Maintenance
Traffic congestion has a definite impact on your vehicle's fuel efficiency. Understanding how traffic conditions can cause your car to consume more fuel and adopting strategies to counteract this effect can save you money and reduce your environmental footprint. One significant contributor to reduced fuel efficiency in traffic is the constant stop-and-start nature of driving. In stop-and-go traffic, frequent acceleration and deceleration force your engine to work harder, leading to increased fuel consumption.
This kind of driving can also accelerate wear and tear on your engine, transmission, and brakes, potentially leading to costly repairs.
Reliability VS. Congestion
Congestion is a traffic condition characterized by slower speeds, longer travel times, and the occurrence of vehicle queues. It can be recurrent or non-recurrent. Recurrent congestion includes delays that are predictable in frequency and extent, for example: rush-hour traffic. Conversely, non-recurrent congestion is due to unexpected delays from temporary drops in road capacity, for example: a blocked lane due to a crash or work zone or sudden surges in demand, for example: a Atlanta United game at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Lack of reliability is different from congestion, although it is related to non-recurrent congestion. Reliability refers to the predictability of journey travel times. A highway prone to unexpected delays is unreliable. On the other hand, a highway that is typically congested and where traffic speed is consistently low can be reliable. High levels of congestion, however, increase the likelihood of unreliability. If roads are highly congested, a slight disturbance of traffic flow can result in excessive delays, have a greater
impact, and take longer to recover than in a non-congested area. Therefore, lack of reliability in travel time is associated with delays caused by congestion, specifically with delays from non-recurrent events. Congestion and reliability are so closely related that improvements in congestion can improve travel time reliability as well. For example, a bypass around Alpharetta, Georgia reduced delay and improved reliability. In fact, the monetary benefits of the reliability improvement were an additional 15% of the benefits of the delay reduction itself
Accidents
Rush hour is typically when most people commute to and from work, which leads to increased traffic. Unfortunately, due to various factors, heavy traffic increases the likelihood of a car accident. This is primarily because drivers become more aggressive as they become impatient and are distracted easily. As such, drivers must remain vigilant and focused while driving, especially during rush hour, to prevent serious accidents.
Traffic Congestion/Impact on Time
The negative impacts of traffic congestion are great. Time of motorists and passengers are wasted and it is known that As a non-productive activity for most people, congestion reduces regional economic health.
Heavy delays which results in a late arrivel for your place of employment, meetings, education, and important events. This may cause a lost in business, disciplinary measures be taken in effect, or personal losses occur.
Wasted fuel increasing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions owing to increased idling, acceleration and braking.
Stressed and frustrated motorists, encouraging road rage and reduced health of motorists
Blocked traffic may interfere with the passage of emergency vehicles traveling to their destinations where they are urgently needed. But this can be combated by driving on the shoulder if not blocked by cars that are illegally driving there.
The spillover effect from the main roads to secondary roads and side streets as alternative routes are attempted, which may affect neighborhood amenity and real estate prices due to them being turned into makeshift highways.
