Why are there traffic jams? The biggest traffic jam in the world: where and when? List of cities on the planet with the busiest car traffic. A Brief History of Urban Congestion
In recent days, already in the daytime, abnormal traffic jams have been observed in the capital, which by the evening remain at the level of 8-9 points for several hours. The situation once again became more complicated on Friday evening, when most Muscovites headed out of town by car.
Serious traffic jams have again formed on almost all sections of the Moscow Ring Road, the Garden and Boulevard rings. The city center turned out to be the most congested, while the outbound routes remained relatively free of congestion.
The press service of the Yandex.Traffic service noted that this week traffic jams reached 9 points for the first time in the past month.
“On Monday, traffic jams in the morning and evening remained at the usual level, but already on Tuesday evening they reached the mark of 8 - a point higher than usual,
A service analyst told Gazeta.Ru. - The workload in the middle of the day has also increased: on Tuesday and Wednesday by a point, and on Thursday and Friday by 2-3. Motorists experienced the greatest difficulties during evening rush hours every day since October 4 - Yandex.Traffic recorded 9 points.”
At the same time, during the morning rush hour, traffic jams practically did not increase and averaged 5 points.
Mednikov believes that the main reason for congestion, as always, was inclement weather.
According to the head of the public movement “Blue Buckets” Peter, this year the traditional transport collapse, which usually occurs at the end of August and beginning of September, has moved to October.
“This is due to the fact that this year many Muscovites returned to the capital later, and in many universities classes began later than September 1. As a result, we got a unique phenomenon for modern Moscow - an almost traffic-free September,” the activist said.
Shkumatov argues that severe traffic jams in Moscow are now associated with a number of factors.
“Firstly, weather conditions have a negative impact; in such weather, most people switch from public transport to cars, because it is more comfortable. Secondly, throughout the city, again due to the weather, a large number of minor accidents occur.
Unfortunately, because of them, motorists are forced to wait for two to three hours, blocking the flow of traffic,” says Shkumatov.
In addition, among the factors influencing traffic congestion in Moscow, the activist names road closures associated with the arrival of the King of Saudi Arabia in the capital.
“This is not the main factor, but nevertheless it still has an impact. According to my calculations, after a 30-minute closure, traffic is restored in 300 minutes, that is, five hours,” he says. “Well, road repairs, of course, have a negative impact.”
At the same time, the deputy head of the interregional trade union of public transport workers “Taxi Driver” puts the repair factor in the first place.
“There is only one reason for the congestion of recent days - road repairs,” he told Gazeta.Ru. - For some reason, they suddenly began to suddenly change the curb stones, and, it seems, they do this every Saturday. Asphalt is being laid en masse, despite the weather conditions. Naturally, a narrowing of the roadway occurs; this can be easily checked by analyzing the level of congestion in the most problematic areas - just compare it with what was there a month ago.
And the weather and the king have nothing to do with it. No king can influence traffic in a city like Moscow.”
In those areas where the Barmashstreet device will be installed, the formation of “traffic jams” is impossible in principle: the device will not allow the number of cars in the area to exceed the limit value determined by the design value. Cars can travel along them at the maximum speed allowed in the city.
The proposed device allows you to create a city map of a network of areas where the absence of traffic jams is guaranteed at any time. The network map will be published in the media, including the Internet. Using it, each driver will be able to choose a route along which a significant part of the journey will take place within the network, thereby protecting himself as much as possible from getting stuck in traffic jams. Moving a car within the network allows you to reach your final destination without hindrance, within the estimated time. The use of this traffic light device, which guarantees the complete absence of traffic jams on the roads, creates good preconditions for the creation in the future of a fully automated traffic control system for road transport in the city. The entire road transport system of a large metropolis (as paradoxical as it sounds at present) can be transferred to control from a single remote control.
The formation of traffic jams on the roads leads to high costs.
Many firms and government agencies are expressing their readiness to spend large amounts of money on the construction of additional roads and structures that would eliminate traffic jams.
The main goal is to create a system of urban traffic that would guarantee the absence of traffic jams. At the same time, the question is not even raised about whether this system will be simple or complex, and, accordingly, cheap or expensive. The main requirement is to guarantee the absence of traffic jams. The proposed measures (creation of surveillance systems, restriction and ban on the entry of certain types of vehicles at certain times, creation of reversible traffic lanes, allocation of special routes for public transport, simple expansion of existing roads and other similar measures) are not able to guarantee the absence of traffic jams. . Currently, there are no universal ways to prevent traffic jams.
At the same time, the tendency for car production to exceed the trend for the construction of urban highways will continue in the coming years.
The creation in the foreseeable future of a mode of transport alternative to road transport is unlikely.
The impact of the global economic crisis on traffic jams.
Let's analyze the impact of the global economic (including financial) crisis, which threatens to take over Russia, on the state of traffic jams.
The crisis will cause a reduction in car production at a number of enterprises. This will cause the price of cars to rise. Due to financial difficulties of both organizations and individuals, there will be a tendency for a slight reduction in the sale of cars on credit. This will contribute to some reduction in the production of cars on the roads. The factor can be considered as positive for reducing traffic jams.
At the same time, the consequence of the financial crisis will be a reduction in funds allocated for the reconstruction, expansion and construction of new roads. This will have a negative impact on traffic jams.
It is difficult to accurately calculate in advance which of these factors will prevail. However, past experience with the state of roads in Russia suggests that the construction and reconstruction of roads will continue to lag behind the need and, therefore, the financial crisis will deal another “blow” to the state of traffic jams.
Let's analyze the impact of volcanic dust that came out of an active volcano in Iceland in 2010 on traffic jams. This led to the temporary closure of almost all European airports. At the same time, the load on ground passenger transport services has increased, especially on intercity road (and rail) transport. Some passengers and cargo that previously preferred to be transported by aviation were now forced to be transported by road transport. The result is an increase in traffic jams.
The situation can only get worse over time. In order to avoid the ever-increasing already large material and other losses, it is urgent, now, to take “fire measures” that would not allow the situation with road traffic in cities to reach a crisis.
Traffic control system
Currently, the expression “a system for controlling traffic flows has been created” is widely used in reports and reports of leaders in the field of transport.
In fact, we are only talking about a system for monitoring traffic flows, since the control system necessarily includes regulation of traffic flow, and this in turn implies that the system has feedback.
It is necessary to constantly take into account the actual number of cars in the regulated area and constantly adjust the burning time of the permitting signal depending on various variable factors.
Variable factors that must be taken into account during the working day, as well as the season, and taking into account which the burning duration in the green signal operating cycle must be adjusted, are:
Times of Day
road illumination
atmospheric phenomena (snow, rain, fog, ice)
grip with the road surface.
Now, when the traffic light signal is switched only after a certain (mostly constant) time, such an adjustment does not occur. This negatively affects the optimal flow of traffic. In the absence of flow controllability and the lack of data on the actual congestion of a section at a given moment, making such adjustments manually for each section is very difficult.
Elements of automatic adjusting the burning time of the traffic light permitting signal. What is the Internet for?
To operate the traffic flow control device (TFDC), it is necessary to know the maximum permissible throughput for each section.
This value is variable and depends on a number of constant and variable factors. This value must be in the comparison block. It is used to compare the actual number of cars on the site with the permissible number. If this value is exceeded, the green traffic light (allowing cars into the area) switches to a red signal.
The capacity of each section is not constant.
It depends: on the topography of the site; on the number of turns (turns); on the width of the area; on the quality of the road surface.
These parameters are constant for a given area; they can be taken into account in advance and, using tables or coefficients, taken into account when calculating the theoretical throughput of a given section.
A number of parameters are variable: wheel adhesion to the road (depending on the weather - ice, fog, rain).
These parameters cannot be taken into account in advance; they can change during the working day. The capacity of the site will also change. This variable value must be transferred to the comparing element - after all, it determines whether the green or red light will continue to be on at the traffic light for cars entering the area.
It is most convenient to transfer this variable value to the comparing element using the Internet (or GLONASS, GPS). To do this, a receiving device is installed in the comparing element, and the signal is transmitted to it from a separate transmitting device. It contains a program for taking into account variable factors depending on weather conditions.
For this purpose, the Barmashstreet device is specially equipped with an element for automatically adjusting the burning time of the permissive traffic light signal depending on changes in the above factors.
When installing this traffic light device on a ring road, “traffic jams” will also not form on it. At the entrance to each site, a counter for the number of vehicles arriving is installed.
“Extra” cars that could create “traffic jams” on the ring road will not be allowed into the regulated area.
Using this device, the problem of restricting the entry of non-resident vehicles into the territory of a metropolis and its environs at certain periods of time can be solved through purely technical (and not administrative-prohibitive) measures. Only the number of cars allowed through will not create traffic jams. For each section of the ring road, the most favorable time for entering the ring road is established (and published in advance).
Existing traffic rules, in essence, do not impose any restrictions on the maximum number of cars that can be on a given site at the same time. At the same time, exceeding this number leads to the formation of a “traffic jam”.
Drivers entering this area do not know whether they are “extra” or not. Perhaps, knowing this, they would not currently seek to enter this area, which is at the maximum capacity. But currently no one can provide them with such objective indicators. A “traffic jam” occurs when a large number of cars try to enter the area at the same time. If this process is “spaced out” over time, then a “traffic jam” will not form in this area.
The Barmashstreet device allows you to determine the level of load of the site at any time and, if necessary, make adjustments.
In order to prevent the formation of traffic jams due to the simultaneous start of traffic from peripheral areas of the city towards the center, city authorities are taking, for example, measures to shift the start time of the working day for institutions located in the center. However, this quite reasonable measure has so far had little effect on the general condition of traffic jams in the city. It is impossible to legally prohibit the start of traffic in any direction in the city. It is necessary to take measures to ensure that drivers themselves refuse to start their journey at an “inconvenient” time.
Now, in the absence of regulated areas, drivers try to travel around the city as little as possible during the so-called “rush hours”, i.e. hours of greatest likelihood of getting stuck in a traffic jam. However, such “peak hours” are currently uncertain for each region, and even more so for each site. The range of their action over time is wide.
Contactless car counting sensor
Proposed traffic light density control device Barmashstreet uses a contactless sensor to count vehicles entering the site. This monitor is installed from above, above the flow of moving cars. This sensor does not care whether a car or truck has passed under it. Each of them will be recognized by the sensor as “one transport unit”. The number of units is important. If this device is installed, there is no need to issue special, often legally insufficiently justified restrictions (or bans) on the entry of trucks into the city center (except for environmental reasons), since now the presence of trucks in the regulated area does not create additional conditions for the formation of a traffic jam. If there is an extensive network of areas with controlled traffic density, it is possible to compile and publish a city map of such areas, indicating for each of them the most favorable time for transport to travel. Drivers will be able to calculate and select the optimal time to reach their final destination themselves (or using appropriate computer programs). The network of areas with controlled flow density can be activated only for a certain time, at a certain time of day or under certain weather conditions. The rest of the time, these areas can operate as regular traffic lights. Only a number of vehicles are allowed into the regulated area that does not exceed the design capacity of the area.
We will divide the entire road system into separate sections.
Since the number of cars and the number of roads is very large, when characterizing each of these objects, it is advisable to switch to a virtual system.
Each site is assigned a personal identification number.
Each site is assigned a personal name - a personal identification number. For each section, the main indicators (length, maximum throughput) must be determined in advance. Each site can be found at any time using the Internet and its main parameters are indicated.
The location of each vehicle on the site at any point can be accurately determined using the GLONASS system.
Each car, in addition to the regular number (for registration with the traffic police), must have an officially registered, individual number on the Internet, by which it can always be found to receive or transmit the required information.
Each car has a device that allows you to transmit a signal to the Internet, and allows you to receive a signal from the Internet. This device starts working when the car engine is turned on. It comes with the car when it is sold.
The following information is received from the car: location of the car (determined, for example, using the GLONASS system);
technical data of the car (make, registered number in the traffic police);
driver information;
the vehicle's current speed.
Each site was previously assigned a personal name - a personal identification number.
At any time, at each site, the location of any vehicle registered on the Internet can be found and its main parameters can be indicated.
Information is supplied to the traffic light at the entrance of cars to this section: whether additional cars will be “superfluous” in terms of the throughput capacity of this section.
To be able to determine (to generate) this information, the Barmashstreet device is used, equipped with entry registration elements, as well as automatic means of quantitative accounting of transport units in a given area, allowing at any time to determine the actual number of vehicles in a given area, compare it with the permissible number and make adjustments to the flux density.
After determining the number of cars entering a given section and comparing it with the permissible number, it becomes clear: is it possible at the moment to allow additional cars into it or is it no longer possible, i.e. whether to allow further burning to enter the area with a green traffic light or not.
All of the above restrictions apply only to areas where traffic jams may occur. The remaining areas do not have to be included in the system. They can work as usual.
The city's transport system will have a fundamentally different character.
After the installation (implementation) of the Barmashstreet traffic light device on the roads, the city’s transport system will have a fundamentally different character.
On those roads where the Barmashstreet traffic light device will be installed, the formation of traffic jams is impossible in principle: the device will not allow the number of cars in the area to exceed the limit value determined by the calculated (design) value. “Extra” cars will not be allowed into the site. This is ensured by a counter for the number of incoming cars and a device that constantly compares the total number of cars on the site with their permissible number.
Thus, the use of the Barmashstreet device on a wide scale (for the entire transport system of the city) will allow the city to:
create a network of areas with controlled flow;
create and publish a city map of a network of areas where the absence of traffic jams is guaranteed at any time;
create a fully automated traffic control system for road transport in the city in the future;
it is possible to solve the problem of restricting the entry of non-resident vehicles into the territory of the metropolis and its environs by purely technical (and not administrative-prohibitive) measures at certain periods of time;
the road transport system of a large metropolis can be transferred to control from a single remote control.
This will not lead to a reduction in the overall capacity of city roads.
The network of areas with controlled traffic density will not lead to a reduction in the overall capacity of city roads.
Due to the absence of traffic jams and an increase in the number of areas capable of operating in the “green wave” mode, the average speed of vehicles will increase and may approach the maximum permissible speed for urban conditions. This significantly improves road productivity. Using the “green wave” mode improves the ecology of the city. The risk from the experimental implementation of the device is minimal (or reduced to zero). The implementation is carried out using currently operating traffic lights. When this device is connected to them, these traffic lights, in addition to regulating traffic in the traditional way, gain the ability to carry out their work taking into account the congestion of the areas to which they belong.
What could be the consequence of introducing the device?
Let's consider what will happen to transport, which, due to congestion, will temporarily not be allowed through by traffic lights to areas where traffic jams may form. When will this transport be able to reach its destination?
Good afternoon, dear reader!
In this article we will talk about the reasons why traffic jams in cities. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that very often any driver, that is, you, can significantly reduce traffic jams with just a few simple and meaningful actions.
So, I hope that after a detailed study of all the examples, you will be able to at least slightly improve the transport situation in your city. Let's get started.
Reasons for traffic jams in cities
Let's consider main reasons, which cause congestion (traffic jams) in cities:
1. Insufficient road capacity and a large number of vehicles.
2. Temporary narrowing of roads (due to snowfalls, repair work).
3. Poor traffic management (for example, standard roundabouts, which will be discussed below).
4. Failure of drivers to comply with traffic rules.
5. Lack of understanding by drivers of the causes of traffic jams and behavior that aggravates congestion.
So, for the first 3 reasons, an ordinary driver, i.e. You cannot influence. Naturally, we must not forget that any citizen of the Russian Federation has the opportunity to contact the administration of the locality and make proposals for improving road traffic. And this opportunity must be taken advantage of.
However, you can influence points 4 and 5 right in a traffic jam, thereby improving the transport situation of both yourself and those around you.
Traffic jams when turning left
Let's look at a few examples to understand how traffic jams are caused by drivers.
The picture above illustrates a real section of the road (Ryazan, the intersection of Sportivnaya, Yesenin and Golenchinskoe highways). At one time, it was the analysis of the situation at this intersection that led me to the idea that any driver can quite simply change the traffic situation in his favor.
A little more about the situation. The picture shows 2 T-shaped intersections, the road between them is not very wide (3 lanes). At the same time, a large number of cars at each intersection are trying to make a left turn. In the example, this is the first blue car and all the white cars. At the same time, not every driver is able to fulfill the requirements of paragraph 13.2:
13.2. It is prohibited to drive to an intersection or intersection of roadways if a traffic jam has formed that will force the driver to stop, creating an obstacle to the movement of vehicles in the transverse direction.
The reasons for this may be different. For example, it is not always possible to understand in advance that your car will be within the intersection when the traffic flow stops.
Let's return to the drawing. In this example, you are driving a red car and you have 2 behavior options:
1. Drive through the intersection and stand in line behind the white car (you will not break anything, because oncoming cars give way to you).
2. Stop before the intersection and let oncoming people pass (in this case, there will also be no violation of the rules, since you will stop on your own initiative, and therefore, even though the oncoming people turn left, they will be able to comply with the requirement to “give way”).
Which option do you think is more advantageous?
Naturally, looking at the picture above, it’s easy to understand that you need to skip the blue ones, because otherwise, you will simply run into their column. Those. Oncoming traffic will not be able to pass each other at all.
Attention! In practice, you will not have such a drawing. However, the described situation occurs quite often and not necessarily at T-junctions. It is also not necessary for intersections to be next to each other. If there are a large number of cars, the situation can repeat itself at intersections located several kilometers from each other.
First rule: Always give way to vehicles turning left from the opposite direction.
Positive effect: As a result, you will not run into the tail of a column turning left and will be able to safely drive on.
Negative effect: Since your interests and the interests of those you meet do not intersect (you are traveling in different directions), applying this rule will not bring any negative effect.
Comment: You should not let oncoming cars pass if the speed of your car is high enough (from 30 km/h), because in this case, the overall positive effect will not be very strong. Well, at low speeds when driving in a traffic jam, it is imperative to give way to oncoming people turning left.
Putting this rule into practice usually allows me to cross the intersection without problems, so I recommend it.
Traffic jams on a standard roundabout
Let's look at another instructive example - a standard circular motion:
Look at the picture. In accordance with the requirements of traffic regulations, drivers at an intersection must give way to vehicles entering the intersection.
As a result, with heavy traffic, the situation shown in the figure occurs. There are so many cars in the roundabout at the same time that they cannot pass each other. Please note that in the example, all exits from the intersection are free, but cars cannot pass each other.
In practice, the situation can be aggravated by the fact that one or more exits from the intersection are also stuck in traffic jams. Nevertheless, here too you can try to “destroy” the traffic jam.
In the example, our car is red. Blue cars are trying to leave the intersection (to the right) and give way to us in accordance with traffic regulations.
As in the previous example, you have a choice:
1. Drive to the intersection and “close” it completely.
2. Let the blue ones pass, partially clear the intersection and calmly drive in the right direction.
When examining the picture, the correct answer is obvious, but in practice, 95 percent of drivers cannot understand that it is their desire to quickly enter a roundabout that ultimately leads to a worsening of the situation.
Second rule: On a roundabout, always give way to vehicles that are trying to leave the intersection at the nearest exit.
In this article, I only looked at a couple of examples; in practice, situations can be more complicated, so let’s look at one more rule.
Third rule: If you cannot drive in the required direction, but the other direction is free, then carefully analyze the current situation. It is quite possible that the situation has reached a critical point and the traffic jam on the entire road has reached your car. In this case, you should drive in the direction that is free and arrive at the place you need either along a different route or at a different time.
I will describe a situation that I recently observed.
A few meters after leaving the roundabout, the driver of the red car decided to turn left. There was only one lane in this direction and the driver completely blocked the exit from the intersection. In the opposite direction there was a dense traffic jam (blue cars), which could not move a meter and eventually ran into the first driver (red).
The only right decision for the driver of the red car was to drive straight and thereby relieve congestion at the intersection. However, the driver turned out to be stubborn and short-sighted, as a result of which he blocked the intersection for half an hour until a traffic police officer personally came to him.
Traffic jams have long ago become an integral part of the life of a Muscovite, and with the onset of the warm season, we can only expect a worsening of the traffic situation on the roads. Today, too, the data center suggested that traffic jams on the city’s outbound highways should be expected over the weekend. At the time of writing this post (17:00), Yandex did not record any particular difficulties, but there is still more to come. I offer you my point of view on why traffic on the roads in Moscow is so difficult.
There are several reasons for difficult movement:
1. Large number of cars
Approximately 10% of cars registered in Russia are located in Moscow, which certainly affects traffic in the city. This is especially felt during rush hour, when about half a million cars simultaneously enter the city’s roads, despite the fact that the capital’s roads are designed for a maximum of 300-400 thousand.
The number of cars in the city is growing from year to year, but the growth rate of the number of cars has decreased due to the crisis: if in 2013 their number increased by 216 thousand, then in 2015 the same figure was 4 times less. But it is impossible to say that the roads will become much freer in the near future.
2. Underdevelopment of the road network.
In Moscow, purely historically, companies try to have their office in the city center, since this is logistically more convenient for most employees. However, it is precisely because of this that in the mornings there is no crowding either in the subway or on the roads - at one point in time everyone needs to go to the center.
In the evenings, the opposite situation is observed.
This is also seriously limited by the lack of alternative route options, most often in places where there are rivers and railways that cut the area into several parts. As a result, a large number of motorists have to drive along one or at most two overpasses, which affects both the kilometers traveled and the time spent.
3. The drivers themselves. Yes, yes, often it is drivers, or rather drivers, who create serious problems for others. Here are the distinctive features of drivers:
- they like to change lanes without the turn signals on, which is why they sometimes get into accidents or create an emergency situation,
- O they love to move along the side of the road and then try to fit into the flow,
- turn right from lane 2-3, although you can only turn right from lane 1,
- love to “turn” single-lane roads into two-lane ones,
- drive out to a busy intersection.
4. But the main reason why people in Moscow are increasingly thinking about purchasing a car is impossibility of commuting on public transport. Not everyone wants to ride on a crowded bus with a sweaty fat man pressed against the window. But this is exactly what can be found in our transport, especially in the summer.
Plus, the presence of turnstiles, which make it difficult for passengers to enter, affects the movement of vehicles. Because of this, at stops near metro stations, the bus can stand for at least 5 minutes until all passengers have validated their travel ticket.
Personally, I see only one way out of this situation - the development of public transport and paid parking. Exactly. And the best place to start is with the development of public transport: launch new routes, reduce traffic intervals, and finally remove these stupid turnstiles.
Another thing is that the policy of our city mayor’s office in this direction is strange. On the one hand, they introduce various restrictions for motorists, but on the other hand, they do not provide services of appropriate quality in return. All this results in righteous indignation.
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Traffic jams have become a constant companion of big cities. Such congestion occurs around the clock, but it occurs especially often in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening from 17:00 to 22:00. What are the ridiculous reasons for traffic jams and how to deal with congestion on the streets of our cities.
Many car owners see the main reason for the appearance of terrible traffic jams as the improper organization of traffic in our cities. Indeed, many major highways were built taking into account the requirements of twenty years ago. Today, with the development of motor transport, the number of cars on the roads has increased significantly, which has led to numerous traffic jams. However, in some cases, the appearance of traffic jams can be explained by various ridiculous reasons. No matter how correctly traffic on highways in cities is organized, it will be impossible to avoid traffic jams.
Most experienced car owners have a subconscious understanding that in heavy rain or snow, maximum care should be taken. Therefore, you should not be surprised that even light precipitation in the form of light rain will lead to certain traffic difficulties, congestion and traffic jams.
In winter, when our roads are covered with snow and ice, traffic becomes significantly more difficult. Where in summer the flow moved quickly and there were practically no traffic jams, in winter you have to stand in traffic jams for many kilometers. All this could have been avoided if the utilities and road services had performed their duties and cleaned the streets in a timely manner.
The absence of a green wave can also cause traffic jams. If traffic lights are not adjusted to work correctly, then a traffic jam is guaranteed to appear on a busy highway. In the West, this problem is solved by an in-depth study of the congestion of highways depending on the day of the week and time of day, while in our country the traffic police and the responsible services, having set up the operation of traffic lights once, do not change their program for several years. Is it any wonder that on our roads, due to improper operation of traffic lights and the absence of the so-called green wave, numerous traffic jams and congestions appear on our roads.
Curious driver examines the accident
This is a classic situation: if an accident occurs on the road, then all drivers, without exception, will slow down to examine the circumstances of the accident. Simple human curiosity plays a role here. We are interested in how badly the car was damaged and whether anyone was injured in the accident. This incorrect behavior of drivers leads to serious traffic jams; the overall speed in such a dangerous area drops by 20 km/h or more.
The tradition of using municipal equipment to clear roads of debris has been preserved since Soviet times. Even today, ordinary sprinklers are used, which wash away all the dirt from the roads with a powerful stream of water. For some reason, public utilities do this work not late at night, when there are practically no cars on city streets, but at the very height of the working day. As a result, serious traffic jams appear that could have been avoided with the right approach to organizing road maintenance.
In the West, also in the past, there was an acute problem of cleaning roads from dust, dirt and debris. In Western European countries, special equipment is used for this work, and all work is carried out strictly at night according to the approved schedule. Thus, it is possible to almost completely avoid traffic jams due to the presence of repair and maintenance equipment on busy routes. As soon as our road workers adopt this practice, and professionals will take care of the maintenance of city streets, this will improve the situation with traffic jams and congestion.
Drivers simply do not know the rules of the road
Many drivers today are somewhat skeptical about the need to fully follow the rules of the road. As a result, on bypass and ring roads, slow-moving vehicles move in the far left lanes, which leads to a slowdown in the overall flow and the appearance of traffic jams. Whereas the traffic rules state that driving into the far left lane is only possible for overtaking and getting ahead. By leaving one lane open, we can quickly overtake when necessary, improving overall road safety.
It is precisely this ignorance and failure to comply with traffic rules that leads to traffic jams. You can often see situations when a minibus with passengers, a truck or a regular bus is moving in the far left lane. Whereas, according to the rules, such cars are simply prohibited from driving into the far left lane.
With the onset of spring, so-called snowdrop drivers appear on the roads of cities and towns. As a rule, these are elderly car owners and summer residents who rarely use their car when going out into the countryside. For such inexperienced drivers, even the simplest trip around the city turns into a real test. They confuse the road, rarely take into account the requirements of the signs, and when entering a busy highway in the city, they move at a speed of 40 km/h, which leads to serious traffic congestion.
Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to solve the problem with such snowdrops on the roads. Prohibiting certain categories of drivers from using their vehicles is problematic. Therefore, we will have to put up with such inexperienced drivers, whose actions often lead to traffic jams and severe traffic congestion.
Let's sum it up
Traffic jams can appear both due to improper organization of traffic, and because of the drivers themselves, who often do not follow traffic rules and behave incorrectly when driving. Utility workers also contribute to the difficulties on the roads, bringing out watering and snow removal equipment at the very peak of traffic. Only by approaching this issue comprehensively, properly organizing traffic and improving the culture of drivers, will it be possible, if not to completely solve this problem, then at least to reduce the number of traffic jams.