TRAFFIC

CONGESTION
 TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Traffic congestion is a state

wherein transport is slowed,
and more vehicles are queueing
on a given road. It usually
relates to an excess of vehicles
on a portion of roadway at a
particular time resulting in
speeds that are slower than
normal or “free flow” speeds.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 TYPES OF
TRAFFIC CONGESTION

RECURRING TYPE

NON-RECURRING TYPE
 RECURRING TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Recurring type of congestion
happens when there are more
vehicles in the roadway,
virtually every day.

This is apparent in the morning

and evening commutes to
appointments and employment
turns highways and major roads
into grid locks.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 NON-RECURRING TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Non-recurring type of congestion
happens when there are
temporary disruptions that take
away part of the roadway from
use.

This includes incidents ranging

from a flat tire to an overturned
hazardous material truck, work
zones, and weather concerns.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 CATEGORIES OF SOURCES
OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION

TRAFFIC-INFLUENCING EVENTS

TRAFFIC DEMAND

PHYSICAL HIGHWAY FEATURES

 TRAFFIC-INFLUENCING EVENTS
1. TRAFFIC INCIDENTS – these are events that disrupt the normal flow
of traffic, usually by physical impedance in the travel lanes. These
include: vehicular crashes, breakdowns, and debris in travel lanes.

2. WORK ZONES - these are construction activities on the roadway that

result in physical changes to the highway environment.

3. WEATHER - these refers to the environmental conditions that can

lead to changes in driver behavior that affect traffic flow.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 TRAFFIC DEMAND

1. FLUCTUATIONS IN NORMAL TRAFFIC – This refers to the day-to-day

variability in demand that leads to some days with higher traffic
volumes than others.

2. SPECIAL EVENTS – These are special case of demand fluctuations

where traffic flow in the vicinity of the event will be radically different
from “typical” patterns.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 PHYSICAL HIGHWAY FEATURES

1. TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES – This includes the intermittent

disruption of traffic flow by control devices such as railroad grade
crossings and poorly timed signals that also contribute to congestion
and travel time variability.

2. PHYSICAL BOTTLENECKS – These are localized disruptions of

vehicular traffic on a street, road, or highway where the width of the
roadway goes from wide to narrow.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

TRAFFIC BOTTLENECK

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 THEORIES OF
TRAFFIC CONGESTION

THREE-PHASE TRAFFIC THEORY

TRAFFIC FLOW THEORIES

 THE THREE-PHASE TRAFFIC THEORY
The FREE FLOW PHASE - it is
characterized by a positive
correlation between the flow
rate or vehicles per unit time,
and vehicle density or vehicles
per unit distance. When the
density reaches the maximum
density for the free flow, the
transition to the congestion
will occur.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 THE THREE-PHASE TRAFFIC THEORY

The SYNCHRONIZED FLOW

PHASE - in this phase the
speed of vehicles drops
significantly, but there is no
noticeable change in the flow
rate is observed.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 THE THREE-PHASE TRAFFIC THEORY

The WIDE MOVING JAM

PHASE - this phase
spontaneously occurs through
synchronized flow. At this
stage, both flow rate and
velocity drops significantly,
and they become relatively
uniform than synchronized
flow.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 THE TRAFFIC FLOW THEORIES

The Traffic Flow Theories

seek to describe in a precise
mathematical way the
interactions between the
vehicles and their operators
(the mobile components) and
the infrastructure (the
immobile component).

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 What is TRAFFIC JAM?

TRAFFIC JAM is a situation

in which a long line of
vehicles on a road have
stopped moving or are
moving very slowly.

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files

 What is GRIDLOCK?

GRIDLOCK is a form of
traffic congestion where
continuous queues of
vehicles block an entire
network of intersecting
streets, bringing traffic in
all directions to a complete
"standstill."

emerjhon d. hernandez criminology files