Abstract
The interaction design process refers to what is used by designers to create solutions centered on the needs, behaviors, and aims of users. The process goes through five stages: the discovery of what is required by the user, the analysis, designing and prototyping, and, finally, the implementation. The discovery of users’ needs involves observation and interviewing of people and examining the solutions that exist. The paper aims to develop and propose a software interface that reduces traffic congestion using the Tesla Car Model after identifying what traffic jam needs to solve it.
Design rules that support the usability of an interface are principles, standards, and guidelines. Under regulations, designing requires low authority, high generality, and abstract design rules. Meeting standards requires high management, specific design rules, and the use of a limited application. Lastly, guidelines require low power and more general application (Endsley, 2017). Strictly following regulations related to designing may lead to a fruitful outcome of a user interface that suitably solves a problem.
Tesla, which Elon Musk runs as the CEO and Franz Von Holzhausen in charge of design, has developed Tesla cars. Tesla has created models over time that continues to help in reducing traffic jams. Tesla cars initially exist in Fremont, California, with 130 stores in the United States and other stores in 34 different countries. Unfortunately, other cities have not adopted the use of Tesla cars. (Mandlik, 2020). An interface model that can solve the traffic jam problem requires adopting the Tesla car models of monitoring traffic with a little adjustment.
Improving Tesla’s model by creating a way that the user interface can detect and calculate the time that the traffic jam may end following the current measures. Moreover, this would offer people assistance in knowing the exact time to begin their travels, thus plan ahead of time. Instead, drivers may choose to schedule their time of travel at their convenience to avoid spending more time stuck in traffic (Endsley, 2017). Moreover, it will be the right approach as it will save time and reduce the amount of fuel used during traffic jams; hence, fuel cost is also minimized. Below is the proposed improvision of Tesla car models that direct on traffic jam
Traffic Jam Problem
Traffic jam is a significant problem that has been affecting most cities in the world for decades despite the measures that governments have implemented. Traffic jam refers to vehicles on a road that is in a long line and is moving slowly or have stopped moving and are stuck in traffic. It is caused by many people driving cars, poor public transportation, and geography(Santos et al., 2020). The city with the highest level of congestion as of 2019 was Bogota, located in Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, with both drivers and passengers in those cities losing 191 and 190 hours yearly.
Traffic jam affects both the driver and the passengers in the vehicle. One of the effects of traffic jams is that they cause delays and can make people worry about arriving late at their intended destinations. Moreover, they may still feel frustrated during the afternoon rush hour due to the urge to arrive at their homes early. (Onyeneke et al., 2018). Furthermore, traffic jam leads to pollution and massive fuel consumption caused by frequently starting and stopping cars that burn fuel compared to the everyday driving in a highway. Alternatively, fuel emissions cause pollution to the air and are related to global warming.
Road rage is another problem of traffic jams which refers to the senseless reaction that is related to traffic. It is whereby drivers may feel that their fellow drivers are moving too slow and may make an attempt to cut through. It may end up causing a dangerous incident, such as a driver hitting another car that is either at the front or on the side. Lastly, emergency vehicles such as an ambulance or a fire brigade that is stuck in traffic may cause the life of a sick patient to be in danger, or their property may be in threat.
Exciting Facts About Traffic Jam
Moreover, the most exciting thing about traffic jams is that most cities have a story to tell about how traffic jams cost them. For example, Beijing was once stuck in traffic for a whole week in the year 2010. The drivers and passengers were forced to sleep on the road for that entire week while the locals took advantage and sold them food and water at double prices (Xiong et al., 2018). Alternatively,l hours are lost every year on traffic congestion and liters of gasoline by drivers. Moreover, several attempts have been made towards solving this problem, but it is still witnessed every day by most cities.
Traffic jams affect most people, especially employees who are at risk of losing their jobs if they arrive late at work and employers who may also fail to attend important meetings on time. Moreover, school-going children are affected as they may reach school in the middle of a class, hence losing important content that has already been covered. Consequently, passenger service drivers are also affected economically through fuel wastage in traffic jams. Furthermore, they are economically affected as they may get less time to hit their daily target of passengers, especially during the rush hour period.
Negative Impacts Of Traffic Jam
Traffic jam has violated several guidelines and principles related to road safety. For example, traffic jam makes cars fail to maintain a safe distance from a vehicle that is in front of them (Onyeneke et al., 2018). It is evident even in news headlines where cars are seen to be stuck in a jam and are almost close together. Accidentally, some vehicles in a traffic jam have been involved in a collision when a car that is in front suddenly stops.
Traffic jam has made cars violate the rule of not cutting off other vehicles. Often, cars stuck in traffic have been seen changing lanes unnecessarily to get through the traffic jam. This act forces other vehicles to steer or brake suddenly to avoid head-on collisions. Driving on the shoulder is also violating the guidelines of the traffic act. Cars in traffic jams may at times be fully packed on the road, having some driving opposite the road and away from the tarmac to get past through. It has forced emergency vehicles to risk delays as their space has already been occupied.
Consequently, failure to turn on hazard lights in a traffic jam to warn vehicles that are coming from behind has also led to collisions by drivers who fail to adhere to this guideline. Drivers ought to be cautious on the roads. Ignorance of traffic lights and misinterpretation can also lead to traffic jams, and at times, minor accidents may occur and affect the people around.
Solutions To Traffic Jam Problem
The current solutions that exist to solve the problem of traffic jams are, for example, the increase of employed traffic police, who take charge in controlling the movement of cars by redirecting them towards a straightforward way. Moreover, this has assisted drivers in saving both their time and gasoline. However, this measure has not been efficient in solving the problem of traffic congestion in the past because up to date, cities in the world are facing the challenge (Xiong, Vahedian, et al., 2018). Improvement of cycling infrastructure and enforcement of existing road traffic laws has also been used to solve the traffic problem.
Moreover, another initiative is the use of traffic lights that most cities in the world have adopted. Drivers are educated on how to interpret the meanings of the traffic lights during their training. The red light means stop, while the yellow and green mean caution and go, respectively. Drivers monitor the lights and use them to control their movement on the road; hence, they can control movement systematically.
Alternatively, the use of CCTVs in some cities to monitor trafficking conditions on the roads may help. Moreover, the creation of routes that are meant for passage by heavy load trucks and buses is a good move towards solving traffic jams but has still not been effective in clearing this problem. Luckily, the current solutions have helped regulate the available traffic conditions though they have not entirely solved this problem.
Needs Of Traffic Jam
Traffic jam also requires management such as dynamic speed limits, which may vary depending on traffic and weather conditions, dynamic road marking, which may involve road expansion and ramp metering. This measure has assisted in managing traffic as well as accidents related to traffic. Moreover, DRIP, which refers to Dynamic Route Information Panel, helps manage traffic jams via message signs. All these measures under dynamic traffic management are a necessity for managing traffic. Evacuation management is also needed since it assists in clearing traffic jams quickly by applying traffic management measures.
Traffic jam also requires expansion of roads whereby major commuting roads should be widened to accommodate more cars and easily create a passage. Development of public transit capacity can also be the right approach as it will allow the shifting of many vehicles to reduce traffic congestion. Strict policies should also be put in place against drivers who may cut through the traffic, leading to more time wastage on the road.
Furthermore, Tesla cars can manage traffic needs by monitoring traffic and reducing jams on the roads. Also, through Tesla cars, the use of workforce such as traffic police officers will be reduced as traffic is easily controllable through the vehicles’ management. Moreover, if the Tesla cars are adjusted to show the exact number of cars stuck in traffic and the possible time the jam will come to an end, it will solve traffic jam.
In conclusion, traffic issues need to be solved. It is appropriate to use the necessary measures to create the best effective way of dealing with the problem. Technology has manifested gradually over the years, and it is fast replacing handwork. Adverse technology changes by experts might come up with the best methods to incorporate the idea of Tesla cars showing the exact end time of traffic jams. Technological value to traffic jams should be supported and embraced and the adoption of techniques used by other countries in solving this problem. Traffic jam is a problem that needs to be addressed as it affects everyone in the world associated with daily travel to work or movement from one city to another by road.
Traffic jam requires solutions such as traffic monitoring by police officers who are experts in managing traffic need to be employed to assist in preventing jam on the roads. Incident management is also required through setting rules governing the penalties for the people who may cause accidents (Onyeneke et al., 2018).
References
Endsley, M. R. (2017). Autonomous driving systems: A preliminary naturalistic study of the Tesla Model S. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 11(3), 225-238. Web.
Mandlik, D. D. (2020). Pune traffic congestion: Reality, cause, and regulation a case study(SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3573469). Social Science Research Network. Web.
Onyeneke, C., Eguzouwa, C., & Mutabazi, C. (2018). Modeling the effects of traffic congestion on economic activities-accidents, fatalities, and casualties. Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, 3(2), 7-14. Web.
Xiong, H., Vahedian, A., Zhou, X., Li, Y., & Luo, J. (2018). Predicting traffic congestion propagation patterns: A propagation graph approach. Proceedings of the 11th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Computational Transportation Science, 60–69. Web.