India is a developing nation among other nations in the world, so as the city of temples ‘Jammu’ is developing faster and changing with time. As a result of developments people counteracting a lot of issues, the prime issue is the traffic problem in Jammu city.
The expanding trend in wages of an individual common man, people started taking a lot of car loans and for an average youth owning a two-wheeler is equivalent to waging a daily war. Traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use increases and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queuing. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the traffic stream, this results in some congestion. While congestion is a possibility for any mode of transportation, this article will mainly focus on automobile congestion on public roads.
The truth is that traffic congestion is caused by multiple causes and here they are not in the order of importance. Too many cars for the roadway due to inadequate mass transit options or other reasons. Obstacles in the road causing a blockage and merger like: Double parking, road work, lane closure due to utility work, road narrowing down, traffic signals out of sync many times on purpose or occasionally when the computers are malfunctioning, over-development in areas where the mass transit system is already overcrowded and the road system is inadequate.
Things which lead to traffic congestion are as follows -:
Malfunctioning Traffic signals
Most of the areas in the Jammu region were installed with fancy traffic signals and many of them are a malfunction and not working or turned blackout because of an electric power failure. Even local administration is failed to have a check on it. This causes huge chaos in traffic jams on each peak hour of the day.Unfortunately, accidents caused by malfunctioning or defective traffic signals occur because people don’t slow down or stop when they should.
Inadequate planning and inappropriate action by the administration
Every other month there are some overhauling of roads are being observed on various locations in Jammu and with those ongoing road repair, laying sewer lines and pipelines, residents are reeling under chaotic traffic jams in the city of Jammu all the time.
Illegal parking in various market areas is eating away road space, leading to frequent traffic jams in the city. The city has become so congested that people have to look for parking space for vehicles and at several places, drivers have created their own unauthorized parking. The traffic congestion is emerging as the biggest problem in the city and in the absence of proper management, even traffic police personnel are finding it hard to deal with the situation.
No timings for types of vehicles on the road: At any time of the day, can find all sorts of vehicles. From really slow bullock carts to heavy trucks. This also causes disturbance in the flow of traffic, which results in a pileup and so on.
Street hawkers and goods (construction material etc.): they occupy the pavements; pedestrians walk on the streets, which causes the vehicles to slow down. This adds up and results in gridlock.
Bad driving etiquette
The person who is driving public or personal vehicle has the most important role to play regarding safety concerns and the rules of the road. It has been observed numerous times that minibus drivers within the city do not follow rules at all, their annoying bad driver behavior is the last minute or excessive braking. Unless it is to avoid a sudden change in the road or traffic conditions, last minute braking often means the driver has not been observant. Similarly, some drivers seem to be constantly braking. Constant braking is displayed when the car ahead seems to have its brake lights on and off almost constantly. This interrupts the flow of traffic and also alarms other drivers as they do not know what may be causing the braking. This will lead them to brake, which will mean the car behind them will start to brake. This can result in slow traffic and traffic jams for no reason.
In another scenario, changing lanes without indicators or violating traffic rules while entering a one-way traffic lane; also creates a hassle in driving for others. In such cases, much has to do with driver behavior both regarding the driver’s personal condition and the behavior in the traffic interaction.
Solutions to ease traffic congestion
The Traffic police force should be more tighten by the state government. As it can be seen numerous time, a lot of traffic policemen are a monitor only during when their wallets are empty. They should work according to the salary they drew from the Government. They should concise and strict more enough to solve this traffic issues and the reshapes and reconstructions of the road are required. The roads should be properly maintained. The heavy vehicles such as Lorries, trucks, should have a separate time and they should not confuse in the peak hours of the society.
Zero tolerance on Traffic Violations; a system that enforces the traffic law and has Zero tolerance for violation will significantly reduce traffic jams and accidents and will streamline the flow of traffic. Heavy penalties should be imposed for all violations like in the West or Gulf Countries.
To solve the above issues, the government should take strict measures on public transport; By enhancing the service and quality of public transport and Traffic police monitoring is required in maintaining road discipline by drivers. It is necessary to build the flyovers, overpasses and underground subways in maximum numbers to suppress chaotic traffic jams.
