We all have been under this situation… Being late for school, work or any important appointment and all caused by the hundreds of vehicles, both, private and public transportation that transit on the streets and we ask ourselves this question… Why There’s so Much Traffic Congestion in United States?
Traffic Congestion in United States, especially in California is a complex problem with different causes. Here, we will present an update of the traffic congestion main causes in United States:
Causes of Traffic Congestion in United States
Population Density:
Is known that states with high population densities are more likely to experience traffic congestion as California or New York; causing greater transportation demand and saturating the existent roads.
Infrastructure Challenges:
In order to keep satisfied population needs is necessary to have a correct infrastructure maintenance. If aspects as insufficient road capacity, poorly maintained roads and inadequate public infrastructure are present, these contribute to traffic congestion.
Sprawl Urbanization and Planning:
Sprawl urbanization without a correct planning has generated residential and commercial developments creating as consequence long journeys and more miles driven to work, home or other places; increasing reliance in cars and traffic congestion.
Inadequate Public Transportation and Alternatives:
Many United States areas lack convenient and reliable public transportation systems and options. For example, the absence of bike lanes or safe pedestrian routes, leading people to rely on cars and causing congestion in roads.
Traffic Accidents:
Unexpected events as traffic accidents are a common cause of vehicle congestion; interrupting correct traffic flow. In 2020 around 5,250,837 collisions occurred in one year in United States; and 1,593,390 accidents resulted in injuries.
Lack of Road Safety Awareness:
The lack of road safety education and awareness contribute to traffic problem caused by actions as invade lanes, don’t respect signage or drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, impacting on the traffic factor.
Construction Activities:
Construction and maintenance work in roadways can also be a problem to generate traffic jams. Closing certain streets, avenues or zones to improve them, but also affecting the correct traffic flow in other areas.
It is important to standout the complexity of traffic congestion problem in United States with more than one solution, but is possible to consider certain actions and proposals that help to the improvement of this situation, such as:
- Road infrastructure investment to enhance public transportation quality.
- Encourage road safety education and the use of alternative means of transport as bikes or public transportation.
