Impacts of Traffic Jams

Large city or any areas which have a lot of road commuters may often experience traffic congestion

In facing the problem, traffic jam may cause some negative and also positive impacts to them. This may refer to something that is affected to life, even in education, career and the future.

Delays could be the first thing comes out from people’s mind when traffic jam happens. Many people out there who take vehicles especially private cars come late to school or work because of it. It also frustrates people in the afternoon rush hour when they drive home after work. The delays itself is mostly affected to their feeling who trapped in a traffic congestion after a tiring day in school or work.

Furthermore, it is necessary to estimate travel times while traffic congestion tangled it. People start to have no ideas of how much time they have to prepare before travelling, and it becomes too early when the unpredictable roadway is free from traffic jam. Most of drivers think that just in case the traffic is bad, so that they have to come early. Traffic congestion are also known by people with some particular places depends on the time of a day, but sometimes it also goes wrong.

Traffic jam itself also affected to health that caused by the burns of fuel when a higher rate of travel comes on the highway. This also increase fuel consumptions costs and even create air pollution which are related to global warming.

The increasing of vehicular traffic in urban areas cause the traffic jams which is also leading to loss of productive labour time and economic losses. Due the situation of average travel speed in the center of Bangkok during peak hours, 400 to 600 vehicles are added to the streets everyday. The following chart which is taken from WRI report showing the economic losses caused by traffic congestions in some of South-East Asian cities.

As can be seen in the picture above , Singapore is a city of the most economic losses in South-East Asia at that time. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok has lost about $300 million because of traffic jams while Seoul only lost about $150 million. The last three cities where traffic jams also happens the most, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila also caused a losses over $50 million. The traffic congestion proved that it has made so much bad impacts in economical of each countries especially the cities mentioned above.

Emergency vehicles such as an ambulance or a fire truck mostly called by people who are in an urgent condition that needs a help from them. Sometimes they are unable to respond in an appropriate time due to the traffic congestion which can cause a danger to them and their property. Although some systems allow the emergency crews to change the traffic lights into keep them moving, but the traffic jams also caused them to be in a late arrival.

Sources: 

http://anedjamikatedredneck.blogspot.sg/2012_12_01_archive.html

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/stat-ecoloss.html

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/percentage-of-air-pollution-due-to-cars.htm