There are moments in life which you're grateful for. Such include being with the one you love. Then there are moments which make you want to sip on coffee while humanity burns. Traffic jams and apathetic drivers are examples of this. Logically, there is no reason for traffic to occur. Cars moving at a uniform speed should clear out as quickly as new vehicles enter behind. This isn't the case, however. There tends to be the all-too-familiar lag which we associate with slow internet connection. Drivers are engrossed in their own musings, and fail to see green lights quick enough, so they accelerate late. Unless drivers behind are 100% alert, there is delay again. So blaming traffic on the increasing number of cars in the world is quite ludicrous. Yes of course, overall congestion has increased, but with correct management, this can be dealt with. It's just people, plain and simple. They're unmindful of each other and only care about getting to their destination. It's like John Nash said: 'The best result will come (in a group) by everyone doing what is best for himself/herself and the group'. If everyone tries to shove the noses of their cars into the same lane, a gridlock is inevitable. Indian drivers are just horrible. There is no other word for them. They're famous for honking; and not just honking, slit-your-wrist honking. People honk when other vehicles are immobilised and have no scope for movement. Absolutely repugnant driving. However, nobody who lives outside the country can hope to understand the horrors of rush hour in India. There are bikes and scooters galore which try to weave in and out in between the cars as if they weren't there. As some of my friends say, cycling is the most efficient way of getting around town. Roads should be designed in better ways so as to ensure each lane or constituent road has smooth outflow of vehicles. Traffic lights should have self learning algorithms instead of fixed instructions so that they can alter stop times for cars based on camera feeds.
According to me, the whole concept of single vehicle transfers over short distances is rather inefficient. Carpools and public transport should be encouraged so that time and money is saved, people aren't hassled, and there's comparatively less congestion and pollution. It seems that in short distances, catalytic converters of modern day cars do not have enough time to completely rid the unburnt fuel of dangerous vapours. So the casual drive to the grocery store may be more harmful than you think. The good ol' fashioned walk is beneficial, guys. One of my batchmates was gifted a 'Creta' for his birthday, which is an Indian SUV. It's a great vehicle and is currently popular in Indian markets. However, one must ask: Is a giant gas guzzling vehicle required for just one person? It would come across as a Veblen purchase more than a cool or efficient one. Indians are terribly self assured when it comes to certain aspects of daily life, but completely clueless in others. Train commute has proven to be the cheapest, most convenient, and also the quickest way to travel through dense areas, especially suburban ones. If you aren't from India, however, or if you belong to the more affluent class of citizens in places like south Mumbai (no judgements), it would take some getting used to.
Until high level tech is implemented, we have to make do with a combination of smart traffic lights and cooperation between the traffic police and drivers to ensure there are no random build ups.
Some of the tech and infrastructural solutions include:
- Better road building. For example, a simple case of a car backing out directly onto the main road can cause a jam and flaring tempers. There should be an internal system of alley roads where cars can back out or leave residences etc in their own space and then drive onto the main road. This would apply to vehicles leaving shopping malls etc as well.
- Identifying which roads tend to get congested. Some of these include the entrances/exits of expressways, large intersections etc. These roads should either be widened have restrictions on the number/type of vehicles which can travel on them. It's amazing how much time can be saved if there were specific lanes for specific vehicles like side lanes for heavy trucks.
- Self learning traffic signal algorithms. Of course, this is much easier said than done. Traffic cameras would have to be recalibrated to identify when more than 'x' number of cars are at a junction so that the lights can switch to green and for a longer period of time.
- Tighter regulations on street parking. Street parking harms both drivers and the owners of the vehicles.
- Smart roads. Finally this idea seems fat fetched, but with a combination of solar panels and appropriate lighting for directions, vehicles can be directed along correct lanes and giving drivers a better experience on the road.
Of course, you may be wondering: 'pretty soon there will be flying cars like in "The Jetsons". So what's the need for all this?' Well, humans being humans, there will always need to be coordination mechanisms and directing technologies. The same would apply for robotic flying cars as well. There'll be crowds no matter where we go, even if it were to be Mars. We can only hope appropriate funds will be allocated to such ventures as the problem seems to boil down to one thing: cost.
Vo
ReplyDelete