The growing need for traffic management & engineering for sustainable mobility

The developed world has effectively achieved a fair solution between the requirement to extend road networks to add capacity and manage capacity with a safety component as part of the overall traffic management system.

Traffic Engineering & Management

Likewise, the Government of India (GOI) should integrate ‘increase in capacity’ and ‘traffic management’ on Indian roads. The GOI’s current road policy may consider constructing such a link. To that end, the GOI must not incorrectly believe that local traffic police in Indian cities are traffic engineers capable of managing traffic in their jurisdiction.

There is a significant distinction between operating traffic lights and managing traffic through engineering practise. Clearly, traffic cops ‘control’ traffic, and their function cannot be overstated, but traffic management extends far beyond the supervision of signals, junctions, and VIP movements. The primary challenge is managing road capacity while keeping the supply-demand equation in mind, with a focus on proper traffic control device deployment and the construction of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

These are highly technical difficulties that cannot be left to the police as part of normal traffic control operations at crossings. Traffic cops are responsible for enforcing traffic laws and parking regulations. In contrast, the activities of all municipal road authorities must be coordinated with the job established by trained traffic engineers.

Road Capacity Perspective