Why there is Traffic jam in big cities around the world

 

Imagine that you are diving on a highway smoothly. Gradually you experience that the gap between cars is decreasing and breaks lights can be seen everywhere. So what caused the smooth flowing traffic on a wide road to come on a standstill?

The answer lies in the phenomenon called Phantom Traffic Jam. It occurs when cars suddenly come to a standstill without any apparent reason. 

Let's understand it in details. 

It happens due to several reasons.

First when the number of cars are in excess. But not necessarily too many. 

Second, suppose when the cars are moving at a consistent speed, and suddenly a car faces an obstacle and slows down by applying breaks. The next car behind it, will apply stronger breaks and the car behind it will apply more strong breaks making a chain of the repeated action. The impact of this will be felt by the far away cars too. 

Another reason for this is the human tendancy to escape the traffic by driving faster. By doing this, a car will have to stop at the next obstacle. It will speed up again after finding some space but have to stop again at the behind the front car. 

So What can be the solution to the phantom traffic jam? 

The artificial intelligence and self driving cars can be a solution to this as they will be fed with the data of nearby cars and traffic situation ahead. They will maintain a uniform slow speed until the situation improves. This consistency in speed holds critical importance. In the case of humans, this inconsistency obstructed the smooth flow of traffic. But in the case of self driving cars, traffic will flow smoother. 

Therefore, consistency is the key to success in any field.