (as in a