How traffic jam affects public health

For Dhaka city dwellers, facing no traffic congestion is a rarity. We have to encounter this inevitable hassle well beyond tolerance. Whenever the issue of traffic congestion comes, we talk about its economic costs. But only a few of us might have thought about the impact of congestion on public health. Traffic jam not only kills our time but also subjects us to noise and air pollution for a long time.

According to several researches, inconvenient commuting hurts physical activity of commuters. Passengers become irritated and anxious when they are stuck in traffic. The stress of going somewhere on time can raise someone's blood pressure, and eventually it can lead to heart attack. In cities like Dhaka, public buses are inadequate and frequently overloaded, which forces passengers to adopt a wrong posture. Staying in a wrong posture for an extended period of time can induce a musculoskeletal disorder.

If the traffic congestion problem is not addressed immediately, it can intensify public health risks further. About five million working hours are being wasted every day in traffic jams in Dhaka city. Another study, conducted recently, says that the speed of vehicles in the capital is now equal to the speed of human walking. But even a decade ago, it was 21 kilometres per hour. We now have to formulate a master plan on how this crisis can be resolved.

Ashikujaman Syed,

Research Assistant, Bioinformatics Research Lab,

Center for Research Innovation and

Development (CRID),

syedashikujaman@gmail.com