rush hour traffic essay

Traffic: Why It’s Getting Worse, What Government Can Do

Subscribe to the brookings metro update, anthony downs anthony downs former brookings expert.

January 1, 2004

• 17 min read
• Introduction

The Real Problem

Coping with the mobility problem, the principle of triple convergence, triple convergence and other proposals, how population growth can swamp transportation capacity, low-density settlements, possible improvements.

Rising traffic congestion is an inescapable condition in large and growing metropolitan areas across the world, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, from Cairo to Sao Paolo. Peak-hour traffic congestion is an inherent result of the way modern societies operate. It stems from the widespread desires of people to pursue certain goals that inevitably overload existing roads and transit systems every day. But everyone hates traffic congestion, and it keeps getting worse, in spite of attempted remedies.

Commuters are often frustrated by policymakers’ inability to do anything about the problem, which poses a significant public policy challenge. Although governments may never be able to eliminate road congestion, there are several ways cities and states can move to curb it.

POLICY BRIEF #128

Traffic congestion is not primarily a problem, but rather the solution to our basic mobility problem, which is that too many people want to move at the same times each day. Why? Because efficient operation of both the economy and school systems requires that people work, go to school, and even run errands during about the same hours so they can interact with each other. That basic requirement cannot be altered without crippling our economy and society. The same problem exists in every major metropolitan area in the world.

In the United States, the vast majority of people seeking to move during rush hours use private automotive vehicles, for two reasons. One is that most Americans reside in low-density areas that public transit cannot efficiently serve. The second is that privately owned vehicles are more comfortable, faster, more private, more convenient in trip timing, and more flexible for doing multiple tasks on one trip than almost any form of public transit. As household incomes rise around the world, more and more people shift from slower, less expensive modes of movement to privately owned cars and trucks.

With 87.9 percent of America’s daily commuters using private vehicles, and millions wanting to move at the same times of day, America’s basic problem is that its road system does not have the capacity to handle peak-hour loads without forcing many people to wait in line for that limited road space. Waiting in line is the definition of congestion, and the same condition is found in all growing major metropolitan regions. In fact, traffic congestion is worse in most other countries because American roads are so much better.

Back to top

There are four ways any region can try to cope with the mobility challenge. But three of them are politically impractical or physically and financially impossible in the United States.

Charging peak-hour tolls. Governments can charge people money to enter all the lanes on major commuting roads during peak hours. If tolls were set high enough and collected electronically with “smart cards,” the number of vehicles on each major road during peak hours could be reduced enough so that vehicles could move at high speeds. That would allow more people to travel per lane per hour than under current, heavily congested conditions.

Transportation economists have long been proponents of this tactic, but most Americans reject this solution politically for two reasons. Tolls would favor wealthier or subsidized drivers and harm poor ones, so most Americans would resent them, partly because they believe they would be at a disadvantage.

The second drawback is that people think these tolls would be just another tax, forcing them to pay for something they have already paid for through gasoline taxes. For both these reasons, few politicians in our democracy—and so far, anywhere else in the world—advocate this tactic. Limited road-pricing schemes that have been adopted in Singapore, Norway, and London only affect congestion in crowded downtowns, which is not the kind of congestion on major arteries that most Americans experience.

Greatly expanding road capacity. The second approach would be to build enough road capacity to handle all drivers who want to travel in peak hours at the same time without delays. But this “cure” is totally impractical and prohibitively expensive. Governments would have to widen all major commuting roads by demolishing millions of buildings, cutting down trees, and turning most of every metropolitan region into a giant concrete slab. Those roads would then be grossly underutilized during non-peak hours. There are many occasions when adding more road capacity is a good idea, but no large region can afford to build enough to completely eliminate peak-hour congestion.

Greatly expanding public transit capacity. The third approach would be to expand public transit capacity enough to shift so many people from cars to transit that there would be no more excess demand for roads during peak hours. But in the United States in 2000, only 4.7 percent of all commuters traveled by public transit. (Outside of New York City, only 3.5 percent use transit and 89.3 percent use private vehicles.) A major reason is that most transit commuting is concentrated in a few large, densely settled regions with extensive fixed-rail transit systems. The nine U.S. metropolitan areas with the most daily transit commuters, when taken together, account for 61 percent of all U.S. transit commuting, though they contain only 17 percent of the total population. Within those regions, transit commuters are 17 percent of all commuters, but elsewhere, transit carries only 2.4 percent of all commuters, and less than one percent in many low-density regions.

Even if America’s existing transit capacity were tripled and fully utilized, morning peak-hour transit travel would rise to 11.0 percent of all morning trips. But that would reduce all morning private vehicle trips by only 8.0 percent—certainly progress, but hardly enough to end congestion—and tripling public transit capacity would be extremely costly. There are many good reasons to expand the nation’s public transit systems to aid mobility, but doing so will not notably reduce either existing or future peak-hour traffic congestion.

Living with congestion. This is the sole viable option. The only feasible way to accommodate excess demand for roads during peak periods is to have people wait in line. That means traffic congestion, which is an absolutely essential mechanism for American regions—and most other metropolitan regions throughout the world—to cope with excess demands for road space during peak hours each day.

Although congestion can seem intolerable, the alternatives would be even worse. Peak-hour congestion is the balancing mechanism that makes it possible for Americans to pursue other goals they value, including working or sending their children to school at the same time as their peers, living in low-density settlements, and having a wide choice of places to live and work.

The least understood aspect of peak-hour traffic congestion is the principle of triple convergence, which I discussed in the original version of Stuck in Traffic (Brookings/Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1992). This phenomenon occurs because traffic flows in any region’s overall transportation networks form almost automatically self-adjusting relationships among different routes, times, and modes. For example, a major commuting expressway might be so heavily congested each morning that traffic crawls for at least thirty minutes. If that expressway’s capacity were doubled overnight, the next day’s traffic would flow rapidly because the same number of drivers would have twice as much road space. But soon word would spread that this particular highway was no longer congested. Drivers who had once used that road before and after the peak hour to avoid congestion would shift back into the peak period. Other drivers who had been using alternative routes would shift onto this more convenient expressway. Even some commuters who had been using the subway or trains would start driving on this road during peak periods. Within a short time, this triple convergence onto the expanded road during peak hours would make the road as congested as it was before its expansion.

Experience shows that if a road is part of a larger transportation network within a region, peak-hour congestion cannot be eliminated for long on a congested road by expanding that road’s capacity.

The triple convergence principle does not mean that expanding a congested road’s capacity has no benefits. After expansion, the road can carry more vehicles per hour than before, no matter how congested it is, so more people can travel on it during those more desirable periods. Also, the periods of maximum congestion may be shorter, and congestion on alternative routes may be lower. Those are all benefits, but that road will still experience some period of maximum congestion daily.

Triple convergence affects the practicality of other suggested remedies to traffic congestion. An example is staggered work hours. In theory, if a certain number of workers are able to commute during less crowded parts of the day, that will free up space on formerly congested roads. But once traffic moves faster on those roads during peak hours, that will attract other drivers from other routes, other times, and other modes where conditions have not changed to shift onto the improved roads. Soon the removal of the staggered-working-hour drivers will be fully offset by convergence.

The same thing will happen if more workers become telecommuters and work at home, or if public transit capacity is expanded on off-road routes that parallel a congested expressway. This is why building light rail systems or even new subways rarely reduces peak-hour traffic congestion. In Portland, where the light rail system doubled in size in the 1990s, and in Dallas, where a new light rail system opened, congestion did not decline for long after these systems were up and running. Only road pricing or higher gasoline taxes are exempt from the principle of triple convergence.

A ground transportation system’s equilibria can also be affected by big changes in the region’s population or economic activity. If a region’s population is growing rapidly, as in Southern California or Florida, any expansions of major expressway capacity may soon be swamped by more vehicles generated by the added population. This result is strengthened because America’s vehicle population has been increasing even faster than its human population. From 1980 to 2000, 1.2 more automotive vehicles were added to the vehicle population of the United States for every 1.0 person added to the human population (though this ratio declined to 1 to 1 in the 1990s). The nation’s human population is expected to grow by around 60 million by 2020—possibly adding another 60 million vehicles to our national stock. That is why prospects for reducing peak-hour traffic congestion in the future are dim indeed.

Shifts in economic activity also affect regional congestion. During the internet and telecommunications boom of the late 1990s, congestion in the San Francisco Bay Area intensified immensely. After the economic “bubble” burst in 2000, congestion fell markedly without any major change in population. Thus, severe congestion can be a sign of strong regional prosperity, just as reduced congestion can signal an economic downturn.

The most obvious reason traffic congestion has increased everywhere is population growth. In a wealthy nation, more people means more vehicles. But total vehicle mileage traveled has grown much faster than population. From 1980 to 2000, the total population of the United States rose 24 percent, but total vehicle miles traveled grew 80 percent because of more intensive use of each vehicle. The number of vehicles per 1,000 persons rose 14 percent and the number of miles driven per vehicle rose 24 percent. Even without any population gain in those two decades, miles driven would have risen 47 percent.

One reason people drove their vehicles farther is that a combination of declining real gas prices (corrected for inflation) and more miles per gallon caused the real cost of each mile driven to fall 54 percent from 1980 to 2000. That helped raise the fraction of U.S. households owning cars from 86 percent in 1983 to 92 percent in 1995.

Furthermore, American road building lagged far behind increases in vehicle travel. Urban lane-miles rose by 37 percent versus an 80 percent increase in miles traveled. As a result, the amount of daily traffic that was congested in the 75 areas analyzed in studies by the Texas Transportation Institute went from 16 percent in 1982 to 34 percent in 2001.

Another factor in road congestion is accidents and incidents, which some experts believe cause half of all traffic congestion. From 1980 to 2000, the absolute number of accidents each year has remained amazingly constant, and the annual number of traffic deaths in the United States fell 18 percent, in spite of the great rise in vehicle miles traveled. So accidents could only have caused more congestion because roads were more crowded, and each accident may now cause longer back-ups than before.

Incidents are non-accident causes of delay, such as stalled cars, road repairs, overturned vehicles, and bad weather. No one knows how many incidents occur, but it is a much greater number than accidents. And the number of incidents probably rises along with total driving. So that could have added to greater congestion, and will in the future.

Another crucial factor contributing to traffic congestion is the desire of most Americans to live in low-density settlements. In 1999, the National Association of Homebuilders asked 2,000 randomly-selected households whether they would rather buy a $150,000 townhouse in an urban setting that was close to public transportation, work, and shopping or a larger, detached single-family home in an outlying suburban area, where distances to work, public transportation, and shopping were longer. Eighty-three percent of respondents chose the larger, farther-out suburban home. At the same time, new workplaces have been spreading out in low-density areas in most metropolitan regions.

Past studies, including one published in 1977 by Boris S. Pushkarev and Jeffery M. Zupan, have shown that public transit works best where gross residential densities are above 4,200 persons per square mile; relatively dense housing is clustered close to transit stations or stops; and large numbers of jobs are concentrated in relatively compact business districts.

But in 2000, at least two thirds of all residents of U.S. urbanized areas lived in settlements with densities of under 4,000 persons per square mile. Those densities are too low for public transit to be effective. Hence their residents are compelled to rely on private vehicles for almost all of their travel, including trips during peak hours.

Recognizing this situation, many opponents of “sprawl” call for strong urban growth boundaries to constrain future growth into more compact, higher-density patterns, including greater reinvestment and increased densities in existing neighborhoods. But most residents of those neighborhoods vehemently oppose raising densities, and most American regions already have densities far too low to support much public transit. So this strategy would not reduce future traffic congestion much.

While it’s practically impossible to eliminate congestion, there are several ways to slow its future rate of increase:

Create High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. Peak-hour road pricing would not be politically feasible if policymakers put tolls on all major commuter lanes, but HOT lanes can increase traveler choices by adding new toll lanes to existing expressways, or converting underused high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to HOT lanes, and leaving present conventional lanes without tolls. True, HOT lanes do not eliminate congestion. But they allow anyone who needs to move fast on any given day to do so, without forcing all low-income drivers off those same roads during peak periods. In some regions, whole networks of HOT lanes could both add to overall capacity and make high-speed choices always available to thousands of people in a hurry.

Respond more rapidly to traffic-blocking accidents and incidents. Removing accidents and incidents from major roads faster by using roving service vehicles run by government-run Traffic Management Centers equipped with television and electronic surveillance of road conditions is an excellent tactic for reducing congestion delays.

Build more roads in growing areas. Opponents of building more roads claim that we cannot build our way out of congestion because more highway capacity will simply attract more travelers. Due to triple convergence, that criticism is true for established roads that are already overcrowded. But the large projected growth of the U.S. population surely means that we will need a lot more road and lane mileage in peripheral areas.

Install ramp-metering. This means letting vehicles enter expressways only gradually. It has improved freeway speed during peak hours in both Seattle and the Twin Cities, and could be much more widely used.

Use Intelligent Transportation System devices to speed traffic flows. These devices include electronic coordination of signal lights on local streets, large variable signs informing drivers of traffic conditions ahead, one-way street patterns, Global Positioning System equipment in cars and trucks, and radio broadcasts of current road conditions. These technologies exist now and can be effective on local streets and arteries and informative on expressways.

Create more HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes. HOV lanes have proven successful in many areas such as Houston. More regions could use HOV lanes effectively if there were more lanes built for that purpose, rather than trying to convert existing ones. Merely converting existing lanes would reduce overall road capacity.

Adopt “parking cash-out” programs. Demonstration programs have shown that if firms offer to pay persons now receiving free employee parking a stipend for shifting to carpooling or transit, significant percentages will do so. That could reduce the number of cars on the road. However, this tactic does not prevent the offsetting consequences of triple convergence.

Restrict very low-density peripheral development. Urban growth boundaries that severely constrain all far-out suburban development will not reduce future congestion much, especially in fast-growing regions. And such boundaries may drive up peripheral housing prices. But requiring at least moderate residential densities—say, 3,500 persons per square mile (4.38 units per net acre)—in new growth areas could greatly reduce peripheral driving, compared to permitting very low densities there, which tend to push growth out ever farther. In 2000, thirty-six urbanized areas had fringe area densities of 3,500 or more. Those thirty-six urbanized areas contained 18.2 percent of all persons living in all 476 U.S. urbanized areas.

Cluster high-density housing around transit stops. Such Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) would permit more residents to commute by walking to transit, thereby decreasing the number of private vehicles on the roads. However, the potential of this tactic is limited. In order to shift a significant percentage of auto commuters to transit, the number of such “transit circles” within each region would have to be very large, the density within each circle would have to be much greater than the average central city density in America’s fifty largest urbanized areas, and the percentage of workers living in the TODs who commuted by transit would have to greatly exceed the 10.5 percent average for central cities in 2000. Even so, developing many of these high-density clusters might make public transit service more feasible to many more parts of large regions.

Give regional transportation authorities more power and resources. Congress has created Metropolitan Planning Organizations to coordinate ground transportation planning over all modes in each region. If these were given more technical assistance and power, more rational systems could be created. Without much more regionally focused planning over land uses as well as transportation, few anti-congestion tactics will work effectively.

Raise gasoline taxes. Raising gas taxes would notably slow the rate of increase of all automotive travel, not just peak-hour commuting. But Congress has refused to consider it because it is politically unpopular and fought by industry lobbyists. Despite Americans’ vocal complaints about congestion, they do not want to pay much to combat it.

Peak-hour traffic congestion in almost all large and growing metropolitan regions around the world is here to stay. In fact, it is almost certain to get worse during at least the next few decades, mainly because of rising populations and wealth. This will be true no matter what public and private policies are adopted to combat congestion.

But this outcome should not be regarded as a mark of social failure or misguided policies. In fact, traffic congestion often results from economic prosperity and other types of success.

Although traffic congestion is inevitable, there are ways to slow the rate at which it intensifies. Several tactics could do that effectively, especially if used in concert, but nothing can eliminate peak-hour traffic congestion from large metropolitan regions here and around the world. Only serious economic recessions—which are hardly desirable—can even forestall an increase.

For the time being, the only relief for traffic-plagued commuters is a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle with a well-equipped stereo system, a hands-free telephone, and a daily commute with someone they like.

Congestion has become part of commuters’ daily leisure time, and it promises to stay that way.

Related Content

January 19, 2018

Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane

January 4, 2018

Adie Tomer, Ranjitha Shivaram

July 20, 2017

Transportation

Brookings Metro

Mark MacCarthy

July 31, 2024

NACo-NLC Conference Center, Washington DC

9:00 am - 10:30 am EDT

The Brookings Institution, Washington DC

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

Band 5+: The Government should impose a fee on drivers who use their vehicles during rush hour to help cut down on air pollution from exhaust fumes.

Some individuals are of the claim that imposing a fee on drivers who use private transportation during peak hour is highly beneficial and should be implemented by the government to reduce polluted emissions.From my perspective, I totally agree with this suggestion based on some major reasons that are explained in this essay.

To begin with, there are some persuasive rationales that support the claim that public authorities should impose a fee on drivers.In this day and age,on the main routes of developing countries oftens occur traffic congestion , especially at the peak hour or after working.At this time,people must to go out simultaneously and the number of private transportations increase significantly make the routes lead to traffic jam.If government can solve this problem by charging a fee on peoples who drive their own vehicles during rush hour ,the space of large routes will be expanded for drivers to move easily because of the decline in the number of private vehicles and also can encourage people to use public transportations.For instance,in London,the government introduced a congestion fee several years ago.As a result,many people started to carpool, walk, or use public transportation rether than drive to work thereby reduce traffic jam and improve air quality.

On top of that ,the revenue from those charges can be used to fund environmentally friendly projects.The authorities can use this source of money to build green projects to reduce harmful effects from vehicle emissions and make the country develop effectively.In Canada,for instance,the fund has been utilized by the government for building public facilities such as parks,zoos,…etc.This not only to caters to the entertainment needs of residents and enhance urban landscape but also ensure people’s heath by advance quality of the environment .

In conclusion, a small fee for rush-hour motorists would lighten traffic and help cities maintain a healthy and clean environment.For these reasons,charging such drivers would be beneficial to the planet and to society.

Check Your Own Essay On This Topic?

Generate a band-9 sample with your idea, overall band score, task response, coherence & cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range & accuracy, other topics:, ‘the internet will never replace traditional course books in schools.’ how far do you agree with this prediction.

In today’s fast-paced digital era, the impact of modern technology on learning is undeniable. It is often argued that digital books will take the place of traditional books in schools. I fully agree with this opinion for two main reasons that will be explained in this essay. To begin with, learning from internet instead of […]

The two line graphs below show New Zealand import figures from Australia and Japan in the years 1994 - 2004. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The following graph shows the production levels of the main kinds of fuel in the UK between 1981 and 2000. There are three major fuels: Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Coal. Interestingly, we can see that Petroleum has the highest share of energy. From the beginning of 1981, Petroleum held 90 energy units. It consistently rose […]

Some people believe that TV is useful for education, while others think it is only for entertainment

Many individuals believe that television is helpful for education, while others feel it is used only for entertaining people. Although funny shows are very common, we cannot refuse that there is also scientific television on TV. On the one hand, nowadays scientific, historical, and funny facts are being given by television . Moreover, we can […]

Solving environmental problems should be the responsibility of international organization rather than each national government. Do you agree or disagree?

It is undeniably true that the environment has become a global issue. Opinions differ on whether worldwide organizations are responsible for environmental challenges, or whether actions by each country can indeed foster sustainable change. In my perspective, while global institutions play a significant role in tackling the issues, I opine that the responsibility of every […]

Some people want governments to spend money looking for life on other planets. Others, however, think this is a waste of public money when there are so many problems on earth.

Most of them think that government should give funds to life on the other planets and whereas the remaining people think it is waste of govenment money rather invest in other problems, In my view, it is not required to invest money for life on other planets, because it is better to invest in some […]

Today, people in many countries have to spend more and more time far away from their families. Why is this happening and what effects does it have on the people themselves and on their families?

Indeed, a significant number of people nowadays are living and working far from their homes. This is because, they want to earn enough money to help their families. I will discuss its other effects on people and their families in the following paragraphs. To begin with, that people spend more time away from their families […]

Plans & Pricing

In some cities, traffic jam has become a major problem. Some people claim that government should impose a congestion tax during the rush hour. To extent do you agree or disagree.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Writing9 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

• Check your IELTS essay »
• Find essays with the same topic
• View collections of IELTS Writing Samples
• Show IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics

You recently spent a night in a hotel and had to put up with a great deal of nose very early in the morning because of a faulty central heating system.The manager promised to contact you regarding compensation but you still haven't heard from him. Write letter to the hotel.In the letter describe the problem at the hotel explain what the manager had said at the time say what you want the manager to do

In the future, robots will do more and more jobs instead of humans. does this development have more advantages or disadvantagesgive reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience. write at least 250 words., some eople believe that the radio is more enjoyable and practical than tv. do you agree , every country in the world has its own road rules, but many drivers don’t obey them. what do you think are the reasons for this what can be done to solve this problem, the presence of technology in the classroom has become more and more apparent and offers students tremendous resources with which to supplement their education. given time, technology will completely replace the traditional teacher in the classroom. do you agree or disagree with the above statement.

The New York Times

Magazine | how segregation caused your traffic jam, how segregation caused your traffic jam.

By KEVIN M. KRUSE AUG. 14, 2019

In some of America’s most congested cities, roadways were designed to keep people “in their place.”

What does a traffic jam in Atlanta have to do with segregation? Quite a lot.

By Kevin M. Kruse AUG. 14, 2019

Atlanta has some of the worst traffic in the United States. Drivers there average two hours each week mired in gridlock, hung up at countless spots, from the constantly clogged Georgia 400 to a complicated cluster of overpasses at Tom Moreland Interchange, better known as “Spaghetti Junction.” The Downtown Connector — a 12-to-14-lane megahighway that in theory connects the city’s north to its south — regularly has three-mile-long traffic jams that last four hours or more. Commuters might assume they’re stuck there because some city planner made a mistake, but the heavy congestion actually stems from a great success. In Atlanta, as in dozens of cities across America, daily congestion is a direct consequence of a century-long effort to segregate the races.

For much of the nation’s history, the campaign to keep African-Americans “in their place” socially and politically manifested itself in an effort to keep them quite literally in one place or another. Before the Civil War, white masters kept enslaved African-Americans close at hand to coerce their labor and guard against revolts. But with the abolition of slavery, the spatial relationship was reversed. Once they had no need to keep constant watch over African-Americans, whites wanted them out of sight. Civic planners pushed them into ghettos, and the segregation we know today became the rule.

At first the rule was overt, as Southern cities like Baltimore and Louisville enacted laws that mandated residential racial segregation. Such laws were eventually invalidated by the Supreme Court, but later measures achieved the same effect by more subtle means. During the New Deal, federal agencies like the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and the Federal Housing Administration encouraged redlining practices that explicitly marked minority neighborhoods as risky investments and therefore discouraged bank loans, mortgages and insurance there. Other policies simply targeted black communities for isolation and demolition. The postwar programs for urban renewal, for instance, destroyed black neighborhoods and displaced their residents with such regularity that African-Americans came to believe, in James Baldwin’s memorable phrase , that “urban renewal means Negro removal.”

This intertwined history of infrastructure and racial inequality extended into the 1950s and 1960s with the creation of the Interstate highway system . The federal government shouldered nine-tenths of the cost of the new Interstate highways, but local officials often had a say in selecting the path. As in most American cities in the decades after the Second World War, the new highways in Atlanta — local expressways at first, then Interstates — were steered along routes that bulldozed “blighted” neighborhoods that housed its poorest residents, almost always racial minorities. This was a common practice not just in Southern cities like Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Richmond and Tampa, but in countless metropolises across the country, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Syracuse and Washington.

While Interstates were regularly used to destroy black neighborhoods , they were also used to keep black and white neighborhoods apart. Today, major roads and highways serve as stark dividing lines between black and white sections in cities like Buffalo, Hartford, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. In Atlanta, the intent to segregate was crystal clear. Interstate 20, the east-west corridor that connects with I-75 and I-85 in Atlanta’s center, was deliberately plotted along a winding route in the late 1950s to serve, in the words of Mayor Bill Hartsfield, as “the boundary between the white and Negro communities” on the west side of town. Black neighborhoods, he hoped, would be hemmed in on one side of the new expressway, while white neighborhoods on the other side of it would be protected. Racial residential patterns have long since changed, of course, but the awkward path of I-20 remains in place.

By razing impoverished areas downtown and segregating the races in the western section, Atlanta’s leaders hoped to keep downtown and its surroundings a desirable locale for middle-class whites. Articulating a civic vision of racial peace and economic progress, Hartsfield bragged that Atlanta was the “City Too Busy to Hate.” But the so-called urban renewal and the new Interstates only helped speed white flight from Atlanta. Over the 1960s, roughly 60,000 whites left the city, with many of them relocating in the suburbs along the northern rim. When another 100,000 whites left the city in the 1970s, it became a local joke that Atlanta had become “The City Too Busy Moving to Hate.”

As the new suburbs ballooned in size, traffic along the poorly placed highways became worse and worse. The obvious solution was mass transit — buses, light rail and trains that would more efficiently link the suburbs and the city — but that, too, faced opposition, largely for racial reasons. The white suburbanites had purposefully left the problems of the central city behind and worried that mass transit would bring them back.

Accordingly, suburbanites waged a sustained campaign against the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) from its inception. Residents of the nearly all-white Cobb County resoundingly rejected the system in a 1965 vote. In 1971, Gwinnett and Clayton Counties, which were then also overwhelmingly white, followed suit, voting down a proposal to join MARTA by nearly 4-1 margins, and keeping MARTA out became the default position of many local politicians. (Emmett Burton, a Cobb County commissioner, won praise for promising to “stock the Chattahoochee with piranha” if that were needed to keep MARTA away.) David Chesnut, the white chairman of MARTA, insisted in 1987 that suburban opposition to mass transit had been “90 percent a racial issue.” Because of that resistance, MARTA became a city-only service that did little to relieve commuter traffic. By the mid-1980s, white racists were joking that MARTA, with its heavily black ridership, stood for “Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta.”

[ To get updates on The 1619 Project, and for more on race from The New York Times, sign up f or our weekly Race/Related newsletter .]

Even as the suburbs became more racially diverse, they remained opposed to MARTA. After Gwinnett voted the system down again in 1990, a former Republican legislator later marveled at the arguments given by opponents. “They will come up with 12 different ways of saying they are not racist in public,” he told a reporter. “But you get them alone, behind a closed door, and you see this old blatant racism that we have had here for quite some time.”

Earlier this year, Gwinnett County voted MARTA down for a third time. Proponents had hoped that changes in the county’s racial composition, which was becoming less white, might make a difference. But the March initiative still failed by an eight-point margin. Officials discovered that some nonwhite suburbanites shared the isolationist instincts of earlier white suburbanites. One white property manager in her late 50s told a reporter that she voted against mass transit because it was used by poorer residents and immigrants, whom she called “illegals.” “Why should we pay for it?” she asked. “Why subsidize people who can’t manage their money and save up a dime to buy a car?”

In the end, Atlanta’s traffic is at a standstill because its attitude about transit is at a standstill, too. Fifty years after its Interstates were set down with an eye to segregation and its rapid-transit system was stunted by white flight, the city is still stalled in the past.

Kevin M. Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University and the author of “White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism.”

More on NYTimes.com

Advertisement

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team

Rush Hour Traffic

Rush Hour Traffic. Urban Decay. Rudeness and ill will towards our common man. A society clearly coming apart at its seams. And worst of all, you can’t get your hash browns at the local fast-food restaurant because they stopped serving breakfast 3 minutes ago. We’ve all experienced these types of frustrations in varying degrees, and probably felt some sort of primal urge to retaliate at what we perceive as a deliberate and malicious affront to our person. Well in Falling Down, William Foster (expertly played by Michael Douglas) does just that.

The film opens to a close-up of Foster, imprisoned in his sweltering car during his commute, or rather, lack thereof. The highway has become a parking lot, and rudeness pervades from all sides, in the forms of honking horns and profanity. We gain a real sense of the building tension, as we hear a super-imposed heartbeat over the soundtrack. Visually, the shots are dominated with warm colors, oranges and yellows. The pressure intensifies to near emergency levels, as the audience is certain that a panic attack is inevitable, and then… the door opens and Foster quietly walks away from his gridlocked vehicle. In response to a fellow irate motorist, he simply says, “I’m going home.”

This is a preview of the whole essay

So begins Foster’s journey, or rather descent into madness. In his exploits he encounters every type of meaningless transgression, each taking a higher toll on his sanity. He blows up at a price-gouging Korean grocer who refuses to give change for a phone call, and vandalizes the store. When confronted by violent gang members, he lashes out at his assailants and effectively defends himself. When refused service at a burger chain, his needs are only met after brandishing an automatic weapon. All the while we the viewers are cheering him on, eccentrically righteous in his quest to right these inane wrongs.

As the story progresses however, a much darker nature is revealed, as his destination is the home of his daughter and ex-wife, both of whom he is prohibited from seeing under a restraining order. He stops several times to call, each time becoming increasingly threatening. As the police become involved, it draws the attention of Detective Prendergast, played by Robert Duvall. On his last day before retirement, the detecive has seen the same societal woes that have pushed this man to the edge, and at times comes close to sympathizing with him.

What remains most disconcerting throughout the course of the movie, is the demeanor taken on by Douglas’s character. No matter the situation, Foster never seems to fit. He displays a strange calm when being targeted in a drive-by shooting, barely acknowledging the hail of bullets all around him. When the entire restaurant is paralyzed in fear of the machine gun held above his head, he cracks jokes, to the amusement of noone. But what is most awry in his character is the overwhelming calm, and deep sadness rising to the surface. He makes it quite clear that he has done all he can trying to live a normal, rational life, and since losing all the things once anchoring him down (his family, his job, sense of self-worth), he find that it’s much easier to be pushed to the brink.

There is an interesting juxtaposition of characters between Foster and Prendergast. Early on, it appears Foster is the champion of the victimized common man, who attempts to stand up for what he believes is right, at any cost. Around the halfway point, we realize however that Foster is a deeply troubled man, and as a result of being immersed in such depravity, he too has become depraved, transforming from a concerned advocate for rationality to an intense machine, until at long last he realizes he has passed the point of no return and asks “I’m the bad guy? How did this happen?” Conversely, Prendergast becomes more human as the story progresses, as we learn about how he has stayed strong throughout a life of personal crises.

Overall, I enjoyed this film immensely and would recommend it to an older audience, who has the maturity and experience in dealing with life’s aggravations and can grasp and appreciate the feelings that are evoked from such a startling piece of cinema. A fine job of directing by Joel Schumaker, this movie strikes a nerve deep within the audience and raises the questions of morality in our society, and how an ordinary person may react if pushed to the edge, in grave danger of falling down.

Document Details

• Word Count 758
• Page Count 2
• Level AS and A Level
• Subject Drama

Related Essays

This essay is an evaluation of my work and the work of others during the si...

Performance Studies: Community Project Coursework

Write a commentry on Jafar Panhai's, "The White Balloon".

Community Performance project.

Toronto ranked third worst in the world for time stuck in traffic

Torontonians spent four days of their lives sitting in rush-hour traffic in 2023, and it took 29 minutes to travel just 10 kilometres

You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account.

Article content

Mapping and navigation company TomTom released its annual traffic index ranking Wednesday, with Toronto ranked in the bottom three — beating out only London, U.K., and Dublin for the amount of time it takes to travel 10 kilometres by car.

In fact, data from the Netherlands-based company suggests that the average Torontonian spent more than four days sitting in rush-hour traffic last year.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

• Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.
• Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account.
• National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
• Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
• Support local journalism.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

• Access articles from across Canada with one account.
• Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
• Enjoy additional articles per month.
• Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Don't have an account? Create Account

TomTom collected data on 12 Canadian cities. Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg were ranked in the bottom three of Canadian cities in time to travel 10 kilometres by car. Kitchener-Waterloo, Calgary and Quebec City had the lowest travel times for Canadian cities. The other Canadian cities included were Montreal, London, Halifax, Edmonton, Hamilton and Ottawa.

TomTom also estimated the yearly fuel costs for rush hour drivers in major Canadian cities, based on gas prices and time spent in traffic. Drivers in Vancouver spent on average $794, followed by Montreal at $764, with Toronto just behind at $744. The best cities in Canada to save money on gas are Edmonton at $485, Calgary at $537, Kitchener-Waterloo at $550, Hamilton at $569 and Ottawa at $577.

Compared to last year’s ranking of the time it takes to travel 10 kilometres, Toronto and Ottawa had their times get worse by 50 seconds. London and Halifax increased their time by 40 seconds. No Canadian city was able to lower their time compared to 2022. Edmonton, Quebec City, Montreal and Winnipeg came the closest, their times increasing only 10 seconds.

Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.

• There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

All this means that in Toronto in 2023, it took, on average, 29 minutes to travel just 10 kilometres. It took about half that amount of time — 15 minutes — on average to travel 10 kilometres in Ottawa, 16 minutes in Edmonton and 19 minutes in Montreal.

The average Torontonian in 2023 spent 98 hours in traffic, assuming a 10-kilometre commute to work, driving twice a day during peak hours. Toronto is followed by Vancouver at 90 hours and Montreal at 85. Winnipeg, the next highest, has a large drop-off to 63 hours. Those in Kitchener-Waterloo spent just 21 hours in rush hour traffic, with Hamiltonians the next best at 33 hours.

When looking at average speed during rush hour, Toronto ranked dead last in Canadian cities, clocking in at 18 kilometres per hour, with Vancouver and Montreal being next in line with 22 kilometres per hour and 25 kilometres per hour, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, drivers in Kitchener-Waterloo were able to drive the fastest at 46 kilometres per hour, with Calgary and Quebec City tied in second place at 40 kilometres per hour each.

However, according to Matthias Sweet, professor of urban planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, using metrics like average speed during rush hour or average time to travel 10 kilometres do not reveal the whole picture of how a city is designed and how congestion impacts its traffic.

“If you look at measures like delay, places like Los Angeles stand out and part of that is because they have major infrastructure which is designed for going fast,” Sweet said. “Even if people are driving relatively fast at say 60 kilometres an hour, they expect to be travelling twice that. From the user perspective, they might be experiencing traffic congestion. But then if you’re in the core of downtown Toronto on King Street going 60 kilometres an hour, as a user, you’re perceiving that to be quite fast.”

According to Sweet, another major factor for the level of congestion in a city is whether there are reasonable substitutes for resources in the surrounding area. For opportunity-rich cities like London, U.K., Toronto and New York, people are willing to deal with worse traffic than they would experience in smaller nearby cities, simply because these larger cities offer more amenities.

“Toronto, population 2.9 million, almost 10 per cent of the Canadian population just in the city. If you look at the broader region, you’re dealing with one out of six Canadians,” Sweet said. “For a lot of jobs, particularly for high-paying jobs … there’s not many perfect substitutes for Toronto.”

In 2023, Statistics Canada released a report highlighting the rise of commuting throughout Canada from May 2016 to May 2023. It found that in Toronto the total number of people commuting by car reached two million. In Montreal and Vancouver that number reached 1.3 million and 832,000 commuters by car, respectively.

Although it may seem like the logical answer, adding more roads does not alleviate traffic congestion. Studies have shown repeatedly that adding more roads increases the demand for driving, completely nullifying the road additions or improvements. This is known as the Downs-Thomson paradox.

So what actually does lower traffic congestion? According to Sweet, there is only one realistic option that could lower delay times: adding a price to access congested infrastructure, which has been used in places like Stockholm, London, U.K., and Singapore.

“Toronto is still electing to ration out scarce road space using delay, which is time spent stuck in traffic. That’s where many economists argue that delay is not efficient, and that adding a cost to use that scarce road space becomes a way to reduce that traffic to improve flow,” Sweet said. “Users know that the system is congested, but is it bad enough to do some of the things that are really hard in order to try and solve it?”

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here .

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Inside François Legault's epic battle with Quebec's anglophones

Subscriber only. conrad black: the persecution of john carpay, karen stintz: fred hahn doesn't deserve to be a union leader, newcomer parents increasingly rely on up to $7k in child benefits: statcan.

Two women found dead in Toronto home, police seek male relative

Beauty buzz: chanel gabrielle chanel l'eau, naturium purple ginseng cleansing balm, and grown alchemist hydra-restore eye serum.

Three buzzed-about new beauty products we tried this week.

The essential school supply list for grades K-12

Crayons, pens, glue and more

Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

We have an exclusive Labour Day deal on Cozy Earth’s luxe bedding & PJs

Save 30 per cent with a National Post reader code

Must-have lunch boxes: Top picks for kids and adults

Just in time for the back to school season

The best online deals in the Canadian retail space right now

Reformation, Le Creuset and Article to name a few

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here . By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .

You've reached the 20 article limit.

You can manage saved articles in your account.

and save up to 100 articles!

Looks like you've reached your saved article limit!

You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.

• Kindle Store
• Kindle eBooks
• Business & Money

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Buy for others

Buying and sending ebooks to others.

• Select quantity
• Buy and send eBooks
• Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

The End of Rush Hour Traffic: an essay Kindle Edition

• Print length 7 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publication date December 29, 2017
• File size 1516 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078QDRH62
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 29, 2017
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 1516 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 7 pages

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

No customer reviews

Report an issue.

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Back to school traffic without the Key Bridge: Plan for longer rush hour commutes

BALTIMORE — Labor Day is quickly approaching and that means Baltimore area schools are returning from summer vacation.

Normally traffic tends to lessen with schools out of session.

So now with the new school year getting underway, traffic volume is expected to pick back up.

Back to school travel is expected to be significantly different than in previous years.

That's because the I-695 Key Bridge is no longer standing, causing many to change their routes to work and school.

As result many are facing longer or delayed travel times, especially during morning and afternoon rush hour.

The Maryland Transportation Authority is out with a new campaign to help drivers plan ahead, specifically when traveling on I-95 & I-895.

According to MTA, the heaviest commute times on the southbound side is Monday-Thursday from 6 to 10am and 4-6pm. Busy hours slightly change on Fridays from 7 to 9am and 2 to 6pm.

As for the northbound side, traffic gets more backed up Monday-Thursday from 2-7pm and Fridays from noon to 7pm.

Sign up for the Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information.

Now signed up to receive the headlines newsletter..

How to watch WMAR-2 News on streaming devices

In Some Countries, The Government Has Tried to Reduce Traffic- IELTS Writing Task 2

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

Share on Whatsapp

Share on Email

Share on Linkedin

Table of Contents

Sample essay.

Limited-Time Offer : Access a FREE 10-Day IELTS Study Plan!

In some countries, the government has tried to reduce traffic. For instance, they imposed a congestion tax during rush hour. Do you think this development is positive or negative?

Opinion type

Introduction

Sentences 1&2 -During peak hours, traffic congestion on the roads is an inescapable occurrence and governments in certain countries have consequently imposed a tax for plying on the roads when it comes to such a time. Some opine that this development is a favourable one, while others disagree and argue that it is a detrimental occurrence.

Sentence 3 – I think that such a development could have adverse implications and in the following essay, I will explore both the sides of this issue.

Body Paragraphs

Paragraph 1 – Imposing additional taxes can overwhelm the public financially.

Paragraph 2 – It may not be effective in the long-term and may not actually reduce traffic congestion.

Paragraph 3 – The money collected by the government through the tax can be used for additional public welfare and may also reduce pollution by encouraging people to use public transport and other eco-friendly means of transport.

Thus, in conclusion it can be said that while government enforced congestion tariffs may not be advantageous, it also has a few benefits which cannot be ignored.

During peak hours, traffic congestion on the roads is an inescapable occurrence and governments in certain countries have consequently imposed a tax for plying on the roads when it comes such a time. Some opine that this development is a favourable one, while others disagree and argue that it is a detrimental occurrence. I think that such a development could have adverse implications and in the following essay, I will explore both sides of this issue.

Firstly, the implementation of taxation on road users can economically agonize them. Since people already pay a number of taxes to the government, levying an additional tax specifically during peak hours may act as a financial encumbrance and overwhelm them. Additionally, numerous people are impelled to commute to work during rush hours and penalizing them would be an unfair decision on the part of governmental authorities.

Secondly, this policy may not be sustainable in the long-term and may not actually solve the problems caused by a profusion of traffic. Investing in building a better public transport system, such as an extensive rail network or ferries, may help reduce the overcrowding of roads rather than imposing taxes.

However, on the opposing side of the argument, it can be said that the financial resources obtained through congestion charges can allow the government to use them for enacting public welfare schemes. Imposing a tax for cars creating a bottleneck during peak hours can also encourage people to use more environmentally friendly means of transport or make use of public transport, reducing pollution levels.

Thus, in conclusion, it can be said that while government-enforced congestion tariffs may not be advantageous, it also has a few benefits which cannot be ignored.

• Inescapable

Meaning – Unavoidable Example – This summer, the unbearable heat and humidity was inescapable every time you left the house.

• Detrimental

Meaning – Adverse or unfavourable Example – Consumption of tobacco products has a detrimental impact upon health.

Meaning – Worry or fret Example – She agonized over her decision to move to a different city.

Meaning – Impose Example – The government levied a tax on all imported products brought into the country.

• Encumbrance

Meaning – Burden Example – She felt she was being an encumbrance to her hosts, although they said they were happy to have her stay with them.

Meaning – Compel or force Example – Many essential workers were impelled to keep working physically even during the lockdown.

Meaning – Travel Example – I used to commute to college by metro on a regular basis.

Meaning – Punish Example – The teacher penalised them for chewing gum during lessons.

Meaning – Execute or put in force Example – The law was finally enacted this week after much anticipation.

Meaning – Charge or fee Example – The money from the tariff charged by the government is used for maintaining the local parks.

• IELTS Essay Topics
• IELTS Sample essays
• IELTS Writing task 2 Tips
• Tips to Improve IELTS Writing Skills
• IELTS Writing recent actual test
• IELTS Writing Answer sheet

Practice IELTS Writing Task 2 based on Essay types

Start Preparing for IELTS: Get Your 10-Day Study Plan Today!

Janice Thompson

Soon after graduating with a Master’s in Literature from Southern Arkansas University, she joined an institute as an English language trainer. She has had innumerous student interactions and has produced a couple of research papers on English language teaching. She soon found that non-native speakers struggled to meet the English language requirements set by foreign universities. It was when she decided to jump ship into IELTS training. From then on, she has been mentoring IELTS aspirants. She joined IELTSMaterial about a year ago, and her contributions have been exceptional. Her essay ideas and vocabulary have taken many students to a band 9.

Explore other Opinion Essays

Kasturika Samanta

Post your Comments

Recent articles.

Raajdeep Saha

Akanksha Tripathi

IELTSMaterial Master Program

1:1 Live Training with Band 9 Teachers

4.9 ( 3452 Reviews )

Our Offices

Gurgaon city scape, gurgaon bptp.

Step 1 of 3

Great going .

Get a free session from trainer

Have you taken test before?

Please select any option

Email test -->

Please enter Email ID

Mobile Band 9 trainer -->

Please enter phone number

Application

Please select any one

Already Registered?

Select a date

Please select a date

Select a time (IST Time Zone)

Please select a time

Mark Your Calendar: Free Session with Expert on

Which exam are you preparing?

Great Going!

• Has Bibliography
• Save your essays here so you can locate them quickly!
• Pedestrian Crossing
• Federal Highway Administration

The Rush Hour Traffic 5 Pages 1273 Words

             When you wake up in the morning feeling refresh and ready to start a new day, you should automatically realize that there is a problem. You roll over in bed and look at the alarm clock and unsurprisingly enough. you"re late! You hop out of bed and run to the bathroom, only to find that there is no hope of you looking presentable and finally give up and throw on some clothes. You run downstairs ready to go and here we go again, you can"t find your keys. You make a mad dash throughout the house searching every drawer and table until you finally find them right where you first looked. You run out of the house, get in your car, and enter the rat race of early morning rush hour traffic. Every traffic light catches you and every ignorant driver seems to be in front of you. You dodge the cars, hopping lanes as quickly as you can. Up ahead you see a light turn yellow. You just know that you can beat the red light and race ahead. Stomping the accelerator you speed through the intersected just in time, only to get caught by a traffic jam on the next block. You just sit there, staring at your watch. You blow the horn and give the finger, but no one seems to care. You are experiencing the full-blown symptom of a classic case of ROAD RAGE. Road rage is any display of aggression by a driver (Joint 1). This has become an epidemic in the United States over the past few years. .              Many times the causes of road rage are things that we can fix ourselves. Road rage is a psychological behavioral problem to which most people are susceptible at some time in their life. Even the most levelheaded person can loose their cool while driving. Although there are degrees of road rage, any aggressive act that is directed toward another driver is classified as road rage. The most common causes are things that we do everyday, even though most of the time we do not realize our actions. The leading cause of road rage is tailgating.

Continue reading this essay Continue reading

Page 1 of 4

Related Essays:

Symbol Matches

Symbol starts with, company matches.

• International
• Switzerland

thanks for visiting cnnmoney.

We're no longer maintaining this page.

For the latest business news and markets data, please visit CNN Business

World's worst cities for rush hour traffic

Driving through Moscow's ring-like highway system during the evening hours is for patient types -- traffic turns the typical half hour evening commute into a 57-minute affair.

Traffic jams in the Russian capital are notorious even outside peak hours -- Moscow has the world's fifth worst traffic overall.

Latest Galleries

Partner Offers Paid Partner

Lendingtree paid partner.

Most Popular

The motley fool paid partner.

• You Can Still Buy This "Millionaire Maker" Stock
• Bitcoin Up 30,000X -- Here's Your Backdoor In
• Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert
• This Stock Could Be Like Buying Amazon for $3.19

Commuters complain that increased rush hour traffic on Blue Highway between the suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time The favored proposal of the motorists lobby is to widen the highway adding an additional lane of traffic Opponents

In the editorial published in the local newspaper, opponents argue that adding a bicycle lane to Blue Highway will reduce rush-hour traffic, citing commuter concerns about their commuting time being doubled. Opponents point to the worsening of traffic congestion during the establishment of a lane on Green Highway last year, as well as that, many neighborhood residents are avid bikers, as proof of their position. However, three questions must be addressed before this recommendation may be properly examined.

To begin with, how similar are Green Highway and Blue Highway? Is there enough information that the two motorways are comparable enough to make broad generalizations about them? It is possible that Green Highway passes through a city while Blue Highway passes through rural suburbs. Perhaps Green Highway is a federal highway that has largely been abandoned, resulting in poor highway maintenance and increased commuting time, whereas Blue Highway is a well-funded state highway that is in pristine condition. The opponents' advice will be weakened due to the realism of these events.

Second, are the residents of the region the primary users of Blue Highway? In other words, opponents estimate they make up a big portion of highway commuters. This, however, may not be the case. It's probable that only a few individuals live along Blue Highway, resulting in a barely noticeable difference in traffic during rush hour. Further, it is also likely that the majority of people in the area work from home and don't travel on the Blue Highway. If these eventualities are found to be plausible, the opponents' case will be significantly weakened.

Third, will the creation of a new bicycle lane increase traffic on Blue Highway by causing more accidents? Adding a bike lane, which could exacerbate the issues mentioned by Blue Highway commuters, will be counterproductive. The addition of a bicycle lane may result in more collisions between bicycles and other automobiles. Additionally, the time required to obtain medical attention and clear up any possible incidents will result in an increase in traffic. If these possibilities are true, the opponents' recommendations will be invalid.

To summarize, the recommendation is severely faulty as it stands due to its dependence on multiple unfounded assumptions. More evidence (ideally in the form of a parametric research study) will be requested from the opponents to back up their allegations. These will be critical in determining whether the proposed recommendation to add a bicycle lane to Blue Highway is plausible.

• Log in or register to post comments
• Commuters complain that increased rush hour traffic on Blue Highway between the suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time The favored proposal of the motorists lobby is to widen the highway adding an additional lane of traffic Opponents 65
• The following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company According to a recent report from our marketing department during the past year fewer people attended Super Screen produced movies than in any ot 54
• The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a television station Over the past year our late night news program has devoted increased time to national news and less time to weather and local news During this period most of the complaints re 66
• The following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company According to a recent report from our marketing department during the past year fewer people attended Super Screen produced movies than in any ot 59
• A nation should require all its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college rather than allow schools in different parts of the nation to determine which academic courses to offer 66

Essay evaluations by e-grader

Transition Words or Phrases used: also, however, if, may, second, secondly, so, therefore, third, thirdly, well, while, in conclusion, to begin with

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech: To be verbs : 22.0 19.6327345309 112% => OK Auxiliary verbs: 14.0 12.9520958084 108% => OK Conjunction : 6.0 11.1786427146 54% => More conjunction wanted. Relative clauses : 11.0 13.6137724551 81% => OK Pronoun: 29.0 28.8173652695 101% => OK Preposition: 48.0 55.5748502994 86% => OK Nominalization: 15.0 16.3942115768 91% => OK

Performance on vocabulary words: No of characters: 2016.0 2260.96107784 89% => OK No of words: 384.0 441.139720559 87% => More content wanted. Chars per words: 5.25 5.12650576532 102% => OK Fourth root words length: 4.4267276788 4.56307096286 97% => OK Word Length SD: 2.94664191372 2.78398813304 106% => OK Unique words: 186.0 204.123752495 91% => More unique words wanted. Unique words percentage: 0.484375 0.468620217663 103% => OK syllable_count: 632.7 705.55239521 90% => OK avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.59920159681 100% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by: Pronoun: 10.0 4.96107784431 202% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning. Article: 5.0 8.76447105788 57% => OK Subordination: 4.0 2.70958083832 148% => OK Conjunction: 0.0 1.67365269461 0% => OK Preposition: 4.0 4.22255489022 95% => OK

Performance on sentences: How many sentences: 21.0 19.7664670659 106% => OK Sentence length: 18.0 22.8473053892 79% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short. Sentence length SD: 40.1266701816 57.8364921388 69% => OK Chars per sentence: 96.0 119.503703932 80% => OK Words per sentence: 18.2857142857 23.324526521 78% => OK Discourse Markers: 5.42857142857 5.70786347227 95% => OK Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK Language errors: 0.0 5.25449101796 0% => OK Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 8.20758483034 110% => OK Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 6.88822355289 73% => OK Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.67664670659 150% => OK What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion: Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.332033140646 0.218282227539 152% => OK Sentence topic coherence: 0.102157538034 0.0743258471296 137% => OK Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0803576003549 0.0701772020484 115% => OK Paragraph topic coherence: 0.183432264907 0.128457276422 143% => OK Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0458072143672 0.0628817314937 73% => OK

Essay readability: automated_readability_index: 12.4 14.3799401198 86% => Automated_readability_index is low. flesch_reading_ease: 53.21 48.3550499002 110% => OK smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.3 12.197005988 84% => OK coleman_liau_index: 13.17 12.5979740519 105% => OK dale_chall_readability_score: 8.31 8.32208582834 100% => OK difficult_words: 92.0 98.500998004 93% => OK linsear_write_formula: 8.0 12.3882235529 65% => OK gunning_fog: 9.2 11.1389221557 83% => OK text_standard: 9.0 11.9071856287 76% => OK What are above readability scores?

--------------------- Rates: 50.0 out of 100 Scores by essay e-grader: 3.0 Out of 6 --------------------- Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.

e-rater score report

Attribute Value Ideal Final score: 4.0 out of 6 Category: Good Excellent No. of Grammatical Errors: 8 2 No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2 No. of Sentences: 22 15 No. of Words: 408 350 No. of Characters: 2121 1500 No. of Different Words: 218 200 Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.494 4.7 Average Word Length: 5.199 4.6 Word Length SD: 2.959 2.4 No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 162 100 No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 136 80 No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 88 40 No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 63 20 Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0 Avg. Sentence Length: 18.545 21.0 Sentence Length SD: 7.011 7.5 Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.591 0.12 Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.307 0.35 Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.505 0.50 Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.049 0.07 Number of Paragraphs: 5 5

• How It Works
• Essay Examples

rush hour traffic Essay Examples

31 total results

Published: Friday 25th of January 2013